As Erza cut me down from the tree, I landed beside her and stretched a little. "You're not going to try fighting us, are you, big bro?" Skeptically eyeing me, I shook my head at Laki, prompting her to unlock the magic sealing cuff around my neck while I itched it. "So, what do we do now, big bro?" Hearing Gray's voice, I raised my head, noticing everyone silently staring at me, causing me to sigh in defeat.
"Just before you fools ATTACKED me, I'd already found a clue." Glaring at them all before shaking my head, I approached the path of destruction through the forest, prompting them to follow. Deeply sniffing the air once more, I caught Jasmine Hady's scent before glancing at everyone else.
"Ewe, smells terrible. How can you sniff this with such a straight face?" Plugging his nose, Natsu looked at me while Gajeel sported a look of disgust. "When you live in a forest for seven years, shit, piss, and blood become a familiar smell you grow accustomed to." "Sounds like hell." "Only in the beginning. Anyway, follow me and don't fall behind." Shooting my siblings a glance, I saw them all nod, prompting me to break into a jog while they followed from behind, some using various means to keep up with me.
"So, you marked your territory by pissing?" "Not the time, Natsu!" Natsu's earnest question was met with a swift smack by Lucy, who was being carried by Loke, though, for some reason, I felt curious gazes staring at my back. Looking behind me, I noticed that it was only the men who were curious about Natsu's question; none of the women seemed to have any interest in hearing my response.
"Are you guys really curious to know if I marked my territory by pissing?" "Yes! It's arguably one of the manliest things a man can do!" Elfman! Shut your mouth!" "Y-Yes, Mira." I couldn't help but shake my head with a sigh, though even if I were exasperated at their curiosity, a faint smile made its way onto my face.
"No, I didn't mark my territory by pissing; I used the blood of my prey instead." "Oh, what about when pooping? What did you use to wipe- "Natsu!" This time, it was a combination of Lucy and Levy as the former kicked his face while the word 'muzzle' wrapped around Natsu's mouth.
Pretending to ignore Natsu's question, we continued jogging along the path of destruction, following the scent of my prey. Numerous hours passed, and eventually, we were forced to take a break, as some of my siblings weren't accustomed to long-distance travel.
"W-Wait, I need a break." "S-Same." Frowning, we collectively came to a halt and glanced at the stragglers in the back, consisting of Bisca, Alzack, Laki, Levy, Warren, and Reedus. "Big bro, can we take a short break?" Glancing at Erza, I withheld my inner annoyance as I knew they all wanted to help. "Gray, Levy." I was required to personally pick Levy up, as she was lying on the ground, exhausted from the constant running.
"Yeah?" Setting Levy down against a tree, I glanced at Gray before pointing at the empty ground. "Create a large slab of ice." "Oh, smart, we can use that to cool down." While Gray went and did that, I squatted in front of Levy, whose body was covered in a layer of sweat. "You need to work on your cardiovascular strength." "I-I know." "Make a chain." Nodding through the exhaustion, Levy did just that.
Catching the long word 'chain', I picked Levy up and approached the giant slab of ice, which everyone was sitting on, using it to cool themselves off. "Ahh, this feels so good." Nearing the front of the giant slab of ice, I poked a hole through it using my finger and fed the chain through it. "Hmm, what are you doing, big bro?" "Wait… Crap! Everyone, hold on!" Shouting at everyone, Cana dug one of her cards into the ice for support.
Pulling the chain taut, I pushed against the ground and exploded into a dash, moving much faster compared to before. "Urgh, I-I think I'm going to be sick!" "Don't you dare vomit on me, Natsu!" "Oh, watch out for Gajeel, he's also a Dragon Slayer!" While everyone was worried about whether Gajeel or Natsu would vomit on them, the scent of my prey was ever-so-slowly growing thicker, meaning we were getting closer, though we were still several hours out.
