Chapter 39: The Phantom Reveals Itself (6)
While Ciel and Jose clashed in their duel, another fierce battle was raging inside the control room.
"Hiieeek!"
"Uwaaagh!!"
"Uooohhh!!"
"What the hell are these guys?!"
"Arghhh!!"
The ones truly dominating the battlefield were only two people—Natsu and Gajeel.
Each time their steel fists collided, the building's outer walls shattered, and shockwaves rolled through the chamber like a storm.
Most of the wizards couldn't bear the sight and bolted outside in fear, leaving only Lucy and Happy nearby, desperately watching the two Dragon Slayers exchange blows.
"Graaaahh!!"
"Hyaaahhh!!"
It was a blood-soaked clash, fist against fist.
Not a mere wizard's brawl, but a true battle of Dragon Slayers—men who turned their very bodies into dragon scales and fought with overwhelming might.
A brawl between equals. A brutal, monster-like free-for-all.
"Wh… what the? He's going toe-to-toe with Gajeel!"
"I can't believe this…"
Their fight was relentless. Blood streamed from a cut on Natsu's forehead, both their bodies riddled with scrapes and bruises, but neither yielded.
Finally, Gajeel staggered back, blood gushing from a headbutt wound inflicted by Natsu, and collapsed to the floor.
The Phantom Lord wizards who had remained could only gape in shock.
"Don't tell me… Gajeel's losing?!"
"No, look—Salamander's out of breath too!"
Panting heavily, Gajeel ripped apart the iron floor beneath him and devoured it, replenishing his strength.
As expected of the Iron Dragon Slayer—he restored his power instantly on the spot.
But Natsu, the Fire Dragon Slayer, couldn't find even a spark of flame in this steel-filled chamber to recover his own stamina.
In this drawn-out battle, it was only natural for him to start losing ground.
"Y… yeah, he's eating the iron…"
"Clever bastard! Keeping it all for himself!"
"Khihit… Iron Dragon's Club!"
Empowered once again, Gajeel unleashed his Dragon Slayer magic.
His arm extended like a mass of branching steel rods, lashing out at Natsu.
The Gajeel who had been reeling moments ago was gone. Now revitalized, he completely overwhelmed the drained Natsu.
"Uwaaaaaaahhh!"
"What the hell?! He was staggering just a second ago!"
"Don't you know? Dragon Slayers can restore stamina and boost power by consuming the element of their own attribute!"
"Then… if Natsu had fire—!"
Lucy frantically rummaged through her pouch.
If Natsu was to stand a chance, he needed flames.
But her keys—her true tools—had been taken during her kidnapping.
All she had left was the Sagittarius key—one she hadn't even properly formed a contract with.
"…Then I'll just have to gamble on this!"
If there was no contract, then she'd make one here and now.
Raising the key high, Lucy cried out:
"I am the one who connects the paths to the Celestial Spirit World! Answer my call and pass through the gate! Open, Gate of the Archer! Sagittarius!"
A burst of smoke erupted with a poof! and standing before them was a lanky man wearing a ridiculous horse mascot suit, a quiver on his shoulder, and a bow in hand.
"Yes, hello there!"
"That's how you show up?!"
"In a horse suit?!"
"Explanations later—just tell me, can you make fire?!"
"Er… no, I'm a master archer. Fire's a bit out of my field, hello~"
"Lucy! Stay back—it's too dangerous!" Natsu shouted.
"Y-yes!"
Tears welled up in Lucy's eyes as she pulled the useless Sagittarius away.
At such a crucial moment, she couldn't do anything to help. Her own helplessness crushed her.
While Lucy cursed herself, Natsu's battle dragged on. But his strength and magic had reached their limit.
The revitalized Gajeel ruthlessly turned the tables, pummeling him without mercy.
"What's wrong?!"
"Kh…!"
"Too hungry to fight back?!"
"Then eat iron!!"
Gajeel roared, seizing Natsu by the ankle and slamming him into the walls again and again like a rag doll.
"Uwaaaaaghhh!!"
The sheer savagery left even Phantom Lord's own wizards speechless.
"That's… monstrous!"
"Damn it…!"
"I've got no more business with you. Disappear, you worthless trash!"
With that, Gajeel slammed the already exhausted Natsu into the ground.
The floor cracked and split apart with a thunderous crash as Natsu's body skidded across it. He struggled to rise, but his strength was gone, and he collapsed again.
The Phantom Lord wizards erupted in cheers, while Lucy's eyes welled up with tears as she looked at Natsu in despair.
