Master of the Divine Fire
Chapter 2 - The Reckoning
Somewhere on Tenrou Island
"Come on, Yomazu. Let's go-peron," said a humanoid chicken by the name of Kawazu. This was one of two members of Grimoire Heart's B-team. They were skilled mages, about Low A-rank individually.
"Shut up, Kawazu. I'm still nursing a headache from that red headed bitch, Erza Scarlet." Said Yomazu, who was basically a humanoid goat in Samurai armor.
"Suck it up. We gotta find the Fairies camp. We can get some pay back on their wounded-peron." Kawazu pointed out.
"You have a point there, partner. They probably have some members that were wounded from fighting our guild. We can get our pay back on that Iron Dragon slayer who ate my sword and the blue haired bitch!" Yomazu said when suddenly they were cut off by something landing in front of them, kicking up a cloud of dust.
When the dust cleared, they saw that it was Naruto thought they still knew him as Zancrow. "Z-Zancrow!? What are you doing here?" Yomazu asked.
"Y-Yeah, we weren't expecting to see you, bwack bwack bwack." Kawazu added fearfully. Both of them feared Zancrow for the same reason most low ranks of Grimoire Heart did, Zancrow killed anyone that he thought was weak and bringing shame to the guilds name. Yomazu feared him for that, plus he was always afraid that one day Zancrow, or Naruto would remember his true self. Which none of the others present that day wanted. Yomazu trusted Master Hades' abilities but the thought still terrified him.
"I've been running around looking for more Fairies to roast! I just finished off their master and that lowly dragon hunter! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Naruto said as he used Zancrow's crazed personality to lull the two into a false sense of security. While it was true he had been running around, he had actually been killing off all the low rank mages of Grimoire Heart. Those low-life's deserved nothing but death.
"You-you killed their guild master!? Amazing!" Kawazu applauded.
"Well, I only finished him off, it was Master Hades who took him down. But still, the thought of killing more Fairies makes my skin tingle with excitement! HAHAHAHAHA!" Naruto said as he kept up the act.
"Now, follow me," Naruto said, "I know where their camp is where they are keeping their wounded! Let's go roast these Fairies for daring to mess with Grimoire Heart! HAHAHAHAHA!" Naruto hated keeping up the act but he needed to make this easier on himself. The two followed behind him as they ran for several minutes.
Kawazu after several minutes, looked at Naruto's back and noticed something odd. "Hey Zancrow, what happened to your guild mark?" Kawazu asked. Naruto stopped running and the two dark mages behind him stopped running as well, afraid the bird had said something wrong.
"It got burned off," Naruto said has he turned on his heel suddenly, firing a blast of black flames at Kawazu, "Along with any ties to this fucking Guild!" Kawazu couldn't react as he was hit with the black flames. They burned off the chickens feathers and cooked his insides. The screams of pain coming from the chicken died quickly as his burning corpse fell backwards hitting the ground.
Yomazu looked at his burning partner from his position on the ground in horror. He had sensed the danger coming and dodged at the last second, so he managed to avoid getting instantly deep-fried. Still, he looked in fear at Naruto with great fear in his eyes. "Zancrow, what are you doing!?"
"That's not my name! My name is Naruto Uzumaki!" Naruto said making Yomazu go still with terror and metaphorically shit his pants.
'Shit! He remembers! Master Hades seal has failed!' Yomazu thought with terror.
"And I want my powers back! You stole my magic from me and now I'm taking it back." Naruto said with a determined look.
"Well, you're not getting it back! The magic's mine now!"Yomazu said with renewed bravery as he got to his feet. He waved his fingers and wrote a kanji in the air. "Pierce!" Yomazu wrote the Kanji for it in the air and a beam fired at Naruto, aiming to pierce his heart. Naruto was not about to risk getting injured, so he dodged it.
"And that's not all! Slice!" Yomazu said as he wrote the Kanji for the word and swiped his arm, creating an airy slash that followed the trajectory of his hand. Naruto ducked under the slice that would have taken his head right off.
"You stupid goat! Flame God's Bellow!" Naruto shouted as he unleashed his breath attack at the humanoid goat, releasing a massive fireball at him.
"Wall!" Yomazu shouted as he wrote the Kanji for it, creating a strong defensive wall that blocked Naruto's breath attack.
That was all the distraction Naruto needed though, as Naruto appeared right behind the goat, Yomazu's eye's widening in horror. "You're wide open, dumb ass! Flame God's Hephaestus Hammer!" Zancrow shouted as black divine flames gathered in both of his hands. He clasped both of his hands together in a tight double hammer fist and swung them down onto Yomazu head, both smashing him into the ground and creating a destructive circular wave of black fire around them, kicking up a tower of dust and dirt. The dust cleared quickly and Naruto saw the giant hole in the goat's skull, his head cracked open like and egg, brain's, bone and blood spilling out.
