Haruka & The Fairy Tail Guild
Mirajane and Erza fought like monsters. Natsu vaguely recalled the stories of the fights of their youth; explosive duels that lasted for days on end. For the majority of Natsu's time in Fairy Tail, Mirajane had been the kind, considerate woman that the whole guild turned to for comfort. The sight of the other side of her personality left him speechless.
The battle was immense. They tore through the ground and burst across the streets. Natsu and Haruka were left watching from the outside of the station, while the fight carried into the railways towards the west side of the town. Even at this distance, the wind slashed around them furiously. Natsu could barely see Erza dancing through the air in a flurry of blades, while Mirajane launched wave after wave of purple Shadow Magic blasts. Erigor never gave an inch, parrying blows with his scythe as the wind only grew in intensity.
Natsu could only watch in amazement. He had prided himself at holding his own against Erza while she was fighting at full strength. Apparently, she had been holding back.
This is an S-Class level battle. The sight left him speechless.
"Wow," he muttered dumbly, feeling the ground rumbling around him. And I thought I was at the same level. Am I really this far behind?
Haruka was next to him, her face pale as she struggled against the drain of Magic. She could barely move with the exhaustion. "Natsu…" Haruka croaked quietly. "The blessing won't last much longer."
Natsu hesitated, glancing down at his hand. The glistening aura of Spirit Magic still covered his skin, but it was fading quickly. Once Haruka ran out of Magic, both Erza and Natsu would be vulnerable to Lullaby's Curse. After that, Mira would have trouble beating Erigor by herself.
How long before the Mass Murder Curse finally kills everyone in the town? There couldn't be much time left.
His hands tightened into fists. His whole body tensed as he glared towards Erigor. "Just stay safe," Natsu muttered quietly, pausing to kiss Haruka on the cheek. Her skin was pale and sweaty. "It's time to finish this."
"Natsu…!" Haruka exclaimed, but he was already running away, feet pounding off the ground as he sprinted towards the whirlwind. The wind threatened to sweep him away, but Natsu's feet exploded with fire that propelled him forward.
He could see Erigor. The demon was clad in furious air currents covering him like a shroud, repelling Erza's attacks with his scythe as the wind fought to restrain Mirajane. Erigor took every blow and just kept on going, while Erza struggled to break through the Storm Mail. Natsu could barely breathe as he forced his way forward.
"Natsu!" Erza shouted in concern, flashing her mace back and forth in immensely destructive blows. "Be careful!"
"Brat!" Erigor looked smug even as he fought three against one. With a flick of his wrist, a vacuum of air hit Natsu with destructive force. The flames vanished in a dying flutter but Natsu didn't stop powering his way through the headwind. "Your Magic is useless against me!"
The force nearly pulverised Natsu into the ground, yet the adrenaline powered him forward. I'm not at S-Class level, he thought with gritted teeth, as he jumped forward into the wind; but I will be!
Erigor didn't even have time to look surprised. The wind shredded the skin on his arm, but Natsu couldn't even feel it over the pounding of his heart. In an instant, Natsu's hand punched through the Storm Mail and grabbed a hold of Erigor's throat.
" Magic?! " Natsu growled, just as his other hand slammed into Erigor's face. "Who the hell needs Magic to beat the crap out of you?"
The blow took Erigor completely off-guard. It was enough for him to lose his focus and for Mirajane to break through the wall of wind. Mirajane went left while Erza swung right, and the combined assault sent Erigor crashing into the ground.
Natsu never lost his grip on Erigor's throat. Even as the demon clattered to the ground, Natsu was on top of him. His fist was slamming down even before Erigor hit the earth.
"Fire Dragon's Grip Strike!" He screamed, punching his knuckles downwards at close range. His fist landed with a satisfying crunch.
His arm was pouring with blood. His whole body was exhausted. Natsu was gasping for breath as he straightened upwards, standing between Mirajane and Erza coldly.
Erza's gaze was surprisingly gentle as she glanced towards Natsu. "Natsu, are you ok?" She asked in a quiet voice.
Natsu forced a grin against the pain. "Of course I am," he said simply, lightly touching Erza's hand. "Now let's finish this bastard."
A low growl burst from Erigor's throat as he staggered upwards, oozing from a dozen wounds. Two of his three eyes had been punched out, but the third one shone with furious intensity. The demon looked absolutely crazed. The demonic Magic only grew more intense.
