In the main chamber of the lair, I was making preparations for the next phase of my plans. And it all centered on The Book of Minion. But first, we needed light in here.
I took out a particularly large lacrima from my inventory, one that was about the size of a human. This takes me back. I obtained this from the Earth Elemental Dungeon.
I've let this particular lacrima sit out in the sun and moon light on the highest peak of Mount Hakobe for a couple weeks now, all to prepare for the spell I'm about to cast.
From the Holy Magic book, I was performing a ritual to create natural sunlight. I may be able to see perfectly in the dark, but I found this spell and wanted to give it a try. It'll be the first Holy spell I actually put into practice.
Following the instructions carefully, I cast the enchantment on the lacrima, reading the incantation as I held the book in one claw, and cast the spell with another.
The lacrima rattled, before it rose straight to the top of the massive cavern, radiating daylight. To confirm its effectiveness, I used Observe.
Solar Lacrima
A lacrima that radiates either sunlight or moonlight based on the time of day.
Now that natural lighting has been achieved, I can focus on this.
The Book of Minion…this is an interesting one. Unfortunately, it isn't a skill book I can consume.
To sum up, it allows for the creation of different creatures that will not only be bound to me, but will also be completely loyal to me.
The only problem is that its rituals require living souls. Which is what a few tamed velociraptor's I trained from the ARK are going to help me out with today. Hopefully. Who knew my Animal Handling skill would come in handy so quickly.
Using earthbending, I stomped on the ground, causing a pedestal to erupt from the stone floor.
I set the Book of Minion on the crude pillar, then thrust out my talon, bending a ledge up to form a table of sorts.
I placed several materials on it, including my shed dragon scales; several different ores and minerals, such as gold, iron, copper, and silver; various animal parts, including pelts, spider fangs, elephant tusks, and everything else I thought could be useful. I also placed the Cache of Ingredients here. It had a variety of materials I can use.
I've been periodically studying the Book of Minion. It details rituals, materials, and incantations for the creation of…well, minions.
It categorized each ritual by power, or rank, and each minion into classes. It doesn't create specific races or species. It's…weird. Each ritual, no matter its level of power or the number of minions it creates, requires a single living soul.
From bottom to top, the ranks are Mooks, Elites, and Lieutenants. Each one had several different classes you could imbue the minions with.
Mook classes were things like guards, soldiers, servants, merchants, engineers, etc. Each ritual for Mooks created 50 minions at most.
Elite classes included things like craftsmen, riders, warriors, priests, sorcerers, etc. These rituals created 10 minions.
Lieutenants had classes that went by names like Champion, Warlord, Archmage, Assassin, etc. They created one minion each, and were the strongest rituals the book contained.
Like I said, it's weird, and a little confusing. But from what I understand from the book, the ritual performed determines the minion's skillset, while the materials used determine its race and other potential abilities. Each ritual had a description for the skill sets it granted.
And lastly, each of these rituals consumed a great amount of magic power, even for the Mooks.
I'm starting with a Lieutenant class of being. I have the space, but not the resources to house fifty minions, so despite the amount of power it will require, I'm starting with a single minion.
I'll be creating a Hunter class
Hunter
The Hunter minion is a being with a highly resourceful and determined approach to trapping, stalking, and hunting prey. They are able to tame legendary beasts to do your bidding, are adept riders, and skillful in mounted combat as well as guerilla warfare. Their skill in tracking and wilderness survival is second to none.
The magic circle was drawn and the materials were set in their proper place. The velociraptor was knocked out and in the center of the circle.
Now for the moment of truth; will a dinosaur soul be enough or not?
I invoked the incantation, which drained my magic considerably. The circle glowed bright red before disappearing completely. The materials in the circle liquified, coming together on the now liquified raptor to form a kneeling humanoid figure, before seeming to evaporate away.
The steaming body of a female humanoid knelt before me. Patches of black scales, with a few red ones every now and then, covered her arms and legs. She also had a scaly, thin tail, as well as small horns peeking out from her black hair. Her ears were pointed like an elf's. She was garbed in light leather armor, armed with a knife, bow, and arrows.
