A/N: Sup guys, wiErD here and I've got another chapter for you all.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my plots. Everything else is owned by Hiro Mashima. Support the official release.

- Clashing Dragons -

The atmosphere continued to grow tense as the three Spriggans confronted the dragonslayer with a mixture of different expressions. The warning that His Majesty had given them during their meeting popped into their heads as they now find themselves at the short end of the stick.

A direct confrontation with the demon himself. It was a truly unfortunate predicament.

From the looks of things, it was inevitable for them to do battle against him. It was just a matter of time when they're going to face him but they never expected to be this early in the early stages of the war.

August readied his staff without a moment's notice, sparing no second to enter combat after witnessing the danger their opponent currently has in disrupting their plan in acquiring Fairy Heart. The other two, however were completely lax at their own right while still maintaining a level of caution after being warned of the said information about the Etherious.

"You've come, demon of Tartaros." August answered as the pinkette stood in front of them. His magic aura leaking out in every way possible to show his readiness to fight.

"Him? Hmmmmm, I don't recognize you. Maybe you have come to grace the ever fabulous God Serena in his debut as a Shield of Spriggan?" God Serena swept a cool pose with a pointed finger at the pinkette. Unlike August who was every bit cautious towards the pinkette, he seems to be the opposite with no sense of awareness of the current mood that is enveloping the area.

On the other hand, Natsu didn't disregard his opponent's flamboyant nature as he had taken into account after his brief meeting with Makarov.

That man was Fiore's strongest mage before defecting to Alvarez for reasons unknown. Behind that front was a being so powerful that can compete even with the other Shields. He could not afford to let his guard down on this man. After all, this is actually the first time he met the former strongest Wizard Saint.

Though, he wondered about the reason why such a man would turn to the other side but he doesn't have the time to know either way. The goal remains clear in front of him. To stop them from moving further into Fiore. And better yet, dispose of all of them. They're pieces of the board that needed to be taken out of the stage quickly, judging by their threat to his home.

"So he's the one, huh. His Majesty's pet project." The other man within the group spoke, specifically the bald one. A cool tone yet laced with disgust as if his mere presence was inexcusable to him. He took a brief moment to examine the pinkette from head to toe before speaking once again as he put on a pair of gloves. "Well, no need for dilly dally. Let's dispose of this filth and be on our way, fellow gents."

"Let's not be hasty, Jacob. Have you forgotten His Majesty's warnings?"

"It matters not as long as he's a cold corpse. Is that right?" His heeding was ignored with a cold scowl. His eyes bore a chilling response. "And I'm quite qualified for that level of expertise."

August simply heaved a sigh at his companion's impatience. "Our goal lies before us on the horizon. Delaying here would make things more difficult on our side. I can't say I disagree with your sentiment."

A thick burst of magic was swarming the two of them as Natsu wasted no time to move into his own stance without a word of exchange. At this moment, both two were gearing for a beatdown with the Etherious until they were stopped by hand raised sideways in front of them.

Both August and Jacob let out a pair of widened eyes as they stared at the fellow Spriggan in surprise.

"What's the meaning of this, Serena?" Jacob answered suspiciously.

"Oh this? Ah, I just had a thought, you see. Why won't you two leave this to me, Godly Serena?" A smirk came off from his lips as his expression darkened. "I wanted to see for myself just how strong is this demon that His Highness had praised so highly about. You know, just for funsies. You get GODLY me?"

The shock continued to linger around the duo before looking at him for a brief moment. Even Natsu heard how the former Wizard Saint treated the situation as something 'fun'.

A few seconds later, they both shook their heads and walked in front of him.

"Very well…" August said.

"Don't linger here for too long. Remember that Lord Zeref needs all of us for his final plan." Jacob took off his gloves as a sign of disengagement, walking alongside the elder Spriggan in suit.

As this was going on, Natsu overheard their conversation and firmly steeled himself in front of them. Flames began jutting from the ground around them, rising up a couple of meters above. The inferno surrounded them as the heat began to change the temperature almost immediately.

He released his power as dark red flames surrounded his very being. The ground beneath them trembled at the enormous output of magic and ethernano around the area. It is as if the entire place was turned into a scorching battlefield in just a few seconds.

"Sorry, but you three won't be going anywher—"

In just a blink of a second, the dragonslayer was greeted by a fierce palm unto his face. At the same time, he found himself soaring away from the ground. His body felt light as he was pushed out from his feet and into the air without warning.

It took a few moments for him to recollect what happened and found himself staring at the former Wizard Saint and his hand that used him to push him out of the way.

Serena had just sent him away from the battlefield, shocking him in the process.

The two crashed back to the ground away from the two as Serena kept his grip onto his face as the ground behind them kicked up a large dust cloud. Natsu quickly grabbed his hand with his own. Darkened flames enveloped him once more, sending an intensely powerful heat to burn off the irritating hand.

In response, the grip came loose in fear of the hot blaze as Serena jumped away from the scene but not before stretching his left hand in his direction and shot a massive ball of fire after landing a few meters.

An enormous eruption took place as the blast shook the ground in the process, sending huge wind gales that blew dust and rubble from all around.

Serena triumphed inwardly at the scene before realizing its short-lived period as his ears caught up a slurping sound emitting from within the blast. His narrowed eyes confirmed his assumption as the fire negated and simply died down from the center where the enemy stood.

The flames whirled down to his mouth like a drained sink before vanishing completely.

"Thanks for the meal." Natsu sneered as he found himself rejuvenated from the spell.

"Dragonslaying magic, huh? I see. I see it now. A dragonslayer. Which means that you're immune to a specific element which in this case, fire." Serena uttered in realization as if it wasn't obvious.