"Can't believe that stupid goat actually thought he had a chance against me." Naruto thought to himself as he plunged his hand into the body and ripped out the red lacrima with the kanji on it. Naruto then burned the lacrima and ripped it open, the magic contained in the lacrima exploding outward before rushing back to the body of it's true owner. Once this stopped, Naruto took a deep breath and was pleasantly surprised at the increase in his powers.
"Good, that's one down, 3 to go." Naruto thought as he looked to the direction of the Fairy Tail camp for the wounded. He sensed that Kain Hikaru and Rustyrose were traveling towards the same destination. He needed to get there before those two killed Mira, as that was likely what they were up to.
Later
Fairy Tail Camp
"The 7 Kin of Purgatory have come calling. My name is Rustyrose. I spy a feast of dreams waiting to be devoured." Rustyrose said in his usual dramatic way.
"We need to protect our friends." Levy said.
"There's no way I'm letting one of those creeps lay a finger on my big sister." Lisanna agreed.
"I can't maintain my Battle-form for very long. We'll need to end this quickly." Pantherlily said as they prepared for a fight.
"2 young ladies and a cat guarding the infirmary. Oh dear, and here I was hoping to be involved in a more ethic battle." Rustyrose complained dramatically. "Oh well, if this is the hand fate has dealt, then I shall play it unencumbered by mercy."
"I don't understand it. How can you people prey on the defenseless!?" Levy demanded. "Did you get to be the strongest Dark Guild by preying on the weak?"
"It had to be done. Those poor souls would never survive the Grand Magic World." Rustyrose explained, " So we are simply helping nature run it's course by speeding along the inevitable."
"You'll never create an ideal world by killing everyone that you think doesn't deserve it!" Pantherlily said angrily.
"That's exactly what the king in Edolas was trying to do and it didn't work out for him." Lisanna mentioned.
"Then you should use your righteous conviction to try and stop me." Rustyrose said as he prepared to attack. "For the most effective weapon against darkness is the light you claim to wield."
Calling forth his Jet Black Sword, Rustyrose slashed it forward in a frenzy, causing Lisanna, Levy and Pantherlily to be knocked crudely to the ground. Looking up at the assailant with dread, before they could be attacked again, Rustyrose was sent soaring from the side until he coarsely collided with surrounding trees, bushes, and the ground. Unable to conceal their shocked expressions, they strained to see who it was that had sent their foe flying. From his place amidst the dirt, Rustyrose glanced up and glowered, "Who dares silence my symphony!?"
"Up here, dumbass!" came a voice Pantherlily dreaded to hear. Everyone looked up to see Naruto, hovering above them as jet's of concentrated black flame appeared under his feet.
"Oh no! It's him!" Pantherlily said in worry from his position.
"Who is he?" Levy asked.
"His name is Zancrow. He's one of the 7 kin, like the other guy, and earlier he beat Natsu." Pantherlily informed the girls.
"What!? But how?" Lisanna asked.
"Apparently, he's a Flame God Slayer. I don't pretend to know what that means but he used flames that Natsu couldn't eat. He beat Natsu without getting a scratch on him." Pantherlily said.
Lisanna was reminded of the cute boy who had been Mira's friend when they still lived in that village. Naruto had learned Flame God Slayer Magic while trying to protect Mira and her siblings from the village. Lisanna wondered what happened to him as she looked at the hovering man before her.
"Zancrow, why are you interrupting my battle?" Rustyrose questioned as he watched Naruto glare at him.
"You have something that belongs to me, thief." Naruto said in a calm manner. Rustyrose narrowed his eyes for a moment before they widened and he smirked.
"I see, so Master Hades seal has failed then. The shackles of the crazed Zancrow bind you no longer, Naruto Uzumaki," Rustyrose as he adjusted his glasses. Lisanna gasped when she heard Naruto's name uttered
"That's right you overly dramatic cunt. Now give me back my magic that you stole from me!" Naruto shouted as he flew at Rustyrose, his right hand covered in dense black flames. "Flame Gods Righteous Fist!"
"In my left hand is a Golden Shield through which no attack shall ever pass!" Rustyrose said quickly as he used the Arc of Embodiment to create a golden kite shield to block Naruto's attack. While the shield stopped the fist from hitting Rustyrose's face, the force behind the blow sent Rustyrose flying.
Naruto flew up into the air before killing the jets on his feet and falling towards Rustrose, black flames gathered on his right leg. "Flame Gods Heavenly Axe!" Naruto spun in the air so that his falling Axe Kick would fall dead center upon Rustyrose's head and split his skull open like a melon with a single blow.
"On my feet appear Pegasus Wings," Rustyrose said as wings appeared on his feet and he flew into the air, narrowly dodging the death blow. The impact of Naruto's attack shattered the ground that he impacted, creating a large crater.
"You cannot defeat my rich imagination, Naruto. It is a wellspring of infinite power." Rustyrose boasted as Naruto before he summoned one of his creations. "Come forth my Sacred Guardian Beast: Belfast the Hurricane. May your mighty gusts sing through his bones." With that, a giant wyvern-like creature appeared out of thin air, shocking the 3 Fairy Tail mages, along with Freed and Bickslow, who just arrived. Unbelievable in the eyes of Pantherlily, he could not imagine how anyone would be able to defeat a guy that can bring imagination to life.
