Hey everyone, I know it's late, but Happy New Year! Did everyone enjoyed their year? I know I did, aside from being busy with work. Honestly, why are there so many holidays so close to the end of the year? Because of that, work has been pretty hectic that I couldn't find any time to write. Follow that with school starting up again, I found even less time. And don't get me started with my personal life, which ate up the rest of my time. I realize I'm ranting and I apologize for both that and my late updates. I believe I've kept you waiting long enough, my precious readers, on with the chapter!
Chapter Seven: Reapers and Demons
Han paced back and forth, his paws crossed as he occasionally looked towards the train station. Seeing the barrier of wind still there, the bipedal feline then looked towards Kren. The water dragon slayer was still asleep, seeming to be having a peaceful dream despite the roaring winds around them. Han still finds it astonishing how deep a sleeper Kren can be.
He still remembered the boy's mother trying to wake him up for an hour or two because he was late for school. Han doubted an atomic bomb could wake the sleeping dragon slayer. There was even one time his mother resorted to using him to wake Kren up. The bipedal feline rubbed the base of his tail at the memory.
"Aquacia." Kren muttered, rolling to lay on his side and pulled a nearby piece of rubble in for a hug.
"Oh how I wish I had a camera." Han chuckled and gave the dragon slayer a soft smile at the sight. "I wonder if he's remembering something."
"Aquacia!" Kren shouted, eyes shooting wide open and quickly getting up into a sitting position. The dragon slayer was breathing hard as he dropped the piece of rubble he was holding.
"Kren, you okay?" Han asked worriedly, sprouting wings and hovering beside the dragon slayer.
"Yeah." Kren nodded, dusting himself off before getting to his feet. "Just dreamed of something I rather not have."
"What was it about?" Han asked, both concerned and curious as to what dream could have his owner like this.
"The day Aquacia left." Kren replied softly, raising a hand to grip on his necklace with a sad look on his face. "I was all alone, calling out Aquacia's name."
A younger Kren, wearing a white shirt and blue shorts opened his eyes, letting out a small yawn. He lifted himself into a sitting position and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He then noticed the lack of comforting warmth that usually accompanied his awakening. He looked around the cave he was inside to see that he was alone. This worried the boy as he was not used to waking up alone in the dark cave.
"I'm afraid this is good-bye, my sweet Kren."
He left the cave and into a dense forest surrounding a crystal clear lake. The boy peered beneath the water's surface and saw nothing but the fish that lived there. He walked along the edge of the lake, looking both around and under the water.
"Aquacia?!" The boy called out, growing more worried and scared when he received no response. "Aquacia, where are you?!"
His pace slowly began to hasten into a sprint and he continued to call out his dragon's name. The fear he felt got worse the more he didn't receive a response or caught sight of the dragon. The boy then found himself running through the forest, growing desperate to find the serpentine dragon.
It became harder to breathe the more he ran and he could hear his heart pounding against his chest. The deeper he ran in the forest, the more desperate he got to find Aquacia. Without his knowing, he was now in a pitch dark place, so dark he couldn't see his hand in front of him. This made the boy even more scared as he once again hastened to find Aquacia.
"Aquacia!" The boy cried desperately, tears falling down his face as he choked back a sob. When he got nothing in response, the boy wailed at the top of his lungs. "Aquacia, come back!"
The dragon slayer could feel his eyes stinging with unshed tears, but wiped them away. Taking a deep breath, Kren let go of his necklace focused on the wind barrier. He could contemplate his possible memory later. Right now, he had a more pressing matter to deal with.
"Han." Kren said, getting his feline companion's attention. "Can you carry me, we're going after Erigor."
"You got it." Han nodded, grabbing the back of the dragon slayer's sweater vest before lifting them in the air. "I'm going all out, hang on!"
"Right." Kren nodded before Han started flying at full speed in the direction Erigor went.
He looked back as they left the outskirts of Oshibana town. "What about the others?"
"They'll get Virgo soon." Kren squinted his eyes when the wind got into them and made a mental note to buy goggles. "For now, we should stall Erigor and try to take Lullaby."
"You got it." Han faced forward and flapped his wings harder to gain more speed.
'Once I get Lullaby, I'll destroy it.' Kren thought, remembering the true form of the demon flute and what it's capable of. 'I won't let anyone, especially Makarov, die!'
Just thinking what Lullaby can do is enough to send chills down Kren's spine. The flute was once just a tool for "murder by curse" at first, which means that it curses the target and causes them to die. After getting into Zeref's hands, he further developed it into a magical flute, called Mass Murder Curse Magic that is capable of putting a death curse on everyone who hears its melody except for the Caster.
At the thought of Zeref, Kren couldn't help but think he knew the name other than from the anime and manga. He remembered the wiki making him out as an evil person with creating Lullaby and Deliora. However, the dragon slayer couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about that description.
The more he thought about it, the more confused he got as the beginning of a headache made itself known. Kren tightly gripped his head and gritted his teeth to avoid making any sounds. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes to concentrate on another thought.
"Kren, you okay?" Han asked worriedly, noticing the dragon slayer was quiet for some time now.
"Yeah." Kren replied, opening his eyes and lowering his hand to see they were already quite a ways along the train line in the canyon. His nose twitched upon picking up a new scent. "Let's pick up the pace, Erigor's close."
"On it!" Han nodded as he once again flapped his wings to pick up speed.