Natsu offered no response and simply waited for him to finish his observation. He placed a hand on his face, examining just what happened a few moments before them.

For him to display such speed means that his title isn't a joke. He could very well be in the same level as August, compared to the Spriggans he encountered back at Vistarion. He was right not to let his guard down despite that weird personality. Though he was still pushed away without warning which makes him an even more dangerous opponent.

He paused his thoughts upon hearing his opponent speak once again.

"A dragonslayer is it? Now this is going to be interesting! Well, in that case…" Serena paused, conjuring a dark energy ball from his hand as well as a white one from his other, surprising Natsu from the distance.

'Dark and white magic, huh. So he's more capable of having just one element. However…'

"What's wrong, young man? Can't handle Godly Serena? Well, I guess it's to be expected. Be amazed with my superior skills and admire my Godly power. Maybe I'll forgive you for raising your finger to Godly Me. Hahaha!" Serena answered with a haughty laugh.

"It looks like you can't even keep your mouth shut all the time, Spriggan. I'm just thinking of ways of what to do to your face once this is over. I guess your mouth should be the first thing to go. I'll rip it off once this is done." Natsu growled ferociously as flames filled the area once again.

"Well in that case, I'll welcome you, demon of Tartaros! Let's have a godly showdown, yeah?" Serena responded with his own as the two balls grew exponentially larger from his hands as both magic clashed against each other in the air, sending a burst of magic wave that was felt by all people around the country and beyond.

Without a second, the two dashed straight towards each other with their elements against each other. A white light enveloped the whole battlefield as soon as their fights collided.

Back at Fiore

Another day passed without much of a problem in Magnolia as people continued to provide rations and help for the casualties. While they managed to hold off the first wave of attacks, a couple of ships managed to enter into their airspace and landed within parts of the country. Cities and towns became battlegrounds between sides, resulting in losses which inevitably ended in their victory.

Pockets of resistance happened in other areas which were currently being observed through radar and other instruments to monitor the enemy's movements. So far, there are no major invasions that needed to be dealt with as the advance of the empire's major force seemed to have come to a halt.

That being said, Magnolia had its fair share of crises despite being deep into Fiore territory. For some reason, some forces of Alvarez managed to escape the initial defense squad led by Erza and managed to break through the shield defenses and caused some havoc, resulting in the destruction of the Cardia Cathedral.

It had been one of the town's most preserved landmarks and the recent battle that took place left it almost in rubble. The fight ended in victory but not without its price. A few familiar names have been gravely injured from the battle. Apparently, one of the Spriggans managed to bypass through the town and caused a lot of damage. Thankfully, there's no sign of them managing to infiltrate beneath the guild where Fairy Heart is located.

Still, for the rest of the country's main forces, they have ample time to tend to their wounded and focus on the enemy's movements. The assault didn't put a dent to their forces' morale. Sometimes, it intensified their resolve to avenge their fallen comrades.

With the northern forces still impeded by the treacherous mountains of Zonia together with the slowed advances of the east and south, the main problem now lies in the west.

Inside the new Fairy Tail building, members and other mages felt of the tremendous magic signature that caused their radar to blare loudly in response.

"What was that?!"

"An enemy?!"

"Call Master immediately!"

Mavis took action, feeling the signature that erupted in the east of the country, outside of Fiore. A serious look dawned on her face as she met with Makarov and the rest of the information team as they examined the anomaly in the radar. A few familiar faces came about in the crowd as well as Lucy along with a few, gathered at the center, perturbed by the unnatural magic.

"Give me a status, Warren. What the hell is that magic burst? And where did it come from?" Makarov started. Warren and his team began collecting papers and information regarding the magical signature.

"We're trying to analyze it at the moment. It came out suddenly out of nowhere and we cannot pinpoint exactly the location but it seemed like it was somewhere between the borders of Bosco and Fiore."

"Bosco? That's where the three other Spriggans have been located. Are you still able to keep track of their positions?" Mavis asked.

"Barely. There's too much thickness of ethernano in the area so my magic can't pick up any signatures. We're analyzing the burst of magic as of now."

"Keep working on it. We need to monitor any movements happening in that sector. Notify me should anything come up in the results." The mages nodded quietly and quickly went to work.

Mavis stared at the screen with narrowed eyes. Zeref had some plans laid out in pushing his forces towards Fiore. She may excel in tactics than him but their reserves are leagues apart from each other, limiting her own ideas to repel his indispensable massive force. She had to make do with what little pieces she currently have to pull through.

The burst of magic certainly is a concern for her since it could be one of his works. She cannot let herself down and prepare for the worst possible scenario should any Spriggan reach Magnolia.

"That certainly is a surprise." Makarov expressed his distress on the current situation. "A magic this thick is surely a work of a Spriggan."

"All of Zeref's twelve shields are capable of leveling country-sized armies. I'm afraid the fall of Bosco should come as a statement to that." Mavis replied grimly.

"Indeed. To think that a country couldn't even repel a Spriggan frightens me. Half of them aren't even known to us."

"Regardless, we should take every chance we get to prevent them from reaching here. The forces from the North are starting to move but it'll take them a few more days before they can resume their advance to us." She said as she examined the field of battle before her in the radar, pondering each four sides as they all seemed to have come to a halt.

"We have no word of the empire's presence in the West as well as the South. We should be expecting them to land into Hargeon today but…" Makarov spoke.

"They're not yet here. My predictions of their advance are a few days off."

"Do you think Zeref was planning to wait out the northern forces to advance? To plan out an all-out offensive of all sides?"

