Chapter 19

Three days later.

"So, are we sure he will go here?" Natsu asked as he sat in a VIP room overlooking the ball dancers on the stage down below, with men cheering and whistling at them.

"Zash Caine, the one who stole the staff is known for his promiscuous personality. He will surely go to this place and that will be our chance." Replied Wanda.

Natsu raised a brow, "You seem to know him."

Wanda clicked her tongue, "Unfortunately. He used to be a secretary of the state of Fiore, but we found out that he was practicing a type of black magic that requires him to draw blood from females …due to that, he have a dungeon where he imprisoned women."

Zash is cruel, crude, brash, and overtly villainous in general. He only cares for his own objectives and will do anything to get them accomplished.

He treats women like slaves, imprisoning them in a dungeon, greatly enjoying mistreating them, and acting perversely towards them, regardless of the discomfort and fear he often causes by doing so.

Due to his brutal nature, he is feared by many in the kingdom and is treated with contempt by many of his former allies in Fiore.

Eventually, the Garou Knights discovered his atrocities and his plan on overthrowing the monarchy and was stripped off his title and properties and was sentenced to be beheaded.

Unfortunately, he has loyal subordinates who were all nobles and helped him escape to Stella, where he gained the favor of King Animus.

Of course, the Garou Knights executed those nobles and any who are allied with Zash on grounds of treason.

"By the way," Wanda added, "The embassy received an intel …well, it is more of a rumor, but apparently Zash is in command of an army comprising of entirely Fourth Generation Dragon Slayers."

"What!?" Natsu stared at her in shock, "Fourth Generation?"

Wanda nodded, "They are an artificial life-form created from a Dragon Lacrima, they are an automaton capable of fighting indefinitely until they exhausted their power source."

"Damn," Natsu whistled, "It wasn't so long ago that I learned of Second and Third Generation Dragon Slayers, now there's a fourth. I wonder if there's a fifth as well."

"From what I have heard, there probably is." Said Kaori, surprising Natsu.

"Really?" He asks, "What were they?"

"I used to travel a lot when I was young," started Kaori, "and I have been into the Guiltina, the northern continent where I have heard of a guild known as Diabolos made up entirely of Fifth Generation Dragon Slayers, I don't know if it's true, but they seems to gain their powers from consuming the flesh of slain dragons."

"…What?" Natsu shook.

Kaori nodded, "I don't know if that's true. But if it is, then they are the most genuine dragon slayers there is for they obtain their magic by killing and eating dragons."

Natsu, however, was no longer listening.

He was looking down on his lap, his fist clenched. 'Killing and eating dragons …was Igneel also?—no, stop that thought Natsu. No way Igneel will be defeated like that.'

At the same time, he also felt excitement, 'If what the old lady said is true, then Fifth Generations obtained their magic from eating dragons …doesn't that mean there are still more dragons out there?!'

He let out a grin, 'Guiltina huh? Just wait. After I have done my duty as a guild master, I will definitely head there.'

People in Ishgar no longer believes in dragons, treating them as myths. Even Natsu, at one point felt discouraged.

He didn't even think of going to other continents to search! But now …

"He's here." Wanda snapped him out of his thought, "That's him, Zash Caine. The traitor."

Natsu looked down and saw the guy that Wanda pointed at, "the one flirting with one of the dancers?"

"Yes." Wanda nodded.

Zash is a tall, burly man with brown hair and two scars on the right side of his face. He wears a skin tight black body suit alongside black gloves. His lower body is decorated with a slit tasset and is completed with large, golden boots.

"He reeks of black magic it's sickening," said Natsu, frowning in displeasure, "I can only imagine the atrocities he committed in his life."

"Heh, you wouldn't even want to know half of it." Said Kaori.

"So, what should we do?" Asked Natsu.

Wanda was the one to answer, "According to the intel, since Zash arrived late, he missed the audience with the king who usually go somewhere for a 'ritual' and will not return soon, so Zash probably hid the staff somewhere in the royal palace, if so he should have the key."

Kaori stared at Zash and said, "I can try and steal it if he has it on him, but what if he left it somewhere?"

