The Truth About the Dragon Parents

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.

September 2, x786.

Instead of immediately getting to their morning training, Alfonzo took Natsu up to the tenth floor where they would be able to have their spar without holding back too much. Meanwhile, everyone else in the guild hall decided to make their way up to the tenth floor, as well. That way, they could watch the spar that made Alfonzo smile.

Luckily, Irene and Brandish never entered the guild hall in fear of being trapped by some unknown security system. So, they would not be witnesses to the use of [Soul Armaments].

"Alright, Natsu, show me what you got." Alfonzo said with a smile.

"Of course." Natsu said as he took his fighting stance.

Contrary to Alfonzo's expectations, Natsu, instead of partially releasing his [Soul Armament], charged forward with flames blazing around his gauntlets. Then, once he was in range, he condensed all the flames onto his right fist.

"[Fire Dragon's Iron Fist]!" Natsu shouted as he threw a right straight.

'He still hasn't gotten over the habit of shouting his spell names.' Alfonzo thought to himself as he quickly drew Bedlam from the strap on his lower back.

*Clang~~~~~!*

Although Alfonzo was able to deflect Natsu's [Fire Dragon's Iron Fist], the distance the punch was deflected was much less than he expected, causing Natsu's fist to just miss the side of his head. On top of that, Natsu was already throwing a second punch.

"[Fire Dragon's Iron Fist Barrage!" Natsu shouted.

With that, Natsu threw a barrage of [Fire Dragon's Iron Fists] using both hands. And despite the fact that he was splitting his flames between both hands, neither seemed weaker than the others. So, Alfonzo was forced to block, dodge, and parry all the incoming punches.

"Well, learning your [Soul Armament's] name has definitely made you stronger, Natsu." Alfonzo said as he parried another incoming punch. In the next instant, he ducked under a follow up punch as he jammed the long ends of his tonfa into Natsu's abdomen. "But this isn't what I wanted to see when I accepted your challenge."

*Bang!*

In the next instant, Natsu was sent flying back to the other side of the sparring ring. ON top of that, his body was bent at the point of impact as he coughed up a mouthful of saliva.

"Wow! Even though he is losing, Natsu got a lot stronger." Wendy said with her eyes wide open in surprise.

"Yeah, and he hasn't even released his [Soul Armament]." Gajeel, with his arms crossed in front of his chest, said from beside Wendy. "It's too bad he beat me to it. Otherwise, I would be the one fighting with Alfonzo right now."

As Gajeel spoke, he glanced over his right shoulder at the hilt of a large single-edged sword that resembled the buster sword from Final Fantasy VII. At the same time, Wendy nodded her head while reaching back and patting the folded metallic wings on her back.

Meanwhile, As Natsu was sent flying, Alfonzo overheard Gajeel and Wendy's conversation, causing him to glance in their direction.

'So, Gajeel and Wendy have learned their [soul Armaments'] names, too.' Alfonzo thought to himself before returning his focus to Natsu, who had finally regained stability before landing on his feet. 'I'm really looking forward to when they release them.'

"So, are you going to show me everything, Natsu?" Alfonzo asked with a smile. "Or is this gonna be another one-sided ass kicking like usual?"

"Oh, things will be different this time around, Alfonzo." Natsu said with a grin as he spread his feet apart and positioned his fists on either side of his waist. "This time, I'm gonna kick your butt. Then, I'll challenge Ur and Gildarts before I'm the strongest in the guild."

"Hey, Tear." Marin said quietly into Ultear's ear after hearing Natsu's declaration. "He does know that Fonzie is stronger than your mom, right? I mean, even without his [Soul Armament]."

"Probably not." Ultear replied while shaking her head. "He can't use [Magic Power Detection], remember?"

"Oh yeah, now that you mention it." Marin said in a contemplative tone. "He's not smart or patient enough to use it."

"That's right." Ultear replied with a nod. "But now that Mom has a [Soul Armament] of her own, it will only be a matter of time before Mom can put up a fight against Alfonzo again."

Marin nodded in response. Before she could comment any further, however, both she and Ultear snapped their heads in Natsu's direction when they felt his magic power spike to its limit.

"[Burn everything before you, Igneel]." Natsu shouted as the gauntlets on his hands began to glow in a fiery light.