"Foolish human…" Erigor muttered, but his voice had changed. It sounded colder, more wooden, and even less human. "Can't do anything right…"
Mirajane charged, slashing out with her clawed hand in an arcing uppercut. The demon caught the blow and slammed his elbow into Mirajane's chest with a dull thud.
"Erigor obviously failed," the demon muttered coldly, pulling the scythe upwards and his mouth twisted in an insane grin. "Pathetic humans can't do anything right. Lullaby is in control now!"
Erza smashed her mace down, but the demon—Lullaby now—parried the blow with his scythe. "Give it up!" Erza bellowed. "It's over!"
"Oh yes, it is," Lullaby laughed maniacally, face contorted in evil delight. "You're out of time!"
It took a few seconds for Erza to realise what he meant. Slowly, she felt her body freeze up as a sudden force pierced through her body. The music had always been there, but now she could feel it again. Her face paled as she glimpsed the final glimmers of the Spirit Magic aura flicker away. Within seconds, her strength faded as Lullaby's Curse cut through into her soul.
Both Erza and Natsu dropped to the floor at the same time, twitching as they struggled against the Curse draining their Magic.
"I guess this means that that Celestial Mage has finally run out of Magic," Lullaby said gleefully, casually kicking Erza away. He raised his scythe, ready to strike downwards. "Oh well—you die now."
He struck downwards, but Mirajane was there in an instant. She shoulder barged Lullaby and tried to force him to the ground, but he turned and struck outwards. The demons wrestled furiously, struggling together in a storm of wind, shadows and claws.
The music felt like it was carving up Natsu's flesh. His heart was pounding, his lungs were gasping, and his muscles were twitching, but he couldn't move. It took everything he had just to stay conscious against the pain that tore through his body.
Erza was lying next to him. Without Magic, the Purgatory Armour was falling off her. She was trying to stagger upwards, but her limbs were trembling so badly she could barely move. Her face was pale and her ears were bleeding. Natsu had never seen her look so weak before. The sight caused his blood to boil.
"…Er… za…" Natsu groaned weakly, quietly reaching out towards her. Even as he stretched out his fingertips, they couldn't touch.
The melody was reaching its peak, louder and more terrible than ever. It hurt worse than ever. Natsu thought desperately how much time was left. There wasn't much. There must be less than three minutes left before the whole town lost their souls.
Move, he thought furiously, driving his limbs to respond by pure force of will. I have to move now!
Slowly, Natsu managed to crawl upwards, weakly pulling himself over the lumps of debris scattering the railways. Haruka, he thought desperately. He had to reach the Celestial Dragon Slayer again. I need the Blessing of the Celestial Dragon to finish this fight.
There was a sudden crash behind him as Mirajane slammed into the earth. Natsu never even saw the fight, but then Lullaby was walking away triumphantly. His heart was pounded furiously as he tried to crawl away, staggering over the rubble, while the heavy footsteps approached from behind.
"Well, this has been annoying," Lullaby chuckled, as the music intensified around him. "But it's worth it! This town is so delicious! A beautiful banquet! I don't really care about Erigor's whole crusade, but he picked a tasty target."
Erigor was right behind Natsu now, and walking slowly. Natsu was in no state to fight; he just had to reach Haruka. The demon looked almost amused.
"There's one minute fifty-five seconds left now, if you're curious," Lullaby said happily, raising his leg lazily. "But don't worry—you won't live to see it. You annoy me, brat, so I'm just going to kill you now!"
Bird-like talons rose into the air, before striking downwards with sledgehammer force. Natsu's heart stopped. His eyes bulged. Time seemed to slow down. He couldn't move, he couldn't dodge, and then those claws were slashing into him.
He wanted to scream. He wanted to blaze. He wanted to fight. He had never felt so helplessly weak in that moment when the claws shot towards him. Images of Igneel, of the guild, of the old man, of Haruka and of Erza all flashed before him.
I'm so sorry.
"NATSU!"
There was a dull thud, a crunch of bone, and a sickening scream.
Natsu blinked, and suddenly Erza was in his arms. He had no idea how she managed to move so fast. He could barely move, but somehow Erza managed to shoot across the railway. Her foot slammed upwards, catching Erigor's blow in a desperate attempt to shield Natsu.