As Han flew along the railroad, Kren put his nose to work to make sure they didn't lose Erigor. The water dragon slayer found it odd that they hadn't closed the distance between them. Kren can smell that Erigor's close, but they don't seem to be getting closer at all.
Suddenly, a powerful gust of wind appeared out of nowhere and slammed into them, causing Han to lose control. Unable to fly straight, Han and Kren dove down straight for the railroad. Thinking quickly, Kren reached for Han and curled himself into a ball around his feline companion. Once his body slammed into the railroad, Kren gasped in pain as he rolled to a stop. The water dragon slayer gritted his teeth at the stinging pain on his back before looking up to the sky.
His eyes scanned the area to learn the source of the wind that caused them to crash. When he saw nothing, Kren uncurled himself from Han and gently set him down. He got to his feet, ignoring the pain on his back, and continued to look around. When he still couldn't find anything, he used his nose and looked up again when he caught a new scent. He then saw Erigor, making himself visible from a stone pillar he was hiding behind.
"Seeing how you're still alive, you must have defeated Botanica." Erigor stated, a smirk spreading across his face. "I'll admit, that's pretty impressive, for a fly." He looked in the direction of Oshibana and back at Kren. "She is just below in terms of strength."
"You'll find I'm full of surprises." Kren glared at the wind wizard, gesturing for Han to get back. He then cracked his knuckles as he approached the edge of the railroad. "So, you gonna come at me, or is that scythe of yours just for show?"
"I assure you, it's not for show." Erigor chuckled, holding his scythe and letting the blade gleam in the sunlight. "I can easily slice you in two with a single swing." He rested the scythe across his shoulders as a magic circle formed behind him. "However, I think I'll kill you from where I am."
"Why, afraid I might beat you to a pulp?" Kren taunted, his own magic circle forming behind his feet. He gave a side glance to Han, who tried to reform his wings, but failed due to exhaustion. Giving the feline an understanding look, Kren turned his attention back to Erigor. "It's going to take more than a little wind to kill me."
"I beg to differ!" Erigor made a few gestures with his left hand, creating two small twisters that barreled towards Kren.
"Water Dragon Roar!" Kren took a deep breath and released a vortex-like blast of water.
The two attacks clashed, fighting for dominance as their respective wizards applied more force into them. The two attacks eventually canceled each other out, causing powerful gusts of wind and droplets of water to rain down. Kren ran along the railroad, being careful to keep Erigor in his sights. He held a hand out and formed small orbs of water at the tips of his fingers. With a swing of his hand, Kren released blades of water towards Erigor.
"Pathetic!" Erigor held out his left hand and formed a wall of wind, blocking and dispersing the water blades. The reaper had a feral grin as he used his wind to make the water droplets hover. "I think I'll use this water!"
With a swing of his scythe, Erigor used his wind to launch the water droplets towards Kren at high speeds. Kren's eyes widened at what he saw and quickly jumped back. He did a series of backflips as the water droplets struck the railroad. The dragon slayer looked to see numerous small craters where the water droplets struck. He broke into a nervous sweat as if even one droplet hit him, he would have suffered major damage.
He inspected his body of the injuries he sustained from battling Botanica. His right arm was still wrapped in his makeshift bandages. He noticed that the bleeding finally stopped, much to his relief. He then heard the sound of roaring wind and looked up to see a twister barreling towards him. Kren felt something grabbing him from behind before being lifted into the air, avoiding the twister.
"Made it!" Kren looked behind him to see it was Han who grabbed him and had his wings out. "You alright, Kren?"
"Yeah, thanks to you." Kren nodded, giving his feline companion a grin before turning his attention to Erigor. "Looks like you don't have the advantage anymore."
"That's what you think, fly." Erigor's smirk widened as he made gestures with his left hand. The wind around Erigor grew in intensity and Han struggled to stay steady. "Did you forget that the wind is under my control?!"
"Of course I didn't!" Kren held up a clenched fist, and glared at the wind wizard. "Mark my words, I'll stop you and destroy Lullaby!"
"Let's see you try!" Erigor shouted, launching a barrage of fast-moving aerial blades towards Kren and Han. "Storm Shred!"
"Hang on, Kren!" Han said, spreading his wings before shooting forward, doing his best to dodge the aerial blades.
"Don't push yourself, Han!" Kren warned, keeping his eyes on the aerial blades and tilting his body to help Han dodge them. "Just get me close enough!"
Han circled around Erigor, keeping a tight grip on Kren as he tried to outfly the aerial blades. One blade nicked his right wing, but Han paid it no mind and continued to dodge. With each blade he dodge, Han steadily got closer to the wind wizard. Kren's nose twitched when it caught a familiar scent and looked in the direction of Oshibana.
"Hey, Erigor!" Kren called out, a smirk on his face when he finally caught sight of the familiar scent. "Did you know that cats can fly at mach speed?!"
"What are you on about?" Erigor questioned, a frown on his face before a footy slammed into his back and sent him crashing into the railroad.
"Perfect timing, Natsu!" Kren gave a thumbs up upon seeing his fellow dragon slayer holding an exhausted Happy. "Glad I went ahead to buy time!"
"Since Natsu's here now, you guys can handle the rest." Han said, setting Kren down next to Natsu before taking Happy from the fire dragon slayer's arms. "I'll take Happy somewhere safe, you just focus on beating Erigor."
"Leave it to us, Han." Natsu nodded, watching Han take Happy as far away from the battle.
"Gotta say, I'm glad you're here, Natsu." Kren said, placing a hand on the fire dragon slayer's shoulder. "My attacks weren't doing anything to him."
