chapter 4

Thale brought his head down to his daughter's eye level, "Daddy has some business to attend to here, so I want you to go home now, ok?" Thale unwrapped his arms from her as she ran back into the now onlooking crowd.

Irene looked at two soldiers in urgency with a firm stare, "Make sure she doesn't get away. A dragon slayer is a dragon slayer no matter the age." One of the soldiers was about to utter something as a slight look of fear crossed his face, wondering if his fate would be the same as the recon soldiers from earlier, but he was quickly silenced by an angry stare from Rung. Irene turned to face the purgatory dragon slayer, a sadistic smile making its way onto her lips, "And family is always something easy to exploit."

"Why, you-" Thale yelled before he was interrupted by Irene.

"You know Thale, I never expected you to have a daughter… it's your biggest weakness." She said in an arrogant tone, "Especially with your refusal to rejoin the war effort and become a meager blacksmith. Maybe you would rejoin if we had, what would you call it… a bargaining chip." Thale stood up as he clenched his fist as the strange tattoos changed back to their blazing crimson color. He dashed towards the soldier that was heading after his daughter, but a blue magic circle appeared below his feet, "Curse Enchantment: Ice Hex!" An icy dome sprouted from the ground, covering over his head as his body was frozen solid.Thale stood there, motionless, the soldier now out of reach. Thale gathered his fire in his hand as his rage began to boil over. Irene let out a strange laugh, the onlooking crowd backing up a bit in fear, "You were far more impressive last time we spoke."

The dragon queen however noticed the ice begin to glow a red color as cracks slowly appeared through it. She began to back up, before the ice exploded with a blaze of purgatory fire. "You know I never want to kill a dragon again… BUT I'D BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO KILL A DRAGON SLAYER!"

Rung drew his sword, "I knew you slayers were never to be trusted!" Rung held his other hand over his sword as a yellow magic circle appeared, "Concept Enchantment: Lightning!" His sword was suddenly engulfed in a fury of lighting as he lunged at Thale.

The aforementioned dragon slayer scoffed, "You really need to back up your words…" Thale caught the sword in his hand as he said in a low voice, "Really, such a waste for a beauty like this one…" Before crushing the blade.

Rung looked up at Thale as fear made its way onto his face. In desperation, the king attempted to punch the angry dragon slayer, however Thale grabbed Rung's fist and bent it back, snapping Rung's wrist causing him to cry out in pain. Thale grabbed Rung by the face, the fires of purgatory ravaging his skin, "Purgatory Dragon's Grip Strike!" before slamming Rung's head into the ground with a large explosion, creating an unnerving crack.

The vengeful fire mage stood up and walked past the crippled body of Rung, continuing his advance towards Irene. Thale clenched his fist, "You should have stayed away." The soldiers standing around the dragon queen backed away in fear, however Irene wasn't someone to shy away from a challenge. The man rushed forward as he yelled, "Purgatory Dragon's Calamity Fist!"

Irene materialized a staff in her hand, the head of it glowing as she outstretched her other hand as a red magic circle appeared in front of it, "Sage Dragon's Defense: Counter Aegis!" Irene's body gained a strange pinkish-red glow as a barrier appeared around her; however, it was irrelevant to Thale.

Thale smashed his fist into the barrier, shattering it. Despite this, in the process it countered back at the dragon slayer, but it was nowhere near enough to hurt him. Small, jagged cuts made its way up his arm from the counter, but his attack connected. Thale's punch hit Irene in the chest, causing a large explosion and shattering her breast plate. The queen was launched through a building behind her into a wall, knocking the wind out of her.

The crowd dispersed in fear as the fight grew in size. Thale walked through the hole in the wall preparing to land another attack on Irene, but the dragon queen outstretched her hand as she yelled, "Sage Dragon's Smite!" A ball of pinkish-red energy appeared in her hand before a blast of lightning shot out at Thale.

"You cannot win!" shouted Thale as he batted away the attack, "Your grasp of a dragon's magic is rudimentary at best!"Irene pushed herself to her feet as she thought, Even if my physical strength can't match yours, I can use magic to make us equal! Irene's body was engulfed in bright pinkish-red energy as a massive force pushed Thale back blasting away the now empty buildings that surrounded them, leaving the two fighting in a barren field. He heard Irene scream from inside of the swirling magic, "Dragon Force!" The energy cleared, revealing Irene to be coated in a layer of maroon and black scales, her fingernails now extended into long black claws. Her head, now adorned with slightly pinker, red hair, had two scaly horns that curved forwards sprouting from either side. Irene held out her staff in front of her as she yelled, "Vernier, Arms, Armor, Deus Corona, Deus Eques!" Multiple magic circles appeared all around her as she worked to buff every physical element of herself.

