บท 9: 9
Chapter 9 – Wyvern Slaying
"I hate trains…" Natsu groaned as he and the Strauss siblings stepped off the train at the station closest to the rural Abhainn Village.
"I didn't have a problem." Mira stated with a tilt of her head. "Did you Lisanna?"
"Nope." Lisanna chirped happily. Though from the large smile on her little sister's face, Mira would bet money that it was because she'd let Natsu rest his head on her lap the whole train ride. Mira would have to call dibs for taking care of Natsu on the ride back.
"The sign says that Abhainn Village is three kilometers west of here." Elfman informed everyone as he read the sign just outside of the station. This station in Floraunt Town was the closest train station to Abhainn and the slightly further out Foraoise Village where the Wyvern flock had attacked.
"Well I guess we should get walking then." Mira commented as the group of four made their way down the road and were soon on the dirt road leading towards Abhainn Village. In just under an hour the group of mages found Abhainn and entered the small village. They were shown to the Village Elders for both Foraoise and Abhainn to explain the most recent updates on the situation.
"So they haven't left Foraoise yet?" Natsu questioned getting shakes of the head from both Elders.
"Not yet, they don't seem interested in leaving the village." The Elder of Foraoise stated.
"So they are trying to establish territory." Natsu mused. This behavior fit with what he'd learned about Wyverns from Igneel growing up. They'd run out any competition for prey from their chosen area and begin to settle in. After the territory was secured the flock would then focus on nesting and reproduction to grow their flock's numbers.
"So we can keep the bodies correct? You don't care what we do with them?" Mira clarified with the Elders. Getting nods of agreement from both brought a smile to her face. Ever since Natsu had started bringing Dragonkin meat back from his missions involving the beasts she'd developed a liking for it. Wyvern wasn't bad when cooked and a bit of seasoning went well with the meat. Salamander was thick and filling with richness that Mira enjoyed. She was looking forward to eating her fill on this mission.
"Then we'll be happy to dispose of them for you!" Natsu smiled widely, a bit of drool from the corner of his mouth was visible though.
"Please be careful young mages, we'd hate to see you injured or worse because of our request." The Foraoise Elder sighed not likely the thought of young teens fighting those terrors that had attacked his village.
"Don't worry old man! We've got an advantage over them already!" Mira smirked as she and her siblings stood up followed by Natsu.
"We'll see you soon!" Lisanna smiled as she and Elfman gave a polite bow to the Elders before the four left the Abhainn Elder's house.
"Well, let's get started." Natsu stated his normally cheerful demeanor becoming a bit more serious. This was quickly copied by Elfman, Lisanna, and Mira. One thing Natsu had impressed on all of them from his experience was that you never went into a fight against Dragonkin carefree. A single misstep against a Dragonkin would more than likely see you becoming its next meal. Natsu had the scars to prove what happened when you made mistakes on a Hunt.
"Right." Elfman nodded as they headed towards Foraoise.
"Okay." Lisanna stated as she tightened her fists.
"We've got this." Mira stated her eyes sharp and determined.
The group only had to walk two kilometers to get to Foraoise from Abhainn. In that time they discussed strategy for how to deal with the Wyverns and whatever Magic the Alpha Wyvern might possess. Making strategies for dealing with Fire, Wind or Poison were all discussed and Natsu would take point against the Alpha regardless. Upon getting near the village Natsu halted the group under the shade of a large tree and pointed to the closest house from their position. Perched on top of the wood and stone building was a Wyvern. Green scales covered most of the beast's body but the underside was colored sky blue with smaller scales. It was a bit difficult to tell since the Wyvern was perched but Natsu estimated it to be around five meters in length.
"A lookout?" Lisanna questioned as she looked the Wyvern over.
"It is new territory, they're probably still on alert for predator competition." Mira suggested while Elfman nodded in agreement.
"Mira, think you can get a bit closer and let them know we're here?" Natsu asked his Forest Dragon Slayer girlfriend with a fanged grin. Mira grinned back, fangs and all, before nodding and slipping away from the group. The platinum-haired teen quietly made her way through the shadows of the trees slowly getting closer and closer to the perched Wyvern. She stopped just over fifteen meters from the Wyvern when she noticed it perk up and start scanning the forest. Either it had heard her or her scent was different enough that the Wyvern had picked up on it amid the normal scents of the village and forest.