"This is why we're a team." Natsu gave Kren a confident grin as he pound a fist into an open palm. "If there's a job you can't do alone, then you have teammates to back you up."
"I knew you'd say that." Kren chuckled, removing his hand from Natsu's shoulder before turning his attention to where Erigor landed. "What you say we lay a certain reaper to rest?"
"You again." Erigor said as he got to his feet, dusting himself off as he stared at Natsu. "You're another one of those pesky Fairy Tail flies." He frowned as he knew he trapped the fire dragon slayer within his wind barrier. "What are you doing here?"
Natsu engulfed his hands in flames as he gave Erigor his full attention. "I'm not letting you get past me, you dress-wearing windbag!"
"That makes two of us." Kren added, covering his fingers in claws of spiraling water. "We're gonna smash that flute of yours into a million pieces!"
"You little flies can be such a nuisance." Erigor commented, keeping his eyes on both dragon slayers. "Now get out of my way kids, or else."
Erigor held up his left hand as a magic circle formed in front of him. Kren and Natsu both dug their heels as a powerful blast of wind slammed into them. Kren tapped Natsu on the shoulder to get his attention. He pointed up and nodded towards Erigor before getting in front of him and leaning forward. Getting what he wanted, Natsu stepped onto Kren's back and jumped up, engulfing his feet in flames to propel himself higher.
Once Erigor ceased his wind attack to look up at Natsu, Kren charged forward. He swiped his water claws only for Erigor to jump back. Kren simply smirked as he ducked down before Natsu threw a flaming punch. Erigor's eyes widened in shock before blocking the punch with his scythe. Kren jumped over Natsu and aimed a kick towards Erigor's head. The wind wizard leaned back to dodge before levitating into the air away from the two dragon slayers.
"What are you doing up there, you coward!" Natsu shouted, feeling frustrated that their attacks didn't do anything and Erigor was out of reach. "Come down here and fight like a man!"
"Don't get too cocky, fly!" Erigor swiped his left hand to form another magic circle as the wind underneath the dragon slayers got stronger. Before the two could do anything, the winds grew into a great tornado, lifting them both into the air and spiraling uncontrollably. "Storm Bringer!"
"Natsu, Kren!" Han called out, growing worried as he clung onto the stone pillar with one paw and Happy with the other.
'Damn it!' Kren gritted his teeth in frustration as the tornado ceased and he and Natsu fell into the canyon.
Thinking quickly, he gathered magic energy to the soles of his feet and released powerful jets of water. The water dragon slayer began to lose control, but eventually steadied himself before propelling upwards. He looked down to see Natsu slam into small stone pillars. Knowing he'll be fine, Kren continued going up until he was over the railroad. He landed on the railroad and glared at the wind wizard who just smirked.
Before anyone could say anything, an enormous pillar of flames shot out of the canyon. Erigor looked at the pillar of flames in shock while Kren grinned. The pillar then formed a hand and grabbed onto the railroad. Kren jumped back to avoid being burned as he watched Natsu shoot out of the canyon and landed next to him.
"Happy you made it, Natsu." Kren said, a grin still on his face as he inspected the railroad the flaming hand grabbed. "Never thought I'd see fire not burn anything."
"I finally get what Macao was trying to tell me." Natsu replied, grinning as he held up a clenched fist.
"But that's impossible." Erigor, a look of disbelief on his face at what he just witnessed.
"That's just how Fairy Tail is, Erigor." Kren narrowed his eyes as he once agains formed his water claws. "Now then, I think we were at the part where we kick your ass."
"You read my mind, Kren." Natsu pounded a fist into the palm of his hand before taking a deep breath. "Fire Dragon Roar!"
"Storm Wall!" Erigor moved his left hand before him, summoning forth his magic circle to create a wall of wind, blocking Natsu's breath attack.
"I'm still here!" Kren called out, getting behind the wind wizard, who looked behind him in shock. "Water Dragon Wing Attack!" Waving his arms like a dragon flapping its wings, Kren released whips of water that slammed into Erigor, pushing the wind wizard back. "How'd you like that?!"
"That was just a lucky shot." Erigor levitated higher into the air as he glared down at the two dragon slayers. "Although both your powers are remarkable, I'm afraid you two are still no match for me."
Kren opened his mouth to retort when the sound of a vehicle reached his ears. He and Natsu looked in the direction of the sound to see the magic mobile heading their way. Kren was surprised as he knew that Erza and the others didn't arrive until much later. Unless Erza was pushing herself again, there was no possible way they could've reached them already.
"It appears we made it in time!" Erza shouted as she swerved the magic mobile to a stop. She got off the magic mobile and glared at Erigor while Lucy and Gray got out. "You can't escape this time, Erigor!"
"As expected of you flies, always buzzing around in a swarm." Erigor sneered, pulling out Lullaby to wave mockingly at the Fairy Tail wizards. "Perhaps I should play Lullaby and be rid of you once and for all!"
"I don't think so, you reaper wannabe!" Han declared, catching everyone off guard as he headbutts Erigor in the abdomen. Not expecting the sudden attack, Erigor dropped Lullaby before Han dove after it. "I got it!"
"I think not!" Erigor swung his scythe, creating a powerful gust of wind that slammed onto Han. The flying feline lost control from the sudden change in airflow and crashed into the railroad. Once Lullaby hit the ground, it bounced a few times before rolling to stop beside Han.
