Hello again everyone, welcome back!
Hope you enjoy this battle between dragon slayers!
KEEPING SECRETS CHP. 10- FACE EVERYTHING AND RISE
"Way to go boss! Told ya you had nothing to worry about!" Jackal exclaimed, holding out a water bottle for Natsu.
"Thanks, Jackal, but that was only round one. I got two more to fight, and Ajeel was probably the least strong of the three." Natsu took the outstretched bottle and began to drink.
"Still, you were incredible! You incinerated that entire sandstorm in one attack!"
"I can't believe I'm about to say this, but Jackal is right, Natsu. Ajeel has single- handedly destroyed entire armies. Defeating him is no mere trifle."
Natsu's face lit up as he saw his brother and August had teleported into the locker room he was using in the old colosseum "Hey guys!"
"Hello Natsu. I concur with His Majesty; you did excellent against Ajeel." August added.
"Thanks August. Still, I didn't plan on using fire dragon king mode so early on. Guess I'll have to get creative, 'cause I don't think I got the magic power to use it again today." Natsu sighed.
"That is what those powers are for, Natsu." Zeref said, offering his brother a small smile. "To give you an edge when you find yourself staring down a powerful opponent. And most of the time, fighting enemies isn't so... organized. Don't forget to reap the benefits of that." Zeref reached his hand out, holding another bottle with an unknown liquid sloshing around inside.
Natsu raised an eyebrow and took the bottle, questioning, "What is this?"
"A gift from Dimaria. Go on, try it."
Natsu opened the lid and sniffed, sticking out his tongue in disgust as he did. Whatever this 'gift' was, it smelled horrible. He looked at Zeref in disbelief, but his brother just smiled and nodded, urging him to drink. Natsu took a deep breath and chugged the bottle. "Gross!" he spat, trying not to gag.
"Try and keep it down, if you can." August kindly offered. "Its taste is horrid, but you'll find its effects useful."
"I highly doubt that it... wait what?" Natsu started to contest August's statement but found his exhaustion from the battle gone and his magic power completely restored. "I feel... like I haven't even fought yet!"
"We didn't think it was fair God Serena and Larcade would get to fight you after you'd already been fatigued from your other battles." Zeref explained. "So Dimaria, August, and I came up with this little concoction to restore your energy. I'd still avoid using fire dragon king mode again. That ability is quite powerful and puts a lot of strain on your body, stamina regained or not."
"Yeah, makes sense. I'll try to avoid it. Would have been useful against God Serena's eight dragon slaying abilities, though."
"It probably would have." Zeref admitted. "But remember, you still have plenty of skills left in your arsenal."
"Lord Zeref's right, you've not even used any of your curse power yet!" Jackal chimed in. "That'll hit him out of left field for sure!"
"You need to stop referring to His Majesty as 'Lord Zeref'," August scolded the etherious for a moment before turning back to Natsu, his features lightening, "However, Jackal is correct. God Serena has no knowledge of etherious, despite being around Larcade and Bloodman for several months. He tends to overlook or flat out ignore everyone around him in arrogance. And now," August smirked before saying, "that arrogance will be his undoing."
"I concur, August." Zeref added. "So, please do us all a favor and teach the meaning of humility to the former number one wizard saint, little brother."
Natsu smirked. "I plan on it."
Natsu made his way back out onto the colosseum's arena floor, smiling at the cheers of the crowd. He raised his fists in the air and shot off several blasts of flames. "OH YEAH, I'M ALL FIRED UP NOW!" Natsu yelled loudly, ensuring everyone in the colosseum could hear him. If the volume of the cheers returned to him was an indicator, he was successful.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN WELCOME BACK TO TODAY'S BATTLES, FEATURING PRINCE NATSU VERSUS THREE OF THE SPRIGGAN 12!" Neinhart's voice boomed throughout the stadium once more, and the crowd responded with their own cheers.
"SEEMS THAT THE PRINCE IS READY TO GO, IF HIS ENTRANCE WAS ANYTHING TO GO BY!" Dimaria chimed in.
"INDEED! THE PRINCE CERTAINLY SEEMS TO BE HAVING A GOOD TIME! HIS FIERY PERSONALITY SEEMS TO MATCH HIS MAGIC!" Neinhart bellowed. " BUT WILL HIS FIRE DRAGON SLAYER MAGIC ALONE BE ABLE TO STAND UP TO HIS NEXT CHALLENGER'S ARSENAL OF DRAGON SLAYING ABILITIES?"