"Zeref has a lot of plans to circumvent the slow approach of his northern forces. He has a massive army to do his bidding. He would've just pushed through the other three directions in one huge advance or even amass an enormous aerial assault to bypass the inaccessible terrain and straight to the heart of the country. However, he equally divided them, even putting a portion of his army to the North knowing that the mountain range would slow them down. If that isn't the case, then we would've been pushed back to the north and eventually get pinned down at sea. He could literally end this war if he wanted to." She muttered.

"So what's going on?"

There was a short pause from Mavis' words as she pondered for a moment. Her hand placed on her chin as she stared into the open space.

"Maybe… Just maybe, there's another work at play." She deduced.

"What do you mean, First?"

Just as Makarov tried to question her, a shout coming from Warren caught them staring back to the radar screen as they managed to analyze the anomaly that appeared on the east of the country.

"First, Master, you need to see this!"

The two elders nodded and simply went to attend the information team as they returned back to their work.

"What did you find?"

"We managed to analyze the magic signature that appeared on the east and…"

Another wave of silence erupted within the team as Mavis and Makarov looked at them in utter confusion. For some reason, they lost the words they wanted to convey as if they couldn't seem to comprehend what the results had given them.

"Well? What is it?" Makarov demanded, a tad bit tense at the pause.

"This signature… it's Natsu's."

A handful of widened eyes are caught within the group as the name of the person was brought up. Mavis and Makarov in particular were also one of them due to them being at the center of the group that their expressions were easily read at the revelation.

"Natsu, you say?" Makarov affirmed.

"Y-Yes… and that's not all. It seems like we're able to confirm another magic signature detected along with his. It's a completely different magic. Nothing we saw or analyzed in our records of magic in this country. At least three of them to be exact." Warren explained.

"It looks like they arrived. It's probably August." Makarov muttered, a hand placed on his chin in thought as he quickly arranged the pieces to assume the situation.

"It looks like he's confronting them to stop their advance. No wonder why we haven't heard news of that sector. It looks like he already made his move." Mavis thought out loud, pondering about the missing member. "We'll continue as planned. How long till we have to confirm from Lord Hyberion?"

She turned towards Warren who quickly answered as fast as he could from his reports.

"He needs more time to complete it. Another few days at least."

Mavis nodded in response. "What about Warrod and Lord Wolfheim from the west? Have they confirmed his position?"

"Yes! They identified Zeref and he's marching unhindered. There's a vanguard army with one Spriggan as its attack force. We need to do something about it or the west would surely be the first to reach us. According to the calculations, we'll be forced to mobilize all our forces towards him in the span of two days." Warren answered.

"That's good to know. I had Warrod laid out the things needed to delay their advance. As long as we can buy time to complete our plans and for Lord Hyberion, we should be able to hold them off before we could initiate it." She paused for a moment before switching to another subject. "Any news of the reestablishment of communications from outside the country?"

"No good. Bosco went silent and we have not heard from them. Caelum, Seven, and Minstrel have been annihilated. Stella and the rest of the countries are still fighting the other forces as we speak and-we just got word that Iceberg has fallen!" Warren shouted in disbelief.

"Even them too?" Murmurs circled around the guild as they listened to the current war updates.

Almost all of the northern countries of Ishgar had fallen. Fiore barely escaped annihilation but now most of the force of Alvarez are drawn towards them. There's no telling they would be able to defend against the full brunt of the empire's forces altogether.

Makarov stared in dismay as Mavis also gave him a similar sign of expression towards the news.

"My God."

"This is already turning for the worse."

At the western border of the country

A large army was marching towards the narrow field surrounded by plateaus. Soldiers trudged steadily with their well-equipped armor and weapon as countless footsteps echoed in the surrounding area. Their numbers had shown quite an intimidation that almost no fact of life would dare stand in their way. And it may seem like their march would be met with no resistance as they drew close to the border of Fiore.

Invel walked alongside at the front of the massive army, making sure that their journey is not unhindered with any troublesome matters. He was entrusted to lead his army from the west towards Fiore. As for why he was only sent alone on this journey, he needed to clear out any resistance that might come as His Majesty is bound to take this route once he is ready to make his way towards the country.

Unlike his other peers, he does not relish the taste of battle quite often and would only intervene should the situation require him to do so. He's more akin to a strategist though that role was solely handled by His Majesty. However, he does take the position in seeing His Majesty's plans to fruition. Besides, he seemed content in being the king's aide and would want nothing more but to see his eventual rule at the success of gaining Fairy Heart.

To the outside perspective, he may seem like a serious person who always sees the end result with the highest possible method to achieve it. His attention was only for the sole purpose of serving the Emperor, unlike the other Spriggans.

Now that they have finally invaded Ishgar, he wanted to make sure every single opposition is dealt with extreme effectiveness. After all, battling your enemies is not all there is to win a war. Even as mighty as the Alvarez empire has its limits which proved that in all its entirety cannot defeat Acnologia alone.

"We're approaching the border to Fiore, Lord Invel." A grunt soldier informed as the army could slowly see the landscape change from a barren wasteland into a green pasture.

The Spriggan gazed towards the horizon with a stern look.

"It looks like there's no resistance here. Perhaps they ran away in fear because of our Emperor." One of the soldiers assumed the lack of enemies present in their area. The others joined on his assumption as they all cheered and raised their weapons to boost their morale.

Invel, on the other hand, never took their thoughts seriously.

And just about he was to issue their next course of action, he noticed something wrong towards their direction. He raised his hand to the side, causing the front of the army to stop altogether; soldiers looking up to their commander with a questioning look upon such an act.

They've been marching for hours on end and the distance ahead of them seems like it did not change.