"Time to say hi." Mira grinned before taking a deep breath. "Forest Dragon's Roar!" Mira roared out as a swirling vortex of wood, leaves, thorns and other bits of plant material were expelled towards the Wyvern at high speed. The Wyvern barely had time to try and roar before the spell hit it. The Wyvern was engulfed by Mira's Roar and sent flying backwards into the village. The shrieks from the Wyvern letting Mira and the others know her spell had done some damage.
"Let's move!" Natsu ordered as he Lisanna and Elfman dashed into the village followed quickly by Mira. Finding the lookout Wyvern struggling back to its feet wasn't a surprise but the six loud roars they were met with indicated they'd gotten the flock's attention.
Another green scaled Wyvern came rushing around the nearest corner with a roar. It was roughly the same size as the lookout and Elfman leapt into the fray to engage it.
"Take-Over: Beast Arm: Black Bull!" Elfman chanted as his arm was covered in yellow squares before turning into a large, heavily muscled, arm covered in dark skin and black fur. The Wyvern attempted to snap its jaws on Elfman only for him to sidestep the bite and slam a punch into the side of the Wyvern's head. The beast was sent stumbling across the dirt road and staggered to stay upright.
A third Wyvern launched itself up from further in the village with its wings. A few beats and the Wyvern spotted the four mages and dived towards them. Lisanna dashed past her brother and activated her own Take-Over Magic.
"Take-Over: Animal Leg: Colossal Rabbit!" Lisanna chanted her spell and her legs turned into large rabbit legs with purplish fur. With her legs transformed she leapt upwards and met the Wyvern in the air. 'Only Mira can fly with her Take-Over and still fight. I need to make this Wyvern unable to fly and keep it on the ground.' Lisanna decided quickly as her right hand erupted into flames. "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" She roared out and slammed her fist into the Wyvern's wing. The blast of fire and sharp crack of a breaking bone let Lisanna know she'd succeeded in her plan. The loud shriek of pain as the Wyvern dropped to the ground informed the rest of the mages. The Wyvern crashed down onto the dirt road as Lisanna used her transformed legs to land safely behind the fallen Wyvern.
"Where is the Alpha?" Natsu questioned himself as he scanned the village looking for his primary target. Three more Wyverns launched themselves into the air from around the small village and were quickly upon the four mages. "Finish this first, and then find it!" He stated with a growl as he slammed his foot into the ground breaking the dirt and rock of the street. "Earth Dragon's Shrapnel Barrage!" Dozens of large rocks and pieces of compressed dirt launched at the incoming Wyverns but only struck two of the three as the furthest one had time to dodge. The other two fell to the ground and Natsu rushed them both. "Magma Dragon's Eruption Fist!" Natsu chanted as both of his fists were covered in magma. He punched both Wyverns before they could separate themselves from the pile they'd landed in. Both punches exploded into miniature volcanic eruptions sending the Wyverns reeling as they shrieked in pain. The last Wyvern that had dodged Natsu's spell dived towards Natsu.
"Forest Dragon's Roar!" Mira roared out as she launched her Breath Attack at the diving Wyvern.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Lisanna launched her own Breath Attack at the same time aiming to protect her boyfriend. The two Roar spells impacted the Wyvern simultaneously causing a large explosion as Mira's Roar fueled Lisanna's Roar. The Wyvern was sent careening into a small firewood shack from the blast and smashed through the structure. Smoke rose from the downed Wyvern and even from a distance Natsu could see that a large patch of scales had been blasted off the Wyvern's flank.
"You're welcome!" Mira yelled to Natsu before dodging a bite from her Wyvern.
"Thanks!" Natsu yelled back as he breathed deep and unleashed his next spell on the two injured Wyverns he'd brought down. "Magma Dragon's Roar!" The two Wyverns were instantly engulfed in the molten rock and sent tumbling down the dirt road. When the dust cleared a burning pile of lava coated the two, very dead, Wyverns sending smoke into the air.
