Natsu grunted as he trained in the forest with his flames. A short distance away, Mirajane and the First Master, Mavis Vermillion, were observing the Dragon Slayer, with the latter floating in the air.
"What do you think, Mira?" Mavis asked, looking at the Take Over Mage, who shivered while rubbing her arms as she watched Natsu use his flames.
"Natsu has surprisingly taken to using his Cursed Flames rather easily. Definitely easier than when I first gained a new Take Over Form." Mirajane replied, before wincing and rubbing her head as the demons in her were screaming at her whenever she looked at the flames.
They weren't Natsu's regular flames either, while they might look the same, the feeling they gave off was… dark, evil, radiating bloodlust.
Two and a half months have passed since Natsu, Gray, and Erza encountered Ruby, with them learning several startling facts, namely Natsu being an Etherious, a demon of Zeref.
It had been shocking for Mirajane to learn Natsu of all people was an actual demon, one created by Zeref himself. When Makarov had asked Mirajane to help train him, she had been hesitant, not out of fear of Natsu. But, because she hasn't been an active mage in years and wasn't sure she could do much, besides offering some advice on how to control his demonic half.
Though another surprise was how quickly Natsu managed to unlock his Cursed Flames and began training to master them. But there had been a few times where he had to stop when he felt himself starting to lose control.
Mirajane had also been able to sense Natsu's demonic power, something she's been able to sense, the moment he unlocked his Cursed Flames. But this also affected the demons in her, who either screamed at her to run away or submit to an obviously more powerful demon. While she didn't know the full extent of just how powerful Natsu is, compared to her Satan Soul, it was clearly a large margin if they wanted her to run or submit.
It made Mira wonder just how Natsu's Etherious half was hidden away so well that he appeared like an ordinary human.
Mirajane was pulled from her thoughts when she saw Natsu panting and saw his arms and legs started gaining reptilian-like scales.
"Natsu." Mira called out in worry.
Natsu glanced at her, showing his now yellow slitted eyes, before he grit his teeth and his appearance returned to normal.
"I… I'm fine… just… need a minute…" Natsu said with a tired grin.
"You shouldn't push yourself Natsu. You've only recently reawakened your Cursed Flames, if you use them too much, you'll increase the risk of succumbing to your Etherious nature and you'll know what will happen then." Mavis said, floating over to Natsu, who looked down.
"Then I won't stop until I kill Zeref, along with anyone in my way." Natsu said, looking off to the side.
He remembered back when Makarov revealed to him and Erza just who else would help him train to control his Etherious side and to be honest Natsu still hasn't fully come to terms with learning the truth about his past and doubts that he will anytime soon, not until he can finally confront Zeref, himself.
"Come on, it's time for a break to calm yourself down." Mavis said, snapping Natsu out of his thoughts.
Nodding, Natsu sat down with Mira walking over to him.
"You've been doing really good Natsu. Even better than me, when I gained a new Satan Soul." Mira complimented, given whenever she took over a new demon, she had to make them submit to her will before she could effectively use their power.
"Thanks Mira, but I can't even use any spells or curses, all I can do is coat my hands with my flames." Said Natsu, looking at his hands.
Even when he wasn't used his Cursed Flames, he can still feel them within him, along with this voice in the back of his mind, a voice telling him to track down and kill Zeref no matter what. Natsu did his best to resist it, but the more he used his flames, the stronger the voice got and if Natsu was honest with himself, he's terrified of it for one reason.
It was his voice telling him this. It was dark and twisted, but Natsu knew it was his.
"Don't worry, soon you'll be able to use the full power of your fire and be stronger than ever before." Mavis said, with Mira nodding agreement.
'Yeah, stronger than ever. But what will I become?' Natsu thought as he clenched his fist.
He didn't want to become what Zeref made him, he wanted to stay himself. He just hoped when the day came where he'd lose control, he'll be strong enough to overcome the demon in him.
"Hey Natsu, maybe you could just use it like your Dragon Slayer Magic, that could help your training." Happy said, adding in his two cents, while flying over and sitting on Natsu's head.
"Maybe…" Natsu muttered, thinking it over.
Either way he will learn to control these flames no matter what.
Erza panted in exhaustion as she leaned against a tree.
She looked the same, wearing her standard Hearts Kreuz armor, blue skirt, and black boots, but if one looked closely, they could see she now possessed elongated canines and slit pupils.
This is harder than it looks. Erza thought, looking at the surrounding area.
The ground had numerous trenches carved into it, several trees that looked to have been sliced into pieces or smashed, and it just looked like a disaster area.
This was the result of Erza's training, though she wasn't training in Requip, but a new form of magic that she's only recently started learning. One she was sure would help her fight on even ground with her sister.
Summoning a sword along with a pair of plain armor gauntlets and then, to shock of anyone that would have seen her, Erza immediately bit down and ate the sword and gauntlets. But rather than be hurt or have difficulty, Erza was easily able to chew through the metal and swallow it, feeling her fatigue vanish and her magic be refilled.
That's still going to take some getting used to. Erza thought as she flexed her arms, before turning to another group of trees and narrowed her eyes.
Standing up straight, Erza took a deep breath.