"Han!" Kren shouted in worry, running to his feline companion. He knelt beside Han and gently picked him up to cradle in his arms. "What were you thinking, don't scare me like that!"
"Sorry, Kren." Han apologized, giving the water dragon slayer a small smile. "I-I just wanted to be useful."
"You are, Han." Kren reassured, picking up Lullaby as he got to his feet and showed the feline with a smile. "You've done more than enough." He turned to glare at Erigor who glared back. "Too bad, Erigor, looks like you won't be playing any kind of tune now."
"I wouldn't be so confident if I were you, fly." Erigor retorted, a smirk on his face which confused the dragon slayer.
As if a flip was switched, Kren's eyes widened as he turned to face the magic mobile. He turned too late as the magic mobile with limbs made of shadows jumped over him. One of the shadow limbs whipped towards Kren and swiped Lullaby from his hand. Kren made eye contact with Kageyama, who grinned as he drove away.
"This is how he pays us back for saving his life?!" Lucy shouted in utter disbelief as she watched Kageyama drive away.
"We have to go after him!" Erza declared, running after the shadow wizard with Gray behind her.
"You're not going anywhere, Storm Mail!" Erigor spins his scythe, creating a magic circle and covering his body in an armor of wind. He then got in front of Erza and Gray before the force of the wind armor pushed them back. "Time to put an end to this!"
"Took the words right out of my mouth!" Natsu said, appearing behind Erigor with a flame engulfed fist. "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!"
Natsu threw his punch as Erigor merely held up a hand to block it. Natsu and the rest of his group, except Kren and Han, watched in disbelief as his flaming punch was extinguished. Erigor then threw a punch of his own, the force being amplified by the wind armor. Once the punch made contact, Natsu was knocked off his feet.
"What happened to Natsu's flames?!" Lucy asked, confused as to why the fire dragon slayer's attack suddenly vanished.
"It's the wind." Kren explained, handing Han over to her and turning to face Erigor. "That wind armor of his blows outwardly."
"That's not good for Natsu." Gray muttered, a bead of nervous sweat trailing down his face. "If he gets too close, his flames will just be smothered out."
"Han." The feline looked towards Kren's back as the water dragon slayer formed a magic circle beneath his feet. "Can you and Happy still fly?"
"I think so." Han replied, struggling for a moment before sprouting his wings with Happy doing the same. "But not for long, why?"
"I want you guys to take Erza, Gray, and Lucy." Kren said, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves. He moved to stand beside Natsu as the fire dragon slayer slammed a fist into an open palm. "We'll take care of Erigor right here and now."
"You'll take care of me?" Erigor questioned before bursting out in laughter. He then pointed at Kren and Natsu. "How amusing, let's see if you can!"
Eyeing each other, Natsu and Kren charged towards Erigor while Han and Happy grabbed Lucy and Gray respectively. Once close enough, the two dragon slayers released their respective breath attacks. However, much to Erigor's surprise, the two attacks collided with one another. The fire quickly evaporated the water, creating a thick cloud of steam.
Despite Erigor's wind armor blowing away the steam, it was still difficult for him to see anything. He caught sight of a silhouette flying past him and released a blast of wind. What the wind struck was a stream of water that dispersed and rained down. Once the steam cleared, Erigor saw Kren and Natsu high fiving each other with grins on their faces. He looked around and saw that the others were missing and not within eyesight.
"How clever." Erigor admitted, turning to face the dragon slayers. "You made that statement earlier as a bluff."
"That overconfidence of yours made it too easy." Kren replied, sharing another glance with Natsu. "Couldn't have gotten the others past you without Natsu's help, though."
"I knew you were up to something when you asked Han if he and Happy can still fly." Natsu said, bringing up a flaming fist and pointing it towards Erigor. "Now it's time to kick your butt to next week!"
"I'd like to see you try!" Erigor yelled, his voice remaining cocky as he spread out his arms. "I'm going to put an end to this now, Emera Baram!" Erigor placed his two index and middle fingers in an X-shape in front of himself and fired a concentrated blast of wind blades towards Kren and Natsu. "This is the end, Fairy Tail flies!"
The moment the wind attack reached Kren and Natsu, the two dragon slayers struggled to stand their ground. The wind blades assailed them from all directions, slicing away at their skin and clothes. Before long, the force of the attack was too much for them to handle and knocked them off their feet. Once the attack came to an end, Kren and Natsu lay motionless on the ground as Erigor lowered himself on the railroad.
"I'm impressed your bodies are still in one piece after that." Erigor commented, chuckling at the handy work of his most powerful spell. "Not too shabby for wizards so young."
"Save your flattery for people who give a damn." Kren weakly muttered, pushing himself up with an arm only to fall back down.
"You both are already at death's door." Erigor said, a victorious grin on his face as he stared down at the fallen dragon slayers. "But worry not, after Kageyama plays a melody on the Lullaby for those old guild fools, they'll be joining you in your eternal rest!"
"That's it!" Natsu shouted, slamming a fist into the ground as he got to his feet, shocking Erigor. "All you talk about is that stupid flute!" Kren also got to his feet as Natsu shrugged off and tossed his tattered jacket. "We're going to take you down, and when we do, that flute's next!"
"Impossible!" Erigor said in disbelief, unable to comprehend how the two dragon slayers are able to stand let alone still alive. Natsu's hands were once again engulfed in flames as he charged towards Erigor. "I told you, you're wasting your time!"