Her leg cracked trying to stop the attack. Suddenly Erza was in Natsu's arms; her leg broken, mangled and twisted the wrong way as she screamed in agony.
Natsu had never heard Erza scream in pain before, not like this. It was a sound that overpowered Lullaby.
"…Erza…" Natsu muttered breathlessly, staring at the redhead clutching his chest tightly. Her right leg looked completely shattered. Erza was whimpering in pain. The Fire Dragon Slayer felt his mind go blank.
This is wrong, he thought dumbly, Erza can't ever be in pain .
"Natsu, just…" Erza's voice trailed off helplessly.
Lullaby was laughing. The sound caused Natsu's blood to boil. His heart kicked started again, pounding with vengeance. Erza needs me. The thought alone was enough to force him to move even despite every muscle and nerve screaming in agony.
He had no idea where he found the strength from, but somehow he managed to stagger to his feet, clutching Erza so tightly his fingers left marks on her shoulders. Every step felt like a goliath task, but he just put one foot in front of the other until he was shambling towards the ruins of the train station.
"Don't worry, Erza," he gasped weakly, cradling her body in her arms. She felt so light without her armour. Her skin was deathly pale. "It'll be alright…"
The demon was still chuckling. "Sixty seconds, brat!" Lullaby jeered, casually strolling behind him. Natsu just gulped and got on walking.
Mirajane was down, Erza was injured, Haruka was exhausted. Everyone else was incapacitated, and there would be thousands of deaths unless he did something. It was all on him.
My friends need me. The thought was as powerful as a bulldozer running through his head. And I need them far too much to ever let them down.
"You are a fool," Lullaby taunted, walking after Natsu calmly. "You could never beat me. I am from the Book of Zeref—I was the final creation from the Black Wizard himself before his 'sealing'. I might have been left incomplete for four hundred years, but make no mistake, brat; I should have been one of the Demon Gates of Tartarus itself."
Natsu had no time to listen. It took everything he had just to put one foot in front of the other. Lullaby sounded almost drunk with ecstasy with all the Magic he was devouring. "You humans have no idea what's coming," Lullaby mocked. "I was there four hundred years ago. My Curse was made as a means of unsealing E.N.D. itself, before that whole debacle with Zeref and his brother. As soon as I've regenerated my full power again, I will take my place at the Gates of Hell."
I will not let you hurt anyone I care about, Natsu thought furiously, but he didn't have the breath to say anything. He just gritted his teeth and kept on walking.
"It will be glorious !" Lullaby screamed, and the hurricane roared in agreement. The devastated town started to echo with screams as all those souls were levered out of their bodies. Natsu winced, trying desperately to fight against the Mass Murder Curse. "I've already kick-started the end of the world! My awakening is only the first—Tartarus itself will be rising out of the underworld early!"
The demon hesitated, glaring at Natsu curiously and realising the Dragon Slayer wasn't listening. "Oh well, not that you care," Lullaby conceded. "You only have thirty seconds left to live."
Natsu shambled through the ruins of the train station and staggered towards the devastated steps. Around him, the town was screaming. Haruka was lying draped across the granite steps, unconscious and shivering. Natsu almost collapsed as he approached, still cradling Erza in his arms. Erigor stood at the top of the stairs, watching him with vague amusement.
"Haruka!" He bellowed, shaking the Celestial Dragon Slayer roughly. She groaned, but there was no time to be gentle. "I need the Blessing of the Celestial Dragon Slayer right now!"
Her eyes were unfocused and weak. She was suffering massive Magic depletion. Natsu felt his stomach clench in dread. "Haruka!" He screamed desperately, dropping the unconscious Erza to the ground as he clutched Haruka's shoulders. "Now, there's not much time left!"
Haruka blinked. Her face was pale and sweaty; her red hair was a mess that draped across her head. Her golden pupils were dilated, struggling to focus. "I don't have much Magic left…" Haruka admitted weakly, slurring her words.
Around him, Natsu glimpses silvery translucent shapes soaring through the night's sky; souls torn out of their bodies by the music. Lullaby was laughing furiously, mouth wide open to feast. Natsu felt so weak he could barely breathe. It felt like his heart was being torn out of his chest.