Standing to the side, but making their presence known, approached Freed and Bixlow. Levy beamed with joy at this sight and cried, "Freed! Bixlow!"
"What are you two doing here?" Pantherlily asked, astounded that the two hadn't already left the island as they claimed they would.
Freed answered Pantherlily's inquiry. "We saw the signal flare, and so we returned here along with Gildarts. Now, what is going on?"
"That guy with the glasses showed up and attacked us but then the blonde showed up and they started fighting each other. They're both from the 7 kin." Pantherlily said, while Lisanna looked at Naruto as he walked out of the smoke, and saw his face. That confirmed it for her as she gasped. His hair might be longer but she could still recognize the face of the sweet boy that was so kind to her sister and her and Elfman.
"I'll make quick work of that freak of yours," Naruto said as he summoned a kanji in front of him, shocking Levy as the memory of Yomazu and Kawazu and what they did to Gajeel and her hadn't been forgotten yet, "Shatter!" The Kanji appeared on Belfast and the monster shattered into tiny pieces.
Witnessing the annihilation of his beloved creation, Rustyrose was left awestruck, stuttering, "Th- that is I- im- impossible..." Not allowing Rustyrose to collect himself, Naruto and pummeled him in the face several times, breaking Rusty's glasses before blasting him in the face with another Flame Gods Righteous Fist, breaking Rusty's jaw and sending him flying into a nearby stone wall.
"Flame God's Bellow!" Naruto called as he unleashed a massive fireball of black flames upon the fallen Rustyrose, unleashing a black inferno upon the drama club reject. The black flames cleared and Rustyrose emerged from the flames with his Golden Shield up, thought his upper body was now exposed and badly burned. Of course, Naruto had toned down the killing power of his attacks since he wanted Rustyrose's body intact so he could extract the lacrima containing his magic from him.
As Rustyrose rose to his feet, Lisanna and Pantherlily were only able to watch in silence, being amazed to the point of being speechless. During the fight, Evergreen had awoken and watched the battle.
Smugness was easily perceived by his smile as Naruto coldly sneered down at him, "Get up. I was hoping for at least a decent warmup for Azuma and Bluenote."
Sensing no mercy from his adversary, Rustyrose felt a disconcerting sensation take hold of his heart. He wondered, "Could this feeling in my heart be… fear?"
Taking heed to Naruto's proposition, Rustyrose gradually pushed himself up back upon his feet. While getting up, he thought, 'Heh, maybe this fear that I'm feeling isn't that bad.' Looking up once again at his adversary, Rustyrose remade his glasses while having a suspiciously pleased expression. Pleased to the point to where he was almost euphoric, Rustyrose announced aloud, arms spread out wide, "Fear just gives more inspiration for my imagination! Ghosts of Brittia!"
A purple mass of constantly moving faces swallowed Naruto and Rustyrose. Cackling and wailing could be heard from every direction. These ghosts wrapped their immaterial selves around the body of Naruto, leaving him fast in place, despite his struggles to get free with his physical strength from the hindering tangles. Taking advantage of his immobility, Rustyrose fell back again upon his Jet Black Sword as his preferred method of attack. Charging forward, Rustyrose planned to fully utilize his upper hand.
"Raahh!" Naruto shouted as he unleashed an inferno from his body stopping Rustyrose from attacking any further. His black flames burned the Ghosts to ash and he was able to move again.
Freed and Bixlow collapsed at that moment as if they were exhausted, even though they possessed great power and vitality less than a minute before. Within both their bodies, Freed and Bixlow could feel their magic draining; taking what seemed to be life force with it. From what the two could tell, it wasn't just them that were affected, but also those nearby. Levy, Lisanna and Pantherlily panted upon the ground, and those who were injured seemed to be fraught in their sleep as the strain pressed even more harshly upon their bodies.
'What could have possibly caused this?' Freed thought weakly, inhaling deep yet short breaths, his vision becoming unfocused.
'Shit, Azuma started that already?' Naruto thought with worry. Now that he had taken out the Tenrou tree, the Fairy Tail guild would lose their divine protection as well as enhanced magic power. The Fairy Tail wizards would feel like they were losing their magic power for and while they would readjust to their normal magic power, that wouldn't matter if they were in a life or death battle.
"I need to finish this quickly." Naruto said to himself as Rustyrose summoned his Sacred Guardian Beast: Belcus the Thunderclap. Naruto raised his hands and and slammed then into the ground. "Flame Gods Rushing Phlegethon!" Naruto unleashing a tsunami-like sea of black fire that surged forward from where his hands hit the ground, consuming Rustyrose creation and managing to snag Rusty's legs as he was not able to get his Pegasus wings back out in time. Everything the tsunami of fire touched was reduced to ash.