Throughout the entire afternoon and evening, I pulled my siblings through the path of destruction left behind by the beast horde, and when I finally started to hear faint sounds of beasts, I slowed us down to a stop. "Sweet, sweet ground, I missed you." As everyone stepped off the ice slab, tactically ignoring Natsu and Gajeel, I signaled everyone to prepare for a fight. However, as we trekked closer to the noise, my expression hardened, and flashes of that night replayed themselves.
"Arghh! H-Help!" "R-Run!" "Arghh! Stop, stop!" "Mommy! Daddy!"
Gritting my teeth, I used my magic and sprinted into the distance, prompting everyone else to do the same, but they couldn't keep up with me. "Big bro!" "Wait!" "My speed magic can only help so much!" As I left my siblings behind, the surrounding forest transformed into a blur as I pushed myself past my limit, only to slow down when I came across a village that was currently being destroyed by over a hundred various beasts.
However, a small family off in the distance, being chased by several beasts, caught my focus, causing me to gnash my teeth as I sprinted towards them.
"Dear, keep running, I'll hold them off!" "Daddy!" "Dad!" "Come at you, filthy beasts!"
Just as the father lunged at the beasts, I grabbed his collar from behind and tossed him back at his family while I punched at a crocodile, crushing its skull before kicking the Terrenus, which was basically the predator version of a horse, breaking and snapping its neck. The final beast, which was a jaguar, lunged at me with its jaws wide open, prompting me to grab both sides and forcefully rip its jaw off before stabbing my hand into its skull, finishing the job.
Dropping the beasts onto the ground, I turned and looked at the stunned and frightened family. "Don't move, someone will shortly come to help you." Giving the family a few words before parting, I lunged into the village, brutally slaughtering every beast I came across, and when I'd finally finished, only the quickest ones had arrived.
"Y-Yo, big bro, you okay?" Glancing at Jet, I wiped the flood off my face and gestured to the spot where the family I'd saved was standing. "Go help them, Jet." "Um, yeah, okay." Nodding, Jet ran towards them while I glanced at Mira and Happy, the only two who could fly.
"Is this what you went through?" Landing beside me with a furious yet hurt expression, Mira eyed the destroyed village, which had several freshly eaten humans lying on the ground, causing me to growl as I stomped my foot on the head of a bear. "I-I don't like this." Ignoring Happy's shaky voice, I headed in the direction of Jasmine's scent.
While the two closely followed, we killed whatever beasts that were still lingering around and headed into the forest, following the path of the destruction that I could currently see a beast horde making. Dashing after them, I quickly arrived, and when I did, at the lead, I saw an older woman sitting atop an elephant, gently caressing it.
'Jasmine Hady.' As my eyes narrowed on her figure, whether it was the natural perception of an experienced mage or the sheer intensity of my gaze, she suddenly looked behind. I saw her eyes widen before she pointed at us, prompting nearly all of the beast horde to face us while she resumed petting the elephant with a content expression.
"Mira, can I leave the beasts to you?" "Of course." I hadn't even waited for Mira to finish speaking before pushing off the ground, causing it to explode as I darted towards Jasmine faster than a bullet; bypassing the beasts that weren't even able to react to my speed, I leaped and grabbed Jasmine by her neck before coming to a halt.
Lifting her into the air, I squeezed tightly, watching her struggle, as for the charging elephant, I grabbed its tusk, stopping it before lifting it and tossing it far into the distance. "E-Ellie!" Even though it was the first time I heard her raspy voice, it filled me with untold anger as I slammed her into a tree, dazing her old body.
"Open your mouth again, and I'll skin you alive!" As I bared my fangs, I stared into her terrified eyes before glancing at her neck, which I wanted nothing more than to rip to shreds. However, I couldn't, not yet, not without knowing why.
"Why?" "W-What?" Stabbing my nail into her shoulder, I sliced downwards, leaving a bloody gash across her arm while I slammed her back into the tree. "WHY DID YOU ATTACK MY VILLAGE!?"