"What is thy command, master?" She spoke in Draconic, using a quiet, feminine voice. If she rose to her full height, she'd tower above me. I'd say she's about six feet tall, with lean muscle adorning her figure.
Unnamed Minion
Race: Scaleborn
Class: Hunter
Level: 200
HP: 50,000
MP: 30,000
SP: 45,000
Unnamed, huh? We'll change that. And a Scaleborn? I tapped on her race title.
Scaleborn
Scaleborns look like a mix of a humanoid and reptilian creature (in this case, an elf and a dragon). This Half-Dragon subspecies takes on a more humanoid appearance with a few draconic/reptilian features such as patches of scales, wings, tail, horns, and/or claws. They are typically naturally gifted with magic, and tend to rely on a mix of might and magic both in combat and other endeavors.
This makes it seem like I mated with an elf and had a child!
I'm guessing her race is a product of my scales and magic, since it was used to activate the ritual. I have no idea where the humanoid stature came from, however, or the elven appearance. Definitely not the raptor!
Was an item I used something that gave her these characteristics? I did use a bow I obtained from the elven dungeon…a bow was required for this ritual.
Then, her stats. After using Observe on several civilians in Earthland, I determined the average amount of HP, MP, and SP is anywhere between 1,000 and 10,000.
Having an attribute above 10,000 would place you on Olympic levels back in my old world, if I had to guess.
Wizards in Earthland are absolutely insane. Or maybe the average person here is stronger due to the effect positive spiritual energy has on the body. Either way, this girl is far above average in everything.
"Come stand here," I told her. She rose at my command, standing off to the side.
Once she was out of the way, I followed the book's instructions for a ritual to create Elite class minions.
Riders
Highly mobile armsmen, who as beastmasters handle and ride creatures to guard, fight, and patrol. They are adept at taming and handling beasts of nearly all kinds. They can be deployed as cavalry during battle, or aid in transportation of supplies.
Using another raptor, this ritual ended up summoning ten Scaleborns, six females and four males, whose classes were Rider. Four out of the ten had black bat wings, similar to my own. I named each one of them. My hunter I named Zana.
"Listen well," I told them all, "You were all created to serve and cultivate a land and its creatures. Luxion here," I gestured to the floating orb of metal, "Will serve as your guide and leader. He will transport you to this land."
"Zana," I addressed her, "You are our chief hunter and survivalist. I want you to teach the ten of them how to hunt and survive."
"We understand, Master," Zana spoke for them.
"Excellent," I nodded, "You'll all need these for your assignment."
I supplied them all with weapons, equipment, and basic supplies, before sending them on their way. Luxion engaged the ARK's teleport sequence.
This first group of minions is to be a test. How they perform, grow, and interact will all be documented by Luxion. Their loyalty will also be tested. The harsh environment of the ARK will not only push their physiology to the limit, it will push their psychology as well. The results of this experiment will determine how I use the Minion Book in the future.
And how I prepare for the wars and battles to come.
As for myself…
I pulled out a black egg, one of three.
Time to raise some hatchlings.
As soon as Luxion finished teleporting us to the ARK, I flew over to the mountain that housed a cave system I cleared out to use for a temporary base.
Once there, I created a nest, one big enough for me to snuggly sit in. On that nest, I drew a heat rune and a protection from cold rune.
Then I wrote out a specific rune I made for this situation. An incubation rune. Basically, a temperature regulation spell.
Now comes the trippy part. I don't know if this'll work, but I wrote out a rune that, loosely translated, meant 'imbuement,' with the kanji for enhancement, arcane, incubate, and ability.
Then I placed the Alpha Fire Wyvern egg inside.
I want to hatch the Night Fury's, and begin training them, but I have no idea if those hatchlings will need some kind of milk or formula before they feed on solid food, and I want to test how runic magic will affect their hatching.
Which is why I'm using my wyvern egg as a guinea pig. There are an abundance of wyverns and wyvern eggs here in the ARK, I'm not too worried otherwise.
But there are only three Night Fury's. They'll be extremely rare, and if all of the eggs turn out to be one gender, then they'll soon go extinct here. I need to tread carefully and strategically here.
