chapter 7

Thale had been working on the armor for nearly four days now, but the forging was going well. He forged his creations in a very different style to traditional metallurgy, using the power of his fire to easily make the armor and weapons. The power of the purgatory dragon coursed through his veins giving him an inherent affinity for fire, so forging was like second nature to his body. The dragon picked up the heated ingot and his hammer and started smashing the piece of metal into a flat plate. After flattening out the sheet of drakium he took out a chisel and used it to split the sheet into smaller pieces to make the segmented armor, making 6 larger pieces to use for the forearm section of the gauntlets and multiple slightly smaller plates for the back of the hand. He finally cut multiple smaller plates to run down each of the fingers as well as separated a few smaller chinks of drakium to use for the spikes on the knuckles of the gautlets.

Livi came through the front door of the forge and handed Thale a sheet of paper with the measurements of Natsu's body, mainly the length of his forarms, and the dimentions of the different parts oof Natsu's hands to allow for a perfect fit. Thale smiled as he took the sheet and started constructing the piece of armor.The purgatory dragon set down the sheets of drakium and let them cool so he could begin the cold forging process. Thale took one of the sheets and brought it over to a planeshing disk and grabbed his hammer and started forcing the plates into the shape of the armor, keeping in mind the measurements of Natsu's body. Thale would occasionally call in the young dragon slayer to test fit the parts to make sure they were molded properly to the boy's body. Thale took the smaller chunks of drakium and hammered them into spikes before quenching them to harden the metal. He took the remaining drakium and pulled it into thin fibers to use it as a sewing material. He took a piece of dried dragon skin from his wall that was made to be similar to leather and began weaving the drakium fibers into it to create a composite textile that had its own indestructible and protective properties. Thale used this fabric to make long gloves for the armor to attach to, and not long after all of the parts had ben finished and it was onto enchanting it with magical properties.

Armor made from dragons was very different from any normal magic item. It was not fueled by a lacrima or powered by enchanted magical attributes, but the item itself was the source of power and needed something to funnel its arcane energy through. Thale took out a gray empty lacrima and took a chisel and began carving rules into the surface of the lacrima to allow it to hold the power of Genrok's tough scales.

Thale pushed open the heavy metal door and called for the fire dragon slayer, "Natsu! Your armor is finished."

Natsu excitedly came running over to the forge, and with endless eagerness in his voice shouted, "Can I see?! Can I see?!" As he jumped around Thale he held the piece of armor in his hand which looked comically small in comparison to Thale's massive form.

"Sure, sure, just calm down." Thale squatted down so he was at Natsu's height and put the gauntlets onto Natsu's small hands, "Try channeling your magic power into the armor."

Natsu balled his hands into a fists and channeled power into the magical armor causing the lacrimas to glow an orangish yellow tone. Scales spread out from the lacrima and formed into heavy shields. Natsu looked at the armor in awe as he held the shields in the air and twirled his hand around to look at it.

Livi walked around Natsu as she looked at the scaly shield sand traced her fingers over the rough plates. The craftsman ship surpassed most of what was in Thale's shop, but that was to be expected from the dragon forge master.

However, the three draconian humans were cut short as they heard Anna yell, "Natsu, I promised Igneel I would be back soon, we have to go!"

The shields quickly collapsed as Natsu said to Thale and Livi, "I hope to see you guys soon!" As he began his way over to Anna.

However, Livi gave him a hug and said, "Remember, you promised to show me Igneel someday! I'm curious if you're actually telling the truth" She let go and gave Natsu a toothy smile.Natsu blushed a bit and scratched the back of his head as he turned his head a bit downwards in embarrassment, "Yeah, sure, I'll make sure!"

Natsu headed towards Anna as Thale said, "You stay safe, boy! I know you'll do great things someday." He smiled as he looked at the boy. Natsu reminded the pruagtory dragon a bit of what the young dragon slayers he had trained were like.

