Chương 11: 11
Chapter 11 – Earth Wyrm, Dragon Slayers
"Master, there's an urgent call for you on the Communication Lacrima!" One of the barmaids informed the Master of Fairy Tail. Makarov quirked an eyebrow before sighing. He jumped off the bar and walked back to the Communication room in the back. Upon seeing the face in the Lacrima, Makarov stood straighter and cleared his throat before speaking.
"Chairman Gran Doma, it's been quite a while. You don't usually contact me directly." Makarov greeted the other man. "What do I owe the pleasure?"
"We have an Emergency, Makarov." Gran Doma stated firmly. "Three days ago a large Earth Wyrm emerged in District Twenty Six of Ackerland. Since its appearance, it has almost wiped out three full squadrons of Rune Knights and caused countless jewels in property damage. We do not even have an idea as to the total loss of civilian life yet. The damage that has been done to Ackerland as a whole has been catastrophic, and the situation isn't even close to being resolved yet."
"That's horrible." There was no levity in the normally-jovial master's voice, "I assume you're calling me as part of the Wizard Saints then." Makarov guessed and Gran Doma nodded.
"Indeed, Wizard Saint Dreyar, the Council has determined that you and the five Guild Members of Fairy Tail in possession of the Lost Magic 'Dragon Slayer' are needed to eliminate this threat."
"My brats are strong, to be sure." Makarov began, his eyes wide at Fairy Tail's Dragon Slayers being called on for this. "But if it's Dragon Slayer Magic you're requesting, why not just send for God Serena?"
"We can't find him." Gran Doma stated with something between a suppressed growl and an exasperated sigh. Makarov held back his own reaction to this news. Trust God Serena to disappear when his Magic would be the most applicable to a crisis. The eccentric man was hard to deal with and Makarov was glad he had only met the man on the rare occasion the Wizard Saints came together.
"It will take some time for us to get to Ackerland." Makarov informed the Chairman.
"We have that covered." Gran Doma informed the Guild Master. "An Airship is already in route to Fairy Tail. It will be there within the hour. Be prepared when it arrives."
"Very well, I and Fairy Tail will see to it that this incident is taken care of." Makarov gave a slight bow. Gran Doma nodded back and the Communication Lacrima switched off as the Chairman disconnected his Lacrima. With the orders relayed, Makarov left the small room the Communication Lacrima was in and hopped up onto the bar. "Alright brats! Listen up! I've just received an emergency summons from the Council! I and a select few members will be going to take care of this Emergency! Natsu, Lisanna, Erza, Mira, and Cana will all be coming with me! The rest of you brats, stay out of trouble until we get back!"
"For real Gramps?" Natsu was, predictably, the first one to rush over to him. "What kind of Emergency requires you and all of us?"
"I'd like to know as well, Master." Erza looked curious.
"An incredibly large Earth Wyrm has emerged in Ackerland and is annihilating the area. It has already destroyed large swaths of the land and killed many. The Council has decided that the best option for dealing with this crisis is to send in Dragon Slayers. As such, you five and I will be leaving immediately to deal with this incident. Hopefully, before any more lives are lost." Makarov informed the quintet of teens.
"Master, I've only had just over a month of practice with my Dragon Slayer Magic." Cana looked unsure. "Will I even be able to help with this?"
"What're you talking about Cana?" Natsu asked his girlfriend as he gently turned her to face him. "You've been doing great! You're definitely ready to put your Dragon Slayer Magic to the test!" Cana couldn't help but smile back at her boyfriend when he beamed at her like that.
"Yeah! We've got this!" Mira cheered as she punched her right hand into her left palm.
"Master will be with us too, so we'll be even safer!" Lisanna smiled at the brunette.
"With all of us together, we'll take care of this beast." Erza nodded a determined gleam in her eyes.
"Alright, alright, I get it." Cana smiled at her 'Dragon Family' as they'd started to jokingly refer to themselves. "Let's take this Wyrm down!"
"Yeah!" The group cheered as they raised their fists into the air. Makarov watched his brats with pride. They may be rambunctious and may cause him no end of headaches; but they were Family through and through.
"Alright you brats, go get ready! The Council is sending an Airship to pick us up and take us to Ackerland. It'll be here in less than an hour, so make sure you're ready in that time!" Makarov instructed the teens and all five of them went to prepare.