While the wyvern egg incubates, I'll be out hunting for food. Namely wyvern milk. How in the world am I gonna pull this off…?
I came back to the hidden cave nearly 4 hours later, my HP still regenerating.
Knocking out and milking a wyvern is hell! I'm not even going to go into the details, but finding the right scales hiding and protecting their…milk is not pleasant at all!
Oh, and fun fact, wyverns seem to be creatures that act like a herd. You attack one, they'll swarm you like wolves, using tactics that surprised even me.
Thankfully, I can use magic and they cannot.
Not long after I returned, however, the egg started hatching.
The wyvern hatched, and let me tell ya, she was massive! Definitely larger than me when I hatched.
And yes, it's a she. I can tell from her scent. No idea how. I'm chalking it up to draconic instinct. I named her Ember (so original, I know).
Ember
Race: Alpha Fire Wyvern
Level: 1
HP: 8,000
MP: 10
SP: 600
Though she's a newborn, she's my size. I don't know how long until she's fully grown, but that's part of the reason why we're here.
Her scales were an ashy silver color, while the membrane that made up her wings was a burnt sandy color, with black veins webbed throughout. Her body radiated heat, and I could've sworn her scales were smoking.
Her MP is low, but it was what I was expecting. Actually, I wasn't expecting this wyvern to have any at all, but it appears that my rune was somewhat successful. I gave her magic. If her fire breath works like it does in the original ARK game, it'll use SP instead of MP. Perfect.
Time to feed this girl. This darn milk better have been worth it!
A few days have passed, and Ember is growing quickly!
She's almost double my size, and is eating solid foods. She's also quickly taken a liking to me and Zana.
For the time being, I turned Ember over to Zana's care, tasking her and her squad of riders to take care of and train Ember.
Something else interesting about this wyvern: her level grows with her age as well as her experience.
Ember
Race: Alpha Fire Wyvern
Level: 11
HP: 12,000
MP: 510
SP: 1,000
She's developing rather well. At the rate she's going, she'll have more HP than me soon.
But now, it was time to hatch the Night Furys.
The "nesting runes" I used for Ember have been edited from my results with hatching her, along with a couple of raptor eggs I've hatched.
I restocked on wyvern milk, as painful as it was. I can't wait until Ember is fully mature, I should be able to get some from her then instead of going out in the wild to do it when she comes of age. Whenever that may be.
I used the milk, some select magic ingredients, and my budding skills in alchemy and herbology to create a formula I can feed them. I tested this formula on the baby raptors Zana and her team were starting to raise. It worked wonders!
The raptors who drank the formula in their infancy grew faster and stronger than those that didn't.
I also used runic magic to make sure it was safe for dragons to consume.
Confident that I was prepared, I set the black eggs inside the new nest. These eggs were small enough for me to sit near them in the nest, which I've also made a little bigger.
Once the eggs were placed and incubating, I sat next to them, gently wrapping my tail around them.
I lost track of how much time had passed before they started to wiggle. It must have been a few hours, but I didn't mind the wait. I was able to get some well deserved shut eye.
They all hatched within seconds of each other. Tiny wings, tails, and clawed legs cracked the black shells open. I roared and cooed at the three hatchlings as they opened their eyes for the first time.
They were…beautiful, to say the least.
One of them had green eyes, just like Toothless. Another had blue eyes, while another had red. Their scales were a mixture of mottled black. If I didn't have Darkvision I'd be hard pressed to even see them now in the dimly lit cave.
They all squeaked at me, wriggling and flapping their tiny wings as they walked for the first time. I put a stone bowl of the formula in front of them after taking them out of the nest. They sniffed it cautiously, before drinking it all down quite quickly.
When they were done, the red eyed one, who was male, started jumping and flapping up and down, as if to test his new body. He was a hyper one!
The green eyed one, who was female, coddled up to me, sitting down between my legs.
The blue eyed one, also a female, began walking around, curiously sniffing things, myself included.
Not one to be left out, the red eyed one started bouncing and climbing all over me.