"I have already ordered all our agents in Stella to search for it," answered Wanda, "though, if he is still the Zash we know, then it's most certainly on his possession."

Zash is someone who would carry everything that he deemed as important and not leave it to some place. Because for him, the safest place is beside him.

He is confident on his strength to protect that something.

"I'll be going then," Kaori nodded as she walked out of the room.

Natsu stared at her before turning towards Wanda, "Is it okay? Can she do it?"

Wanda smiled, "Yes she can. She is a kunoichi after all."

"You know I've been meaning to ask, what's a kunoichi?"

"…a female ninja." Wanda would've thought that Natsu of all people should know that.

"Ninja!?" Natsu's eyes sparkled before he turned towards the view on the hall downstairs and immediately saw a beautiful woman in bunny costume approached Zash and started talking to him.

The two seems to be flirting until the dancer called out to Zash as the man turned his attention towards the dancer.

The lady he was talking with just smiled at this and passed by Zash.

Natsu's eyes widened, "Is that …"

"Kaori, yes." Wanda nodded, "All ninjas are experts in disguise, infiltration, assassinations, and intel gathering. With their skills, stealing and pickpocketing is also way too easy for them."

Wanda then saw the disguised Kaori took two steps using her right foot before continuing, and Wanda couldn't help but smile, "She got it."

"How'd you know?" Asked Natsu, not seeing the disguised Kaori even look at them, much less tell them that she succeeded.

"That's for another time," Wanda turned towards him, "Hurry and prepare, we will be infiltrating the palace right now. The dancers would keep Zash occupied until he notice that the keys is no longer on him."

"Got it." Natsu nodded solemnly.

...…

...

…

Two knights were guarding on the palace walls, looking all bored and tired. One of them even released a yawn.

Suddenly, a wave of strong odor invaded their nostrils before their eyes rolled back and eventually passed out.

Kaori, Wanda, and Natsu then suddenly appeared silently. After that, Natsu and Wanda immediately went and dumped their bodies and hid them on a thick bushes.

Kaori turned towards the two, "We have half an hour before other knights would come to switch with them. We need to hurry."

With that, Kaori vanished with Wanda following after her towards the palace.

"Ninja." Natsu stared at the spot where Kaori disappeared and muttered in amazement, before he immediately snap out of it and followed after the two.

They eventually arrived in the palace, in a long and wide hallway.

The palace wasn't as large nor as fancy as Mercurious Palace in Fiore, but it was certainly something to marvel at.

It's unique architecture paired by the use of Stellarium to decorate the place was just amazing.

"Where should we go?" Asked Wanda to Kaori.

Said woman frowned and shook her head, "I don't know. I guess we should split up and search for clues."

"There's no need for that," said Natsu, as the two stared at him, "the princess said Dragon Cry possessed magic power comparable to dozens of Etherion blast right?"

"That was what the researchers discovered, yes." Said Wanda.

"Then let's go this way," Natsu pointed at a certain direction, "I can feel this crazy magic power coming from there it's making me puke."

"Are you sure?" Kaori asked.

Natsu smirked, "Let me ask you, would you rather us split up and look aimlessly, or trust the senses of a dragon slayer?"

Kaori stared at him for a few seconds before nodding, "Very well, lead the way."

"On it."

With that, Natsu lead his companions to where he felt the disgustingly large amount of magic power is coming from.

They do not know how long they have been silently moving the hallways, but they do know that they haven't even encountered guards nor maids, which was weird.

Surely the king would not clean this whole place on his own right? He must have maids or servants doing it, but they haven't encountered any.

But they didn't bother thinking about it much considering it helps them.

"We're here." Natsu stopped in front of a large double doors as he tried to open it …it wouldn't budge, "the key?"

Wanda took it out and inserted it on the keyhole, with a "click" sound, Natsu pushed the door and it easily opened.

As they step inside, they immediately arrived in a large hall that looks as if it was used for religious purposes, or rituals.

And there, on the middle, a large magic circle was engraved on the floor, and a staff was levitating above it.

There's no doubt.

This is the Dragon Cry!

They have finally found it!