"ONLY ONE WAY TO FIND OUT! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, OUR PRINCE'S NEXT OPPONENT FROM THE TWELVE IS ANOTHER NEW FACE IN VISTARION, AND ALSO HAILS FROM ISHGAR! HE ALSO COMES WITH AN IMPRESSIVE RESUME, BEING THE CONTINENT'S FORMER NUMBER ONE WIZARD SAINT!" Dimaria's introduction kept to the facts and was surprisingly free of any mocking or sarcasm.
"HE IS CERTAINLY A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH!" Neinhart chimed in. "AND CERTAINLY, SOMEONE WHO LEAVES AN IMPRESSION. WHETHER THAT'S GOOD OR BAD IS ANOTHER CONVERSATION ENTIRELY. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, I GIVE YOU THE NEWEST MEMBER OF THE SPRIGGAN TWELVE- GOD SERENA!"
God Serena leapt into the arena and struck several of his signature flamboyant poses as the audience cheered for him (not that he would ever notice or admit as such, but the cheers were much tamer than compared to Natsu's entrance moments prior).
"OUR NEWEST SHIELD OF SPRIGGAN CERTAINLY IS... WELL, FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD, UNIQUE!" It was now very evident Dimaria was trying not to laugh as she introduced God Serena.
Neinhart too, was doing his best at holding back his laughter, "UNDENIABLY UNIQUE! I'D SAY ANYONE WHO COULD WIELD THE POWER OF EIGHT DRAGONS WOULD HAVE TO BE... THAT SAID, LET'S SEE IF HE CAN COUNT THEM ALL CORRECTLY THIS TIME..." Rustling was heard over the colosseum's loudspeakers, clearly of Neinhart and Dimaria covering their microphones, followed by muffled laughter, the two acting announcers clearly not being able to hold back any longer. The audience laughed too, while God Serena obliviously smiled and waved to the audience, striking several more poses as he did.
Eventually God Serena turned to face Natsu. "I heard you defeated Ajeel. As I will be the victor regardless of your skills, I saw no need to watch your fight with him. But, let it be known, that I, God Serena, am magnificently gracious! So, congratulations on your victory!" He posed with his arms in the shape of a 'v' for good measure.
Natsu stared at him, the look on his face a mixture of confusion and disgust. "Uh, thanks, I guess?" Natsu replied, not sure how to take God Serena's simultaneously demeaning yet genuine comment.
"Of course! And now, dear prince, I will finish this in a flash! Prepare yourself to feel the power of a god... God Serena!" He finished his dramatic posing with a dramatic bow.
"Uhhhh... okay, then." Natsu rolled his eyes, wiping the look of annoyance and disgust off his face and replacing it with one of fierce determination.
In the royal box, Irene had passed on God Serena's words to those present, causing eye rolls and groans from the box's occupants. Sighing, Zeref, stood up and once again summoned a flame to his hand. "Natsu, please, put this clown in his place." Zeref shot the ball of fire through the sky.
"BEGIN!"
"I'll finish this with one blow!" God Serena declared as he began building up a breath attack.
In the royal box, Irene smirked. "Oh, I do believe I can smell what attack God Serena is about to use." She chuckled. "This will be good."
"PURGATORY DRAGON, ROAR!" A blast of dark red flame erupted from God Serena's mouth, heading straight for Natsu.
Natsu stared at the attack as it flew towards him, wide eyed in disbelief. You can't be serious... This guy is the biggest moron I've ever met! He opened his mouth wide, and the roaring flames disappeared into Natsu's mouth. "Thanks for the snack," he said, before rearing his head back, preparing his own attack. "FIRE DRAGON ROAR!"
God Serena, in his typical arrogant fashion, had already turned around and begun to walk away, believing himself victorious. However, Natsu's words made him pause. "I'm sorry, did you say so-" As he turned to look at his 'defeated' foe, Natsu's fire dragon roar consumed the former number one wizard saint in a red-orange inferno.
Gasps of shock came from the crowd. As the dust and smoke cleared, the gasps turned to hysterical laughter. While he appeared relatively unharmed, God Serena was blackened with soot from head to toe. His robes had been burned away in several places, the decorative wheel of blades on his back burned down to just a few awkward spikes. Most noticeably, his long orange hair was significantly shorter, clearly burned off in multiple places.
