Wendy hid tightly behind Tike, not daring to breathe loudly, afraid that the fierce sword edge would land on her in the next second.
Was this really the way guild members "exchanged feelings"? This was too intense, too scary!
She subconsciously opened her small mouth, wanting to say something to this brother who was the only one giving her a sense of security, but found that his face no longer held the usual gentleness and friendliness. His gaze was even colder than the trace of alienation revealed when they first met in the forest.
In the moment Wendy was stunned, Tike extended his right hand forward, aiming at the pink-haired boy still dodging Erza's slashes. His five fingers spread slightly, and pale blue magical light began to condense in his palm.
"Water-Make: Water Prison!"
"Woah?!"
The pink-haired boy was frantically dodging Erza's attacks when he was suddenly trapped inside a water sphere. In desperation, he opened his mouth wide, and a ball of crimson flame was about to surge from it!
"Fire Dragon's..."
As soon as the flame appeared, it was instantly extinguished by the cold water current. Not only did it fail to break the water sphere, but the action of opening his mouth also caused him to choke on several mouthfuls of water, glug glug.
"Tike?"
Erza finally noticed Tike standing not far away, as well as the strange little girl following behind him.
However, the current situation obviously didn't allow her to exchange pleasantries first.
"Tike! Let go of Natsu quickly! He's about to be drowned by you!"
"..."
Tike snapped his fingers expressionlessly. The water sphere binding Natsu disintegrated instantly, turning into countless water droplets scattering down.
Regaining his freedom, Natsu fell onto the wet ground with a "plop." Supporting himself with both hands, he coughed violently, coughing up mouthfuls of water.
"Cough cough cough... cough cough..."
Before Natsu could catch his breath, Tike grabbed the collar on Natsu's chest, lifted him entirely off the ground, and questioned fiercely:
"Hey, are you human?"
"Hah?!"
Natsu was stunned by Tike's sudden question, then struggled vigorously, shouting loudly: "What stupid things are you saying! Of course I'm human! I'm also the son of the Fire Dragon King Igneel! Igneel even personally taught me super powerful Dragon Slayer Magic..."
Before he could finish, Natsu felt his vision blur and flew backward.
Bang—!
The wall collided violently with the boy's body, and fine cracks spread outward from the impact point.
(Hmph, it really is the detestable Dragon Slayer Magic.)
Looking at Natsu, who was almost embedded in the wall, Tike's eyes were filled with unconcealed disgust. He extended his claw-like five fingers covered with swirling currents.
"Nether Dragon's Rending..."
Sensing the serious killing intent on him, Gray and Erza grabbed Tike's shoulders simultaneously, stopping his next move.
"Hey! What kind of madness are you suddenly in?!"
"Calm down! He is also a member of our guild!"
Restrained by the two, Tike slowly raised his head. The chill deep in his pupils seemed to dissipate slightly, restoring a bit of human warmth.
"Gray, why are you stopping me? Could it be you want to finish him off yourself?"
Gray simply couldn't believe his ears. He shook his head fiercely, trying to dispel this sense of absurdity.
"What nonsense are you talking about?! We're just..."
"True, you don't have my 'nose' and can't smell it." Tike tilted his head slightly, looking at Natsu still struggling on the wall. "So you don't know the scent on this guy either."
Gray glanced at Natsu following his gaze, frowning as he pressed: "What scent?"
Tike turned his head back, his gaze falling on Gray again.
"You should still remember Deliora, right? That demon who destroyed all your past happiness."
"Deliora..."
Gray's breathing halted abruptly, then he became somewhat emotional.
"Deliora is dead! Right in Brago! You helped me kill it with my own hands! Don't tell me you want to say Natsu is that guy's reincarnation?! What kind of joke is this! The age doesn't match at all!"
"No, if it were merely reincarnation, I wouldn't need to mention it specifically."
Tike denied Gray's guess, stating what he smelled in an affirmative tone.
"The scent on him is very special. Only half belongs to a human, while the other half is similar to Deliora, that is, the scent of a Demon of the Book of Zeref."
"You say he is a Demon of Zeref?"
Gray was greatly shocked, subconsciously loosening the hand gripping Tike's shoulder.
Accused, Natsu completely didn't understand what they were arguing about.
He only knew he was attacked inexplicably and labeled with strange titles.
"I don't know what ghost stuff you're talking about! I'm Natsu Dragneel! Son of the Fire Dragon King Igneel! I don't know any bullshit Zeref, and I'm definitely not any demon!"
"Oh?" Looking at Natsu's completely oblivious, even somewhat aggrieved and angry appearance, Tike raised his eyebrows slightly. "Does even the person himself not have this awareness?"
Even so, Tike found it difficult to suppress his hostility toward Natsu.
Not only a Dragon Slayer brat representing evil to him, but also a Demon of the Book of Zeref—these two identities precisely stepped on his landmines.
The prejudice and hatred he originally wanted to discard occupied his mind again.
Plus, he didn't know this noisy pink-haired kid at all. Since it was a stranger with stacked "hate" attributes, then, clearing him out also...
(Wait...)
An extremely fragmented memory shard, a pink-haired boy whose face couldn't be seen clearly, a tender voice carrying expectation, seeming to come from distant time: "When are you coming out to play with me?"
Tike grabbed his head, trying to dispel this sudden confusion in his mind.
"Is this our first time meeting?"
Natsu was stunned. He blinked, recalled carefully, and shook his head decisively.
"Hmph! I've never met such an inexplicable and annoying kid like you!"
Obviously, the experience of being thrown against the wall just now made his impression of Tike extremely poor.
"I thought so."
(But... what was that fragment flashing through my mind just now?)
To be honest, this wasn't the first time.
Back in Edolas, when he first met the Wendy of that world, similar memory fragments had surfaced in his mind.
And this vague memory became even clearer when he met the Wendy of this world.
(Smelling more carefully, the scent of his human part is also a bit like Grandpa August...)
Thinking of this, the look in Tike's eyes toward Natsu gradually changed.
Although the disgust for Dragon Slayer Magic and Zeref's Demon still existed, the cold killing intent that almost wanted to obliterate the other party was gone.
While Tike's hostility subsided, Gray couldn't calm down at all.
"Tike... is... is what you just said true? You didn't smell wrong, right? Natsu he... he is really a Demon of the Book of Zeref?"