Natsu got over to Anna as she opened a gate to teleport them back to the cave that Igneel stayed in. As Natsu stepped through the gate he was still looking in fascination at the pieces of armor. It really was something else that he hadn't seen before, however the scaly texture reminded him of his scarf. A smile crept onto his face as he thought about Igneel. He had never been this long away from his father.

Back at the cave…

Although Anna and Natsu were happy, having met with Thale and Livi, everything back at the cave did not share the same joyous atmosphere. The black wizard of death once again stood outside the cavern as he talked to Igneel, however his eyes lacked their normal empty black shade and instead had an unsettling red glow, matched with, uncharacteristic of Zeref, a mild scowl as he talked to Igneel in an ice cold yet angry tone, "You… you are not training him nearly as fast as we agreed. I am disappointed in the power Natsu has acquired by this point. This is half as powerful as I would have expected."

Igneel retorted in a mocking tone, "Do you seriously expect something better? The boy is barely 12 and you're basically asking him to be the best of the best, even compared to adult and heavily trained dragon slayers." Igneel let out a laugh, "You made him so I think you can push his limits far more than I can. Maybe this is a problem with your amoral methods of resurrection. I think he is doing just fine" Igneel looked back down at Zeref with a smirk as he puffed out his chest, boasting about the boy's power given how attached Igneel had grown to him.Zeref thought for a second, "You know, you do have a point… I can push him far further than you ever have, however I did expect better results from the fire dragon king…" Zeref looked back up at Igneel with a maniacal smirk and glowing red eyes, "And that's why I always have a contingency plan."

Igneel's smirk disappeared as he questioned the black wizard, now a bit nervous, "What do you mean…? What more do you want from me?"

Zeref ignored Igneel's question and instead responded with another inquiry, "What do you think would happen if the boy's father were to die right in front of his eyes…" Zeref started to laugh subtly under his breath.

Igneel laughed in response, "Oh, and how would you do that? We both know your magic does not work on me. Even the gods do not hurt dragons." Igneel knew even the curse of contradiction had no effect on dragons, after all, dragons were the origin of magic in the world.

"Oh, but something else can…" Replied Zeref as his laugh grew slightly.

Igneel replied arrogantly, "There are no dragon kings left, so there is no one to challenge me. What dragon could possibly kill me? I know certainly you are unable to."

"I guess he's still a dragon slayer, but I have someone to kill you…" Zeref smirked as a laugh erupted from his lips, "Hahahaha… ACNOLOGIA!" Igneel heard a loud crash from outside the cave as a dark form smashed into the ground and an earth-shattering roar erupted forth, shaking the cave walls and demolishing the surrounding trees, instantly decimating the terrain.

Igneel flew outside of the cave to see none other than the black dragon in the flesh, his pure silver eyes set on Igneel as what can only be described as a deformed grin formed across the dragon's mouth, "You stand no chance Igneel, your soul is damaged and I will destroy you like, I destroyed all the others! Then I'll kill those dragon slayers you love so much!" Acnologia opened his mouth as a blue glow started to form in it, "And when I'm done, I will have erased all of the dragons!"

Igneel grit his teeth and shouted at Zeref, "What is the meaning of this?! What if Natsu dies too?!"

Zeref smirked, "You know I'll never let that happen, however this event will push him to awaken a power far surpassing what you have taught him!" The black wizard continued to laugh as Igneel prepared to confront the arcane dragon in front of him.

The black dragon launched himself into the air with a massive swoop of his wings and lunged at Igneel, aiming for the fire dragon king's neck, however Igneel ducked out of the way and shot a fire blast at Acnologia's chest, knocking him off balanced in the air. Acnologia rolled over and retaliated by firing a dragon roar at Igneel, hitting him in the shoulder and leaving a mark. "You are weak, fire dragon! I expected more of your power!" Laughed Acnologia.Igneel may have more experience in dragon-on-dragon combat however his soul was still weakened, affecting his overall power output and magic resistance. This was a losing battle from the start.

Meanwhile, with Natsu and Anna...