Haruka's hands clutched his shoulder tightly. They were sitting right next to each other, so close he could see the fear in her eyes and feel her breath on his face. "…but you can take whatever I have…" Haruka whispered quietly, just as she pressed her lips onto his.
The kiss was so sudden it took Natsu completely off-guard. Her taste was overwhelming, her lips soft and gentle, and then she breathed into him and time seemed to stop.
Starlight, so brilliantly white and pure, rushed out of her lips and into his. Without even thinking about it, Natsu swallowed.
The feeling of their Magic meshing together was a rush of exhilaration that set his blood ablaze. Natsu's eyes shot open, feeling the burning flames and the glistening starlight dance over his skin.
It was pure power the likes of which he had never felt before. It felt like he had swallowed the heavens itself. Suddenly, he was connected straight to the Spirit World, and then it all exploded into flames.
Haruka fell limply out of his arms. Natsu couldn't even control the influx of power, but he managed to aim it. He turned to face Lullaby with furious determination, slamming his hands outwards as his whole body blazed into radiantly white flames.
Even the demon flinched with the intensity of the light. Quickly, Lullaby flicked his hand forward and Natsu felt all of the oxygen pull away from him. The pressure nearly crushed every bone in Natsu's body, but the Dragon Slayer was far too high to feel anything as mundane as pain.
"Don't bother!" The demon crowed. "Your Magic is useless against mine! Fire can't burn without air!"
Actually, that's not true, Natsu thought with a weird serenity, as he felt the power swell within him. It was like a chain reaction bursting in size exponentially. There was one type of fire that could blaze even without oxygen…
Fire and Celestial Magic meshed together like it had never done before. The one type of explosion that could dominate the night's sky…
With every scrap of strength that he had left, Natsu slammed his hands together. All of that energy detonated out of him. At the top of his lungs, he bellowed a single word…
"SUPERNOVA!"
In an instant, the whole town was flooded by spectacularly white, unbelievably hot flames.
Then, everything went black for Natsu.
***
Six hours later…
In the remains of the guild building, the Mages of Fairy Tail stirred sluggishly. They had all been seconds away from having their souls devoured, and most woke up so exhausted they could barely think. The Mages were all suffering severe Magic depletion, and the assault had been so sudden that they couldn't even remember it properly.
The building was wrecked. There were barely any walls still standing and the roof had been ripped straight off. The whole town of Magnolia looked like it had been bombed into ruins.
Loke was the only Mage just about completely unaffected. He was left playing nursemaid to the bomb-shelled Mages, while also rummaging through the town for survivors. Erza, Natsu, Haruka and Mirajane were all missing, and nobody had the manpower or the strength to start a search party.
It was early dawn by the time Loke managed to even stop for breath, but the work was just beginning. Most Mages were only just starting to wake up, yet Magnolia was wrecked. The townspeople would need aid, and the guild had barely survived itself.
The only other Mage to stay conscious the entire night was Makarov. It was a testament to his strength that the Guild Master managed to resist Lullaby's Curse. The old man spent the storm standing at the front of the building, desperately trying to cast sealing spells and wards to protect his family from the Mass Murder Curse. Makarov had been so delirious with panic and exhaustion that he still wasn't sure if his efforts had actually accomplished anything.
No one was certain what happened. The most anyone could say for definite was that they had been attacked and that there was a storm. Everything else still had to be pieced together.
"Master!" Loke called, panting breathlessly as he ran up to Makarov. "I've checked everyone over; most of the guild seems alright. They're exhausted, but their souls seem intact."
Makarov nodded distractedly. The short old man was standing on a chunk of rubble, staring out over the horizon. The morning sunlight was still creeping over the town.
"Have I gone senile, Loke?" Makarov asked quietly, staring unblinkingly off into the distance.
Loke stared at him in confusion. "What?"
"How about Alzheimer's?" Makarov pressed. "Some sort of brain damage, maybe?"
"No!" Loke protested, before hesitating slightly. "… Well, I don't think so, at least. What's going on?"
Makarov slowly raised his hand and pointed towards the west horizon, into the distance on the other side of Magnolia. Loke turned to stare at the empty landscape, staring confusedly.
"I know that I'm old…" Makarov admitted slowly, scratching his head. Everything west of the train station on the edge of the town had seemingly vanished. "… But I was pretty damn sure that there used to be a mountain range over there…"