Invel had a sharp eye to discern anything wrong in a situation and he immediately noticed their surroundings seemingly had not changed at all. If his calculations were right, they should be the end of the valley and into the open field of Fiore yet the area looks like they haven't moved a single foot for a time. With this in mind, he quickly deduced that there is magic involved that could affect a large area. Large enough to cover an army.

His eyes sighted towards a rock formation and instantly froze the area with his gaze. His sudden actions caused the surrounding soldiers to raise their weapons in caution as they anticipated an imminent fight.

A few seconds as the icy mist cleared, Invel managed to find a magic formation.

"A two layered magic seal, I see. It looks like they really prepared for this side as well." Bringing his assumptions, he looked around and saw the space around them distort for a moment as they're about to exit from the spell's effect.

The area cleared any illusions as they are now back at the same position as they were at the valley but they could see the exit right in the distance, indicating the correct path.

But then, it was different.

As soon as they begin their march once again, they are now met with opposition. Two figures stood beside each other facing them.

Invel adjusted his glass as he instantly recognized the two enemies standing against them.

"Wolfheim and Warrod Sequen." He muttered.

Upon hearing the names of the two, some of the soldiers stiffened as they looked towards the two in fear. Even in Alvarez, the names of the Wizard Saints in Ishgar had garnered quite a fearful outlook just as Ishgar did with the Spriggans. They knew all too well not to underestimate the selected few that granted them the title of a Wizard Saint.

Seeing two of them facing them seemed like they're more than enough to take on them and the Emperor.

However, Invel disregarded their concerns and simply looked towards their enemies with the same stern look. Any form of softness in his face disappeared as soon as he began to move for a battle.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, Warrod and Wolfheim could easily notice the rising presence of magic from the Spriggan, causing them to prepare as well.

"My my, it looks like this one is eager to fight rather than having some conversations first, right Wolfy?" Warrod commented as he looked at his fellow Wizard Saint who had been grumpy ever since they got teamed together.

"Stop with that nickname already and focus on the task, Warrod!" The short mage answered in irritation.

"Yes, yes. Oh and just in the nick of time, my spell is already complete. Ready when you are, friend."

Wolfheim merely answered a dismissive 'hmph' as the tree mage spun his staff and slammed it to the ground, creating a large magic circle that encompasses the entire area around them and the massive army. It glowed in color as Invel and his army looked in disbelief at the sudden rumbling of the ground beneath them.

After a few seconds, giant roots sprouted out from the ground in a sudden fashion, launching at the speed of sound. Soldiers who were unfortunate enough to stand on an unknown root were simply flung away as they looked in shock at the massive trees suddenly growing around them. The ground also cracked as murky waters flowed out of the soil along with swampy foliage that caused their feet to sink deeply, effectively immobilizing them.

It took another few seconds as the spell finally receded, having done its task as the whole landscape was changed into a swamp region. There was no sight of the wasteland that they had trudged on as if the whole land was changed in an instant.

Invel looked around without a change in his expression as he briefly looked around at the surrounding changes around him.

"A spell that could change a landscape. More so a swamp to hamper our march. It surely is an interesting magic but…" He paused, swinging his left hand in front of him as shards of ice and snow suddenly covered the murky swamp in an instant. "Against a magic like mine, it is but a bad matchup."

Every time he turned his eyes, the sight of the land was immediately frozen. For a moment of his display of power, the soldiers raised a cheer but that soon was quickly erased as the frozen landscape was immediately restored to its state as new trees sprouted out of the frozen ground much to the slight surprise of the Spriggan.

Even his magic was reverted back as the frozen waters returned back to mud. This was the first time he had his own magic overwhelmed by another. As far as his mastery of ice and snow, no one has ever repelled or even reverted his magic except for August and Irene for that matter due to their versatile use of counter magic against him.

But as he was collecting his thoughts, he was cut short as an ominous voice reverberated within the murky swamp.

"This is just no ordinary spell that you can simply erase. I trust that our welcoming gesture was enough to get your attention, Spriggan." Warrod spoke.

"So it would seem. I commend such a feat. Truly worthy of being called a Wizard of Saint." Invel answered with a cold tone in his voice.

"Well, this is just something that I've been accumulating over the past year. It seemed like years of gathering magic wasn't a bad idea after all."

"I see. A trump card right off the bat. If you're thinking that you can stop me with this, I'm afraid that you would need to not overestimate yourselves against the might of our empire." He warned.

"Oh, of course not. I've seen what power a Spriggan can bring. And my intention is not only to defeat you. I've entrusted that role to my other dear friend."

"Other?"

As soon as he said that, a couple of screams from the side of the army caught his attention as soldiers were suddenly attacked by a mysterious monster from the murky waters. Each of them were forcefully grabbed under and dragged away from the formation, causing fear as they did not know what kind of enemy they were facing.

In a desperate attempt to fend off the unknown attacker, they raised their magic weapons and began shooting into the waters indiscriminately. But as they were doing that, a large monster suddenly jumped from the water and slammed right into the army formation with its large body, sending a blast that threw any surrounding troops in the process.

The soldiers went into a disarray as soon as the monster swatted its heavy claws into the bodies of the Alvarez troops, cleaving them in half in a single swipe.

"What the hell is that thing?! A Golem?"

"It's too big for a golem!"

"Shoot it down!"

Don't let it close to our formation!"

Words of dismay sprung about on the ranks as they tried to bring down the beast. However, its massive size proved difficult as their weapons seemed to have not put a dent to its scaly hide. Instead, they were swatted away like miniature ragdolls as it swung its massive claws towards them in succession.

Invel looked in slight disbelief as he recognized the monster. After all, this type of monster was already long extinct.