The pair came out of the portal to hear two massive bodies clash as they felt shockwaves through the air. Natsu looked up to see Igneel use a fire dragon's fist and punched Acnologia in the jaw, sending the black dragon flying into a nearby mountain, removing its peak as magma burst from the top, however that wasn't enough. Acnologia spread out his arms as multiple spheres of arcane energy formed behind him, before thrusting his arms forward and sending the magic hurtling towards the fire dragon king. Igneel held out his right arm as magma from the broken mountain top pooled towards it. The fire dragon held up his hand, the lava forming into a giant swirling shield, blocking Acnolgia's attack. Igneel gathered the lava into a spear-like shape before hurtling it towards Acnologia, the magma-javelin embedding itself in the arcane dragon's shoulder causing him to roar in pain.

Acnologia glared at Igneel, as he shot a blast of magic at fire dragon, however he easily dodged the attack, but all was not as it seemed. Acnologia appeared behind Igneel, the aforementioned dragon's tail coated in magic, as he used the sharp stinger-like end to slice a gash in Igneel's side, leaving a massive wound of blood poured from the jagged opening. This was not the only injury on the fire dragon king's body, multiple other gashes and marks being present across its surface. However, Acnologia was far from completely unscathed, as he pulled the javelin from his shoulder revealing a jagged hole in his now limp shoulder.

Tears brimmed at the edge of Natsu's eyes as he looked in awe as his father was getting killed by an unknown dragon he had never heard of or seen, "Igneel! I'm on my way!" He shouted as he ran towards the fight.

Igneel looked down at Natsu and shouted, "No! Don't come anywhere near here! Run awa-" However, he was cut off as Acnologia slashed as the fire dragon's face leaving a large gash.

Despite Igneel's warning, Natsu ran towards the massive fight, but Anna grabbed him by his scarf and pulled the dragon slayer back, "No, Natsu!" She had thought about this situation but didn't know what to do, however her entire purpose in this operation was to protect the dragon slayers no matter what happens. Anna wrapped her arms around the young dragon slayer, holding him close to her chest to shield him from the danger. The celestial mage looked around at the cave and saw the black wizard standing there, an evil grin plastered on his face as he looked up at the fight. The celestial mage shouted towards him, "Zeref! What is the meaning of this?!"

Zeref looked over at Natsu and Anna, "To push that boy to become much more than he is right now." His eyes glowed red, showing no sympathy for the dragon slayer, only a need to pursue his final goal.

Anna shouted as she tried to run towards the dark mage, "No! I'll never let you!" However, she was pushed away by Zeref using telekinesis. He sent out black tendrils and wrapped them around Natsu and pulled the boy towards him.

Natsu struggled against Zeref's magic however he was nowhere near strong enough to fight against the evil black magic, "So you're at fault for this?!" Natsu glared daggers at his brother, "I'll kill you!" he yelled as small sparks of fire came out of his mouth, however Zeref subconsciously blocked all of the magic. Tears streamed down Natsu's face as the fight between the black dragon and Igneel raged on, Igneel getting more and more wounded as Acnolgia's attacks continued to land while Igneel futility fought back. The damage to Acnologia was not smaller, however the arcane dragon was far too strong for Igneel's damaged soul.

The two dragons flew at each other in a final charge; however it was too late for Igneel. Acnologia twisted his body in an odd, contorted fashion as he ripped a hole through Igneel's side. The fire dragon grabbed with his teeth towards the black dragon however Acnologia dodged the attack, leaving Igneel's heavily wounded body to hurtle towards the ground. Acnologia flew up, charging a blast of magic aimed at Igneel's mangled corpse in free-fall.