"BAHAHAHAHAHA!" Natsu had to stop himself from falling to the ground as he laughed. "Nice makeover! I did a pretty good job, if I do say so myself!" He managed to get out before he began laughing again.
"HAHAHAHAHA...jjj...JUST A REMINDER, THE VISTARION COLOSSEUM IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DESTROYED PERSONAL BELONGINGS OR POTENTIAL INJURIES! THAT INCLUDES HAIR AND CLOTHING!" Neinhart wheezed out in between his laughs.
God Serena stared in disbelief at the laughing mage in front of him. He felt his head, some more of his burnt hair falling off his head as he touched it. IMPOSSIBLE!
"FIRE DRAGON'S IRON FIST!" A flame coated fist slammed into God Serena, who flew into the arena wall.
"SEEMS THE FORMER NUMBER ONE WIZARD SAINT NEEDS TO STOP FRETTING OVER HIS APPEARANCE AND GET HIS MIND ON THE BATTLE!" Dimaria exclaimed, humor evident in her tone.
"IT'S LOOKING LIKE PRINCE NATSU HAS THIS BATTLE IN THE BAG, FOLKS!" Neinhart declared.
God Serena pulled himself out of the wall and back to the arena floor. For the first time in many years, the dragon slayer felt pure rage rapidly building within him. The laughter of the crowd, where moments before he was sure was laughing along with him, now sounded sinister and mocking. All of it thanks to this other dragon slayer in front of him, who he now glared and clenched his teeth at. "I admit, I underestimated you, fire dragon king! But no longer! Prepare to feel the wrath of a dragon god! Now," he spread his arms skyward.
Natsu began to laugh again. "Seriously, if all you're gonna do is stand there and pose I'm gonna-"
"SPARK DRAGON'S AUGITE HEAVENS!"
Natsu was blinded by a flash of intense white light. The flash caught him so off guard, he wasn't able to react to the other dragon slayer that had rapidly closed the distance between them.
"DIAMOND DRAGON'S FORTRESS CRUSHER!" God Serena roared, his now diamond coated fists slamming into Natsu's stomach, sending the fire dragon slayer into the wall of the other side of the arena, paralleling what he had done to God Serena moments before.
"WOW! GOD SERENA IS FINALLY SHOWING US WHY HE WAS THE NUMBER ONE WIZARD SAINT IN ISHGAR!"
"NO KIDDING, NEINHART! I COULD BARELY FOLLOW HIM THERE FOR A SECOND!" Dimaria exclaimed.
In the royal box, Invel sighed. "Well, I suppose I can suspend writing God Serena's letter of expulsion from the Twelve now."
Irene shook her head. "I still can't believe he tried using purgatory dragon magic on another FIRE dragon slayer..."
"God Serena's arrogance nearly cost him the match before it had even begun." Zeref stated, hand resting on his chin. "But now that he's taking this seriously, things have gotten a lot more interesting."
On the arena floor, Natsu picked himself up, and spat blood out of his mouth. God Serena's voice rang throughout the colosseum. "Now do you see? Fire dragon king you may be, but even a king must bow before a god!" The former number one wizard saint's confidence had grown back to where he was using his ridiculous poses again.
Natsu smirked. "Well, well. Turns out you're more than just a clown after all. Color me impressed."
"Hahaha, clown you say? I am indeed an entertainer! I love to give the people a show! And your role in this show is to fall before me! CAVERN DRAGON'S EARTH COLLAPSE!"
At that, the ground beneath Natsu shifted as the entire floor of the arena seemed to crumble in on itself. The formerly flat and smooth arena floor was now an uneven mosaic of sharp edges and craggy outcrops, with large, jagged rocks sticking out from the ground, casting long, looming shadows throughout the battleground.
"WOW! GOD SERENA'S CAVERN DRAGON SLAYING MAGIC HAS COMPLETELY TRANSFORMED THE BATTLEFIELD!" Neihart's shocked voice resounded.
Natsu had his back against one of the larger rocks, breathing heavily. Hearing vibrations approaching, Natsu fled his shelter only for it to explode seconds later from another punch from God Serena's diamond plated fists. Alright, he's a lot tougher than I thought. He's switching abilities so quickly- Trying to come up with different ways to dodge all of them at once is getting really old!
"Oh my, it seems I can't catch the dear prince in this perilous labyrinth!" God Serena said flamboyantly, the backside of one of his hands placed against his forehead. "Guess I'll need to flush him out! SEA KING DRAGON ROAR!"