Before Rustyroses's entire body was consumed, Naruto canceled the spell and flew toward him with his jets and caught Rustyrose by the throat. "Curse you, Uzumaki! You are a blight upon the 7 kin!" Rustyrose shouted, even though both his legs had been burned off.
"I don't give a damn." Naruto retorted as he plunged his other hand into Rusty's body and ripped out the lacrima. Rusty's scream at having it forcibly extracted from his body were shortlived as the shock of it killed him. Naruto repeated the process he did with Yomazu, resulting a massive increase in power. He was now twice as strong now.
"Naru-to," Lisanna struggled to say from her position on the ground thanks to the sudden loss of her magic.
"Been a long time, Lisanna-chan," Naruto said with a smile, shocking her as he remembered her. "I had heard you had died several years ago. I'm happy to see that is not the case."
"I never really died, Naruto-nii-san. It's kind of a long story." Lisanna admitted before yelping in surprise when he picked her up bridal style.
"Well, after this thing with Grimoire Heart is all over, you can tell me all about it." Naruto grinned, while Lisanna turned away in embarrassment and so he couldn't see her blush from how handsome he had gotten. In fact, copies of him picked up the fallen Fairy Tail mages and brought them under the infirmary tent before he cast Flame God's Blessing of Apollo on the Fairy Tail mages present.
'Amazing, it feels like my wounds are vanishing, like they never happened! Naruto-nii-san is so skilled!' Lisanna thought with awe.
'His healing ability far exceeds Wendy-chans!' Levy thought.
'Our Magic power…' Bickslow thought.
'…Is returning!' Freed thought, unknowingly finishing Bickslow's thought.
'What is up with this guy?' Lily thought as his wounds were healed, 'He nearly killed me and the others before and now he's helping?'
Naruto sat on his knees next to Mirajane, who was healing like the others, lightly stroking her cheek. Despite being unconscious, she unconsciously leaned into his hand. Naruto smiled down at her while thinking, 'She's grown into an amazing woman.' He thought, as he remembered what he had read about her and how she changed from her more punkish self.
"She missed you, you know," Lisanna told him, causing him to look at her with a curious look. "We all did. Naruto-kun, why didn't you come with us?"
"That's…not something I want to get into right now." Naruto admitted. "I promise I will tell you all, but I would rather tell everyone at once, okay?" Lisanna could do little but nod.
"Lisanna, before I go, tell me something." Naruto said with a low and dangerous tone. "Who did this? Who hurt you? Who hurt my Mira?"
Lisanna noted how he said 'his Mira', like his feelings were stronger than friendship, or maybe they had evolved into something else over the years. She knew her sister feelings for him had developed into an unfulfilled longing and that was the reason Mira never went out with anyone. Mira might have been able to get over Naruto before Lisanna's 'death', but that sent her even more into romantic isolation. "I didn't catch his name, but he used the tree's as weapons and could make them explode. He trapped me and forced Mira-nee-san to fight if she didn't want me to explode." Lisanna told him.
"Azuma," Naruto growled in anger as he then stood up. Naruto had been planning to make Azuma's death a quick one, but now he was gonna drag it out and make him suffer before he dies.
"I should probably fortify the camp before I leave." Naruto said. as he concentrated his magic power and unleashed another creation with his Arc of Embodiemnt. "Great Wall of Albion!" A ring of bright light shined around the camp before it formed itself into a 40 foot tall, 20 foot thick wall of steel, complete with equally thick steel gates and guard towers. Images of fairies ready for battle covered the walls entirety and fairy statutes lined the ramparts. The five Fairy Tail Wizards were in complete shock at his magnificent spell, while it dawned on everyone that he was indeed on their side.
"I've healed all your wounds and given you some of my magic energy so you can defend yourselves. I'll be back once Grimoire Heart is taken down." Naruto said as he activated his flame jet's and flew into the sky to track down Azuma. Naruto was not worried about Kain finding the place as Naruto had already killed him on the way here.
With Azuma and Erza
"Titania, you have my word that if you are able to beat me, then I will return the tree back to its original state. This will also revive your friends." Azuma deliberately put emphasis on the word if. Whether it was the challenge or the mention of her comrades that caused Erza to tighten her grip on the hilt of her sword, he did not care. As long as it had the desired effect: motivation for Erza Scarlet to fight earnestly while not holding anything back.
With these being the requirements that Erza deemed necessary, there was only one specific selection of armor and weapon that could fulfill her needs. Activating her Requip Magic, a white glow enveloped Erza and even before it fully faded, crimson color could be seen through it. With the dying glow, it was revealed that Erza wore nothing but baggy red pants, which Azuma immediately assumed to be the crimson he saw, and bandages that bound her chest. There was nothing to be sensed of the pants, nothing magic at all. In her hand Erza held a katana that seemed to have no blemish. Rather than it being just well cared for, it seemed that it was rarely used. With a final whip of her ponytail as the last of her re-equipment ended, Erza opened her eyes. With nothing evident but conviction, she stated, "I have no need for armor, only my sword."