Natsu's rage began to boil over, his emotions erupting in a burst of magic power never before seen by anyone as his fire changed to a crimson hue and silver jagged scales spread across the back of his arms, up his shoulders, and onto the sides of his face, two golden horns emerging from the temples on his head. His empowered fire burned away Zeref's magic, almost shocking the dark wizard. Through a burst of uncontrolled emotions of sadness and anger, Natsu had unlocked his true dragon force, far surpassing normal fire dragon slayer magic.The black mage grew a smile on his face as he saw Natsu's magic power surge beyond the limits of his 12-year-old body, before he was blasted away by the dragon slayer as a laugh erupted from the dark mage's lips. Natsu was starting to become everything Zeref had wished for. Zeref muttered, "Well done, brother…"

Acnologia released his magic roar towards the wounded fire dragon who hurled towards the ground, but his aim was changed as he felt a small fiery fist crash into the side of his head, causing him to blast the peak off of a nearby mountain. Acnologia looked to his side to see another fiery fist punch him in in the nose. The black dragon backed up to see flying in the in front of him before the boy once again charged at the evil dragon, but Natsu's expectations of himself were too high. Acnolgia effortlessly batted the boy into the ground kicking up a large amount of dust.

Acnologia once again charged up an arcane dragon roar and this time directed it at Igneel. The blast connected with the fire dragon king's mangled corpse, charring the dragon's body as the once red scales turned a gross shade of brown and black. Igneel's body slammed into the ground just in time for Natsu to see as he pushed himself beck to standing. The boy's body slumping forward in sadness before even more flames erupted from his body as the aura of a dragon formed behind him, Natsu letting out his own dragon roar as his eyes glowed red as he walked forwards through the flames which had ignited everything around him.

Natsu blasted off the ground and lunged at Acnologia, the black dragon turning his head just in time before Natsu's fire coated fist slammed into the side of the dragon's face, however that was nowhere near enough to phase the black dragon, as he laughed mildly, "Impressive for a young boy, however you have a long way to go." Acnologia was then covered in an aura of blue magic as he transformed back into his human form, gathering magic in his palm before attempting to punch the dragon slayer, however Acnologia's fist met the hard shield made out of Genrok's scales.

Natsu followed up his previous attack with a fire dragon's talon as he kicked the side of Acnolgia's face, however his foot was caught by Acnolgia, "You had me mildly interested, but your just an overly ambitious dragon slayer like all the rest." Acnologia swung Natsu's towards the ground with his foot, the boy crashing into a massive bounder right outside of the cave.

Zeref watched as Acnologia killed Igneel with amusement on his face, his grin growing as he watched Natsu attack the black dragon. Zeref knew there was far further limits Natsu could be pushed towards and no matter what he needed Natsu to break those limits set by the world.

Natsu pushed himself to his feet and lunged towards Acnologia, moving with unnatural beast-like movements, far closer to a dragon than a human. He coated his hand in fire as he slashed at Acnologia who easily dodged the attack before half-heartedly throwing a punch at the boy's side which he blocked with Genrok's shield, however the impact still hit him, sending him tumbling across the ground. Natsu, now far more hurt, struggled to push himself to his feet. The boy wanted to keep fighting to avenge Igneel however his body was wounded, and he was running on fumes. Natsu gathered fire at his feet and once again launched himself at Acnologia. The black dragon swung a fist at Natsu. The small dragon slayer's eyes widened as he barely managed to dodge, however Acnologia was ready for this and caught Natsu by the front of his head before slamming Natsu's head into the ground making a massive crater. Acnologia's expression changed to a crazed look as he repeatedly smashed Natsu's head into the worn dirt. He may have some sympathy, but destroying dragons is what he was here to do, and it was one of the few things that brought him joy.

Acnologia ceased his assault and picked up Natsu by his neck and held him with an outstretched arm. The black dragon's amused face lowered into a saddened frown, "You seriously did have potential. It's a shame that you're a dragon…" The humanoid-dragon pulled back his hand as it was covered in an aura of magic.

Anna ran towards the evil dragon as she pulled out a celestial key, however Acnologia released a pulse of arcane energy, knocking her away. Acnologia thrust his hand into Natsu's chest, grabbing the boy's heart as Natsu screamed in pain, "I'm sorry, kid…" was all Acnologia said as he ripped out Natsu's still beating heart.