The wind around Erigor grew in intensity, snuffing out Natsu's flames and pushing him back. Kren then ran past the fire dragon slayer and released his wing attack. The attack, however, was dispersed into droplets from the powerful winds. Kren gritted his teeth as he watched the droplets fall harmlessly to the ground. He then noticed that Natsu grabbed the railing of the tracks while letting out frustrated yells as his body was engulfed in flames.
'I was waiting for this.' Kren thought, bringing an arm up to shield himself from the heat of the flames.
Kren watched as when the flames of Natsu's rage grew in intensity, the winds around Erigor were drawn to him. The water dragon slayer had to take a few steps back when the intensity of Natsu's flame became too much for him. He noticed that a few peaks were set ablaze due to the heat of the flames. Once it seemed that Natsu was nearing his breaking point, Kren took a deep breath.
"Hey, Natsu!" Kren shouted, getting the fire dragon slayer's attention. He gave a mocking grin as he shrugged his shoulders. "I knew you couldn't handle this, even with my help, want me to get Gray and Erza to take over?"
His taunt worked like a charm, because Natsu was staring at Kren in shock. After he got over his shock and processed Kren's words, Natsu let out another yell with even more powerful flames. Kren and Erigor were surprised by how much stronger the flames were. The flames were so strong, Erigor's wind armor was being drawn to Natsu faster.
"His flames are blowing away my storm mail!" Erigor exclaimed in disbelief that his winds were being controlled by another. He gritted his teeth when his wind armor was completely gone. "Curse you!"
'It's true that wind snuffs out flames.' Kren thought, shooting into a sprint to get behind Erigor. He quickly restrained the reaper from under his arms, much to Erigor's shock. 'However, that isn't always the case.'
"What the?!" Erigor looked behind him, giving Kren a look of shocked confusion as to how the dragon slayer got behind him. He began to thrash around, attempting to throw Kren off him only for the dragon slayer to tighten his hold. "Let go this instant!"
"I'm gonna take you down!" Natsu shouted at the top of his lungs while Kren tightened his hold on Erigor. Natsu then proceeded to propel himself towards the reaper and Kren. "Fire Dragon Sword Horn!"
Kren kept his grip tight when Erigor struggled even more to break free, not allowing the reaper to escape. Once Natsu was seconds away from striking, Kren released Erigor and ducked to the side. Natsu then hits Erigor with a powerful headbutt. He then proceeds to send the reaper flying up in the air with a pillar of fire produced from his body. Wasting no time, Kren jumped up as high as he could over Erigor.
"And here's a little something from me, Water Dragon Wing Attack!" Waving his arms like a dragon flapping its wings, Kren released whips of water that slammed into Erigor, slamming him into the ground. Once his feet touched the ground, Kren gave Natsu a thumbs up with a smile. "Aw yeah, and that's how it's done, I knew you could do it, Natsu!"
"You weren't too sure of me earlier, Kren." Natsu stated, giving Kren a bland look as he approached the water dragon slayer.
"Oh, come on, you know I didn't mean it." Kren said, looping an arm over Natsu's shoulders. "All that matters now is that we beat Erigor!"
Natsu simply frowned at Kren before breaking out in a wide grin. "That's true!"
"We better hurry if we want to catch up with the others." Kren recalled, removing his arm from Natsu's shoulders. He began doing light stretches to loosen his muscles before jogging in place. "If we run now, we should get there shortly after dark."
"Now we're talking!" Natsu shouted, also lightly stretching before adjusting his scarf. He gave Kren a pat on the shoulder before running down the railroad at full speed. "Let's go!"
"Hey, wait for me!" Kren called out, caught slightly off guard before running after the fire dragon slayer.
As Kren estimated, both he and Natsu arrived in Clover fifteen minutes after the sun went down and made way for night. They traversed through the woods, using their keen senses of smell to find their friends. Once they were close, Kren and Natsu immediately caught sight of Happy, Han, Lucy, Erza, and Gray. Ahead of them was Kageyama on his hands and knees in front of Makarov.
That sight alone was enough to tell Kren that he just missed Makarov's speech as Erza held him in a tight embrace. While he wanted to feel relieved that Makarov is alive and well, Kren knew it wasn't over yet. Without so much as a single word, he ran past everyone towards Kageyama and quickly picked up Lullaby.
"Kren, what are you doing?!" Erza demanded, at a loss for words over the dragon slayer's actions.
"It isn't over yet, guys!" Kren said grimly, looking down at the three-eyed skull of Lullaby. He tightened his grip on the flute before throwing it as hard as he could into the air.
"What is he doing?!" Lucy exclaimed, her eyes widened in panic that her friend would just throw such a dangerous item like that.
"He's lost it!" Happy exclaimed, his reaction being exactly the same as Lucy as he eyed the cursed flute.
"Water Dragon Roar!" Kren released his breath attack, being sure to put more power and pressure into it than usual. He watched as the vortex of water soared through the air towards Lullaby.
However, sinister laughter was heard as a giant magic formed in the air and sparks of electricity rained down. The bolts struck the vortex of water, effectively forcing it to disperse and fall harmlessly to the ground. Kren gritted his teeth in frustration at the sight and stood protectively in front of his friends.
"Surely you did not think that water gun could harm me!"
There was a bright flash of light as an extremely tall beast that had three eyes, two legs, two arms and one head appeared from the magic circle. It has no midsection and there are many cutouts in its body.
"I shall feast upon your pitiful souls!" Lullaby declared, peering down with its three eyes on the group of wizards before it.