'So, it's just as I expected.' Alfonzo thought as he dropped into his tonfa fighting stance while drawing Riot from his strap. 'The dragon residing in his body became his [Armament Spirit]. But I wonder what will happen when all the anti-bodies for [Dragonization] have been created. I'll need to talk to Master Unohana about a way to talk with other [Armament Spirits], if that's even possible.'

["Spending time with other Armament Spirits] would be nice."] Bedlam said with a grin. ["Especially with the girls. We might be able to have a little fun together."]

["You're such a horn dog."] Riot said disdainfully.

["Try saying that again when you wipe that blush off your face."] Bedlam shot back. ["I bet you can't wait to have a bit of alone time with Scylla, Mister Super Simp."]

Though Riot did not respond, Alfonzo could hear the sound of his teeth grinding against each other.

Meanwhile, the glow surrounding Natsu's gauntlets extended up his arms, now covering his forearms. Then, when the light subsided, it revealed a pair of gauntlets covering Natsu's hands, forearms, and elbows. On top of that, the new gauntlets were covered in dark red scales, like those of a dragon. Plus, Natsu was also sporting scale like patterns on his forehead, as well.

'Oh, the release pushed him into [Dragon Force], too.' Alfonzo thought to himself. 'Wasn't expecting that.'

Seeing Natsu's unsealed [Soul Armament], the members of the guild who were watching the spar looked on in amazement and envy. While some of the wizards who received their [Soul Armament Embryos] last year when the S-Class Exam participants were named, none had been able to unseal their [Soul Armaments] yet.

"Wait, did Natsu call his [Armament Spirit], Igneel?" Lisanna, who paid the most attention to Natsu, asked in a shocked tone. "Isn't that the name of the dragon who raised him?"

Hearing that, the entire guild went into an uproar at the implication. Then, they looked at Gajeel and Wendy, wondering if they were in a similar situation.

"We can talk aboout that later." Elicia said, getting everyone's attention. "For now, let's watch the spar. They're getting started again."

That was enough to pull everyone's attention back to the ongoing spar. And just as they all looked back to the sparring ring, Natsu was taking a deep breath as he formed his hands into a trumpet in front of his mouth.

"[Fire Dragon King's Roar]." Natsu chanted before blowing a stream of fire between his hands.

In the next instant, the stream of fire, which was more vibrant in color, as well as at a much higher temperature, than Natsu's usual flames, blazed towards Alfonzo. In response, Alfonzo created a slab of metal that absorbs heat in front of him.

Despite the properties of the metal, however, Alfonzo could see the metal begin to distort as it started to glow from the heat. And because of his connection to the metal, Alfonzo knew it would not last much longer. So, he dodged to the side.

"[Fire Dragon King's Destruction Fist]!" Natsu shouted just as Alfonzo cleared the metal slab.

In the next instant, Natsu, with his right fist extended, burst through the superheated portion of the metal slab Alfonzo created. Unfortunately, with his inability to use [Magic Power Detection], he did not know exactly where Alfonzo had dodged to. Though, thanks to his instincts, he knew that Alfonzo had dodged his attack.

*Bang!*

Before Natsu could recover from his attack, he was once again struck in the abdomen, this time by Riot, while his feet were simultaneously swept out from beneath him. As a result, Natsu's back slammed into the floor with a lot of force.

"Gah!" Natsu grunted as the wind was knocked out of him.

A moment later, the spar came to an end when Alfonzo jabbed Riot's long end at Natsu's throat, stopping just before making contact.

"You lose, Natsu." Alfonzo said with a smile.

Taking several deep breaths, Natsu looked up at Alfonzo with a pout once his breathing was under control.

"You didn't even have to release your [Soul Armaments]." Natsu said, clearly upset that he still couldn't push Alfonzo to his limits. "It's not fair."

Putting away his [Soul Armaments], Alfonzo offered Natsu a hand, which Natsu quickly accepted before he pulled him to his feet. At the same time, Natsu dispelled Igneel's release.

"Don't be upset, Natsu." Alfonzo said while patting Natsu on his shoulder. "I didn't have to release Riot and Bedlam because I know how you fight. When you learn more about Igneel's release state, I'm sure the fight will be more interesting."

"I guess." Natsu replied while shaking his head. "Igneel said the same thing just now."

"Speaking of Igneel…" Alfonzo said with a curious expression on his face. "Isn't that the name of the dragon that raised you? Is it possible that…?"