Natsu's body barely had time to tense up as he heard the roar of water coming towards him. I do not like the sound of that... A massive wave flung Natsu from his hiding place and into the raging sea that had formed in the arena.
"LIGHTNING DRAGON'S TEARS OF THE HEAVENS!"
Wait, lightning dra- Natsu's thoughts were cut off as he was shocked by God Serena's lightning storm, its powerful electrical charges spreading through the water and into Natsu. He attempted to eat some of the lightning, but only succeeded in filling his lungs with water. He made his way to the surface of the makeshift sea, thoroughly shocked, very fatigued, and struggling to breathe.
"Uh-oh, it looks like the prince is having some trouble in the water! Not to worry, Your Highness! I will pull you from the depths of this raging sea!" God Serena's voice came from somewhere above. "GALE DRAGON'S TEMPEST: SNOW, MOON, AND FLOWERS!"
Before Natsu could start to laugh at God Serena's ridiculous over the top attack name, he found himself violently ripped from the water and into... a waterspout?! Sure enough, Natsu was being violently spun in the cyclone God Serena had formed out of his artificial sea.
I've had enough of this! "FIRE DRAGON'S ROASTING BATH!" Scalding flames erupted from all over Natsu's body, evaporating the entire waterspout in a matter of seconds. However, Natsu soon found his fire sucked from him as the cyclone's winds began to spin the opposite direction, funneling back down into its user's mouth. Clenching his teeth, Natsu blasted himself out of the cyclone's winds and landed on one of the taller rocks God Serena's cavern dragon slaying magic had formed earlier.
As the last of Natsu's flames disappeared into God Serena's mouth, he smirked. "Now, thank you for the snack."
"ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE! GOD SERENA USED A MULTITUDE OF HIS DRAGON SLAYING ABILITIES ALMOST SIMULTANEOUSLY, PREVENTING PRINCE NATSU FROM MAKING ANY TYPE OF EFFECTIVE COUNTER!" Neinhart exclaimed.
"I HATE TO EVEN SUGGEST IT, BUT COULD THE FIRE DRAGON KING ACTUALLY HAVE TO BOW BEFORE A DRAGON GOD?" Dimaria added.
Natsu scowled. This was problematic. Now that he was taking things seriously, God Serena would likely just consume any attack Natsu would throw at him. He was switching moves so quickly that all his and August's work arounds they had come up with were worthless.
As Natsu pondered his next move, August's, Jackal's, and Zeref's words prior to the battle came back to him.
Time for something new.
"Giving up?" God Serena shouted; confident the battle was in his favor now.
"As if!" Natsu accessed the curse power inside him. If this goes like it did when I ate Zancrow's flames, I'll have an opening. I gotta hit him hard and fast! "CURSED FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!" An inferno of black flames sped towards God Serena.
"Haha! Who's arrogant now?" God Serena taunted, before breathing in the entirety of the cursed fire. "Ah. Refresh-" The former wizard saint's declaration was cut short as horrid pain overtook his body, causing him to double over and clench his chest, where his internal organs felt as if they had been set ablaze. In addition, his magic power seemed to be deteriorating by the second. What?
"Cursed fire dragon, GRIP STRIKE!" God Serena had been so focused on his pain he hadn't noticed Natsu close the distance between them. Black flames poured out of his outstretched palm and consumed God Serena in another fiery inferno.
"WHAT'S THIS? I'VE NEVER SEEN FLAMES LIKE THAT BEFORE! LOOKS LIKE PRINCE NATSU'S MAKING A COMEBACK!" Dimaria exclaimed, excitement rising in her voice.
"WELL WHATEVER THEY ARE, IT SEEMS NOT EVEN THE POWER OF GOD SERENA'S EIGHT DRAGONS CAN RESIST THEM! BUT THE FORMER NUMBER ONE WIZARD SAINT IS STILL STANDING! THIS BATTLE ISN'T OVER YET, FOLKS!" Neinhart added.
Sure enough, God Serena was still standing, evidently reinforced himself with full body diamond armor at the last second. That said, the other dragon slayer's breath was extremely labored, and he had a nasty looking burn on one side of his face.