"What is that thing?!" Kageyama shouted, a look of shock and fear at the sight of what used to be a simple flute. "Erigor never said anything about a monster!"
"Probably because he didn't know either." Kren stated, not taking his eyes off Lullaby as he prepared to use his magic. "That thing is a demon created by the black wizard Zeref."
"Oh my, it appears someone did their research." Kren jumped and had to suppress a shiver when Bob, the master of the Blue Pegasus guild, suddenly appeared behind him.
'When did he get there without me noticing?!' Kren thought, a hand over his rapidly beating heart and looking over his shoulder at the Blue Pegasus master.
"Now then…" Lullaby said thoughtfully, leaning forward to get a better look at the human before it. "Which of these delectable souls shall I dine on first?"
"Delectable, huh?" Natsu mused, glaring at the demon before looking at Gray and Kren excitedly. "Do you think souls are really that tasty?"
"How should I know what they taste like?" Gray retorted, a tic mark forming on the back of his head.
"Are you really asking that right now?" Kren sweat dropped, wondering if Natsu's really just a stomach with legs. "In case you forgot, that thing wants to kill us!"
"Natsu and Gray, get everyone to a safe place!" Erza ordered, turning to face the two in question.
"Quit barking orders!" Natsu shouted in protest.
"Yeah, you're not the boss of us!" Gray said in agreement, which Kren noted is very rare considering how often he and Natsu fight.
"Just do it!" Erza narrowed her eyes, a dangerous glint to them as Natsu and Gray quickly went to do what they were told.
"Sometimes I wonder why even bother defying her." Kren sweatdropped, watching the two acting like close friends as they evacuated the other guild masters.
"You and me both." Lucy said in agreement, also sweatdropping when she heard Natsu and Gray doing another Happy impression.
"Look!" Han shouted, pointing at the tree tops when he saw numerous flags poking out of them. "It's the Fiore Army!"
"No giant wooden demon is gonna scare off the Fiore Army!" The captain of the Fiore Army bravely stated. "Charge!"
"You doubt my power?!" Lullaby turned its attention to the Fiore Army, offended that they thought they could defeat it. "I'll prove it to you!"
"Get down!" Kren shouted, tackling a surprised Lucy, Han, and Happy to the ground.
He placed himself over them as he saw Lullaby release a powerful beam at a mountain. Once the beam struck the mountain, there was an enormous explosion that shook the earth. Kren had to shut his eyes and cover his ears from how bright and loud the explosion was. When the earth stopped shaking, Kren opened his eyes and had a nervous sweat at what he was seeing. The mountain Lullaby attacked was completely destroyed, leaving nothing but a huge crater where it once was.
'That was strong enough to destroy an entire town!' Kren thought, pushing himself off Lucy and the two felines. He watched as the Fiore Army decided to retreat before turning his attention back to Lullaby. 'This is definitely different from watching on a tv screen, we got to stop Lullaby now!'
"I have no need for those pathetic humans." Lullaby stated, choosing to ignore the retreating army to turn its attention back to the wizards in front of it. "I prefer the taste of a wizard's soul and I will consume all of yours!"
"Oh yeah, I'd like to see ya try!" Natsu shouted, standing beside Erza, Kren, and Gray as they prepared to face the demon. "Bring it on, big guy!"
"Can those four defeat Lullaby on their own?" Lucy wondered, a look of worry on her face.
"You should help them!" Happy suggested, appearing beside the celestial wizard.
"Normally, I would." Lucy said nervously, turning away from Happy. "But none of my celestial spirits are available right now and I'd probably just slow them down."
"Good excuse."
"Don't judge me, cat!"
"Are you really gonna just stand here?" Han asked, giving Lucy a look of disappointment which surprised her. "You're really just gonna stand on the sidelines while your friends risk their lives out there?" He eyed her whip and gate keys before looking Lucy in the eyes. "Come on, there has to be one spirit available, like Taurus or Virgo!"
"I haven't formed a contract with Virgo yet!" Lucy explained, pulling out Virgo and Taurus' keys to prove a point. "And what can she and Taurus do against that thing anyway?!"
"Slicing and dicing and disrupting its balance comes to mind!" Han retorted, remembering the giant ax the bull spirit wields and Virgo digging holes. "And you could use that whip of yours to pull them away from oncoming attacks!" He then turned his back to Lucy before forming his wings. "If you want to stay back like a coward then fine, I'm going to help Kren."
"I can't believe I lost an argument to a cat." Lucy said dejectedly, falling to her hands and knees as she watched Han now floating beside Kren.
"He does have a point, my dear." Lucy let out a small scream when Bob appeared behind her. He rested a hand against his cheek and the other on Lucy's shoulder as he watched the four wizards stare down Lullaby. "It's alright to be scared, but you shouldn't let it control you."
"It's only when we conquer our fear that we grow." Makarov said, approaching Lucy though his eyes never left Natsu, Erza, Gray, and Kren. He then turned to Lucy and gave her an encouraging smile. "It can be scary doing things alone, but you're not, are you?"
"Ready?" Erza asked, drawing her swords while Han grabbed onto Kren's back.
"Oh yeah!" Natsu, Gray, and Kren replied before the four of them charged towards Lullaby.
"Requip!" Erza declared as her armor began to glow and dispersed.