That said, Erza charged forward in a rush. All her power, her strength, she collected into her sword, Demon Blade Crimson Sakura. This vow, one she wished to print into her heart and his, Erza swore, "I cannot lose for my guild's sake."
With a smile, Azuma urged, "Come!" When within a close enough range, she commenced her strike. However, branches weaved around her, trapping her in place. In those conditions Erza could not do anything but strain herself in useless struggle to bring her arms down and her sword along with them.
Azuma decided to take advantage of how Erza bore armor with no feature that assisted in giving protection of any kind. Casting his next spell as if it were a battle cry, Azuma declared, "Terra Clamare!" The titanic explosion with a screaming face on it consumed Erza.
Then, all of sudden, they heard a slurping sound and watched as the fiery explosion was sucked away for several moments, devoured with a burp. Azuma was annoyed as he didn't like what this meant while Erza briefly imagined it was Natsu, only to be somewhat disappointed.
"Ah, nothing like a midday meal in the middle of the hunt," Naruto said as he patted his belly. Consuming that blast had not just restored all the magic he had used up today, and between his 3 majors battles and hunting down all the pests of Grimoire Heart, he had used up alot. He was now overflowing with magic energy.
"Zancrow, don't get in my way!" Azuma said in annoyance as Zancrow prevented him from finishing off his opponent. Then Azuma say something in Zancrow's eyes. Zancrow's normal expression in his eyes was crazed, even when he appeared to be calm. But this look was brimming with cold fury, waiting to erupt, boil over and explode to consume anyone dumb enough to be close by. Then, there was the obvious changes, like the fact that his magic energy way higher than it was supposed to be.
"Master Hades seal on you failed, didn't it? Naruto Uzumaki," Azuma said, his body tensing as he prepared for another fight. Erza, meanwhile, wondered what was happening.
"Damn right it did! Now lets go!" Naruto said as he unleashed Flame God's Bellow At Azuma. The ensuing explosion caught some of the branches that held Erza in place, allowing her to break free. Azuma skidded back along a giant branch, feeling the burns on his skin. He was a severe disadvantage, as during his fight with Mira and Erza, he was down to 40% percent.
Erza landed safely on one of the tree branches, while she watched the fight. 'What's going on? Aren't they both members of the 7 kin of Purgatory? Why are they fighting each other?' Realizing something bigger must be going on, she decided to get a closer look.
"Try this. Pierce!" He shouted as a kanji appeared in the air and a beam shot towards Azuma, who jumped back to avoid it. Naruto fired several more of beams from the Kanji in rapid succession, with Azuma dodging in rapid succession to avoid being turned into a pincushion.
"Behind ya!" Azuma's eyes widened as he turned to see Naruto behind him. Acting quickly, Azuma unleashed a Bleve, attack blasting Naruto before the small fireworks the initial move left behind exploded, dealing further damage. Azuma received no warning, except for the shout of "Flame God's Righteous Fist!" The black flame covered fist smashed into Azuma's face, sending him flying from the branch he was on and into another tree.
Azuma felt the pain of the magic enhanced punch and he was shaking with anticipation. Naruto was much stronger than he had ever been. Azuma lived for combat and fighting worthy opponents. Earlier that day, he fought Mira and he was in middle of fighting Titania Erza. But that punch just now told Azuma that Naruto was strongest he had ever faced. The thought made him tingle with excitement.
Ignoring the burn on his face left by Naruto attack, Azuma called out his own attack, "Tree Fist!" Azuma summons a massive clenched fist from a tree that rushed at Naruto.
"I never liked that overly dramatic cunt Rustyrose, but since I'm in good spirits," Naruto said with a shit-eating smirk as his hand glowed with magic, surprising Azuma. "In my right hand is a blade forged in the darkest abyss of the Underworld. Shadow Scythe!" Naruto's entire right forearm and hand were replaced with a black, wicked looking scythe, with shadows coming off of it. Naruto sliced through the tree fist and jumped toward Azuma. Azuma summoned roots to try to capture Naruto and hold him, but Naruto managed to dodged most of these. One of them was able to grab Naruto's scythe, and Azuma thought he could then capture Naruto, but the scythe stopped being solid at that brief moment, passing right through the root. Naruto was able to land infront of Azuma and swung his scythe arm at him. Azuma summoned several thick roots to block the attack and Naruto managed to cut through all but one. With the final root, Naruto turned his scythe intangible again and sliced at his adversary unencumbered, cutting Azuma above the eye, who jumped back at the last second to avoid being decapitated.
'Dang. It was a shallow cut.' Naruto thought his hand went back to normal. 'Still, even shallow cuts above the eye like that bleed profusely. He won't be able to keep fighting for much longer.'
'What magic is that?' Erza wondered as she marveled at Naruto magic. She was still contemplating whether to get involved or not.
"I see," Azuma said as he wiped the blood from his face, "You've already hunted down Yomazu and Rustyrose."
"And Kawazu, Kain, and all the low-ranked members of Grimoire heart. You know how this goes." Naruto said with some glee at getting his long awaited revenge on Grimoire Heart.