"I'm not gonna lie to you, Your Highness, I haven't been in this much pain in ages. But also," his stance wavered for a moment before he regained his balance, spreading his arms wide in another ridiculous pose, "it's also been a very long time since I've had this much fun!" His grin disappeared, and his tone became uncharacteristically serious as he said, "But I think our little battle's coming to an end, however."
Natsu wiped some of the dirt, sweat, and blood off his face. "For the first time, I think I agree with ya." He took on a defensive stance.
"Whatever that cursed flame is, it basically ate most of my magic energy reserves. That's some power there. So..." He bowed with his arms stretched out behind him, taking on yet another stupid looking pose. "I will use a move that I have kept hidden. You will be the first to witness its magnificence!" His pose shifted, moving to point one finger at Natsu while the other covered part of his face.
"Wow. I'm honored." Natsu deadpanned.
"Haha! Try not to lose yourself in your excitement, Your Highness! Also, I promise I will end the spell before it kills you. I don't think the emperor would be too pleased with me if I killed his brother..."
After Irene relayed God Serena's words, the entire royal box began to snicker after August remarked, "Incredible. God Serena is indeed capable of rational thought."
"Now, drown in your sin and regret! DARKNESS DRAGON: ETERNAL NIGHTMARE!"
Natsu braced himself for an attack but instead found himself surrounded by darkness. He lit his fist aflame, but it immediately went out. The cursed fire did not, though it provided significantly less light. He relaxed a bit. Alright, it has to be more than it just gets really dark. What's the catch?
"Natsu?"
He heard a familiar voice call out his name. Turning, he found himself face to face with Lucy. "Luce? How are you-"
"Why?" she asked. Natsu noticed her eyes were wide, as if she was afraid. "Why did you abandon us?"
"What are you talking about Lucy? I haven't-"
"As if I'd believe anything the brother of Zeref has to say."
Hearing another familiar voice, he turned around and found himself face to face with a scowling Gray. "I'm still me, Gray. That doesn't change who I am or what I'm about. I'd go to Hell and back to help any of my friends. How could I not do the same for my brother?"
"I thought we were your family..." Happy's voice, uncharacteristically full of sorrow, came next.
"You are! Guys, please try and understand-"
"I knew you'd turn your back on us as soon as the pressure built. I warned you, Your Majesty."
What the... Sure enough, he turned in the direction of the new voices, finding Invel, glaring daggers into him, and his brother, eyes full of sorrow, looking at him in disbelief.
"What would you expect? This is coming from a boy that forgot his own parents."
Natsu's eyes widened, and he turned around, finding someone he had not seen in ages glaring at him- his father. "No, Dad, it's not-"
"How could you?" His mother's voice cried, breaking from tears, as she appeared next to his father.
"Mom, listen-"
"You will forget me soon too, I bet!"
That was a voice he had heard much more recently than the last two. "Igneel! I'd never-"
"And I thought I was a monster!" Natsu tensed, backing into the source of the condescending statement. As he turned he was greeted with the haughty sneer of Future Rogue, glaring at him.
Natsu growled, swiping at the corrupted dragon slayer, and he vanished into the black mist. As soon as he did, someone fell into Natsu. As they looked at him, he tensed even more. He'd recognize Lucy's brown eyes anywhere, but they looked so damn empty. His ears picked up the sound of something dripping and he smelled blood. Looking down, Lucy was profusely bleeding from the chest. This wasn't the Lucy he knew, this was the future Lucy he met at the Grand Magic Games. The one he failed to save.
"You let me die."
Natsu cried out in despair, pulling at his hair as he clenched his eyes shut. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!" How is this possible? How are all these people here? Where did they come from? As he looked up, he saw the eyes of all his accusers, glowing red and baring into him. It felt as if his soul was being ripped apart.
This isn't right... I shouldn't be here! They shouldn't be here! I was doing something... something important... his eyes drifted to his brother. Zeref! I was fighting to save Zeref! From... who?
With that, it was like a haze had been lifted from him. This wasn't real. He was fighting to save Zeref. He was going to cure his brother, but he had to beat his challengers from the Spriggan 12 first. God Serena. He was fighting God Serena! This has to be some attack of his... The annoying man's words of being crushed in sin and regret... It was all a trick!
THIS IS NO TRICK. A distorted, disembodied voice rang through Natsu's head, as if sensing his thoughts. THIS IS YOUR DESTINY.
"Hahahahaha. That might have scared me shitless a few seconds ago, but I see through you now. And even if this was my destiny-" His curse's flames covered his body as he boldly declared, "I ALREADY SAID I'D BURN IT TO ASHES!"