Just as Gran Doma had said, a Rune Knight Airship landed behind the Fairy Tail Guild Hall not an hour later. The group of six was quickly ushered into the craft which took off into the sky as soon as they were seated. The six were not quiet during the flight as they came up with their plans for the coming battle. Makarov would use his Magic to isolate the Wyrm and push it further into the mountains where it couldn't move as well. Then the five Dragon Slayers would move in. Natsu and Erza would be able to deflect or consume the Earth Wyrm's Magic Attacks. Mira's Forest Dragon Slayer Magic would be used to try and bind the Wyrm, but its massive size may make it unfeasible to subdue it. Lisanna and Cana would be working together, using their complementary Elements to deal as much damage as possible to the Wyrm. With this strategy they would hopefully come out of this battle mostly unscathed.
"We're landing, Wizard Saint Dreyar!" One of the Rune Knights informed Makarov as the Airship began to descend. The group from Fairy Tail stood and left the Airship as soon as it landed. Natsu let out a sigh of relief at being off the vehicle. He'd gotten a bit better with his motion sickness over the years, but he was always nauseous when it came to vehicles. His girlfriends' hadn't gotten to that point with their Dragon Slayer Magic yet it seemed, but Natsu knew it would happen one day. "Good luck!" The Rune Knight yelled to the group before the Airship took off again.
"Raaaargh!" A loud roar reverberated through the area and the Fairy Tail group all looked towards the mountains that they stood at the foot hills of. Circling the skies were at least a dozen Rune Knight Airships. Looking at the mountain quickly revealed their target. The massive Wyrm crashed through part of the rocky mountain. It was quickly fired upon by the circling Airships and the Wyrm retreated back into the large rocky landscape of the mountain foot hills. The large dark brown scales of the Wyrm stood out among the grey stone of the area. It even looked to have black, rock-like plates running along its back and horns crested the back of its snake-like head. The end of its tail was also covered in sharp, black barbs that matched the color of the plates going down the Wyrm's back.
"That's a big snake." Mira commented. "This might be more challenging than we thought."
"It seems so." Erza nodded in agreement. "Regardless our mission is to slay this beast."
"Stick to the plan, brats." Makarov instructed the teens. "I want all of you finishing this mission with the fewest injuries possible."
"Sure thing, Gramps!" Natsu agreed with a grin on his face.
"We won't let you down, Master!" Lisanna smiled at the old man.
"We should probably hurry." Cana noted seeing the Wyrm launch a Roar at the flying Airships. "I'm not sure how much longer they're going to be able to keep that thing here."
"Agreed." Makarov nodded. "Let's give this Wyrm a Fairy Tail 'Hello'!" With that the short old man was surrounded in bright yellow light. He quickly grew in size with his Titan Magic. Soon he was towering over them all and could probably stare the Wyrm in the eye without much trouble. "Get on brats." Makarov rumbled as he lowered his hand and let the teens jump on. Standing up to the full height of his new size Makarov walked towards the area the Wyrm was confined to. The Wizard Saint's footsteps shook the ground as he closed the distance between himself and the Earth Wyrm.
The Wyrm turned to face the giant man and let out a deafening roar of challenge. Makarov winced at the volume before raising his hand up and letting the Dragon Slayers unleash their Magic. All five of the teens stood side by side as they inhaled deeply while the Wyrm was distracted by Makarov's giant form.
"Magma Dragon's Roar!" Natsu exhaled a blast of molten rock towards the Wyrm.
"Earth Dragon's Roar!" Erza blasted her own swirling rock and dirt Roar at the beast.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Lisanna unleashed a torrent of flames from her mouth.
"Forest Dragon's Roar!" Mira sent the swirling maelstrom of wood, leaves, thorns and debris at the Wyrm.
"Booze Dragon's Roar!" Cana let loose her own Roar as a vortex of clear liquid.
The five Roars slammed into the Wyrm and sent it reeling back with a shriek of pain. The magic resistant scales of the massive beast were partially bypassed by Dragon Slayer Magic's innate effectiveness against Dragonkin. The alcohol of Cana's Roar ran down the Wyrm's body and was ignited by Lisanna's flames. The beast thrashed as it was set ablaze. The flames burned out shortly though as the alcohol was the only flammable thing on the Wyrm. The Wyrm's body bulged and it reared back. Seeing the telltale signs of a Breath Attack, Makarov raised his left hand and projected a strong barrier. The Wyrm unleashed its Roar almost point blank into the barrier. Rock and dirt went flying as the barrier held up under the assault. The air was filled with dust and the large beast took advantage to lash its barbed tail into Makarov's left leg.
"Gah!" Makarov grunted out as he stumbled from the strike. "Wily beast, aren't you." The old man huffed before he swung his huge hand and cleared away a large amount of the dust. The Dragon Slayers took this chance to hop from Makarov's hand to the ground as the old man needed both of his hands to grab the lunging Wyrm. "Vicious too!" He bit out as he held the Wyrm by its 'throat' and kept its fangs from reaching his face.