"Well, aren't you a feisty one!" I snarled with a smirk. As soon as I snarled, the little runt squealed and jumped off, landing on the table and sending my supplies everywhere! A chunk of fish landed right in front of the blue eyed Night Fury, which she squaked indignantly at.
"Hey!" I called out, reaching up to grab the hyper-active hatchling. He leapt out of my reach, running around with a smile on his face.
"Why you little…" I spent some time chasing him, at first to entertain him, but the situation eventually evolved into all three of them running and hiding from me. These little devils are going to be thick as thieves!
I have to admit, there were times I was hard pressed to find them…
Maybe I should've thought this through more before hatching three kids.
Two hours later, I finally managed to put the hatchlings to sleep.
The red eyed one, and the oldest of the three, I named Thorn. He was promising to be a thorn in my side with his feisty, hyperactive attitude, so it seemed fitting.
The blue eyed one, the second born, I named Saphira, because her eyes reminded me of glistening sapphires. She was extremely curious, and was not afraid to dip her nose into new things. Literally.
The green eyed Night Fury I named Alva. She was the youngest of the three, and was much more mellow than her hatchmates, but she watched everything that took place between me and the other two with a surprisingly intent stare.
While they slept, I used Observe on them.
Thorn
Race: Night Fury
Level: 1
HP: 1,400
MP: 100
SP: 1,000
Saphira
Race: Night Fury
Level: 1
HP: 500
MP: 1,500
SP: 500
Alva
Race: Night Fury
Level: 1
HP: 800
MP: 500
SP: 1,200
Wow! Saphira has a lot of magic compared to the others! Their stats are pretty different from one another. I want to say it correlates with their personalities, but Alva didn't seem to have all that much stamina as her stats indicate here. She was the more docile of the three.
I watched them as they slept. They're breaths were slow, but quick to fill their tiny lungs. Thorn was on his back, his arms and legs twitching and kicking the air on occasion. Saphira and Alva were curled up around each other, their small tails twitching every now and then.
They're…cute. Looking at them now, it's hard to believe they have the potential to become the strongest of their race in the How To Train Your Dragon universe.
Either way…I'll provide these younglings with all they need to grow and survive.
Ironic, considering I'm barely qualified as a youngling myself.
"I must say," I said slowly, "I'm impressed."
"Indeed, sir," Luxion affirmed, "Their progress is remarkable, and they're exceeding our expectations."
Luxion had just finished reporting Zana and the rider squad's progress to me. They had begun building a small outpost in the Redwood Forest, had tamed several different animals, and had proven time and time again their loyalty and resourcefulness. I now had an ample supply of creatures to create more minions if I desired.
On top of this they had been training Ember as well, who had grown to be twice the size of a large horse in the last few months since she hatched.
I've noticed that all creatures who are native to the ARK grow quickly, even without my formula. It makes sense considering the harsh environment they're forced to survive in.
As for Thorn, Saphira, and Alva; they've been quite a handful. I wanted to make time to go dungeon hunting again soon and sneak back to Fairy Tail for a while, but I haven't been able to find the time.
They're growing up fast. At just a few months old, they weren't much bigger than a dog, but they have a natural aptitude for stealth, and are already able to shoot plasma blasts.
Thorn was the first to demonstrate this ability not even a week after hatching. He blew up half our food supply.
Those plasma blasts are deadly. The three Night Furys were barely bigger than a common house cat at the time, yet their blasts were strong enough to take out full grown velociraptors in one well aimed shot. It's insane.
Then again, these are dragons we're talking about.
"How goes the analysis on the Tek Engrams you found in the ARK's database?" I turned my attention back to Luxion.
"I have decoded the documents and their required materials, but not-"
CRASH!
"Ugh…" I rubbed the bridge of my snout, "Thorn! Cut that out!" I roared over my shoulder into the dark cave. The response to my roar was a fiery BOOM!
"Leave Alva out of your escapades!" I ran inside to teach that little sucker a lesson.
"Hm," Luxion said to himself, "So this is what raising a child is like."
A bolt of plasma shot in his direction, which he dodged promptly, though wispy red flames soon followed, the red light reflecting off his lens.