"An Earth Behemoth. That's impossible..." He paused, taking the tree mage's words into account and its timely appearance on this elaborate trap they're in. "No, beast transformation magic. I see, it looks like you also had some interesting tricks up your sleeves Wizard Saints."

"Oooh! Right on, Spriggan. However, since you're in such a hurry, I'm afraid we'll have to stop you all right here. You will not be taking another step in this land."

ROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRRRR

The mighty roar of the behemoth created a massive shockwave as the earth rumbled around it, causing another wave of disorientation among the soldiers. The massive beast lifted its upper body as its two front legs before descending them to the ground.

An enormous cloud of dust kicked up as soon as the beast brought its feet down in front of the army in a monstrous manner, destroying the ground around it and along the soldiers in its vicinity. The ground beneath cracked into massive chunks which were then thrown out due to the force of the attack, crashing into the marching army in the process. Huge rumblings followed soon after as if they were standing in an impending volcano eruption.

The massive formation of the army was easily destroyed as patches of survivors fled in terror from the monster, unable to bring it down to its knees.

Invel stood with his eyes staring at the rampaging behemoth with his glasses reflecting from the light. He adjusted them accordingly, uncaring of the soldiers in their desperate attempt to flee from the monster. The changed terrain around them made it impossible for them to do so which all the more makes it idiotic.

He turned his attention towards the behemoth as his eyes turned cold. In his change of expression, the surrounding area around the Spriggan began to drop in its temperature. An aura of cold and icy mist surrounded him and faced the two Wizard Saints in a dark tone.

"Very well. I guess I will have to entertain you two. I hope you won't disappoint, mages of Ishgar."

A large wave of ice formed behind him as he met up with the monster on their first clash.

...

Back at the east, the battle between the two mages continued to intensify. Faint glows of light emanated by their magic could be seen from the horizon, highlighting the ferocity of each spell released.

Neither of them managed to put down the other and the landscape around them quickly changed from a wide plain into a broken wasteland. Fires and smoke piled up from place to place as Natsu and God Serena fought both on close-quarters and long range whenever they had the chance. They lost track of how much land they covered during their destructive skirmish but it was far away from any human settlement that may get caught up in their fight.

Regardless, the fight has been going on in a stalemate. Both of them had an edge but they also had the capacity to deflect those attacks altogether, thus bringing them into this state of equal fighting ground.

"Not bad! Not bad! This is getting GOOOD-ly interesting! But you can't hold a candle to ol' GODLY me! My powers are more GOOOODLY than you! You catch me, GODLY me?" God Serena spoke with a sparkle of dazzle in his eyes while still being able to focus on his defense against the Etherious while speaking.

Natsu had enough of hearing his obnoxious retorts. This guy just can't stop repeating the same word in every sentence and unbearable enough to be in hearing range because of it. In all honesty, he wondered just how this kind of guy managed to get the top position of the Wizard Saints during his time there and how many of his colleagues have to deal with his annoying behavior.

If there's anything he had to say in response to his enemy, he would only answer in disgruntled grunts, probably by his flamboyant tone.

Still, he always had his caution towards him due to the fact that he was still the top mage of Ishgar. In fact, he was left with no words as he's being held back by this mage for awhile now without ever seeing his killing intent.

All he could ever discern from the eccentric mage is his… well, flowery attitude.

It's almost like he was being taunted to lower his guard by not taking him seriously just by observing him.

He would try to corner him with every chance he got but he managed to counter him with an array of magic of his own. Fire, water, earth, and even wind. He might be having more elemental magic of his own and he was pretty damn creative about it, almost to the point that of mastery.

"Do you feel fear, GODLY demon? Of course you are! For I have been fabulously displaying my GODLY prowess! You afraid, aren't you? Aren't you? GODLY me?"

"Keh―You're getting annoying, you little pest!" Natsu raised his hand as a swirl of dark red flames converged around it, feeling the immense accumulation of magic as it grew thicker and thicker by the second.

"Oh, and I shall respond in GODLY kind! How about this!" God Serena announced as he lifted his own hand and gathered magic around him in an instant. A large mass of condensed water hovered above him, turning it towards the demon.

"Demonic Fire Dragon's Devouring Fang!"

"Water God's Cannon!"

Two streams of elements clashed and cancelled each other in a destructive manner. The area around them was easily destroyed by the force of their spells. However, both of them were unfazed by this as they clashed once more in a flurry of blurs and shockwaves. Not even sparing a single second for the dust that kicked up in their previous attacks to settle down as they dashed straight right to it to meet each other in close-quarters.

Continuous successions of the two mages clashing caused by their physical attacks shook the earth with ferocious blows that a single misstep in their collision would easily kill them. The two mages were experts in close combat that the only thing that they can do to do damage is grazing each other.

Trading blow after blow, their fight in the untrained eye would seem like sound explosions going off continuously in the air without any explanation.

Natsu had his footing planted as soon as he came back from the ground, drilling his right fist into the ground as a short rumble followed soon after. His eyes locked at God Serena as a giant flaming hand erupted beneath him just as he was about to land.

The flaming hand caught the Spriggan's right foot, destroying his focus for a moment as the heat of the flames easily melted a part of his cloth and towards his skin. At the same time, he was suspended in mid-air once again as the pinkette tried to slam him back to the ground with force.

God Serena flinched at the contact of the spell and instantly clasping his hands together in front of him as a ball of water engulfed his figure, cancelling the flaming hand in the process. He then took on another spell as he spread out his clasp hands as lightning sparks appeared around his palms, waving it around as some sort of whip.

Suspended in mid-air, he lashed the lightning whip towards the demon.

"Well then, how about this GODLY attack?!" With a shout, he brought down the lightning whip down to the Etherious who simply rolled to the side to avoid it. A massive dust cloud kicked up as the spell made contact to the ground.