"N–No way… Natsu… lost? No… I don't want this…"
"Look closely. This is what became of the thing you tried so hard to protect."
Gajeel pointed at the shattered wall, revealing the outside. From his arm, a massive iron stake formed and launched toward the Fairy Tail guildhall.
With an earth-shaking crash, the guild building collapsed in on itself, reduced to rubble.
Gajeel laughed. Lucy and Happy cried.
And Natsu—staring at his precious guild crumbling before his very eyes—shook with rage. Somehow, with sheer will alone, he pushed himself back onto his feet.
"Haa… haa… haa…"
"He… He stood up?!"
"Impossible…!"
The Fairy Tail guildhall wasn't just a building. It was seven years of memories—his anchor, his home, the place where bonds were forged.
Now, it was gone.
It would've been enough to crush anyone's spirit. But Natsu refused to give in. He couldn't.
He wanted—no, needed—to land at least one blow on Gajeel.
He wanted to show him Fairy Tail's fury.
But standing up was all he could manage. His body dragged itself forward, step by step, until he was standing in front of Gajeel again.
"The guild is destroyed. That means you've already lost."
"Haa… haa…"
"Get lost already, Salamander!!"
"Guaaaahh!!"
Annoyed, Gajeel mercilessly pummeled the weakened Natsu, his iron fists slamming into him again and again.
Even so—wracked with pain, screaming—Natsu forced himself to rise once more.
Watching this stubborn display only made Gajeel's expression twist further in irritation. What was the point of beating down such a pathetic weakling?
He had only one true goal: to battle his resurrected sworn brother—the strongest Dragonslayer he acknowledged, Ciel Illusian—and defeat him with his own hands.
"I don't have time to waste on garbage like you!"
"Ghhk…!"
"Natsu!!"
"You're still getting up? Fine. Then let's see if you can protect that precious comrade standing right in front of you!"
"Stop… stop it!!"
"Kyaaaaaahhh!!"
Gajeel transformed his arm into a massive iron club and hurled it straight toward Lucy.
The weapon extended at frightening speed, cutting through the air.
Natsu wanted to block it, but his body no longer obeyed him.
He couldn't even run to her side.
All he could do was scream, helpless, as the Iron Dragon's club shot toward Lucy.
Lucy too had no means of defending herself. Sagittarius wasn't a power-type spirit; there was no way to intercept that attack.
The club closed in—Lucy squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the inevitable.
And then—
"What… the hell?!"
"Vines…?! Vines came out of the ground and wrapped around Gajeel?!"
Lucy opened her eyes cautiously.
The iron club that was moments away from striking her was completely entangled in thick vines, stopped in its tracks.
Gajeel snarled, straining to move, but the harder he fought, the more his strength drained away.
From the vines coiled around his body, lotus flowers began to bloom.
And then, a chillingly familiar laugh echoed across the battlefield.
"Kufufufufu…"
"T–That voice…?!"
Thick mist poured in front of Lucy, swirling until it formed a shape.
A man stepped forth, holding a spear of fog in his hand.
Lucy's face lit up with relief the moment she saw him.
The one who had saved her in every dire moment had appeared again.
"Lucy, I told you we'd meet again soon, didn't I?"
"Y–You… that means…"
Before she could finish, two voices rang out at the same time—
"Ciel!"
"Keheheh! I've been waiting, Brother Ciel!!"
Hearing both Natsu and Gajeel cry out his name, Lucy froze.
Her eyes widened in shock, her whole body trembling.
This man…
The very one she had longed to meet, the savior and hero she admired—
But also the man Natsu had called by name… a man who was supposed to have died three years ago.
Lucy's heart went cold, and she instinctively took a step back.
"Eh…?! You're Ciel…?! But that means… you're supposed to be dead?!"
Lucy's voice trembled in shock. Seeing her reaction, Ciel only smiled faintly before turning his gaze toward the collapsed Natsu and Gajeel, who was still bound by the black vines of his lotus.
"Natsu, you burn out far too quickly."
"Th-That's because…"
"And Gajeel, it's been a while. Not since that brief encounter at the Council, if I recall?"
"Ciel! I've been waiting for this moment! I've grown stronger for the sole purpose of fighting you! Release me from these vines and fight me!"
Ciel chuckled softly at his words.
"Sorry, but in your current state, you're not worthy of crossing blades with me."
"What?!"
"I don't care to fight a disciple who's already fallen so far. Punishment is what you deserve."
"Whether it's a fight or punishment doesn't matter! Just fight me, Ciel!!"
"I'm afraid your opponent isn't me."
