BOOK 1 - Fairy Gods: Ascension

Chapter 3: The Assault on Crocus

<<Somewhere, near the city of Crocus>>

Natsu stepped out of the ship he was in. After learning what his final task would be, the pinkette traveled the sea in direction to Crocus. However, the situation was worse than he imagined. "This is as far as we'll take you" said the ship's captain, Natsu stepping down and nodding firmly. "Are you sure you want to go there, son? News say that Crocus is a hellish battlefield right now! You might die!"

"I'll be fine, old man" Natsu replied coldly while walking away. "Quit worrying about me, and worry about your crew. If you don't leave now, you might get caught in the storm"

The captain sighed, knowing he could say nothing to change Natsu's mind. Of course, he had no idea of what he was capable of. The pinkette walked down the shore for a while, thinking about how he would fulfill his mission.

Larcade, Spriggan God of War. Natsu had met him before in the past. He's the second god he met after Irene found him lost and dishoriented more than 2 years ago, but unlike her, the God of War wasn't so willing to let him live. Natsu would be dead right now if it wasn't for Irene. And thus, a long-living grudge against Larcade had been born in the pinkette.

Suddenly, Natsu saw it. Not so far away was the view of a city being attacked. Undead. Harpies. Ogres. Those were some of the monsters being commanded into causing chaos, and at the very middle of all that chaos was him... Larcade. He was somewhere in that city, and Natsu had to find him.

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Once at the city, there was nothing but slaughter. Natsu's blades sliced through anything getting on their way. The flames scorched every undead, every ogre and minotaur trying to slow down the pinkette. All of those efforts were useless. People cried in agony all around, but Natsu could not care less about that. He was there for one reason, and nothing could distract him from that.

As he made his way towards the cathedral of the city, Natsu expected to find Larcade. Still, there was no sign of the god. "LARCADE!" yelled the pinkette warrior. "WHERE ARE YOU, COWARD?! COME AND FACE ME!" But no one replied. The God of War was close indeed, Natsu could feel his presence, but it wasn't him who welcomed Natsu in that place.

Suddenly, the floor cracked. Natsu tried to keep his balance, but a monster rose from beneath in an instant, taking a firm grip of him. It was a harpie. The winged creature flew up high, dragging the pinkette along. Natsu struggled against it, but as his anger grew in power, he reached for his blades. He sliced through the creature's gut as this last one screeched in pain. It lost control.

Coursing the air, more harpies appeared in Natsu's way, but one by one, the pinkette killed them all. In the end, the harpie Natsu was on fell. Both hit the ground hard, but Natsu avoided death thanks to his strength. Still, he was far from the cathedral now, at a city garden of some sort.

"Good... Good..." muttered someone at one side. Natsu turned to see who it was and found an old man, short and with a hump, digging on the ground. "That was... quite the spectacle. You had me gasping for a second"

Natsu looked weirded out at the stranger. "Who are you, old man?" Natsu asked.

"Just a citizen of Crocus... digging a grave"

"Heh... I know you are old, but it's a little too early to think of dying, don't you think?"

"Oh, it's not for me. It is for you... warrior"

Natsu widened his look, not knowing whether to feel weirded out or annoyed. Then, he started leaving. "You are insane. I don't have time for this crap"

"It is suicide, you know? You'll never kill the God of War. At least, not as you are now" The pinkette turned around in surprise. That old man knew something about his mission, and Natsu wasn't in the mood for riddles. "Killing a god is an impossible feat for a mortal... UNLESS... they acquire the power to do so"

"The power... to kill a god" Natsu faced downwards, mulling over what he was just told. "Does something like that even exist?"

"I've said too much" The old man focused on his digging once again, angering Natsu a little bit. "Though if you really want to know more about it, you should ask the city's Oracle. She's right there" The man pointed at a palace surrounded by creatures at the distance, probably the city hall.

Now, Natsu had no idea if the old man was telling the truth. He took out Irene's lacrima, trying to speak with her and ask her about this so-called power, but there was no answer. "Old man, will you remain here?"

"Of course I will. I have a grave to finish"

"Good" replied Natsu immediately. "If you lie about this power, I'll be back... and I'll rip you apart limb by limb"

Nothing but a histerical laugh came out of the old man, a totally unexpected reaction which had Natsu doubting whether he was even sane at all. Either way, the pinkette would go through with this. He was on his way to the city hall now.

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Once at the City Hall, Natsu walked in calmly. He explored the passages of the crumbled building in search of his goal. He then reached the main hall. Wide. Big. The ceiling was very high, and it had a glass window which let the moonlight inside, as well as the light from the flames burning the city down. There, Natsu find her: The Oracle of Crocus.

She was a green-haired woman, beautiful and young. She wore a whitish revealing outfit which barely covered her chest and crotch. Unfortunately, Natsu couldn't distinguish her good since she was hanging all the way up. Her wrists were tied to a rope each, which were also tied to two pillars at each side of her. That was definitely done by Larcade's henchmen.

Natsu wasted no time and cut the ropes. The woman fell, and the pinkette caught her. She woke up a few seconds later, and startled as she saw the face of Natsu. "Wh-what? What's going on? Who are you?" asked the bruised woman.

"I am Natsu" replied the pinkette. "The goddess Irene sent me here to kill Larcade"

The woman widened her look, becoming euphoric all of a sudden. "Lady Irene sent you here? Then that means that... she heard our prayers! You are here to save the city! Oh, thank the gods! M-my name is Hisui! I am the oracle of Crocus, and I'll help you with anything you need! Just, please... save our city!"

Natsu put the woman down, who struggled to stand. Oracles were supposed to be the rulers of the respective city they lived in, and Hisui being the Oracle of the capital of the country, she was supposed to be the most important Oracle of all. Still, she didn't seem like it.

"You really want your city saved?" Natsu asked. "Tell me all you know about the 'Power to kill a god'"

Hisui startled. "The power to kill a god? I never heard of such thing, but... maybe Lady Irene knows more about it"

"I already tried communicating with her, but my lacrima is not working"

Suddenly, a great rumbling resonated from outside. There was no doubt that more people were dying by the second. Hisui couldn't lose time. "I... I can help you with that! Just at the top of this building... th-there is a place you can use to speak with Irene!" Hisui turned around and signaled Natsu to follow her. With any luck, the oracle would have the answer to all of this.