"How's that? Pretty GODLY strong, ain't it?" He said, affirming to the destructive prowess of his spell.

His eyes, however, widened in surprise as soon as he found himself above him and noticed a sudden burst of flames who answered back with a spell of his own. While he tried for a quick dodge in mid-air by manipulating air to push him out of the way, he was already too late as his ramblings cost him a few seconds to act fast in the exchange.

"Demonic Fire Dragon's Raging Hell!"

In a span of a few seconds, Natsu hailed his fire in a swirling fashion with his arms spun and shot it out above him towards the Spriggan. The flames quickly climbed up in mere fractions of a second as the area was engulfed in a large fiery pillar that was almost reminiscent of an Etherion strike.

God Serena could only shield with his own arms as the flames blasted him and completely engulfed his body as the swirling fire expanded further in a few kilometers.

The intensity of the attack was felt a couple of kilometers away as onlookers noticed the pillar of light in the far distance in confusion before feeling a slight rumble that followed afterwards.

The spell receded afterwards as dust began to settle once again. The area around them was reduced into a pile of burning ground and smoking rubble, resulting in its aftermath. Natsu regained his bearings as he stood solely in the battlefield; his eyes staring over to the still fading dust in front of him, revealing a silhouette.

God Serena appeared just a few seconds into view. His clothings succumbed to burning scratches as well as his exposed skin. His arms still raised in front of his face before eventually regaining his own footing as he examined his state.

"Damn, what an unGODLY power. So this is the power of an Etherious." He said so in delight. His attitude seemingly unfazed by the effects of the spell he just took head on.

Meanwhile, Natsu narrowed his eyes as he found him seemingly fine after that attack. It was one of his strongest attacks since it was meant to incinerate his enemies through their magic and body, thus reducing them to ash.

It would take a significant amount of fire resistance to be able to survive such a blast or even a powerful defense magic to be able to defend against its intensified heat. August was able to ward his fire due to his proficient use of all sorts of magic from the past.

This guy managed to escape the full force and was seemingly relaxed about it.

"Just who are you, God Serena?" Natsu asked, his tone more serious and cautious than before after assessing more of his capability. It was almost in par with the Magic King himself.

God Serena took heed of the question, seemingly open enough to answer his opponent's inquiry. "I wonder indeed. Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to share my purpose of coming here and joining the Spriggans."

He paused for a moment before a change in his expression caught the pinkette by surprise.

"I seek to eliminate all dragons before me."

It was at this revelation that Natsu was taken aback as he looked with confusion in his face. Even more so, the mage was no longer doing his word phrasing in his sentences, indicating a tone of seriousness.

"Dragons? I thought for sure all dragons are extinct with the exception of Acnologia." He replied back.

"Not just dragons. Dragon gods, dragon kings, and even… dragonslayers." He answered.

"I see. So your reasons for fighting aren't just by the order of your emperor." Natsu affirmed, a bit cautious now more than ever, especially now that he knows that he has an intention to get rid of all things related to the dragons of old.

Though a pressing question was nagging at the back of his mind, how did this guy know about dragons?

As much as it concerns him, only a handful of people knew about the dragonslayers and their origins. It was only after Achnologia's appearance a few years ago sparked this movement of finding information about the extinct race. And what's more is that why make such a decision to defect from his land just to exterminate dragons.

The pinkette could make up a few reasons why. It is probably due to the immense threat that Acnologia has displayed over the past few years ever since his reappearance on Tenrou Island. Perhaps this guy knew the threat of the potential of dragons and their bestowment of dragonslaying magic into humans much like his demonic powers were given to him by Zeref. Plus, there's also this whole debacle of Tartaros effectively destroying the weapons that would make Ishgar a powerhouse of a continent to contend against any other country.

In that assumption, it's fair to say that he had to gather enough force to challenge the Black Dragon of the Apocalypse with the help of the Zeref and his Spriggans. Still, that wasn't enough to convince him of his motives.

Even if that's the case, he would've taken measures just a few years back when Etherion and Face were still in their hands at that time. Wizard Saints still hold influence over the Magic Council to some extent.

"But why? What reason would you have to eliminate them and even go as far as joining Alvarez?" He asked yet again but was cut short as God Serena simply raised his hand in front of him.

"That's enough questions for now, little dragonslayer. We are not only here for chitchat with GODLY me." He paused. "... However, I think it's time we take it up a notch, yeah? I think we're done with our little warm-up."

"Warm-up?" Natsu said, seemingly stupefied but was forced to disregard his urge to ask again as he began to feel a sudden shift in the atmosphere around them.

At that moment, God Serena drew into his stance. His fists balled together as a wave of magic accumulated around him. The ground shook in his actions, causing the pinkette to brace into action of what's about to happen.

The sclera in his eyes turned black and a malicious grin was plastered in his face as he turned to look towards the pinkette with ferocity.

"Then, let's begin!" As he left that statement, the now calm Spriggan had instantly revealed his bloodthirsty nature as he planted his hands on the ground and called out his first spell in his new form.

"Cavern Dragon's―"

"Wha―" Natsu sputtered upon hearing the name of the spell.

"Earth's Destruction!"

In a span of a second, the ground around them suddenly collapsed as if it had lost its hold to the earth below. Huge cracks formed as Natsu tried to regain his footing only to be bombarded with falling rock fractures as he slowly sank into the earth.

He clad his feet in fire, propelling himself and easily smashing through the debris in front of him and soared out of the collapsing ground in the process. However, his eyes drew to his side as he saw the Spriggan close in on him with his hands clasped together, seemingly calling out another spell.

"Sea King Dragon's Encircling Deluge!"

