Dragon's Fury Ignites
The very air crackled with Jose's chilling pronouncements.
His words, cold as death, twisted around Lucy's limp form.
Natsu's body thrummed with a primal heat, burning through the agony of his own wounds.
He saw Lucy's bloodied face, heard the mocking sneer in Jose's voice, and a red haze descended.
This wasn't just a fight for the guild; it was for his family, for her.
You'll burn for this, he thought, a silent, blazing roar echoing in his mind.
A fissure tore through the floor beneath Gajeel.
Stone and dust exploded upwards as Natsu Dragneel burst through, wreathed in roaring flames.
His eyes, usually bright with mischievous energy, were twin infernos of pure, unbridled fury, locked onto the Iron Dragon Slayer.
"That smell... Salamander!" Gajeel snarled, twisting.
A flicker of surprise, quickly masked by annoyance, crossed his iron-plated features.
"Gajeel!" Natsu bellowed, the name a snarl of raw anger.
He launched forward, a Fire Dragon's Iron Fist blazing like a supernova.
It slammed into Gajeel's chest with a deafening CRACK, the sound echoing like a thunderclap in the vast chamber.
The impact buckled the very floor.
Phantom Lord goons scattered like autumn leaves, knocked back by the sheer force.
Gajeel staggered, forced back several feet, a guttural grunt of genuine pain escaping him.
Before Gajeel could fully recover, Natsu hooked his extended steel pillar arm.
With a primal roar of effort, he spun, using Gajeel's own momentum, and hurled the larger man into a reinforced wall.
The masonry spiderwebbed under the brutal impact.
Natsu was on him in an instant, a scorching uppercut already coiling.
Gajeel barely blocked, but the force launched them both into mid-air.
Natsu, quick as a viper, landed a solid, flame-laced jab on Gajeel's jaw, rattling his head, the taste of soot and ozone thick in the air.
He didn't let up.
His leg blazed, then shot out.
"Fire Dragon's Claw!"
Gajeel threw up an arm to block, and a small, concussive explosion flared between them.
A Glimmer of Hope
Just then, Happy zipped in, his tiny paws deftly severing the chains that bound Lucy to the crumbling wall.
"Lucy, you're free!" he chirped, pulling her to relative safety behind a collapsed pillar.
Natsu, his face a mask of incandescent rage, landed another burning punch on Gajeel's cheek.
Lucy, watching, gasped, "I've never seen Natsu like that!"
Her heart pounded, a frantic drum against her ribs.
Fear still clutched her, but a desperate hope began to stir.
Happy, wide-eyed, agreed, "Aye!"
"Don't get so cocky, Salamander!" Gajeel bellowed, regaining his footing.
His arm morphed into a brutal weapon.
"Iron Dragon's Club!"
The massive steel pillar smashed the floor where Natsu had been a split-second before.
Natsu caught hold of the colossal club, channeling fire to his leg for another Fire Dragon's Claw.
But Gajeel adapted faster.
His club sharpened into a razor-edge.
"Iron Dragon's Sword!"
The deadly blade sliced through Natsu's kick, negating the flame, and Gajeel swung, catching Natsu hard in the ribs.
Natsu skidded back, a grunt escaping his lips, a sharp, searing pain blossoming in his side.
"That's Iron Dragon Slayer Magic!" Happy cried out, alarmed.
Gajeel followed up, a steely kick slamming into Natsu's chest, knocking the wind clean out of him.
The blades on Gajeel's Iron Sword began to spin with a menacing hum.
"Time to test how well this sword cuts you, Salamander!" he sneered, lunging with a flurry of rapid, piercing strikes.
Natsu, battered but unbowed, wove and twisted, his movements a blur of desperate evasion, barely dodging every deadly swipe.
"Time to put an end to this, Salamander!" Gajeel roared, his voice metallic and cold.
"I'm just getting started!" Natsu retorted, voice raspy but fierce, sweat beading on his brow.
Gajeel's skin shimmered, transforming entirely into hard, dark scales.
"Iron Dragon's Scales!"
He charged, delivering an Iron Dragon's Hard Fist!
Natsu barely blocked, but the force was immense, blowing him away and leaving angry, pulsing bruises across his forearms.
Gajeel aimed another steely kick; Natsu dodged, but the air pressure alone sent a sharp shock through Lucy, even from a distance.
"His Iron Dragon's Scales are making his attacks twice as powerful!" Happy yelled, alarmed, hovering anxiously.
Natsu landed a punch on Gajeel's scales, but a jolt of pain shot through his own fist, not Gajeel's.
He grit his teeth, the smell of burnt skin filling his nostrils.
Gajeel aimed another devastating punch, whistling past Natsu's head, the wind of it stinging his cheek.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu unleashed a torrent of flames.
"Iron Dragon's Roar!" Gajeel countered instantly, firing a blast of razor-sharp iron shards.
The two elemental roars collided, detonating in a massive, concussive explosion that ripped through the very fabric of the hall, shaking the entire building.
Dust, debris, and unlucky Phantom Lord Mages were blasted away.