"And so you plan to fight Bluenote before going after Master Hades. That is, assuming you can beat me." Azuma said with grin.
"I most definitely will beat you. There is no scenario where you walk away from this fight alive. My victory is assured." Naruto said, completely assured of his own victory.
"Getting a little cocky, aren't you Naruto? You may be stronger now, but I control all the magic of Tenrou Island." Azuma said, as that was true since he felled the tree.
"That doesn't mean shit. I know my magics better than any of you ever will. Half of your attacks can't hurt me and only serve as a meal, while the other half isn't strong enough to fell me. You can't beat me with my own magic. Now, let's bring out an old friend!" Naruto said as he clapped his hands together, concentrating his magic power and using it to create another construct.
But this one was not like the other. "Come forth, Green Beast of Konoha, Rock Lee!" Naruto called, utilizing what could some scholars would consider the greatest strength of Arc of Embodiment. A flash of light appeared and Rock Lee appeared, just as Naruto knew him.
'Who is that? How did the blonde bring him here? Is he a summoner of some kind?' Erza wondered before she deadpanned at Lee's appearance, 'And what is up with that awful green suit?'
Azuma eyed Rock Lee, not caring about appearances. "So, now you're not going to fight me yourself?" Azuma asked Naruto, displeased with this, as he was starting to actually have fun.
"Trust me, Lee's plenty strong for dealing with you." Naruto said before he chuckled and smirked to himself. 'I've been waiting to do this for a long time!' "Yes, LEE! Your enemy lies before you! Go forth, and let the POWER OF YOUTH EXPLODE!" Naruto said enthusiastically, mimicking Might Guy.
"Yes, sir!" The construct of Rock Lee said with the same fire in his eyes that the original had. He jumped forward in a burst of speed, disappearing from sight, as Naruto created this version of Lee with his weights off. Lee reappeared on the branch that Azuma was on and landed a solid right hook to Azuma's cheek and sent him flying. As Azuma got up to his feet, he was struck again with a roundhouse kick. He tried to anticipate the next attack and punched toward Lee, but Lee appeared behind Azuma and shouted, "Leaf Hurricane!" Azuma was able to block the first strike but he could not stop the second lower kick that blasted him in the gut.
'How is this possible!? Rusty's creations could never push me this far!' Azuma thought in pain.
'This is perhaps one of the greatest strength's of Arc of Embodiment.' Naruto thought as he watched Lee beat the shit out of Azuma. 'Nothing created by the magic is technically alive, but I can make organic creations. The greatest part of this is that I can make exact copies of people I know, complete with personalities and fighting abilities. Of course, there are weakness's to this. It only works well with people who's abilities I knew intimately, like Sasuke or Lee's for example. Using someone I don't know well would make the construct much weaker.'
"Hey Titania," Naruto said, surprising Erza as she figured they had forgotten she was there. "Get up here. I want to talk to you for a bit." Erza contemplated not listening and staying a distance away from the fight, since Naruto was softening up Azuma for her. But then again, Naruto's creation was currently wiping the floor with the man. Finally she settled on speaking with him and hopped onto the branch he was on.
"Nice to meet you officially, Erza Scarlet. I'm Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto greeted as he extended his hand out for her to shake. She opted not to. "Geez, you're a real buzz kill."
"No offense, but you appear to be one of the Seven Kin. You'll forgive me if I appear hesitant to embrace you in friendship." Erza pointed out.
"I'm merely explaining the situation here. Azuma is marked for death, so you don't need to be here. GO and help your friends." Naruto said before he summoned his Shadow Scythe again to block Erza from attacking him with her sword.
"I can't let you do that! I need to be the one ot defeat if he's going to uphold his word and return my friends magic to them!" Erza said with a righteous fury as she could not allow her friends to stay without magic.
"And I need to get my magic back! The magic Azuma uses is one he stole from me! Once I extract the lacrima from him and take my power back, I will return Fairy Tail's magic to them! Now get out of my way!" Naruto shouted as he kicked Erza in the stomach, sending her flying back, hitting a tree in the process.
Erza tried to get up but found she could not. 'I can't move!' she thought in worry before she saw a kanji on her stomach.
"Immobilize," Naruto stated. "You won't be able to move so long as that is on you. I'm sorry about doing this, but you left me little choice. If anyone is going to kill the bastard that hurt Mira and Lisanna," Naruto trailed off as he saw Lee about to perform a Primary Lotus on Azuma, "it's going to be me!"
"Flame God's Heavenly Axe!" Naruto said as he coated his left leg in black flames before he slammed it into Azuma's back, causing him to spit out blood and smash through several trees. Naruto dispelled his Rock Lee copy and fly towards Azuma at top speed.