Elfman was having a bit of trouble as his punches, even enhanced by his Take-Over, weren't able to knock out the Wyvern he was fighting. The Wyvern swung its tail at him forcing Elfman to jump over the swipe and watch it smash into the wall of a house. The wall shattered and the Wyvern roared at the mage. Elfman transformed his left arm into the Black Bull Form as well before slamming both fists together. "Guess I'll have to hit you harder then!" With that he rushed the Wyvern. The Wyvern lashed out with another bite but Elfman dodged by sliding under the beast's jaws. "Take this!" He yelled as he launched a barrage of punches into the less protected underbelly of the Wyvern. The Wyvern stumbled as its body took blow after blow and Elfman felt at least two ribs break under his transformed fists. Thinking quickly Elfman grabbed one of the injured Wyvern's legs and heaved with all the strength his partial Take-Over granted. The Wyvern shrieked as its leg was jerked out from under it and it hit the ground on its side. "Rargh!" Elfman roared as he moved to stand by the downed Wyvern's head and lifted both of his transformed fists over his head. The mage slammed both fists into the Wyverns head with a sickening crack. The Wyvern flailed while Elfman grunted at the pain in his hands. "One more!" He roared as he brought both of his fists down on the Wyvern's head again. Elfman felt part of the beast's skull give way to the second blow and the Wyvern went still. Looking down he saw blood starting to leak out of the Wyvern's nostrils and eyes. "I did it…" He panted out before he winced as he looked at his transformed hands. They'd been cut by the Wyvern's hard scales and he'd probably need Mira or Lisanna to bandage them up after the fight. Turning to look for his siblings he made his way over to his sisters seeing that they were wrapping up their fights.
"Fire Dragon's Talon!" Lisanna called out as she brought her foot down on her Wyvern's leg. The scales broke and sheared off after some resistance, the beast's Magic Resistance unable to block Lisanna's spell. The Wyvern shrieked as another of its limbs was debilitated. 'I have to finish this quickly. We still don't know where the Alpha is. If we get got off guard it'll be bad.' Lisanna thought as she picked her target. Moving forward Lisanna dodged a tail swipe easily, the attack slowed greatly by the damage she'd just done to one of the Wyvern's legs. Spinning to the right to avoid the snap of the Wyvern's jaws Lisanna curled her fingers into a 'claw' position and both her hands burst into bright flames. "Fire Dragon's Claw!" She roared as she slashed both of her hands across the Wyvern's less protected neck. A weak point Natsu had pointed out; the Wyvern's neck couldn't be as armored as the majority of its body without hindering the movement of the Dragonkin's head. This made it a vulnerable spot and an ideal target for a Dragon Slayer. The Wyvern's neck spewed blood from the two lacerations and the beast flailed as it backed away from Lisanna. "Sorry." The platinum-haired teen apologized to the flailing beast before moving in to finish it off. She moved in avoiding the flailing of the Wyvern's one good wing and its tail before grabbing the lacerated area of its neck. "Fire Dragon's Grip Strike!" With a boom the Wyvern's neck lost a huge part and nearly decapitated the beast. Lisanna felt the blood splatter onto her face and clothes but chose to ignore it. She'd used more Magic than she'd intended but she wanted to end the Wyvern's suffering quickly. Turning her head to survey the surroundings, Lisanna's eyes landed on her brother jogging towards her his own Wyvern completely still further down the main dirt road of the village.
"You okay, Lisanna?" Elfman questioned as he stopped in front of her.
"Yeah, I dodged its attacks." Lisanna answered. "Are you ok? Your hands look hurt." She fretted as Elfman smiled sheepishly.
"I'll be fine, just some small cuts and maybe some bruising. These things are tougher than they look." Elfman assured his worried little sister. Both siblings turned to look over at their older sister's fight when they heard the shriek of the first Wyvern.
"Forest Dragon's Horn Strike!" Mira called out as her hands and arms were encased by wood that spiraled into sharp points. The first 'horn' was used to stab through the Wyvern's wing, permanently grounding it, before the second was stabbed into its less protected underbelly. Blood poured from the body stab and Mira pulled her hands from both of the wooden constructs, leaving them stabbed into the Wyvern. The eldest Strauss sibling kicked off the 'horn' left in the Wyvern's body and launched herself at its head. "Forest Dragon's Talon!" Mira roared as her right foot was covered by a thick wooden spike which she drove straight up in a high kick. The wooden spike pierced the bottom jaw of the Wyvern and punctured straight through into the inside of its mouth. This effectively nailed the Wyvern's jaw shut and stunned it simultaneously. "One more shot!" Mira determined as she removed her foot from the spike and charged her next spell. "Forest Dragon's Roar!" Another spiraling vortex of wood, thorns, and leaves slammed into the Wyvern and forced it to the ground as its underbelly was torn up by the Breath Attack. Mira stood before the, now dead, Wyvern while taking a few heavy breaths. Natsu hadn't been kidding about Dragonkin's Magical Resistance. She'd had to put a good amount of Magic behind her spells to take advantage of the natural strength Dragon Slayer Magic had against Dragonkin.
"Mira watch out!" Elfman roared as he shoved his sister out of the way of an incoming bullet of wind. The attack hit the already transforming Elfman and sent him smashing through the house behind him.
"Elfman!" Mira and Lisanna yelled as they looked to where their brother had been launched.