"Shhrrraaaaggh!" The Wyrm hissed out and Makarov applied more of his Magic Power to force the great beast to the ground. The slam kicked up dirt and dust and the Wyrm gave a shrieking hiss as it tried to flail.
"No you don't!" Mira yelled out as she slammed her hands onto the rocky soil. "Forest Dragon's Thicket!" From the rocky dirt large vines and branches emerged and wrapped around the Wyrm's flailing tail. Several of the vines and branches were snapped and broken by the large barbed tail. Mira grimaced as the tail continued to move despite her spell working to restrain it.
"Allow me to assist, Mira!" Erza called out from several meters to the platinum haired teen's left. The redhead stomped her foot onto the ground as her body glowed with her Dragon Slayer Magic. "Earth Dragon's Landslide!" The ground in front of Erza erupted and slid forward in a rush of dirt and stone. The wave of Earth didn't damage the Earth Wyrm much. Their identical Elements made that a challenge for both Erza and the Wyrm. But it did bury a section of the Wyrm's body and drastically reduced the flailing of its tail. Mira's spell rapidly began to restrain the now less mobile target, pinning the Wyrm's tail to the ground.
"Lisanna, Cana, are you with me?!" Natsu called out as he ran towards the Wyrm's shifting body.
"We're right here, Natsu!" Lisanna yelled back as she and Cana ran towards him.
"What do you want to do, Natsu?" Cana questioned as they got closer. "It's so big most of our spells won't do much damage to it!"
"We're going to combine our Roars again." Natsu grinned at his girlfriends. "Let's focus our attacks and break through its scales!"
"Sounds like a plan to me!" Lisanna agreed as they stopped just out of the swaying bodies' reach. As the Wyrm continued to try and thrash its way out of the hold Makarov, Mira, and Erza had on it.
"Ready whenever you are!" Cana nodded to them.
"Magma Dragon's…"
"Booze Dragon's…"
"Fire Dragon's…"
"ROAR!" Natsu, Lisanna, and Cana exclaimed together as they unleashed their Breath Attacks. The three focused on the same point on the large snake-like body and the resulting blast of the three attacks was large.
"Shhrrraaaaagggghhhkkkk!" The Wyrm shrieked as it felt its scales break under the attack. The immense heat of the combined spells burning its unprotected skin. Makarov slammed the Wyrm's head further into the rocky ground as his brats worked to break through its scales and deliver a fatal blow.
Natsu, Cana, and Lisanna looked at the large, scorched area of the Wyrm's body they'd just created for only a moment before moving on.
"Again!" Cana determined as the three rushed to a spot further up the Wyrm's body. The three combined their Roars again and the Wyrm shrieked as another blast destroyed its scales and burned it horribly. The thrashing grew more desperate and violent.
"Damn it! Stop moving!" Mira growled at the Wyrm as both she and Erza's spells were being destroyed by the thrashing beast.
It was sudden. Just an inkling from their connection to the Earth through their Magic. Natsu's eyes widened as he grabbed Cana and Lisanna and ran in the opposite direction of the Wyrm. Erza quickly abandoned her spell and rushed towards Mira. Makarov was given no warning except when the Wyrm's eyes glowed with an immense amount of Magic. The land trembled then erupted in a massive geyser of rock and dirt. The debris was launched so powerfully that it almost reached the Airships circling overhead. Several of the ships had to evade large rocks and debris thrown up by the eruption. The entire area was shrouded in dust and none of the Rune Knights could tell what was happening below.
"Mira…are you okay?" Erza asked her friend as she stood in front of the other teen. Mira looked at the redhead's back; while she was covered in dust and had quite a few scrapes, bruises and cuts. That was nothing compared to Erza though. The Requip Mage and Earth Dragon Slayer's armor was shredded. The plate mail almost completely gone from her body. Her hands, outstretched to hold back the Wyrm's attack, were a mass of cuts and covered in blood. Erza's clothes were likewise damaged and dirty.
"I'm alright, but you're not." Mira stood up shakily as she approached her friend. Erza's face was cut here and there; blood ran down her face and dripped off her chin.
"I'll be fine." Erza forced out as she lowered her arms. "We have to finish this."
"Erza, you're barely standing." Mira pointed out as she put Erza's left arm over her shoulders to help the redhead stay on her feet. "We need to regroup with the others."