Azuma pulled himself up and saw Naruto rushing at him. "Ramus Sica!" Azuma said as he used a spell that unleashes a flurry of sharp branch blades that home in on, and attack, the target. Unfortunately for Azuma, his spell didn't work and a split second later, Naruto's head smashed into Azuma's stomach, causeing spit to fly from his mouth. Naruto socked him hard in jaw, and Azuma could feel the his jaw starting to break. Azuma rose to his feet and tried to punch Naruto, but Naruto caught the fist and broke it, before he pulled Azuma's arm out, locking the elbow joint out, and then smashed it between his own elbow and kneeing, breaking Azuma's elbow joint as well, causing him to cry out in pain. Naruto punched Azuma hard in the face, making sure to punch him on the side with his burn mark, before kicking the backside of his head with flame encased foot. Naruto then slammed him back into the tree, creating a crater, before he Spartan-kicked in the chest, causing the Dark Mage to cry out in more pain. While thinking, 'Why I can't I use my magic!?'
"You're probably wondering where all your power went," Naruto said to him as he gripped him by the throat and pulled him out of the crater, holding him high above his head, " When I kicked you earlier, I put a Seal on you with my Oriental Solid Script. Basically, I sealed away your magic energy, preventing you from using it. And Now, I'm taking it back." With that, Naruto plunged his hand into Azuma's stomach and ripped out the lacrima, tossing him down and reabsorbing his power. A bright green aura surrounded Naruto as all the trees around them seemed to grow thicker and were more full of life.
"Hahahahahahaha! That's much better! Now, I just need to hunt down Bluenote. I'll let Gildarts soften him up for me." Naruto said as he snapped his fingers and all of the magic energy being kept from the Fairy Tail members returned to them. Gildart's magic would destroy any spell that Bluenote could use, so there was no way he was going to win. While Naruto liked his chances against Bluenote, he needed save his energy for Hades. Especially since he planned to beat Hades at his best. Once Naruto had his full power back, he was sure even if Hades used his Devil's Eye, Naruto would still win.
Naruto heard a groan and saw Azuma crawling towards him. "Well," Naruto said as he put kicked Asuma back into the tree, "You're still alive. I have to give you credit. You're a tough one." Naruto snapped his fingers and tree roots wrapped around Azuma's limbs and neck, pulling hi tight against the tree. Another snap of his fingers and the kanji on Erza disappeared, allowing her to move again.
"Hey, Titania," Naruto said, getting her attention, "I just gave your friends their magic back. Now get outta here. They need your help. Azuma is no longer your concern." Erza looked like she might want to object but from what she saw, she knew Azuma was going to die. She also thought he was right, as her friends needed her help, so she turned away and left Azuma to his doom.
"I was going to kill you quickly before, but after I found out what you did to Mira and Lisanna, I decided that I was going to make your death last just a little bit longer. You will not get the satisfaction of a warriors death, but you will instead die like a dog! Pain!" Naruto said as a Kanji briefly appeared on Azuma's body.
"Guh!" Azuma grunted, as he felt an intense pain shot through his body. "W-What...the hell...is this?! My whole body...f-feels like i-it's on fire!"
"That Kanji overloads your pain receptors, amplifying the pain you feel." Naruto explained, snapping his fingers. Moments later Azuma out, as pain racked every inch of his body.
"Terror!" Advancing towards Azuma, Naruto wrote another kanji across his chest. This time Azuma cried out in horror, as he thrashed around, his head thrashing around with tears in his eyes.
"Agony!" When Naruto wrote a new Kanji onto Azuma's chest, the dark-skinned Kin of Purgatory let out a bloodcurdling scream.
"Pain!" Naruto slashed his sword across Azuma's chest rewriting the Kanji. "Pain!" Again, Naruto slashed Azuma across the chest, a fresh wave of pain arching through the large man's body. "Pain! Pain! Pain! Pain!" Naruto chanted, as he unleashed a flurry of Kanji onto Azuma. Howling out in pain, Azuma felt his entire body starting to go numb, his consciousness slowly slipping away.
"Don't go losing consciousness on me!" Naruto said as he grabbed Azuma and flew upwards towards the sky, running Azuma face along the bark of the tree, scratching it up before letting him go, throwing him even high into the air, before flying behind and slamming his elbow into Azuma's back, breaking his lower spine, causing a scream of agony to erupt from his lungs as he fell back to the earth, bouncing off of tree branches, injuring him further until he hit the solid ground of the forest floor.
"Hmph," Naruto voiced as he landed a few feet from Azuma. "Before you die, I want to show you what a true master of Great Tree Arc can do. Great Tree Golem!" Clapping his hands together, Naruto created a giant statue-like creature made out of wood. The humanoid creature with a thick muscular body and the face of an Oni had an eastern serpentine dragon sticking out of its torso.
The golem picked up Azuma, crushing some more of his ribs as it grasped him, causing Azuma to further cry out in pain. Naruto then opened his palm, the golem doing the same, before raising his other hand, ready to crush Azuma's body to paste between the golem's hands. "Say Goodbye, Azuma."