"Blade Dragon's… Tearing Roar!" Erza shouted, unleashing a roar of magic that pushed back or sliced through anything in its path.
Though while the roar was powerful, after a minute Erza had to stop and catch her breath.
That was longer than last time, I'm getting better. Erza thought as she smiled, despite her tiredness.
Guess Ruby was right, they did have an affinity with Dragon Slayer Magic.
"Blade Dragon Slayer Magic and Armor Dragon Slayer Magic." Erza muttered to herself.
Soon Erza's mind drifted to how she managed to gain her new magic.
"Erza, are you sure about this?" Makarov asked worriedly, while looking at the Requip mage.
Currently Erza sat across from Makarov and Porlyusica, a semi-active member of Fairy Tail and its Medical Advisor, with both of them looking at the girl worriedly, which was surprising given Porlyusica's hatred for people.
The reason for their worry being the two Lacrima's resting between them, both being colored a silver-grey.
"Girl, implanting just a regular Lacrima into your body is a dangerous procedure, two is even more dangerous and possibly lethal to those not strong enough. You're asking me to implant two Dragon Lacrimas inside you. Where could you even find one, let alone two Dragon Lacrimas?" Porlyusica questioned, while looking at the said Lacrima.
Finding one was rare, but two was nearly impossible unless you could find a dragon graveyard.
"The job I took for that historian said the reward was a choice of two objects from their collection. They apparently had several Dragon Lacrima as well, and I chose these two, Blade Dragon and Armor Dragon." Erza said, figuring they suited her the best given her fighting style and Requip.
Plus, Ruby already said they had an affinity for Dragon Slayer Magic. And if Ruby can be trained by the Black Dragon himself and become a Dragon Slayer, then Erza can have these Lacrimas implanted into her and train herself to become a Dragon Slayer.
"Erza are you sure, this isn't something to take lightly and it will be painful. I know you want to save your sister, but just one Dragon Lacrima is dangerous." Makarov said, remembering when his son, Ivan, implanted a Lightning Dragon Lacrima into Laxus, who was just a child at the time.
Laxus was lucky he inherited his great grandfather's, Yuri Dreyar's, affinity for lightning; otherwise he likely would have died or been unable to ever use magic again.
"Yes, I'm sure. Ruby said we have an affinity for Dragon Slayer Magic, and I don't have the time to find a Dragon to train me, if there are any still alive, let alone one that can fit my style of fighting. Not to mention if by some chance I did find a Dragon with a suitable element, I don't have the time to spend years training and learning it. Ruby's had years to master who knows how many different types of Dragon Slayer Magics, not to mention the experience she's gained in using them, along with the enemies she's made as Rose. If I want to save her, I need to be able to fight her on an equal ground." Erza said.
While not everyone knew Ruby was Rose, the only ones in the guild who knew about it are Natsu, Gray, Mirajane, Mavis, Makarov, Porlyusica, and Erza herself. She still had plenty of enemies like the Magic Council for being a Dark Mage, at least by their definition; Acnologia, who could show up to challenge her at any time; and Zeref himself, who Ruby is actively hunting. Not to mention the Balam Alliance, three of the strongest Dark Guilds who controlled all the other Dark Guilds, and of course, Zeref's stronger Etherious demons who will likely take notice of someone slaying Dark Mages and their demon brethren.
Erza knew she was a strong S-Class mage, but she doubted that she could match up against Ruby, let alone the beings that will be after her, as she is now. She needed to get stronger and these Lacrima are her best bet to get that strength.
Seeing she wasn't going to be deterred from her path, the two elders sighed in acceptance.
"Come on then, let's get you prepped and ready. But just remember you asked for this." Porlyusica said, motioning Erza to follow her while grabbing the two Lacrimas.
Nodding, Erza followed the pink-haired woman while mentally preparing herself for what was sure to be a painful experience.
And it hurt like a bitch!
While Erza had been unconscious for the procedure, after she woke up, she felt all the pain that came from it. It had been comparable to the pain she felt when the cultists tortured her and took her eye along with when Jellal attacked her.
But she pushed through the pain and now had access to Blade Dragon Slayer Magic and Armor Dragon Slayer Magic. Though given her knowledge of Dragon Slayer Magic was rather limited to only what she knew Natsu could do with his Fire Dragon Slayer Magic. She knew she could take on the properties of a Blade Dragon and an Armor Dragon, along with being able to generate, manipulate, and consume both blades and armor, both of which Erza had an abundance of.
With her Armor Dragon Slayer Magic, she's become durable enough to be able to take any attacks that were targeted at her while also not feeling any pain, given she tested it out by punching trees and boulders and not even feeling it, along with not feeling any damage from spells when she went out on jobs, as well as able to materialize armor-like substance, like platforms to walk across.
Her Blade Dragon Slayer Magic granted her the ability to physically cut anything to a degree and by using hypnotic prowess, Erza is able to mentally cut away at her targets.
Combined with her Requip, made her Dragon Slayer Magic that much more dangerous.
Just wait Ruby, I will find you and save you from yourself. And I'll make sure no one can hurt you again. Erza mentally swore.
She failed to protect her sister at Rosemary, leading her straight to Acnologia, but she won't fail again.
Even if she has to slay the Dragon King and Black Wizard, herself.