The Dragon Father

Chapter 5: If Zeref could die, there might have been a funeral

(Pffft, you guys thought I'd leave you with a cliffhanger?? I would. I absolutely would. Just not this time.)

He found them, quickly. It was a decently sized port city that he had not seen on any map. The Dragon King wouldn't learn its name for another day or so, but all the same, when he landed, he landed in Magnolia.

The quainter homes fell further and further into disrepair the closer to the center they stood. It was as though all its residents had only barely survived a warzone. An explosion, perhaps. There was a larger hall that was completely blown away, its footprint nothing more than tile and splinters. It was there that Acnologia landed, in the wake of some terrible ancient mana. It stung his nose and flooded every sense. It was as if lightning had struck the core of the town and everything was still reverberating with the aftereffects.

There was more to the scent too - a darker curse... draconic bone dust. Tenrou's magic. It was a torn tapestry with strings lost to time and experience. A puzzle Acnologia did not care to put together. He cared for one scent and one person only - Mavis. Her magic smelled like sparks and glimmering dust in the wind, it always had, but in this epicenter of ancient magic, it clung to the town like a sandstorm, radiating from the stone like the sun's warmth. She was the castor. Unmistakeably. That thirteen-year-old with hands of mystery and eyes of wonder had touched the very fabric of magic and welcomed its consequences.

Acnologia raced through the mostly empty streets, calling for Mavis and contemplating a drastic transformation. Someone would get Mavis to notice the giant black dragon rampaging through town. Someone would bring her to him, no matter what state she was in - alive, dead... or worse.

He was an intimidating figure even before he grew scales, and his fierce gaze and fiercer calls made any lingering residents retreat into their homes. He found Mavis' scent and followed it aimlessly, and right when he was about to give up, transform, and rain a new type of hellfire on the poor village, Warrod found him.

Lucky for the town, but unlucky for Warrod.

The man wasn't able to get a word out other than Acnologia's name before the Dragon King closed the distance. The mage's throat was locked in one of the slayer's palms faster than he could react.

Acnologia's voice was a hiss, a snarl, and a growl of fury; "Where is Mavis?"

"Hey - hey, calm down," the tree-faced man tried to plea, terror in his widening eyes.

"I will not 'calm down', you all had one job -"

"I'll take you to her," Warrod promised. "She's okay... we think."

The rage in Acnologia's head lessened at the assurance, and he realized his blood was pulsing with want - the need to transform and let out that which was locked in his chest. Carefully, he released Warrod and took a break, calming the panicked hate that fed the roaring cacophony in the back of his head.

"Take me to her," he ordered, his voice evening, barely.

Warrod was wise to obey so quickly.

Instead of committing murder, Acnologia diligently followed Warrod to a house. It lay far outside the epicenter of carnage, but, even on the outskirts of the town, there was evidence of some conflict. A building had been torn apart, pieces of it scattered in the roads, and debris caught on rooftops and balconies. Flags were torn. All of the windows were shattered. Parents pulled their children inside, fear clinging to every doorway Acnologia passed. It was an old fear, a way of life for these people that had existed far before the Dragon King touched down.

On the way, Warrod explained what had happened, in quick succinct detail. Yuri touched something he wasn't supposed to. Got cursed. He transformed into a giant blue dragon skeleton and started wreaking havoc in this town. And Mavis? Mavis had sworn to help these people, because of course she had. She chased out the guild subjugating these mortals, because of course she would. Mavis used some spell to save Yuri, disregarding all of Acnologia's warnings regarding magics older than any human.