Pointing towards him with a wave of his hands, God Serena released a torrent of high-pressured water towards the escaping pinkette.

"Tch―he had two of them?" Irritated rather than shocked, he simply waved his hand in response, the torrent approaching him instantly evaporating in just a single second.

"Over here, fire dragon!" A shout from the sky above him caused him to look up.

"Since when did he―"

He was cut off once more as God Serena hammered down another spell from his hands. He clasped them together and brought it down towards the Etherious in quick succession.

"Thunder King Dragon's Colliding Hammer Fist!"

With the nature of the spell being sent towards him, Natsu couldn't dodge himself out of the way as he took the full force of the spell, hitting squarely from the back and sending him straight down to the collapsing ground once again.

A huge pile of dust and rubble erupted in his crash but God Serena didn't spare him a second to recover as he assumed into a stance of that of an archer as wind gathered around his hands, forming a bow and arrow in the process.

"Let's have you stay there for awhile, will ya?" He said, pointing his right open hand towards him as he called another spell.

"Void Dragon's Pressure Plane!"

A strong gravitational field appeared over the ground as it began crushing everything by squeezing space into a shape of a massive square. The Etherious was simply locked down to the ground as he struggled to lift his face and the rest of his body from the intense pressure.

However, during his attempts, God Serena flew a few distance away from him, lifting his right hand as he gathered magic once more.

"Well then, a little combination. And FINALE!" He said as black and white magic swirled along the arrow-shaped wind, collectively merging together as the wind around him blew immensely at the massive amount of magic converging on the arrow.

With a sharp hold of breath, he intoned his next spell.

"Holy Gale Dragon's Umbral Arrow!"

Releasing his hold on the magic-induced arrow, the arrow let out its roar as it soared past the sound barrier, creating a sonic boom in its wake along with a trail of white, dark, and wind magic from its back. The arrow smashed towards the ground where the pinkette was plummeted, immediately engulfing the area in a flash of light.

An enormous explosion erupted as the entire battlefield was engulfed in its entirety, causing massive quakes that could be felt from the distance. The explosion could almost compare to a nuclear-sized blast as it flattened out nearby trees due to the force of its wind and the other two magic mixed within.

Soaring trails of white and black magic were seen in the air as the explosion created enough force that distant lands could roughly hear the sound of battle from afar.

From the epicenter, the whole area was reduced to a giant crater almost like it had been hit by a medium-sized meteorite that generated the same explosive amount of energy. A huge dust cloud emerged around it, obscuring the very center where the spell hit its mark.

God Serena landed from the distance as he looked over from the edge of the crater, waiting for the dust to settle from the center. His heightened eyes were able to see from afar, patiently standing by.

A couple of seconds went by and his eyes still continued to assess the state of his opponent after receiving that spell. The dust cleared and his sights narrowed in caution as soon as he found his silhouette figure visible in the middle of the crater.

His surprise would further increase as he noticed his silhouette was not the only thing that he saw. A large mass of massive thorns surrounded the Etherious as if in the shape of a dome though by the looks of it, it seemed to have been destroyed due to the massive tear at the center where the pinkette is supposedly standing.

God Serena easily assessed what transpired during that final second before his spell hit him.

It looks as though he was able to conjure those thorns from the ground and protected himself from being pierced by the arrow. Make no mistake, that attack boasted for its piercing power and deadly aim. He was expecting that the spell would at least cause some serious damage towards him. For it to be completely repelled with just the use of thorns is absurd.

Though on the positive side, it looks like he finally found an opponent worthy of witnessing his true power. If you mean witnessing, he'd mean by surviving its might and power.

"Color me impressed. You still live." God Serena praised. "It looks like the rumors about you are true after all."

On the other hand, Natsu was seething. A dark look was present on his face, coming out from the thorn shell and demanded some questions after seeing a brief peek of his opponent's true power. Apart from that, it took him just now to realize the scent he was giving. It was completely different from what he caught earlier when he was not unleashing his true powers. This guy was able to hide it all this time without him catching on.

"Seven dragonslayer magic. I've never heard of someone possessing a couple of dragonslayer magic and able to use them proficiently like it was nothing." He stated.

"Eight, in fact!" God Serena corrected in a dramatic fashion. "Though the other I can't really use it against someone with the same elemental magic. It's name is Purg―"

"Where did you get that power?" He demanded.

"Oh? Not gonna tell me who my dragon parents are, do you? I thought that would be the first thing that would come to mind with you dragonslayers. We could be dragonslayer buddies if that were the case." He replied, donning a pondering look.

"Bullshit! There's not a lot of dragons out here who would be alive to teach you their magic. The only way for anyone to be able to learn them now is through lacrima housed with whatever remnants of that dragon's power resides in." He explained his reasoning.

"CORRECT!" God Serena posed with a finger pointing towards him. "I'm not a child trained and bestowed by a dragon with their power. I am a CHOSEN ONE! A GOD-ly chosen one! The one blessed by fate to wield these magic!" He announced, his explanation almost reminiscent of a person of faith.

"Tch… To think that you are also a dragonslayer." Natsu spat. A hint of displeasure evident in his tone of voice at the mention of his power's origins. So it's just the same as a 2nd Generation dragonslayer but with a couple of them implanted into one person "... Your powers are nothing but a fake."

"Oh, but that does not mean that a fake can't beat the original. In fact, you standing here wary of my abilities is proof of that." God Serena answered confidently before suddenly changing into a cold tone as he continued. "But then again, the mere fact that you were still standing after showing my true powers makes my blood boil, you know."

His dark expression resurfaced once again as he looked at the Etherious with such enmity.

"Why didn't you stay dead?"