The arena had fallen silent. God Serena had yelled the name of his new attack, and the darkness that had swallowed Natsu formed into a dark orb. It had been about thirty seconds. The audience's shocked declarations had faded to silence. God Serena struggled to stand, breathing ragged, but had a wide smile on his face, confident the battle was his.
Finally, Neinhart's uncertain voice came over the loudspeakers, "UMMMM...I SUPPOSE I'LL START THE COUNTDOWN... 10...9...8...7...si-"
Neinhart's countdown ceased as the black orb in front of God Serena swelled, and then exploded into a cascade of black flames. God Serena's smile melted off his face, taking in the scene in front of him in disbelief, eyes now full of fear. "No... you couldn't have!"
Emerging from the smoke, Natsu strode towards him, hands alight with his cursed fire. "Neat trick." His voice dripped with malice. "Now it's my turn for something new." He held one of his palms skyward, his opposite hand gripping his wrist for stability. "CURSED FIRE DRAGON'S BLEEDING SUN!" His fire converged into a large orb, which flew skyward. It blazed like a blackened star for a few seconds, before it began to spit blasts of cursed fire- all heading towards an increasingly panicking God Serena at intense speed.
NO! THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE! I AM GOD SERENA! I AM THE ULTIMATE DRAGON SLAYER, I HAVE NO EQUAL! HOW COULD THIS LOWLY DRAGON SLAYER'S FLAMES DEFEAT ME? I WILL NOT, I CANNOT ALLO- God Serena's internal monologue ceased as the cursed fire moved dangerously close. So close, all he could see was the blackened flames flickering to the edges of his eyes, and their white cores blinding the rest of his vision. Lowly? No... no... these flames... these unstoppable flames... how could I have not seen it before? These flames of the fire dragon king... they are...
"MAGNIFICENT!"
The cursed flames surrounded God Serena, consuming him in another fiery explosion. When the smoke cleared this time, he was not standing. The former top ranked wizard in Ishgar lay face down in the dirt.
"GOD SERENA IS DOWN! 10...9...8..." Neinhart began the countdown. Unlike Ajeel during his countdown, the dragon slayer didn't even attempt to get back up. He lay still til the countdown was done. "THAT'S IT FOLKS! THE NUMBER ONE WIZARD SAINT IS DOWN! PRINCE NATSU IS THE WINNER!"
Natsu let out a sigh of relief, flashing the audience a big grin as they roared in applause of his victory. However, hearing rapid footsteps, he turned to look back at God Serena, eyes widening when he realized there were footsteps from EMTs going to check on the man. Oh, I might have gone a little overboard there...
One of the EMTs helped a clearly disoriented God Serena sit back up. Natsu made his way over to them, and stretched out his hand to help the other dragon slayer up, "Hey, I, uh, might have overdid it a little at the end there... but your powers were really cool! Let's fight again sometime!" Natsu flashed him a grin.
God Serena stared at Natsu for a few moments without saying anything. And then, he quietly said, "Magnificent..."
Natsu's smile fell, and he gave God Serena a confused look. "Uhhh...what?"
God Serena startled Natsu and the two EMTs tending to him as he jumped to his feet, striking one of his ridiculous poses yet again. "MAGNIFICENT! YOUR FLAMES- No, first, I must apologize. I have misjudged you, Your Highness! Your flames- truly there are no others that compare. Your magnificent flames... they will turn Acnologia into nothing more than ashes! Yes, you are the true dragon king, the one who will end Ragnarök and Acnologia- with I, the magnificent God Serena, your loyal servant, by your side!"
Natsu's eyes were widened in disbelief for a different reason than before. Yeah, I can't say I saw this coming... He finally managed an awkward laugh and said, "Uh... thanks!"
God Serena stood before him, chest puffed out, hands on his hips, eyes closed, and lips curled into a smile. "Of course! And as a symbol of my newfound loyalty to you, allow me to give a speech in your honor to our audience. He stepped forward, arms spread wide in another ridiculous pose. However, as he widely opened his mouth, the dragon slayer collapsed face first back into the dirt. Gasps of shock came from the audience as the EMTs ran to his side once more, lifting him onto a stretcher.
"Idiot has a concussion and internal bleeding, his speech in your honor will have to wait." One of the EMTs grumbled, before looking over at Natsu and adding, in a much less grumpy tone, "Respectfully, of course Your Highness."