"You dragons can be such handfuls," He drawled out robotically under the sounds of roars and explosions.
The environment provided by the ARK is perfect for hardcore survivalist training, and provides ideal conditions for my long term plans. But it was high time I took a trip back to Earthland.
I left Thorn, Saphira, and Alva in Zana's care. By now, Zana and her group had essentially built a small community with the eleven of them, including the creatures they had worked to tame and raise.
With the resources they collected, they could hunt and defend against the majority of large predators that came after them. I must say, I'm impressed no one has been fatally injured yet.
They have yet to face off against a Tyrannosaurus, but I'm not convinced even I could take one of those out yet. They're massive, powerful, and smarter than they look!
All in all though, Zana and her team were doing so well that I felt confident enough to expand their numbers. Using much the same materials, I used the Book of Minion to create another squad of Elites to join them. They also came out as Scaleborns.
Craftsmen
If there is anything that needs to be built, invented, or engineered, these workers are top of the line. They are able to create and work in a multitude of crafting related fields, and are known to create top quality and rare items.
Ten craftsmen joined the riders and Zana (six males and four females), bringing their numbers to twenty-one, not including Ember, Thorn, Saphira, Alva, and the number of tamed dinosaurs in their camp.
Luxion would lead the craftsmen for now, and had them working on several different projects for the time being.
I, however, would be continuing my work elsewhere. I have a guildhall to visit.
Magnolia seemed to be as bustling as ever.
Dusk was upon us, and the setting sun cast a warm glow over the darkening city. Despite the approach of night, the townspeople could be heard and seen throughout the markets and restaurants.
In fact, there was one particular café where I saw a familiar woman with green hair and a dark haired man with a gun holster having a very lively conversation at an outdoor table. I smiled. It seems romance is finally budding in Alzack and Bisca's relationship.
Under the cover of my Hidden spell, I flew past Cardia Cathedral, taking in the sights. The streets were getting less and less busy as the sun set.
I flew over to the guild hall, perching on the roof. Using the Wall Crawling spell I learned from my grimoire, I crawled through an open window, hiding up in the rafters. I took care to muffle my steps, making sure my claws didn't make a clacking sound.
Mostly everyone had gone home already. Macao and Wakaba were sitting at the bar, which Kinana was closing up.
"Seriously?" Wakaba flinched as he looked over some papers with Macao, "How have we lost this much money already?"
"All of our strongest wizards are out of commission," Macao rubbed the bridge of his nose, "The highest paying job that's been done in the last few months was only a B-rank. At the rate this is going, we might not be able to even keep the guild hall…"
"That still doesn't explain all these expenses!" Wakaba pointed out.
"We had to pay everyone for helping us search for as long as we did," Macao sighed, clearly exhausted.
"It's still so sad…" Kinana sniffled slightly, as she wiped the counter down, "I really miss the master. He gave me a new home, and I never got to fully repay him…"
"Chin up, Kinana," Wakaba smiled at her, "The best way to honor his memory is to take care of the guild he loved so much. It's the best we can do for all of them."
"Romeo still hasn't given up hope," Macao smiled, turning to look at the guild's entrance, "He's still convinced he'll see Natsu walk through those doors one day."
"It's sweet to see…" Kinana smiled sadly.
"In any case, what are we going to do about this?" Wakaba gestured to the documents. I inched closer until I was right above them. The papers were all bills and receipts of some kind.
"We'll have to take out a loan…" Macao sighed, "Or try and cash in a few favors-"
I let a small brown pouch fall out of my inventory. It landed on the bar with a Chink.
"Huh?" Kinana looked over.
"What in the world…?" Wakaba looked up, nearly staring right at me. Or through me, considering my invisible state.
"Okay…" Macao looked up as well, before eyeing the small bag suspiciously. He tentatively reached out his hand, pulling it closer. As he opened it, his mouth dropped while his eyes widened.
"What the-!" He gaped.
"What is it?" Wakaba strained his neck to get a closer look, only to have his own eyes bug out, "Holy smokes!"