"Raaaaargh!" The Wyrm's deafening roar rang out through the dust filled landscape. This was followed by the swirling vortex of rock and dirt that was its Breath Attack sweeping through the area and tearing trenches into the land. Thankfully the attack completely missed the two injured Dragon Slayers. The Wyrm was panicking and firing blindly into the dust.
"Where are the others?" Mira questioned as she tried to see through the thick dust in the air.
"That way." Erza pointed to their left and Mira heard something large collide with the ground. There was a large thud and a strong breeze swept through the area. The dust thinned enough for Mira to see and she gasped at what she saw. Makarov, still in his Titan size, was covered in wounds. Blood dripped from several of them but the look of rage on the old Master's face was palpable. He slammed his fist into the dazed Wyrm's head and Mira realized that the first thud was Makarov's first punch hitting the Wyrm.
"Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!" Lisanna's voice was barely heard but the large ball of fire that exploded against the Wyrm's head was impossible to miss. The Wyrm shrieked again and Mira and Erza both noticed that the youngest Strauss sibling had hit the beast's eye with her flames. With the Earth Wyrm now blind in one eye Makarov's next punch landed even easier. The snake-like head whipped around from the blow and the Wyrm unleashed another Roar. The blast of rock and dirt clipped Makarov's arm as the giant man moved to the side to avoid the attack.
"Magma Dragon's Tephra Burst!" Natsu roared out loudly. A compact ball of molten rock was launched at the Wyrm's opened maw. The sphere impacted the inside of the beast's mouth and seemingly detonated filling the Wyrm's mouth with thick lava. The Wyrm thrashed in agony but its shrieks were dulled by the lava filling its mouth.
"Booze Dragon's Acrid Mist!" Cana's voice, much like Lisanna's could barely be heard. The fine mist that engulfed the head of the Wyrm was almost indistinguishable from the remaining dust in the air. Every injury the mist touched burst into renewed pain for the Wyrm, as evidenced by it slithering away from the mist even as it hacked on the cooling lava in its mouth.
"Where do you think you're going?!" Makarov yelled at the beast as he grabbed its tail and kept it from getting away.
"Hold it steady Gramps!" Natsu yelled out as he landed close to the lagging Wyrm. Makarov complied, stomping on the Wyrm's tail and reaching out with both hands to wrap around its neck. Using his Titan Magic, the old man kept the Wyrm from moving. Natsu breathed in and exhaled, inhaled then exhaled, his body began to emit more and more heat. A large heat haze surrounded the teen and the ground around him began to smoke from the heat. "Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Black Sky," Natsu chanted as he crossed his arms in front of him. A swirling mass of lava and ash building up only a short distance from his crossed arms. Taking aim Natsu inhaled and then exhaled flames. "Pyroclastic Obsidian Blade!"
There was no sound. Then the Wyrm had a perfectly circular hole missing from its body, right where Cana, Lisanna, and Natsu had blasted off its scales earlier. This was followed by a massive cloud of burning ash and lava rushing from Natsu's position. The pyroclastic flow followed a straight line towards the hole in the Wyrm's body and tore through it. The beast's upper and lower halves separated and Makarov was left holding the severed upper portion.
"What was that?" Mira, Erza, Lisanna, and Cana all questioned at the exact same time. Makarov set the severed Wyrm down on the ground and started shrinking back to his regular size. Natsu breathed out slowly as he brought his temperature back down. At the moment the only one that would be able to get near him without being burned was Lisanna. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, his temperature dropped and eventually returned to normal. When he'd cooled off he quickly followed his nose to Erza and Mira, he smelled blood and it had been worrying him for too long.
"Mira, Erza!" Natsu called out as he saw the state the two were in. The Magma Dragon Slayer quickly helped Mira support Erza. The Earth Dragon Slayer was by far the most injured of all of them. "Did you take on that attack full force?" Natsu worried over the redhead as he gently helped her walk towards the now descending Airships.
"She protected me." Mira spoke up with some self-loathing. "I didn't even see that blast coming."
"I'd do it every time, Mira." Erza smiled at the platinum haired teen. "I'll be fine; my Element negated a lot of the damage."
"You don't look fine!" Mira huffed as she pulled Erza into a gentle side hug. "Next time I'll protect you, alright?"
"Sure Mira, I'm fine with that." Erza smiled slightly, still in far too much pain for a full smile.
"Erza…." Natsu murmured into her ear softly. He gently nuzzled his injured girlfriend to make her feel even a little better until they got her to a Healer. Erza sighed and relaxed a bit into Natsu and Mira. Lisanna, Cana, and Makarov met them just as they got to the Airship that had landed nearest to them.
