Fairy Tail: The Dark Swordsman

68 - A Game of Paradise

[X784, Tower of Heaven]

— Natsu Dragneel —

Natsu growled low in his throat as he held the weird square-headed guy by the face and slammed him against a fluffy cat-shaped couch.

"This is what happens when you mess with Fairy Tail!" he barked, whipping Wally once more for good measure.

Milliana was already out cold on the floor, her face half-buried in a giant paw-shaped rug. Her whip lay coiled beside her. Natsu made sure not to even touch it after Lucy said it could suppress his magic.

The noise of the fight roused Happy awake, who was still unconscious in the middle of the room.

"Natsu? What's going on?!" Happy questioned.

"These bastards kidnapped you and Erza! They also lured Dannis here to do something to him!" Natsu dropped the groaning Wally to the ground. "I wasn't in the mood to play around with them!"

Happy blinked, looking around at the ridiculous decor with confusion. "Then what's with all the lips on the walls?"

"Huh? What're you—WOAH THERE ARE LIPS ON THE WALLS!"

Sure enough, the walls morphed. Gigantic, fleshy lips pushed out from the surfaces creepily, lining the walls, ceiling, and even the floor. Natsu leapt back instinctively, already preparing to torch the place, until the lips began to speak.

"Welcome, everyone, to the Tower of Heaven. I am Jellal, the master of the tower. Right now, all the pieces in our little game have been set. To the mages of Fairy Tail...to the independent mages I have summoned...and to the Thunder God Tribe that have entered uninvited...I'd listen very closely, because I'm about to reveal the rules of the game of Paradise."

"The rules are very simple. Within this tower, there are two people who are candidates to be used in the process of resurrecting Master Zeref. Erza Scarlet and Dannis Martell. If I capture either of them, then I win. But if I'm defeated before I can reach this goal, then you win."

"However, I have pieces of my own that shall do their best to stop anyone but Erza and Dannis from climbing up the tower. Four powerful mages stand in between you and me. Will you get past them? Or will you fall like many others. Exciting isn't it, we'll truly get to see whose desires are the strongest."

"There is one big catch, however. You see, as I speak right now, the Magic Council is debating whether or not to destroy this island we stand on with the destructive satellite magic called Etherion, which at max output should be capable of destroying an entire nation if need be. I have no idea how long we have, but when it hits, everyone in the tower will die. Thus, it's game over for everyone. That is all. I do hope you enjoy the game."

The lips faded away then, Natsu adopted a thinking pose as he digested the words. "Well...I didn't really get all that. But this guy is still aiming for Erza and Dannis huh? All I gotta do is take out this Jellal guy and it's over, right?" His smile widened to an excited grin. "I'm getting all fired up!"

"Aye sir!" Happy chimed in. "I'd imagine he's at the very top of the tower."

"Then let's kick his ass!" Natsu said as he ran out of the room. "Come on, Happy!"

"W–What the hell, Jellal? This Etherion...does he wanna kill us all?"

Natsu turned around at the voice to see the square-headed guy muttering out while in pain on the ground. His hands were clenched as a bead of sweat fell from the side of his head.

"This isn't what we wanted. All we wanted was true freedom! What's the point if we all die in the end?!"

Natsu looked at him, he didn't know what it was but something inside him just needed to say the words. "I don't know what kind of freedom you're looking for." A wide smile appeared on his face. "But Fairy Tail gives a guy a lot of freedom! You should check it out sometime!"