Inside the pouch was a humble selection of small gems. Little trinkets I've picked up along the way. It wasn't much but it should help.
"Wow…" Kinana looked up again, a smile forming on her face, "Guess someone really is looking out for us after all!"
Hm… I smiled, before making my way to the window.
"No kidding…" I heard Macao trail off distantly as I crawled out the window, taking to the skies once again.
As I flew, I began to question my decision with helping the guild keep itself together. These next seven years have been weighing on my mind quite a bit. I've been giving it a lot of thought.
In canon, Fairy Tail is literally put through the grindstone in the next few years.
I folded my wings in, diving down, landing on the tip of Cardia Cathedral. I gazed back at the guild hall.
Maybe…I should let it happen. Just watch and observe from afar. In the original story, when Natsu and the others return, they climb their way back to the top spot as Fiore's number one guild, and they become stronger because of it.
Their unity and loyalty also reached new heights. The seven years Fairy Tail struggled through literally hammered out 'impurities,' or disloyal members. They're literally forged and fired like how a blacksmith burns and hammers away at metal to make it stronger.
Raising Thorn, Saphira, and Alva the last few months has taught me that sometimes the best thing you can do to help is let the person struggle. I've come to love those three as if they were my own children, and at times it's hard to see them struggle.
But because I love them, I let them go through hard things so they're strong enough for what's to come. To give them the best opportunity to grow and become more than they are.
I want them to reach the potential I know they can reach.
Is that what I should do for the guild too? Or is there something else that I can do to make them strong?
The guild will be put through many battles in the future, whether or not canon actually happens. Zeref is out there, Tartaros is still scheming, and Acnologia is still on the loose. Is he even in Fiore anymore? Or Ishgar, for that matter?
That's not even mentioning the Dragon Gods or Alvarez!
I have to think of the guild as a whole. It pains me, but I might have to keep my influence to a minimum. For the strength of the guild I've come to love, the best thing for it now might be to see its name get dragged through the dirt. Crudely speaking, that is.
It was completely dark by now. The stars were out, though the moon isn't visible. It's a dark night.
A muffled crash caught my attention. I turned in the direction the sound came from.
I couldn't see anything, but I could hear hurried footsteps. Focusing, I also heard heavy breathing.
I cast my Seismic Sense spell. Closing my eyes, I could feel the vibrations of a young human running. Not far behind them, I felt more footsteps, running at a faster pace. I also heard voices.
"...can't believe you'd be so stupid!" A woman's voice, "Catch her!"
"It's not my fault!" A man's voice.
I chose to ignore the voices. Sounds like a married couple's squabble. Maybe chasing their kid?
I was about to take off again, when a young woman running barreled out of an alley; the same alley I felt the footsteps and heard the voices from.
What? I tilted my head. That's no child. She's young, sure, but no kid. She was also covered in bruises. In the darkness, I could see a purple glow emanating from her neck. It was magic. I could feel a small pulse of ethernano around it.
Two more humans, a man and a woman, rushed out of the same alley chasing her down.
This doesn't seem right…
"Stop!" The older woman chasing the younger woman demanded, reaching out her hand. The glow around the young woman's neck brightened slightly as the magic intensified. She grabbed at her neck in pain, tripping and stumbling as she fell to the ground.
Okay, that kind of magic has gotta be illegal. Illegal…maybe I should familiarize myself with the laws enforced around here.
"Little brat…" The man hissed, harshly gripping her wrist and hoisting her up.
"You have no room to talk," The other woman barked at him, "Your screw up almost cost us a fortune!"
"Sorry ma'am," The man flinched at her accusation.
"Don't be sorry!" She hissed, "Get her back to the Village before someone sees us!"
The man took out a potion vial, which he shoved down the young woman's throat. Her struggling body slumped not a second later.
I snorted. These two were chasing this girl, the girl is terrified, and there's a magic 'collar' around her neck. This is too obvious. How does no one else see this?
Now, what's this about a village? To my knowledge, there are no other villages or towns near Magnolia…not within walking or running distance at least. She called it the village. Is it a name for a place here?