"Earth Dragon's Roar!" Natsu yelled as he came charging across the village. The blast of rock and dirt raced toward the, much larger, Wyvern only for it to flap its large wings and ascend out of the Breath Attack's range. "That's the Alpha!" He roared out letting Lisanna and Mira know they needed to keep their eyes on the beast. The house that Elfman was launched into suddenly had debris tossed out of it as a large, black-furred, Minotaur emerged from it.
"Beast Soul: Black Bull." Elfman huffed from his transformed state. Both Mira's and Lisanna's eyes teared up slightly in happiness seeing their brother alive and, mostly, unharmed.
"You did a Full Body Take-Over." Mira stated before her face broke out into a grin. "I knew you could do it!"
"Elfman you're great!" Lisanna cheered as she hugged her, much larger, brother. This Minotaur form made him almost three meters in height with the durability to shrug off attacks that would kill a normal man.
"Earth Dragon's Land Flip!" Natsu called out as he appeared between the Strauss siblings and the Wyvern. Jabbing his hands into the ground Natsu suddenly lifted a huge slab of earth and flipped it into a standing wall which blocked another wind bullet. "I'm glad you're ok, Elfman, but you guys have to focus!" Natsu yelled to the siblings as another wind bullet slammed into the earthen barrier.
"Right, sorry Natsu!" Mira replied while Lisanna and Elfman refocused.
"So that wind bullet was the Alpha's Breath Attack?" Lisanna confirmed as another blast rocked Natsu's wall.
"Yeah, we need to ground him too, Mira can you take care of his wings?" Natsu asked and Mira nodded before using her Take-Over: Satan Soul. Mira rocketed into the air drawing the Alpha's attention. "Alright, Elfman, when Mira grounds the Alpha can you hold it down?"
"Leave it to me, Natsu! I should have enough strength in this form to keep it from getting away." Elfman nodded as he clenched his fists.
"Great! Lisanna, you and I are going to torch him as soon as Elfman has him pinned. Focus on the head and let's try and blast it before the Alpha can retaliate with another Breath Attack." Natsu instructed getting a nod from his girlfriend.
"Got it!" Lisanna nodded as she looked up to watch her sister try and deal with the Wyvern's flight.
"You've got to have a limit for those!" Mira yelled at the Alpha Wyvern as it launched another wind bullet at her. She easily evaded in her Satan Soul Form. This form was the one she was most familiar with of all of her Take-Over Forms; so she had no problem bringing out a hundred percent of her power while in it. Seeing the Alpha pause the Breath Attacks to actually breathe, Mira shot towards it and at the last second launched herself up and over the Alpha with a strong flap of her demonic wings. "Evil Explosion!" With a huge blast of Dark Magic the Alpha roared out in pain as its wing joints were damaged and it began falling out of the sky. Mira huffed as she watched the large Dragonkin fall. "That was almost everything I had left and it only broke a few scales and cracked the joints? How old is this thing to have such high Magic Resistance?"
The Alpha slammed into the ground sending up a plume of dust and dirt as it cratered the area it crashed into. Elfman charged forward and threw the full weight and power of his Minotaur form into grabbing the Alpha's damaged wings and holding them tightly. The Wyvern was still too stunned to process the pain of having its damaged wings roughly jerked backwards. Natsu and Lisanna moved in to finish it off before it could even hope to recover.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Lisanna and Natsu roared from either side of the Alpha's head. Their flame coated fists slammed into both the left and right side of the Alpha's head and exploded into a blast of flames. The sheer pressure of the two spells created a shockwave that penetrated the Wyvern's skull and concussed its brain so badly that multiple hemorrhages occurred throughout the vital grey matter. The Alpha collapsed dead near instantly as the flames died down and Lisanna and Natsu withdrew their fists.
"Ow, its head is so hard!" Lisanna groaned as she held her right hand softly seeing a bruise forming already. Natsu vaulted over the dead Wyvern to get to Lisanna and look over her injury.
"Let me see." Natsu requested and Lisanna let him take her injured hand into his. "Doesn't look like you broke anything, we'll put some ice on it and get you some food. We Dragon Slayers are pretty durable so you'll heal up quickly, I promise." Natsu smiled as he softly kissed the back of Lisanna's hand making her giggle happily.
"Thank you, Natsu." Lisanna smiled as she kissed her boyfriend's cheek. Natsu grinned back while Mira landed near them and transformed back into her human state. Elfman climbed down off the Alpha's back and cancelled his transformation as well. The four grouped up and looked over the battlefield. A few spots of damage, the house Elfman's Wyvern had smashed the wall out of, the firewood shed the Wyvern Lisanna and Mira blasted out of the air crushed, the hole in the one house Elfman had been blasted through, and of course the road throughout the village was torn up and cratered.