"So you still think I can't win?! What's so different between us?!" Taunted Irene. She leaped into the air as she coated her hand in energy, "Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Lavender Luminous: Sage Dragon's Catastrophe Fist!" She threw fist forwards as lighting and other elements gathered around it, however it was futile.

Thale Ignited his hand in fire as he removed his leather apron, which disappeared into a magic circle. As Irene approached him, she suddenly saw a burst of fire before a large black scaly hand met her's in kind, shattering the bones in her hand and forearm. She cried out in pain as she attempted to roll to a stop.

Irene looked up and let out a terrified gasp. Her eye magic allowed her to see people's souls and magic power as a physical thing, and what she saw was terrifying. Thale was now coated in a sheath of black scales with fire emitting from beneath them. He had two massive black wings sprouting from his back with red webbing. Going down his back was a series of red spikes that ripped through his shirt. His bald head was adorned with four massive red horns, two on either side, as his eyes glowed with crimson fire.

He let out a massive roar as the aura of a massive dragon silhouette appeared behind him. Irene's eyes widened as she muttered "D-dragon king?!" His aura of magic power and the strength of his soul reached far into the sky, seeming almost infinite. She pushed herself up, casting a healing spell on her burnt and broken arm. She coated her hands in energy as she tried to get into a fighting pose, but her legs shook in fear.No… just an angry father." Before he leaped forwards leaving a trail of fire behind him. He smashed a fiery fist into the top of Irene's head, snapping one of her dragon horns and embedding her into the ground. Thale reached down as he pulled her up by her hair, "You thought we were done? A queen like you needs to learn a lesson in leadership!" before he punched her chin, sending her into the air, letting out a fiery shockwave.

He reached his hand over his shoulder, "The difference between you and me is that you're fighting to justify your sin, while I'm fighting to protect my family!" A magic circle appeared as he chanted, "Forge Make: Dragon Excalibur!" He drew a large golden sword from the circle, it's handle being adorned with golden dragon scales with a wide t-hilt. "Dragon Slayer Secret Art: hell's wrath: Purgatory's Judgment!" His crimson fire surrounded the blade as he made a large overhead slash, letting out a wave of fire that put a burning gash in the ground as far as the eye could see.

The attack hit Irene in the chest, slamming her into the ground, creating a crater in the already ravaged landscape. The queen cried out in pain as the abundant power gap between them became clear, however she almost felt like laughing. Although she was cruel, knowing a dragon slayer of this power existed in her kingdom made her feel that it was safe.

Thale landed on the ground, his half dragon transformation fading away. He walked over to Irene, his feet leaving scorch marks on the ground. The angry father grabbed Irene by the neck, lifting her mangled body into the air as she coughed up blood. Thale's grip tightened as he looked into the wounded queen's eyes, however they didn't show fear, but defiance, "You wouldn't kill me, here, would you? In front of so many people… and your daughter?"

A few minutes ago…

The girl attempted to run away, turning in and out of alleyways, and she was surprisingly fast, the soldiers noted, but it would never have worked. She got caught at a dead end. She looked up at the towering wall in front of her, tears making their way onto the edge of her eyes. The young dragon slayer turned around, backing up into the wall as she looked up at the menacing soldier.

The girl held out her hand as a small spark orbited around it, "Come on, come on. Why won't you work!" as she got frustrated. Thale had tried to teach her magic, but she just didn't seem to have the talent for it. Thale would reminisce that he wished the girl's mother was there to teach her as he was not versed enough to be the best parent.You know, you'll never get away." Both of the soldier's hands were enveloped in lightning, "You should have just not resisted and made this a whole lot easier for the rest of us."

The other soldier outstretched his arm as he reached toward the girl, "However, I'm sure the queen wouldn't care if we had a bit of fun with her first, as long as you're alive."

The girl turned her head away as she closed her eyes, preparing for the painful shock of the lightning dragon slayer magic. She fell to her knees as she thought to herself, Please! anyone!

As she felt the crackling sound come dangerously close to her face, her hair slightly standing on end, she suddenly heard, "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Before she heard a large explosion.

The girl opened her eyes to see a small figure standing in a dust cloud, the soldiers blown away. The figure stood in a ball of fire, shining bright in the dark afternoon alleyway. "Someone else showed up?" Asked one soldier that stood up, lightning enveloping his body.

"You should have stayed down…" Heard the girl from the figure in front of her. "Fire Dragon's Roar!" Yelled the ball of fire, a massive plume of flames slamming into the still conscious soldier, blasting him through the alleyway wall. The girl looked up as the orange fire dissipated, the dust slowly clearing. She saw a smiling face topped by strangely pink hair as a small hand was outstretched towards her, "Hi, my name's Natsu. You alright?"