I cast the Hidden spell, and dropped from the Cathedral, spreading my wings. I soared closer, following them from overhead.
They twisted and turned all around the backstreets and alleys, until they came across a dead end. To my surprise, they went right through the brick wall at the end of the alley.
Wow. I just got a wave of nostalgia. The way they passed through that wall reminds me of Harry Potter and Platform 9¾.
I dived down, landing right next to the wall. I pressed my talon against it, but was met with the resistance of a normal brick wall.
I know what I saw. They passed right through here. But I wasn't sensing any magic coming from the wall. Closing my eyes, I listened to the earth. The people I'm tailing were descending a staircase on the other side of this wall.
Did they have some kind of magic item that allowed them to pass through? Or maybe a mark of some kind…I didn't see them up close, so I can't be sure. Maybe this brick wall is enchanted, but it's arcane presence is hidden from even me? Is that possible?
Whatever the case may be, I have more than one trick to infiltrate a hideout with no door.
I pulled out my grimoire, searching for a particular spell…here it is. The Passwall spell. I love the diversity of the Warlock class. Definitely worth maxing out after this.
I cast the spell, which allowed me to create a temporary passageway through the wall. I also cast Pass Without Trace; not only was I invisible now, I also wouldn't be able to be tracked or sensed. As far as the physical world is concerned, I don't exist in this current space! Ha!
I carefully walked on all fours down the stairway, using my natural Seismic Sense to track down the two I've been tailing.
The stairway led to a large room filled with crates covered in tarps. A few of them I could tell were cages that held people, even though they were covered. .
Across the way, there was a door, one where voices were coming from. They got louder as I approached.
"...could you not know?" A burly man's voice barked, "You are a disgrace, Reg! You were sent with us as a guard, can't you do the one job you have right!?"
"Apologies, sir," The voice of the man I followed said.
"Honestly," The voice of the woman sighed, "You're lucky you're a talented fighter. Get out there and make sure no one escapes this time!"
"Yes ma'am," Footsteps approached the door. I slid to the side as it slammed open. The man called Reg had a scornful look on his face as he stomped into the room.
I watched him sit on a crate right next to me.
"High and mighty…pompous, self entitled rats…" He murmured to himself as the door creaked to a close.
I turned my attention to the conversation in the other room.
"Were you followed at all?" The burly man demanded.
"No," The woman sighed again, "Honestly, it's a miracle we got to her in time. One more second and I have no doubt she would've been screaming to the rooftops. I can't believe she nearly made it all the way to the church. Little skank is petite, but has a real pair of legs on her."
"We can't count on miracles," The man sneered, "We are the only branch of the industry in Magnolia, and the presence of the Fairy Tail guild makes the bossman reluctant to establish roots here in the first place!" He banged his fist on the table, "Damned guild wizards…"
"Do you realize what I've had to do to convince him to let me create this outpost!?" He nearly yelled, "If we screw up even once, we'll be sent to Bosco to work in the slave pens! I will not be humiliated like that, not after all this hard work!"
"I know, I was there," The woman retaliated, "Or did you forget who made all this possible? You know what I've done, too!"
Geez, this is getting heated. At the rate they're going they might take each other out. Good, it'd save me some time.
"I know, I know…" The man let out a long breath of air, "I'm sorry, honey…We just can't screw this up."
Oho, what's this now? These two are a couple? Really? Well, that's a curveball.
"I know," The woman said in a softer tone, "With the auction coming up, even I'm getting nervous. We need at least two more to meet our quota from the boss."
"There are plenty to choose from," The man smirked, "I knew it would be worth the work. Just look at the hot little numbers we've picked up. Magnolia is full of them!" He laughed, "And I've got the perfect candidate to help fill our quota! A few months ago there was a certain blonde Reg and I were eyeing, a real looker! She'd fetch millions, I'm sure of it! We tracked her down to Strawberry Street, near the Town Center market. Only problem is we haven't seen her in…"
I stopped listening. Strawberry Street? That's…that's Lucy's street. They couldn't be talking about…her…? Looking back in my memories, there were times I saw a man that looked like Reg walking up and down the street when I was with her.