The chamber rang with clangs of metal and the sharp ozone tang of burning flames.
As the dust settled, Gajeel smirked, seemingly unscathed.
"It seems the difference between our Dragon elements is clear, Salamander.
Even if your flaming breath has the ability to burn down your opponents to ashes, it can't leave a single mark on steel.
Yet my own Dragon breath can effectively slice up your body."
"You sure about that, tough guy?" Natsu retorted, rising from the smoke, a fierce grin on his face.
A faint, almost imperceptible crack appeared on Gajeel's metal face.
His guildmates gasped.
Natsu stood tall.
"My flames aren't just flames," he stated, his voice ringing with conviction.
"They are Dragon's flames.
They can incinerate anything.
If you don't hit me with everything you've got, you'll get blown to bits."
He extended a challenging hand.
"Let's stop feeling each other out, Gajeel.
Let's get serious."
Gajeel's eyes narrowed, a savage grin spreading.
"Fine!
There isn't enough room for two Dragons in the sky!"
They surged forward, striking simultaneous punches.
Another massive explosion.
Suspended in mid-air, they settled into a furious, evenly-matched physical brawl.
They headbutted, then paused, panting for breath, their eyes locked, mentally sizing up the strain on the other.
Phantom Lord Mages muttered, "Gajeel seems to be feeling the pressure," and, "Salamander's breathing heavily too!"
Gajeel suddenly bent down, tearing through a mangled steel beam with fangs.
Sparks lit the shadows in his eyes as he began to eat it.
The harsh, metallic grinding sound grated on Natsu's nerves.
Lucy gasped.
With his energy visibly replenished, Gajeel attacked with renewed confidence, extending multiple, sharp iron limbs.
"Demon Logs!"
Gajeel, revitalized, quickly gained the upper hand.
Natsu, feeling his magical reserves draining rapidly from the sustained power usage and the constant clashing, started to struggle.
Lucy watched, disbelieving.
"He was staggering just a moment ago!" she cried.
"Dragon Slayers can restore their energy if they eat their element!" Happy yelled, "Natsu needs fire!"
Natsu gasped for breath, dodging a swift iron blade.
His flames sputtered, his body aching, muscles screaming.
His mind, however, flashed back to a chaotic training session — Yume's calm voice cutting through the din.
"You're wasting too much energy.
No need to kill a fly with a cannon."
Natsu had frowned, exhausted.
But then Yume had demonstrated, firing precise, dark magic bullets from his fingertips, tearing through shades.
"Instead of wasting all your firepower in one shot, break it up.
Make your flames into bullets — fast, controlled, and sharp."
Natsu remembered the frustration, the clumsy first attempts, and then the surge of pride when he finally unleashed his first 'FireDragon Bullet,' a compact, powerful orb of flame.
He remembered the 'Bullet Barrage,' a rapid-fire storm, far more efficient than his usual wild blasts.
Natsu, remembering Yume's lesson and feeling his magic ebb, gritted his teeth.
He shifted his technique.
He couldn't burn through Gajeel's iron with dwindling power, but he could adapt.
"Fire Dragon's Bullet!" he roared, unleashing a precise, concentrated orb of flame that slammed into Gajeel's side, staggering him.
He followed up with both hands, a relentless storm of fiery projectiles.
"Fire Dragon's Bullet Barrage!"
The rapid-fire orbs hammered against Gajeel's scales, forcing him back, the heat intense, though not yet breaking his iron defense.
It wasn't enough to turn the tide, but it bought him precious seconds.
Lucy frantically rummaged for keys, then remembered Juvia had scattered them.
Only Sagittarius remained, and their contract was incomplete.
Still, she summoned him.
"Open! Gate of the Archer! Sagittarius!"
The Centaur appeared.
"Sagittarius! Can you make fire?!" Lucy pleaded, her voice choked with desperation.
"Mmm, I'm afraid I cannot produce fire myself, ma'am," he replied politely.
"My skills lie in archery."
"Lucy! Stay out of it! It's too dangerous!" Natsu yelled, gritting his teeth as Gajeel advanced, shrugging off the bullet barrage.
She complied, retreating further, but a wave of self-recrimination washed over her.
Useless. Just like always.
A fleeting memory flashed: Master Makarov's kind smile, the warmth of the guild hall on her very first day.
No. I'm family too.
Her resolve hardened.
Natsu attempted a desperate Fire Dragon's Sword Horn, but Gajeel caught his foot.
"Doesn't seem so tough on an empty stomach, Salamander!" Gajeel sneered.
Then, he tossed Natsu across the floor like a ragdoll.
"Eat steel!"
He hammered Natsu through a weakened wall.
Phantom Lord cheered.
Happy and Lucy watched, helpless.
"Look at what you're trying so hard to protect, Salamander!" Gajeel taunted.
Through the gaping hole, Natsu saw it.
The Fairy Tail Guild building, already damaged, groaned.
Then, with a sickening crunch, it collapsed into a pile of dust and splintered wood.
End of Chapter.