Azuma's looked up in fear, no longer the man that loved battle. After all, it's not so fun when you can't fight back. "Ah! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-" Azuma's scream of terror, amplified by Naruto's Terror Kanji, was cut short when Naruto silenced him forever, smashing his open palms together, the golem mimicking his movements and doing the same, smashing Azuma's broken body to red paste.
"Now, for Bluenote," Naruto said as he dispelled the golem and flew up into the air to track down Bluenote.
Then, comical confusion was written on his face when he saw something flying towards the sky. Naruto created a set of binoculars to see who it was and was comically shocked that is was Bluenote. "Holy Shit!" Naruto said in surprise, "It's only been a few minutes since I restored their power. He took him out quick then I thought he would."
"Oh well, I'm hardly one to waste a golden opportunity," Naruto said as he used his Arc of Emodiment to create of one of several swords he created long ago for his Sword Magic. "Tensa Zangetsu!" Naruto incanted and a sword appeared in his left hand. Tensa Zangetsu's blade was black, the length about that of a daito, with the guard being 4 prongs bent out in the shape of a manji. A short chain was attached to the pommel.
Naruto didn't waste anymore time as he sped towards airborne mage, impaling him in the heart from behind. Naruto didn't given him a chance to respond as he ripped out the lacrima containing his final magic and consumed into, his body emitting a purple aura as he roared, "RAH!". His magic skyrocketed as he was now back to his full strength.
"Blackhole," Naruto incanted as he generated the black and purple orb beneath him and Bluenote. "So long," Naruto said as he dropped Bluenote onto the infinite gravity well, watching with morbid fascination as Bluenote's body was twisted into impossible shapes until it was sucked into the gravity well. Bluenote probably didn't suffer long, since his organs couldn't have survive the way his body was twisted as they were pulled into the orb. Naruto cancelled orb as he remembered he had one last errand to take care of before going after Hades, as he sensed Ultear had been defeated.
With Meredy
Meredy had been running from Juvia for some time, who had resorted to crawling after her to stop the pink-haired girl from escaping with the sleeping Zeref. The two had been arugeing when Meredy stopped as Naruto landed in front of them.
"Zancrow!" Meredy said in surprise. Shew figured he was on the other side of the island. She was also unaware of the truth surrounding Naruto and Zancrow.
"Well, well," Naruto said deciding to have fun with it and crush Meredy's dreams. He would go after that weak bitch Ultear, but the Fullbuster kid already beat her. "You do realize the ship is in the opposite direction, yes?"
"No, I didn't," Meredy lied poorly.
"Like I believe that! Everyone in the guild knows you follow Ultear around like a lost little puppy!" Naruto said with in Zancrow-esque fashion.
"No, I don't!" Meredy again lied porrly.
"Oh, shut up!" Naruto said as he blasted all three of them with a fireball from his mouth, knocking all three mages down.
"I never thought Zeref was actually alive. I always figured Hades was just crazy," Naruto said as he looked at Zeref. 'If half the stuff I have heard about him and Acnologia are true…' Naruto trailed off as even without that, He needed to get Zeref off the island before he killed any Fairy Tail wizards.
Naruto clapped his hands together, summoning a creature with Arc of Embodiment, "Dark Gryphon," Naruto created a mythical beast as the mythical beast with the body of a lion and the wings and head of a eagle with all black feathers and crimson eys appeared before him. "Take this guy out of here." The 10 foot tall Gryphon obeyed it's master as it picked Zeref up with it's talons and flew off.
"Wait!" Meredy called out to him in pain as she withered on the ground. "Zeref is Ultear's future! ... My future..."
Naruto stared at her with a grin, "Feh, so naive. How long are you going to keep spouting that crap? Ultear just uses you like she does everyone else."
"You're wrong! Ultear promised!" Meredy cried, tears now swelling up in her eyes, "If I can make it to the Grand Magic World, my town can go back to the way it used to be!"
"Che! That place? Why would you want it back after Kain and I redecorated it?" He flashed her a trade-marked grin and revealed, "We were not they only one wrecking the place you know. You're precious Ultear lead the attack. She killed the most people out of all 3 of us!"
Meredy froze with a look of disbelief. Tears now completely fell from her face. "That is... a lie..."
"Believe what you want kid. Hehehehe. Gehehehehe. Hahahahahahahahahahaha!" Naruto laughed for one final time as he rubbed salt in the girls physiological wounds before a blast of magic power overwhelmed the two mages and sent them into a deep slumber.
"The Grand Magic World. A world where only mages exist." Naruto hummed as he light enveloped his body and his clothes changed shape. "What a load of nonsense. Even if you fools had defeated Fairy Tail this day, you couldn't overcome the rest of the world. Besides, not all ordinary people are so bad."
Naruto walked away towards his final hit, not noticing that in the distance, Zeref destroyed his creation and landed back on the island.
Chapter End
So, Naruto has gotten his powers back, and only Hades remains. And if you were a little disappointed with Bluenote's death, he had already been taken out of the fight by Gildarts and since Naruto wanted to conserve his energy for Hades, he was never going to give Bluenote a chance to fight back.