I tuned back into the conversation they were having.
"...isn't a Fairy Tail wizard?" The woman asked, "You think it would be worth the risk?"
"With a body like hers, definitely!" The man laughed, "Those sleazebags in Bosco would go nuts at the sight of her alone!"
My talons tensed, slowly piercing the stone floor.
I've heard enough.
I dropped my invisibility spell; at the same time, my talon shot out to the side, effectively snapping an unsuspecting Reg's neck with a crack!
Whoops. Only meant to knock him out.
"What was that?" The man jumped up, reacting to the sound Reg's body made as it collapsed.
"Reg!" The woman called out, opening the door, "What's going…on…"
She trailed off, noticing the corpse of her decidedly incompetent guard with a very broken neck.
"Dear, we've got- AHH!" She screamed as I pounced on her with a roar, bashing her head against the ground. She was knocked out instantly.
I snarled. My eyes immediately narrowed at the star struck man in front of me.
"Honey!" He yelled, before sneering at me, raising his hand to cast a spell, "What the hell is-"
I shot my breath at his arm, burning his spell away while his arm got covered in mana burns.
"ARGH!" He agonized, bringing his arm to his chest, but before he could make another move, I leapt forward, bashing my horned head into his rib cage, knocking the wind out of him and cracking some ribs. He went flying into the wall before landing on the ground unconscious.
I took a deep breath. I wanted to crush these scumbags so badly. Ending their miserable lives would be a mercy! I tensed my talons, causing the ground to crack beneath me.
I inhaled deeply one last time. I eyed the two slavers with disdain, before marching into the other room.
I checked every cage. All the kidnapped people were unconscious. Snapping the bars off with metalbending, I used a basic levitation spell to send them up the stairway. This time I didn't bother being quiet. I used earthbending to literally shatter the brick wall, then set them all down gently. I didn't know how to disenchant their collars, so I just gently burned them all off with my breath.
I went back down the stairway to collect the unconscious bodies of that nasty couple. I have some interrogations to conduct.
A few months earlier…
Natsu's eyes were wide as they bore witness to the power that was Acnologia.
Watching a dragon's roar uproot half a forest was one thing; but to take on all of Fairy Tail's best and barely seem to notice…this was insane! Not even a full blast of Sky, Fire, and Iron Dragonslayer magic was enough to leave a mark.
"No…I'm supposed to be a freaking Dragonslayer," He clenched his fist, "So why in the hell couldn't I beat him!" He scrunched his eyes.
"All of that didn't even leave a scratch…" Lucy sniffed, tears stinging her eyes.
At the sound of her frightened tone, Natsu looked up at her. A sense of purpose, a sense of calm, had come over him.
"Are we really going…to…die, here?" Lucy covered her watery eyes.
"No," Natsu grabbed her hand, "Not today-"
Acnologia suddenly let out a roar so fierce, everyone froze in instinctual terror. The malice behind that roar would make the very gods themselves pause.
Almost too quick for the eye to see, Acnologia suddenly shot up into the air, cracking the earth beneath his feet. At lightning speeds that were too quick to track, the Black Dragon slammed back into the earth.
The impact broke the land around them, causing fissures and earthquakes throughout the whole island. Everyone went flying in different directions, screaming and grunting.
Natsu, who was holding Lucy's hand, pulled her into him as they went flying through the air. Before they even landed on the ground, another sudden gust of wind sent them flying even further back. Acnologia had taken to the skies again, and was inhaling deeply.
"Breath attack!" Natsu heard Gajeel's voice distantly as he and Lucy hit the ground hard, rolling into a large rock, which cracked as soon as Natsu hit it.
"Ow…" Natsu ignored the pain in his back in favor of inspecting Lucy, who was shaken but unhurt.
Lucy smiled softly at him, but not even a second later, the blue glow of Acnologia's breath attack made impact.
If not for the blinding light of destruction, Natsu would have thought it peculiar how Lucy's pink guild mark had started glowing.
As it were, however, the last thing he would recall was seeing the way the bodies of his friends would go flying in all directions, with all of them powerless to stop it.