Hearing that, Natsu's pout disappeared immediately. Then, his eyes lit up with excitement.

"Yeah, it's the Igneel I've been searching for." Natsu replied with an excited smile. "I knew he would never abandon me. Instead, he's been living inside my body. To help me with… Uh… Dragon invasion?"

["It's [Dragonization], Natsu."] Igneel corrected from Natsu's inner world.

On a side note, Natsu's inner world was a serene forest. At the center of which was an active volcano where Igneel chose to reside.

As for Igneel, he was a gigantic western dragon. Most of his body was covered in dark red scales, with the exception being his under belly, which was beige in color. He also had four legs, a pair of bat-like wings, a triangular head with a pair of horns on the top of his head and a third on his snout, a pair of large, round eyes with yellow sclera and round black pupils, as well as rows of black spikes that reached from the back of his head, down the center of his back, to the tip of his long tail.

"Uh… I mean [Dragonization]." Natsu said, correcting himself with Igneel's prompt. "He said something about Dragon Slayers turning into dragons if they use their magic too much. So, to stop that, he knocked me out before hiding inside my body to stop that from happening."

Hearing that, the guild was astonished. Then, after getting over their shock, they all turned their attention towards Gajeel and Wendy. And the looks in their eyes all asked the same question, "what about you two?"

While Wendy got nervous from having so many pairs of eyes focused on her, Gajeel snorted in annoyance.

"Metalicana said the same thing." Gajeel said grumpily. Though, it was also clear to see that he was happy to have his dragon parent back. "I'm still gonna kick his ass for not telling me about it beforehand, though."

"M-Me, too." Wendy said quietly with a happy smile on her face. "Grandeeney was helping me, too. I don't wanna beat up, though."

'I wonder what Gajeel would think if he knew he would really have to kick Metalicana's ass if he wanted to completely unseal him.' Alfonzo wondered while smiling to himself.

"Anyway, now that the spar's over, let's get to training." Alfonzo said loudly, bringing everyone back to their senses after the reveal about the dragon parents. "And as a reward for the three Dragon Slayers unsealing their [Soul Armaments], I'll cook this afternoon. And I'll only charge my usual rates. You won't even have to use your points."

"Yeah~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!" Everyone cheered excitedly at the thought of having Alfonzo's cooking without having to use their points.

After that, everyone filed out of the large training room on the tenth floor before heading towards the elevators and stairs to reach their preferred training rooms. Meanwhile, Alfonzo and Elicia, the last to leave the training room, strode towards the elevator arm in arm.

"So, do you think the same thing happened with Laxus?" Elicia asked curiously. "I mean, he doesn't have a [Dragon Seed]. On top of that, his [Dragon Slayer Magic] came from a lacrima."

"I don't' know." Alfonzo replied casually. "But he definitely didn't keep his promise to me."

As Alfonzo spoke the second sentence, his expression changed into a blood thirsty smile.

"So, I guess I'm gonna have to kick his ass again to get the answer out of him." Alfonzo continued in a tone that suggested he was looking forward to the fight. "And I'm definitely gonna force him to use his release before the fight ends."

Hearing that, Elicia could only shake her head. Though, she felt no sympathy for Laxus, as reporting about his [Armament Spirit] was part of the terms of the bet when he received his [Soul Armament Embryo].

"Anyway, there might be a chance to give Irene her humanity back if I were to ever give her a [Soul Armament Embryo]." Alfonzo said after switching his expression back to a casual one, once again. "But I'd need to be able to talk to the dragons in Natsu, Wendy, and Gajeel's [Soul Armaments] to see if that were plausible."

"You'd have to find a way to keep Irene from taking it back to Alvarez, too." Elicia pointed out.

"Something tells me that if I could give her back her humanity, I wouldn't have to worry about that." Alfonzo replied. "I mean, the only reason she even ended up working for Zeref was because he gave her a human form, remember? So, if I could make her human again, I think she would jump ship pretty fast."

"Maybe..." Elicia replied. "Still, there's always a chance something could go wrong, you know."

"I know." Alfonzo replied with a nod. "And I'll definitely be careful. I definitely don't wanna strengthen our enemies. And I'm under no illusion that Zeref wouldn't be able to reverse engineer a [Soul Armament] if he was allowed to study one."

Nodding in response, Elicia continued to chat with Alfonzo and the two made their way towards their preferred training room.