Her armor was replaced with another seemingly almost entirely made of silver metal. The upper part of this armor only consists of a small, revealing breastplate that extends along her hips, composed of feather-shaped plates pointing upwards with a large metal flower on the front, leaving the tops of her breasts exposed, as well as her stomach. Her biceps are covered by metal straps and her very large plated gauntlets sport feather-shaped plates at the edges. Her waist is circled by large, decorated plates reminiscent of feathers that lie on a long skirt. She wears a pair of plated boots which is partially hidden under her skirt, each sporting metal ornaments shaped like wings. Erza also wears a neck guard made of feather-like plates and a tiara with prominent metal wings. The armor also sports two pairs of large metal wings which adorn Erza's back, composed of metal feathers which get longer and larger at the edges.
Her Requip completed, Erza soared through the air and slashed across Lullaby's face. Gray then formed spears made entirely of ice that pierced the flute demon's body. Natsu followed with a flaming punch at Lullaby's jaw. Not wanting to be left out, Kren directed Han to fly his behind Lullaby.
"Water Dragon Talon!" Kren swung his legs, creating razor sharp blades of water that sliced across Lullaby's back and arms.
'Amazing.' Lucy thought, watching in awe as the four wizards are attacking the flute demon one after another. Despite not planning beforehand, they're coordinating their attacks perfectly.
She watched as Lullaby swung an arm in retaliation and her friends moved out of the way. Erza once again slashed at Lullaby before Gray fired arrows of ice. Natsu and Kren then launched their respective wing attacks on opposite sides. Lucy looked down at her gate keys and whip in contemplation.
"Just a little more." Kren muttered, a magic circle forming around his feet to launch another talon attack.
"Kren, look out!" Han shouted in alarm.
"Huh?" Kren looked ahead and his eyes widened to see Lullaby firing a beam towards him and Han. 'Oh no, we can't dodge in time!'
Just when he thought it was over for them, Kren felt something wrap around his ankle. He was then yanked downward, the beam grazing the tips of his hair as it sailed passed him. The beam struck another mountain, completely obliterating it from existence. Kren looked at his ankle in confusion to see Lucy's whip wrapped around it.
"That was close." Lucy said, letting a sigh of relief and a nervous laugh as she retracted her whip. She then pulled out one of her gate keys and pointed it towards Lullaby. "Though you might need a hand."
"Thanks for the save, Lucy!" Kren said gratefully, giving the celestial wizard a small wave. He then looked over his shoulder to Han and gave the feline a knowing grin. "You said something to her, didn't you?"
"Maybe." Han gave Kren an innocent look, getting a laugh from the water dragon slayer.
"Open, gate of the golden bull, Taurus!" Lucy declared, swing the gate key as a doorbell rang and a magic circle formed in front of her.
An extremely tall, heavily muscular and athletic humanoid whose physical features are highly reminiscent of a bull appeared beside Lucy. His body is covered in a black and white pattern similar to that of Holstein Friesian cattle, and the upper part of it, from the waist up, seems more massive than the lower one. His head is bovine in shape, with small, elongated ears jutting outwards from the sides of his head, and a pair of horns, testifying him as a bull, sitting on top of it. He has dark eyes, and his flat nose bears a large golden ring in it, similar to those worn by real bulls. His muscular chest bears six teats: two on his pectorals and four on his upper abdominal area. The tail sprouting from his back, ending in a dark tuft, is rather small, if compared to the large mass of his body.
His massive body is mostly left bare: he's shown wearing a dark indument, similar to a pair of swim briefs, covering his groin, held up by a red, studded belt, with a circular, thin, golden metal buckle, with a pair of curved protrusions jutting outwards from it in its upper part. He also wears simple dark boots with lighter upper edges, consisting of three lines circling his legs, and has a red belt circling his neck, to which a golden cowbell is attached. His forearms are wrapped in bandages, and he wears brown fingerless gloves. Crossing his chest diagonally and passing over his right shoulder is a large, plain dark belt closed by a simple buckle, to which a giant ax was attached to it.
"And Taurus makes his entrance." Kren said, watching the bull spirit giving Lucy goo-goo eyes. He was too far to hear, but from how Lucy was yelling and pointing at Lullaby, he can make a guess. "Looks like we have a new addition to our attacks."
The attacks pressed on, now with Taurus in the mix with Lucy providing backup with her whip to get them away from Lullaby's attacks. Taurus' ax was proving effective as his swings resulted in massive damage. Having had enough, Lullaby began to take a deep breath as the plants around it began to wilt.
"Look, all the plants are dying!" Lucy exclaimed, looking around at the rapidly dying plants.
"Lullaby is sucking the life out of them!" Happy said, not liking what was happening.
"Just one note and your souls will be mine!" Lullaby said victoriously, screaming as it clapped its hands together. However, instead of a song of death, all that was heard was a dull whistling sound much to Lullaby's shock. "I don't understand, why can't I play my melody of death?!"
"It must be because of all those attacks." Kageyama surmised, just now noticing the holes that littered Lullaby's body.
"We punched so many holes in that thing it totally messed up its sound." Lucy said, relieved the demon flute couldn't kill anyone.
"Don't forget all that water Kren was throwing around." Happy pointed out, noticing that some parts of Lullaby that Kren attacked were a bit warped.
"All that build up for this?" Lucy couldn't but asked as she couldn't believe all that panicking she did was for nothing. "Talk about going out with a whimper."
"Yeah, flutes are pretty lame to begin with." Happy said in agreement.
"You dare mock me?!" Lullaby shouted in rage, kicking and destroying a mountain top. Lullaby then turned its attention to the guild masters, its eyes glowing.