"Quest complete!" Natsu cheered as he pushed down his instincts for a moment.
"Yeah!" The Strauss siblings cheered as they raised their fists into the air.
"Is it weird that I feel like roaring out my victory?" Mira asked a second later.
"You feel it too?" Lisanna questioned looking at her big sister.
"That's normal. Just let it out!" Natsu grinned before taking a deep breath. Mira and Lisanna copied him and then all three threw back their heads and roared to the sky.
"Rarrrrgh!" The trio of Dragon Slayers announced their victory over another Dragonkin with their own Draconic Roars. The celebratory roars ended a few seconds later and both sisters looked shocked at how good they felt.
"Feels better, right?" Natsu asked with a toothy grin.
"It really does." Mira laughed as Lisanna nodded with bright smile.
"Mira can you help Lisanna find some ice? She bruised her hand helping me finish off the Alpha." Natsu asked and Mira was instantly beside her little sister and checking her over.
"Come on Lisanna, one of these houses should have some ice left. The people haven't been gone for more than eight or nine days. The Magic Ice Box can keep ice frozen for two weeks according to their advertisements." Mira said as she guided Lisanna to the nearest house to search for ice.
"What can I do Natsu?" Elfman asked as he looked over the Alpha's body.
"Help me drag these Wyverns over to the edge of the village. We'll find some butchery tools in the village and get to gutting and cleaning these guys afterwards. We'll take as much meat, scales, and bones as we can. We can eat the meat and share it with the Guild; we can sell the scales to the armor smith in Magnolia that Erza goes to and we can grind the bones down into that 'Dragon Powder' stuff they use for potions and elixirs and sell it too. That'll be bonus money on top of the reward. Though I think we might be losing about fifty thousand Jewels for the damage we did to the town." Natsu explained getting a nod from Elfman.
"That seems about right." Elfman sighed as he looked over the damage to the village. "Well, better get to it, we can have one heck of a lunch once we're done with these guys."
"First you need to Take-Over this big guy though." Natsu grinned at Elfman's shocked look. "The Alpha is the only one that can utilize Magic, so it'll be a stronger form for you, flying and wind bullet Breath Attack, two birds with one stone right?"
"Are you sure? You and Lisanna brought it down." Elfman questioned.
"Do it Elfman, its ok!" Lisanna smiled as she and Mira walked towards the guys. Lisanna had a cloth filled with ice resting on her right hand and Mira was beaming at Natsu for thinking of Elfman's benefit.
"Go for it." Natsu nodded and Elfman couldn't help but smile.
"Thanks you two. Alright, here it goes." Elfman stated as he placed both hands on the dead Alpha. "Take-Over." With that command yellow light slowly engulfed the Wyvern. When the light got its brightest the Alpha Wyvern's body disappeared and merged into the light flowing into Elfman. The male Strauss sibling's form suddenly grew large and changed into an almost perfect match of the defeated beast.
"How's it feel, Elfman?" Mira asked as the light faded.
"This is going to take some getting used to." Elfman's distorted voice came from the Wyvern Form's jaws. "It's like I'm crawling but I also have wings for arms at the same time. It's really weird compared to my other Forms. Actually learning to fly is going to take a while, I can already tell." He sighed as the glow of Take-Over enveloped him and he returned to his regular state.
"Well, I'm ready to get to work on the rest of these guys now. Anyone else getting hungry?" Natsu asked getting rumbles from three other stomachs.
"Starving, now that you mention it." Mira grumbled as she rubbed her stomach.
"I could go for some Wyvern with a side of Fire." Lisanna smiled at Natsu making the Magma Dragon Slayer sigh playfully.
"I guess." Natsu grinned as Lisanna cheered.
"Well let's get them over to the edge of the village then. Lisanna can you find the village butcher shop? We're going to need some tools to carve these things up." Elfman stated as he made his way over to the nearest Wyvern body.
"I'm on it!" Lisanna chirped as she went looking for the butcher shop.
"Pick up the pace, Natsu! I'm hungry!" Mira called back to her boyfriend, she was already dragging the Wyvern she'd slain towards the edge of the village.
"Coming." Natsu responded as he jogged over to the Wyvern on top of the smashed woodshed. "I think I'll rotisserie you, buddy." He grinned as he yanked the Wyvern off the wood pile by its tail.
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