"Uhh... I think I'll survive, thanks." Natsu said, chuckling. He turned to make his way out of the arena, giving the cheering crowd another Fairy Tail salute, as Neinhart announced the last intermission before his battle with Larcade.
"Congratulations little brother, I think God Serena has officially become the first member of your fan club." Zeref furrowed his brow. "That is, without a doubt, a sentence I never thought I would say.
"Thanks Zeref. I feel like I wasted August's time with me though. I wasn't able to counter any of his abilities like we planned."
"Nonsense." August said. "I never expected God Serena to get riled up so much he'd abandon his ridiculous personality and go all out. And I was completely incorrect about his Darkness dragon slaying magic. If anything, I owe you an apology, Natsu.
Natsu shook his head, looking at August as he said, "No, you don't August. I underestimated God Serena too, despite people warning me about his abilities. I won't make that mistake again."
As they talked In the locker room, Natsu downed another one of Dimaria's 'lovely' magic restoring drinks. "So whatcha got in store for this Larcade guy, boss?" Jackal asked.
"Larcade is going to be a very different foe than God Serena. While he is certainly strong, the real threat of his attacks are not their physical potency, but the fact they target certain things every human needs to survive." August explained to Jackal.
Natsu scoffed. "I don't know about that first one..."
"Lots of people would disagree with you, Natsu," Zeref chimed in, an awkward smile on his face. "After all, like all creatures, human beings have a desire to reproduce..."
"You know, talking about it like that isn't helping." Natsu said, frowning.
He thought back to the day August had shown him Larcade's magic, in particular his three spells that targeted human needs- pleasure, hunger, and sleep. He remembered how awkward Zeref and August had gotten when he asked for a better explanation for pleasure than, 'It renders those who have tasted pleasure in a state of pure bliss and unable to defend themselves.'
After several heated arguments, intense stare downs, and desperate pleas for someone else to explain, August and Jackal had fled the room as Zeref had a very awkward conversation with Natsu about the nature of 'pleasure'.
Natsu scrunched his face, the entire memory making him uncomfortable. He sighed, and said, "Well, at least I found out I'll be immune to one of his biggest attacks."
"Indeed," August said, nodding. I still can't believe I almost had to basically give my own uncle the 'talk'. "Your Majesty, do you know if the runes Lady Irene has in the arena will keep the audience from being-"
"They will." Zeref abruptly cut August off before sighing. "Sorry, that came out harsher than I meant it to. It's just... after that conversation with Natsu, I double checked the enchantments myself."
"A very wise move, Your Majesty."
"Alright, can we please talk about Larcade's attacks I'm actually gonna have to counter now?" Natsu said, simultaneously wanting to come up with a plan to deal with Larcade and get off the uncomfortable topic.
"The most certain way to overcome Larcade's magic is having a strong will." Zeref said. He smiled at Natsu, before adding, "And you have one of the strongest wills out of anyone I know, Natsu. Remember what you have your mind set on and the battle will be yours."
"I concur with His Majesty. Similar to how you found openings in God Serena's defenses, due to his arrogance, Larcade will likely not be prepared for the ways you and I have prepared to counter his strongest attacks. Be sure to use the element of surprise to your advantage."
"Yeah, I don't have anything that sounds as good as what they said, but I know you ain't going down easy. You can do this, boss!"
"Thanks guys. I'll win this, and we'll get started on curing Zeref's curse." Natsu grinned. "I'm all fired up now!"
So originally, I wanted to wrap up both battles with this chapter but the one with Larcade ended up being too long, so two it gets. I added a lot more than what I originally planned to the fight with Larcade, hopefully y'all enjoy it when it comes next week.
I'm always curious to hear everyone's thoughts, so, what did you think of the battle with God Serena and how it ended? How do you think the fight with Larcade is going to go?
Also, I just finished chapter 12 (objects in the mirror are closer than they appear :O) and it ended up being around 7000+ words... problem is I wanna keep the story moving and don't want to cut any parts! So that said, WOULD y'all prefer shorter chapters or are long chapters like that fine? Not every chapter will be that long, but it'll depend on... well, me, I guess. I'm still fairly new to this whole writing thing so I'm still trying to gauge what people like and don't like.
TUNE IN NEXT WEEK FOR THE DRAMTIC CONCLUSION TO NATSU'S BATTLES! :D See you then!