"Ice Make…" Gray quickly got in front of the guild masters, placing his fist against his palm and bringing them to the ground. Just as Lullaby released an explosion creating a torrent of flames, a giant shield made of ice protected them. "Shield!"
"I will kill you all!" Lullaby shouted, frustrated that its attack was blocked. It then watched as the flames were being sucked in by Natsu.
"Oh yeah." Natsu said in satisfaction, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as he grinned towards Lullaby. "Now I've got a fire in my belly."
"You're not human, you're a monster!" Lullaby exclaimed, throwing a punch towards Natsu.
"Oh like you can talk!" Natsu retorted, jumping over the punch and running up Lullaby's arm.
"Stop climbing me!" Lullaby demanded just as Ntasu jumped up over Lullaby's head.
"Requip!" A magic circle formed in front of Erza and her armor changed once she passed through it.
She was now wearing armor that is black in color, sporting some silver trimming. A distinctive feature of the armor is its pair of wings, which are reminiscent of those of a Dragon or a bat. Around Erza's neck is a neck guard decorated by several gems, and, while wearing this armor, her long scarlet hair is tied up in a high ponytail, with two bangs framing her face. Her large shoulderpads, each composed of two silver-edged plates one over the other, sport silver crosses on them too, and flank the high collar, whose shape is reminiscent of that of a dress. The silver-edged breastplate reveals a fair amount of Erza's cleavage and belly, with plates flanking her hips and reaching down to her very large waistguard, composed of very long, silver-edged plates shaped like feathers and decorated by silver crosses. The waistguard leaves the front of Erza's body exposed, with her groin being covered by a dark indument. The slim gauntlets come equipped with prominent protection for her hands, each sporting silver patterns. The plates guarding her legs are silver-edged on her thighs and knees, but pitch black dark on her metal greaves.
"Ice Make: Saucer!" Gray made a saw made of ice and launched it towards Lullaby and sliced its side while Erza slashed its face.
"Do it, Taurus!" Lucy pointed forward as Taurus moo'd before slashing at Lullaby's ankles, causing it to lose balance.
"Water Dragon Roar!" Kren took a deep breath and launched the most powerful breath attack he's ever done. The force of the attack and losing its balance prior knocked Lullaby onto its back. "Do it, Natsu!"
"I got this!" Natsu said as he slammed his fists together before pulling them apart as they were engulfed in flames. "The flames of my right hand and the flames of my left, put the two together!" He brought his together again before raising them over his head and creating an enormous ball of fire. "And this is what you get; Fire Dragon Brilliant Flame!"
Natsu threw the giant fireball just as Lullaby was struggling to get back up. The demon flute was struck in the face and let out a scream. Kren watched on as the demon flute was vaporized by the flames. A bright beam of light then shot into the sky, causing the cloud that blanketed it to disperse and sparkles rained down.
"Great work out there, guys!" Lucy said, congratulating her friends on not only surviving, but also defeating a demon from the book of Zeref.
"Thanks, but it wasn't a big deal." Natsu said, adjusting his scarf.
"Yeah, piece of cake." Gray said in agreement, earning a laugh from everyone.
"You did great too, Lucy." Kren said, giving the celestial wizard a smile and thumbs up. "You really saved my neck out there!"
"I didn't do much." Lucy said, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly at the praise she got. "Taurus did all the work."
"Still, don't you get the feeling we're forgetting something?" Erza wondered, turning to look behind her before breaking into a nervous sweat.
"They went overboard!" The guild masters shouted simultaneously when they saw that the conference hall was destroyed and there was a giant crater in its place.
"Um, we don't have to pay for that, right?" Kren asked nervously, already calculating how much the repairs are going to cost. He then looked towards Makarov, who's spirit began to leave his body, much to Kren's shock. "Master!"
"Haha, we really made a mess of the place, huh?" Natsu said cheerfully, not seeing a problem with the end result of the battle.
"Please, forgive us, master!" Erza begged, chasing after Makarov's spirit that started to float away.
"Well, angry mob aside, I guess the silver lining is that everyone's alive." Kren laughed nervously, still doing mental math in case they needed to pay for the damages. Despite the mob of angry guild masters, excluding Bob and Goldmine, he still had a smile on his face. 'Without a doubt, out of all the guilds out there, It's Fairy Tail all the way.'
Now for the long awaited Review Corner!
Raidentensho: A very good question, one I've been waiting for someone to ask me. No, he will not be a dual slayer as the lacrima is meant to hold water, which Kren is already the dragon slayer of. He might obtain Dragon Force this way, nothing has been finalized as of this moment, however. While correct, plants are still 20% organic matter, similar to humans. Thus, Kren wasn't able to suck them up like he would with water. The probability of the council taking Kren along with Erza is rather high, considering they have no information about him. It fills me with great joy to hear that you love my story, thank you!
Iria Stars: I'm happy to hear that you love my story, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Rest assured, I plan for Kren to have a lot of adventures, some with team Natsu and some solo.
DragonBladeB5: Thank you for letting me know about Satoshi Tajiri's 57th birthday. I explained why it took me so long to update in the intro above. Again, thank you for telling me about Kazuki Takahashi's birthday, rest in peace indeed. "digimon frontier: rise and fall of the guardian" has been around that long? Wow, that really takes me back. I believe I remember a friend telling me about that episode of Ghostbusters.
I think that covers all the reviews and I apologize if I missed a few. With that said, I bid you all farewell until we next meet!