The Beat of War Drums

Chapter 12 - The Battle (3)

Chapter 12

Zeref's P.O.V.

As Lucy and I fall, I create a barrier for us to land on just above the waves. I twist my body, keeping a tight grip on the young Heartfilia, and fall into a seated position, bouncing a bit as we separate. I feel a manic grin stretch my lips. I've always loved danger. The rush that came with that jump will likely have my heart pounding for a while now. I glance down beneath the barrier, where only a few feet below us sloshes waves as black as night. The seas around Sin hadn't always been black, they had actually been clear and blue, but as the usage of Black Magic grew, things about the island changed. The death energy had seeped into the waves and was carried far, far away without our knowledge.

"What the hell?" Lucy hisses, wrapping her arms around herself for some semblance of protection. She fixes me with an angry glare, quickly putting a halt to my depraved fun. Her pony tail came undone in the fall, letting her blond hair whirl around her shoulders and waist. I clear my throat and wipe the grin off my face.

"Oh, sorry." I chuckle, trying to sound light-hearted. "Should I have warned you about that?" I ask, trying to keep the grin off my face and failing miserably. Her mouth twists into a scowl as my grin comes back full force.

"Yeah, yeah you should've!" she shouts, angry. I give her an apologetic smile to make up for scaring her. Most people can't resist my soft smile. There's a reason why Mavis and Natsu call me an adorable snuggle-muffin. She sighs in defeat and I resist the urge to pump my fist in the air at my victory. "Why me?" she asks, suddenly unsure. Despite the suddenness, I understand what she's asking.

"You have many contracts with many types of celestial spirits." I state, becoming serious once again. "I figured that you'd be able to fend off Nilvashka while I speak with Natsu. He says that whenever she sees something new, that she likes to toy with it. You're new." I explain. I tilt my head to the side, taking in her blank facial expression.

"You want me to be the bait." Lucy deadpans.

"Um, yes?" I say unsurely, making my tentative answer sound more like a question.

"You Dragneels are all the same." she mutters, downcast.

"Ah! Wh-what do you mean?" I stutter, uncomfortable with making a girl sad. Mavis had always looked adorable crying, but she would always make me pay dearly whenever I did something to make her cry, even if it was an accident. The pain from old punishments has me scrambling to make amends quickly.

"On our very first mission together, Natsu drug me along just so I could be the bait." she explains sadly. I resist my urge to laugh. That sounds just like Natsu.

"Well, look at it this way." I say, my chipper tone catching her attention. "Now, you'll be the bait to save Natsu." I smile. Lucy sighs, unimpressed with my attempt to make her feel more useful. My smile falls into a grimace at her rejection of a happy attitude.

"How are we going to get to him, though?" Lucy asks. I tilt my head in confusion. "That Nilvashka chick manipulates anti-eternano, right?" she clarifies.

"Oh, yes." I mutter. "I'll cast protective barriers on our feet to give us a bit of resistance to the anti-eternano. If I cast barriers on your keys, would that help your spirits?" I ask, unsure of the true workings of Celestial Spirit Magic. Lucy examines her keys.

"Yeah, it should." she considers. "How are we going to find him?" she asks.

"I'm a Dragon Slayer, so I'll just track him by scent." I answer.

"Why am I surprised?" she sighs. I cast a protective barrier on the bottoms of my feet as well as hers before turning to her keys. I cast a barrier around each of them, extending it to the life form each key connects to. I stand up on the barrier, giving Lucy a hand too before moving the barrier towards shore so that we don't have to fly.

Natsu's P.O.V.

I'm using my curses to the maximum without damaging my body, and I'm reinforcing all of my strikes with my Dragon Slaying Flames and Lightning. I have barriers constantly working to protect me from Nilvashka's blows, but I know that it won't be enough. She's grown in strength considerably since I've last seen her. I won't be able to beat her at this rate. She's quickly overwhelming me and I'm scrambling to figure out how to beat her, but none of my attacks so much as phase the woman.

I smell Zeref and Lucy's approach. I can tell by the scent of panic surrounding them that something is wrong, but I don't quite understand. The barrier hasn't broken yet, although it's weakened sufficiently. Unless they gateway has fallen, there shouldn't be any cause for alarm yet. As I think about why Zeref and Lucy would risk coming inside the barrier, I subconsciously give Nilvashka an opening. Nilvashka knocks me from the air and I go toppling to the ground just in time for Lucy to jump over me, summoning Loke and Virgo to her aid.

"Oh, what do we have here?" Nilvashka mutters in rapt amusement. For the moment, all of her attention is on her new playthings, and not on me. Zeref erects a barrier between us and Lucy's new fight for good measure. I know that Lucy should be able to draw Nilvashka's attention with her novelty for a few minutes, just enough time to catch my breath, lick my wounds, and figure out what the hell is going on.

"Natsu!" Zeref hisses, looking worried and relieved at the same time. I can't believe that he has such little faith in me. "How are you?" he asks, immediately checking me over to see the extent of my injuries, grimacing at each new one that he comes across. I know that I have a lot of injuries, but he doesn't need to make faces like each one is going to kill me. Doesn't he know that he's only freaking me out more?

"Terrible. I'm losing." I complain gruffly. I push Zeref's hands away from me and move to sit up. Pain shoots through my abdomen where Nilvashka's magic had landed and I grunt in pain. I grit my teeth and clench my fists.

"That sounds like a you problem!" Zeref replies sassily, his worry and relief melting into panic once more. "We have more important things to talk about!" he gripes.

"What's going on?" I ask, turning towards him and away from Lucy attacking Nilvashka with her whip.

"Nilvashka is Lady Zera's mother." he says quietly. My eyes widen in surprise. "She's the true inventor of Black Magic." he says. I feel my blood run cold. Even with my etherious and my demonic form, she's too powerful. I'll never be able to beat her, not now.

I had been so confident as a child in her presence. I always felt like I was smarter than her. Her reaction and indignation when I had first explained eternano to her made me cocky. Beating her will be impossible at this rate. I can't even go truly all-out because I still need to create the Temple once we're done.

That's right. I can't waste my time trying to figure out how to beat her. I need to create a new Temple, even if it kills me! It's impossible to beat her. I simply have to create the Temple. I don't have to beat her. I just need to get past her. I don't have to be stronger than her. I just need to dodge long enough to create the Temple. Then it won't matter if I win or lose.

Thinking like my brothers won't help me a bit. After all, my specialty is making the impossible, possible. How do I do what I do best? Easy, just let instinct take over.

Power rushes through me as I give into my instinct, my instinct to win, and enter Figa. My armor changes, becoming more intricate and stronger. The black color becomes silver and gold. I feel something manifest in my left hand. I recognize it, although I'm not quite sure how. The hilt of a sword with two separate blades rests in my dominant, left hand. Something else forms in my right hand, something I don't recognize. As the light from my transformation clears, I see a staff, and realize that it's manipulating the eternano around it easily.

I don't remember climbing to my feet, but I do remember the decision to charge.