"Nin-nin~"
Still dressed as a ninja for the infiltration, Natsu made a ridiculous little sound as he and Wendy slipped toward the treasury.
They avoided every patrol along the way until only two burly soldiers remained stationed in front of the vault.
Natsu dropped from above, grabbed both men by the head, and slammed them into the ground.
Neither even managed to cry out before they were peacefully introduced to unconsciousness.
Wendy hurried over and placed Gray's replica ring against the door.
With a heavy rumble, the treasury entrance rose open.
The two immediately rushed inside.
The chamber beyond was overflowing with treasure.
Gold, gemstones, jewelry, and countless other valuables were piled so high that the entire room seemed to glow.
Stella might not have everything, but expensive gemstones were one thing the kingdom possessed in absurd quantities.
Natsu and Wendy practically had to wade through the treasure as they searched deeper inside, their legs disappearing knee-deep into heaps of gold and jewels.
Then Natsu's nose twitched.
He frowned and looked toward one corner of the room.
Without warning, he broke into a run.
"Natsu-san?"
"The Magic Power over there feels wrong!"
Wendy quickly followed.
Sure enough, hidden behind a mound of treasure was a concealed door.
Natsu grabbed the heavy panel with both hands and simply forced it open.
His eyes immediately lit up.
"Found it!"
Unlike the dazzling treasury outside, this hidden chamber was almost completely dark.
Only one object stood in the center.
A staff.
A faint golden glow of Magic Power surrounded it.
Natsu slowly approached.
He could feel something strange leaking from the weapon, something unlike ordinary magic.
"So this is Dragon Cry…"
He reached out.
The instant his hand closed around the staff, his eyes widened.
A flood of emotions poured straight into his mind.
Hatred.
Rage.
Fury.
Resentment.
But stronger than all of them—
grief.
An overwhelming sorrow seemed to drown everything else.
It felt as though the tears of countless dead dragons had been condensed into a single object.
Without even realizing it, tears began sliding down Natsu's face.
"Natsu-san?"
Wendy hurried into the chamber and nearly panicked when she saw him standing motionless with Dragon Cry in his hand, expression blank as tears streamed down his cheeks.
"No, I'm fine."
Natsu shook his head hard, forcing the unfamiliar emotions from his mind.
Then he tightened his grip and pulled Dragon Cry free.
Immediately—red warning lights began flashing throughout the treasury.
An enormous alarm thundered through the palace.
Natsu's face fell.
He looked down at Dragon Cry and saw magical symbols glowing across the staff where his hand had touched it.
"Damn it! They put an alarm on Dragon Cry itself!"
"We need to go!"
Their cover was already blown.
Natsu and Wendy sprinted for the exit.
Soldiers were pouring toward the treasury from every direction, but Happy and Carla swooped down before the formation could fully close around them.
The two Exceeds grabbed Natsu and Wendy and launched into the sky.
"The treasury's been robbed! After them!"
Commands echoed throughout the palace.
Soldiers raised newly issued Magic Guns and opened fire.
Some even dragged out weapons with rotating barrels that looked suspiciously like magical Gatling guns and unleashed a storm of shots at the four figures overhead.
Over the past six months, ranged magical weaponry designed specifically to deal with airborne enemies had spread throughout the continent.
Faced with that wall of gunfire, Happy and Carla had no choice but to descend.
They dropped toward the rooftops and began flying low through the city while soldiers rushed after them from below.
"This isn't getting us anywhere!"
Natsu twisted around angrily.
"Let's turn around and beat them up!"
Wendy immediately objected.
"Please don't, Natsu-san! The mission's already been exposed. We shouldn't make things worse!"
There was another reason she didn't say aloud.
Zash was responsible for what had happened, and Stella's king might bear some responsibility as well.
But these soldiers?
As far as Wendy knew, they were simply doing their jobs.
She didn't want to seriously hurt people who might not actually be their enemies.
Unfortunately, the soldiers chasing them had no such reservations.
Another barrage of magical gunfire tore through the air.
Natsu and Wendy did their best to evade it, but one stray shot passed dangerously close and grazed Wendy's arm.
Blood sprayed into the air.
"Wendy!"
Natsu's expression changed instantly.
His eyes went cold.
He stopped, then he tossed Dragon Cry toward Wendy.
"You go ahead."
"I'll catch up."
Wendy caught the staff and hesitated.
She was clearly worried about leaving him surrounded by an entire army.
But Natsu's expression was completely confident.
After a moment, she nodded and continued fleeing with Happy and Carla.
Now free to fight without worrying about anyone else, Natsu turned around.
Flames erupted around his fists.
"Alright…"
He charged straight into the soldiers.
The kingdom's troops, who had been pursuing them so aggressively only moments ago, were immediately thrown into chaos by a violent explosion of fire.
Natsu tore through their formation.
He charged into the crowd, broke through one side, turned around, and smashed his way back through again.
No one could stop him.
At least—not until one of his punches suddenly came to a dead stop.
Natsu's eyes widened.
A tall, broad-shouldered middle-aged man had stepped out from among the battered soldiers.
His face was strangely expressionless, and his round, almost ape-like eyes carried a mixture of mockery and hatred.
One hand was wrapped firmly around Natsu's fist.
"You damned fairy…"
His voice was deep.
"Are you ready to have your wings torn off?"
"Who the hell are you?!"
The temperature of Natsu's flames surged.
He forced more power into his arm and violently knocked the man backward.
The stranger slid several steps before stopping.
Then he slowly straightened.
"You don't remember me?"
A low chuckle escaped him.
"Well… I suppose that makes sense."
"Back then, someone like you wasn't even qualified to stand in front of me."
Natsu's expression immediately soured.
The man spread both arms.
A tremendous amount of Magic Power erupted from his body.
The ground around him began sinking.
Invisible pressure crushed down over the surrounding area as gravity itself twisted under his control.
Then he smiled coldly.
"Perhaps you'll recognize this name instead."
"I am the former deputy guild master of Grimoire Heart."
"A mage who stood above even the Seven Kin of Purgatory."
"Bluenote Stinger."
Natsu's eyes sharpened.
Grimoire Heart's second-in-command.
Back on Tenrou Island, Bluenote had caused Fairy Tail enormous trouble.
At the time, Natsu and the others truly hadn't been anywhere near his level.
The air around Bluenote distorted beneath the weight of his Lost Magic-class Gravity Magic.
"You're still alive…"
Natsu narrowed his eyes.
Then, instead of showing fear, he grinned.
"You're the guy who played dead in front of Ankh and then got one-shotted by Gildarts, right?"
Bluenote's smug expression immediately collapsed.
His eyes turned ice-cold.
"You…"
His voice dropped dangerously.
"Have a death wish."
The next instant, Bluenote vanished.
A crushing wave of gravity exploded outward.
Natsu's flames surged up to meet it without hesitation.
The collision released an enormous burst of Magic Power that shook the surrounding streets.
And then Natsu smiled.
It was such a strange, excited grin that Bluenote actually felt a flicker of unease.
"Perfect."
Natsu's flames burned brighter.
"If I beat you now…"
He clenched his fist and roared with absolute confidence,
"THEN THAT PROVES HOW MUCH STRONGER I'VE GOTTEN, RIGHT?!"