"Erza…are you alright?" Makarov's concern for his 'child' was clear to everyone there.
"I'll be fine, Master." Erza grimaced as the Rune Knight Healer directed Natsu and Mira to help her lay down. A light green glow soon enveloped Erza making her sigh. Natsu and Mira held her hands as they watched her injuries slowly heal. Lisanna and Cana were looking over their shoulders and offering Erza support and comfort with their presence.
"Wizard Saint Dreyar, are you in need of healing too?" A different Rune Knight asked.
"I'll be fine." Makarov waved the Knight off. "Once my children are taken care of I'll worry about myself." The Knight bowed to the Wizard Saint before turning their attention to Mira. By the time all of the teens were healed Makarov had been able to finish reporting the success of the mission to the Council. All were pleased with the prompt closure and Gran Doma promised that a total of Ten Million Jewel would be delivered to Fairy Tail by the end of the week to compensate the Guild for their assistance in this potential crisis.
"Can we have some of the meat?" Erza asked, a small part of her wanting one final victory over the Earth Wyrm.
"I'll make sure of it." Makarov chuckled as all the Dragon Slayers' stomachs growled at the same time. The most likely scenario for the Wyrm's meat was that it would be processed. It would then be used to help supplement any food shortage that happened at harvest time. But Makarov was sure that his friend, Councilman Yajima, would be able to get his brats a portion of the beast's meat.
"Then there's only one thing left to do!" Lisanna chirped with a smile.
"It is instinct." Mira giggled.
"Come on, Erza, Cana, you'll understand." Natsu grinned at the redhead and the brunette. The two girls each took one of Natsu's hands and the five Dragon Slayers walked back out of the Airship. "Just do what comes natural!" The pinkette laughed. With that Natsu, Lisanna, and Mira all inhaled deeply before roaring out their victory to the sky! Erza and Cana watched for a second before doing as Natsu suggested. The two girls breathed deeply before joining their 'Family' in roaring out their victory over the Wyrm.
"Is…is this normal?" A Rune Knight asked Makarov.
"Yeah, don't worry about it." Makarov smiled at his brats. "You still have my bag?"
"Yes sir." The Rune Knight nodded before he rushed into the Airship. A minute later he ran back out with Makarov's bag in hand.
"Thank you." Makarov nodded to the young man and pulled out his pipe. Packing it leisurely, Makarov ignited it with a small bit of Fire Magic. The old man inhaled, held it for a moment, and then exhaled with a sigh. Smoke rings were blown out and Makarov relaxed. The job was done, his kids were safe and uninjured now, and the day had gone well. The Ten Million Jewel would certainly be a boon for the guild. He'd make sure each of the brats got their fair share, of course. Maybe Natsu could buy that land he wanted now? The boy had been talking about for a while.
"We can take you all back to your Guild whenever you're ready, Wizard Saint Dreyar." A Rune Knight Captain informed the old man.
"Hmm, I guess we should be getting back." Makarov nodded. "Who knows what my other brats have gotten up to in the hours we've been gone."
"I'll have the Airship ready to launch shortly, sir." The Captain bowed and left into the Airship.
"Alright brats! Let's head home!" Makarov called the five teens over. Natsu walked over, slowly, already not looking forward to the flight back. The girls however entered into what looked like a game of rock, paper, scissors. Makarov chuckled as he watched the girls play a few rounds. Form the bright smile on Erza's face it would seem the redhead had won.
"Natsu, come here." Erza smiled happily as she walked onto the Airship. The pretty teen sat on one of the long benches and patted her thighs.
"Thanks Erza, I appreciate it." Natsu smiled to his girlfriend as he lay down and rested his head on her lap.
"Don't mention it, Natsu." Erza smiled lovingly at him as she began to run her fingers gently through his hair. The other girls couldn't even keep up their fake pouts at seeing the cute scene. For all that Erza was a rather strict girl with the Guild. She was still very much a young lady in love. Natsu smiled softly up at her and Erza returned the look. Their eyes meeting and sharing more emotion than any amount of words could.
"Taking off!" The Captain announced as the Airship began to move.
"I hate vehicles." Natsu sighed as all of the girls giggled.
"Rest up, Natsu." Erza smiled as she leaned over to kiss her boyfriend's forehead. Natsu quickly fell asleep with a small smile on his face. Erza began humming lightly to herself as she continued to run her fingers through his soft pink locks.
"Lucky~" Mira playfully pouted. Cana and Lisanna both grinned when Erza didn't even respond. Hopefully no other emergencies would come up for a while. That way their 'Family' could spend much more time together.
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