With that, Ciel's Heavenly Eye shifted into the Eye of Flame, and he drove the Spear of Mist into the ground with tremendous force.
The earth trembled—then from beneath Natsu erupted a massive inferno, a pillar of hellfire that engulfed him entirely.
The searing heat made Gajeel recoil in agony, his face twisted as he witnessed the overwhelming blaze.
This was the first time he'd ever seen Ciel wield a power other than Dragon Slayer Magic—and it left him utterly stunned.
"Gajeel, the one who will defeat you… is not me. It's Natsu."
"CIEEEEL!!!"
"I'll say it again. Gajeel, in your current state, you're not worth my effort."
Ciel's cold dismissal filled Gajeel with rage.
Three years had passed since Ciel's death.
He had even gone so far as to desecrate his grave, desperate for the chance to settle things once and for all. And now—his long-awaited master stood before him, only to disregard him entirely.
He trembled with fury and humiliation. But then, from the corner of his vision, he noticed something strange—Natsu's inferno was shrinking, not fading, but… condensing.
Sweat beaded down Gajeel's face as he stared into the flames.
"No… no way… it can't be…!"
Ciel's low laughter echoed.
"Kufufufu… Natsu, Gajeel… why do the disciples always insist on being such a nuisance to their master?"
From within the dying inferno, a voice roared back:
"Ciel… your flames… I've eaten them all!"
Natsu rose once more, his body blazing with fire hotter and denser than ever before. Crimson flames burst violently from his hands, far stronger than moments ago. Even the air around him shimmered and burned, like a vision of hell itself.
"Then I'll leave the rest… to the two of you."
"Don't get cocky just because you ate some fire! At best, this just makes us equals!"
Ciel released the vines binding Gajeel, and the Iron Dragon Slayer immediately lunged at Natsu.
He had to prove Ciel wrong.
He had to show he wouldn't lose to a brat like Natsu.
If he crushed Natsu here, he could still claim the right to face Ciel.
Gajeel drew in every ounce of magic power within him.
"Iron Dragon's Roar!!"
A massive torrent of iron-shattering energy surged forth toward Natsu.
But it was a mistake.
With a single hand, Natsu brushed aside the attack as though it were nothing.
Flames roared around him as he glared fiercely at Gajeel.
"Levy, Jet, Droy, the old man, Lucy… my friends… Ciel, and Fairy Tail! How much more do you bastards have to hurt before you're satisfied?!"
Gajeel's eyes widened in disbelief.
"H-He deflected it?! Impossible… I can't… I can't lose to trash like this!"
"All your debts—everything you've done—I'll repay it right here! From the start, your mistake was laying a hand on Fairy Tail!!"
"I… I am… the strongest…"
But before he could finish, Gajeel's own Iron Dragon's Roar rebounded upon him, slamming into his body and pinning him helplessly.
Natsu gathered every last flame into his fist.
"Fire Dragon's Exploding Fist!!!"
"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!"
A towering inferno engulfed Gajeel, the flames swallowing him whole before blasting him out of the cathedral, soaring far into the distance.
Natsu, having poured out every last drop of his strength, staggered as exhaustion weighed heavily upon him. He tried to walk toward where Lucy was, but his body finally gave out and he collapsed on the spot.
At the same time, his attack tore through the Phantom Lord's guildhall, causing the massive structure to explode and crumble around them.
Lucy, together with Happy, flew to Natsu's side. She caught him before he could fall further and helped him up.
"Natsu!"
"I don't think… I can move anymore."
"Honestly… this is what happens when you push yourself too far."
"Aye~…"
"That's enough."
The three turned toward the voice.
Standing at the center of the collapsing control chamber, smiling softly at them, was Ciel.
"Ciel, what are you doing?! Hurry, let's get out of here together!"
"C-Ciel-san!"
"Ciel…?"
"…I'm sorry. But this is where my journey ends."
"What are you saying, Ciel?!"
"Lucy, take this."
Natsu couldn't make sense of Ciel's words, but something in them filled him with unease. He called out to him again, yet Ciel only shook his head and tossed something toward Lucy.
"…This is…?!"
"Lucy, I believe that one day, you will find a use for it. Keep it close to your heart, always."
What Ciel had thrown was a black key, shaped much like the Celestial Spirit Keys of the Zodiac.
Lucy caught it, and Ciel, seeing that, spoke his final words. Then, as the Phantom Lord guildhall crumbled around him, he faded away like mist.
"Cieeeeeeel!"
"Ciel-san!"
"Ciel!!"
From outside, having escaped to safety, Natsu and his friends screamed his name again and again.
But no answer ever came.
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