Though it was meant to intimidate him, Natsu offered a light counter of his own, his lips coiling to a smirk.

"Who knows? Probably because your powers are not enough."

"All dragons will fall in the might of the Hybrid Theory. Not even the Black Dragon of the Apocalypse!"

Despite hearing his intimidating response, Natsu recollected himself, having to know enough of his enemy's strength. A wicked grin soon overwrote the smirk on his lips as he turned towards him, offering the same level of killing intent.

"Heh, then you're welcome to try, Spriggan."

Both combatants released their auras as the ground around them rumbled. A shade of dark red occupied the pinkette while God Serena was surrounded with an array of 8 magic auras of corresponding elements of dragonslayer magic.

The pressure between them continued to climb as their auras shot out of the sky before vanishing completely. A moment of silence went past between them until both of them quickly left their positions as both sides kicked up a huge dust behind them as they dashed straight to one another.

Natsu conjured his flames with his hand morphed into its demonic form. His horns revealed once again accompanied with dark red flames while God Serena combined all eight of his dragonslayer magic into his own fist, amassing a colored formed fist extending from his arm.

Both two met up close as they both balled their fists together and clashed one another.

A booming sound before followed by an extreme gush of wind and shockwave burst at the center of their clash as the ground around them was reduced once again. The power the two had been releasing completely changed the landscape by just colliding with their fists.

Unable to overpower each other, the two break away as they gather distance to initiate their attacks.

Natsu dashed towards the retreating Spriggan who, on the other hand, smirked in response as he approached him.

"In hurry, aren't we?"

Just before the pinkette could get to him, his body suddenly transformed into black. His human figure dissolved in the process and simply became a shadow.

Natsu widened his eyes in surprise. The ability is almost the same as Rogue's Shadow Dragonslayer magic. He watched as the shadow evaded him with such speed and reformed itself in the safe distance.

God Serena drew a short breath as he went into a stance and readied his roar towards him.

"Holy Umbral Dragon's Roar!"

A massive wave of white and black magic blasted out from his mouth as it went straight towards the pinkette.

Natsu simply stood in its path, cracking his fingers as he watched it draw closer to him. As it neared him in a few inches, he simply lifted his right arm and hacked the roar in front of him, completely dispelling it in the process.

"You kidding me?!" God Serena was seemingly taken aback by that move.

"For a man with eight dragonslayer magic, I've never seen a roar so puny." Natsu mocked. "... Let me show you what a real dragon roar looks like."

As if to answer back, he too drew into a stance. Magic and Curse coiled up together in his mouth as he inhaled air into his lungs before stopping to look at the Spriggan with a burning set of eyes.

"Demonic Fire Dragon King's Roar!"

In a span of a second, a gigantic wave of fire instantly destroyed everything in its path, quickly engulfing the Spriggan without much of a reaction as he was simply swallowed in the sea of fire. The roar created a blast so large that even from the distance, the towering height of the roar could still be seen.

The roar disintegrated a large patch of ground in its path. Trees, plants, and even the mountain from the distance wasn't spared as the roar engulfed it entirely.

It took a couple of seconds for the roar to die down as large patches of dust hovered around the destroyed battlefield at the release of the spell.

Natsu stood by waiting as his eyes never left their sights on the direction where he supposedly last saw the Spriggan before being enveloped in his roar. He exhaled for a moment before turning to his right where he finally saw the missing Spriggan.

"Tch…" He clicked his tongue in annoyance, seeing him alive. He released that roar with the intent to kill.

"Phew… What a roar. I guess I can't really let down my guard against you. If I would've noticed sooner that your fire has some ethernano in it, I wouldn't need to indulge myself eating it." God Serena explained, his clothes tattered by the intense heat of the flames.

It was safe to say that he didn't escape unscathed. It seems as though he tried eating his flames at first, realizing later on that it was mixed with ethernano, thus succumbing to its full force of the heat.

For a guy possessing immunity to fire due to his dragonslayer magic, he couldn't withstand this guy's flame.

"Tough one for a fake. Still, your situation remains the same, Spriggan." Natsu threatened.

"Sourpuss, aren't you?" He dusted off his damaged uniform. "Well, don't think for a second that you got the upperhand. We're just getting started, sonny!"

They both locked themselves once more into the fight until a sudden presence interrupted them. A massively thick amount of magic was felt by the two of them as they were forced to stop engaging each other and looked towards the source of the abnormal presence.

Their faces turned towards the direction where it was coming from. A pile of dust cloud still hovering from the remnants of the roar as the two narrowed their eyes in caution.

Within moments, the smoke cleared, revealing a figure.

This was no ordinary presence.

A man they had never seen before stood in front of them. His dark skin exposed, mainly to his upper part due to lacking any clothing in it. He wore a black cloak with high collars and tattered pants. He had no footwear whatsoever and his hair was scraggly and unkempt for a long time.

But make no mistake of his appearance. The blue markings on his arms and body along with the abnormal magic presence he possessed around him was enough to get the two rattled as they widened their eyes in shock, recognizing the scent he was giving.

Meanwhile, the man walked towards them only to stop a few meters before them as he looked at them in interest.

"I smell a dragon."

...

A/N: And finally! An update. Here's to another chapter. I'm glad to have this updated. I hope you had fun reading this chapter. Just a little sidenote, I did read the sequel of FT just recently since I haven't got the time. Suffice to say, it was interesting, at least. I mean, the plot is still the same and what would you expect from the elements from the main manga. As for why it was interesting, well... new things to include in future chapters hahaha!

Anyways, that's it for this chapter. Hope to see you all again in the next one.

Be safe and good fortunes to all of you.

- The wiErDos send their regards...