Chapter 173: FTRJ: Cgapter 173

Makarov smiled, a genuine smile from the heart. He was overjoyed and immensely proud to see his child finally take flight. ———— Meanwhile, N

Makarov smiled, a genuine smile from the heart. He was overjoyed and immensely proud to see his child finally take flight.

————

Meanwhile, Natsu found today’s events utterly baffling, even for his simple-minded self. First, he rescued Evergreen and Elfman from an extremely dangerous man. Then, shortly after parting ways, he saw a fiery red flare shoot into the sky. As a Fairy Tail member, Natsu knew exactly what it signified: an enemy invasion.

Following Happy’s advice, Natsu decided to head to the assembly point. But the next moment, a large, inexplicable crowd surrounded him. After managing to defeat them, a violent explosion erupted nearby.

Natsu and Happy immediately raced towards the source of the explosion. En route, they encountered Wendy and her companions, surrounded by enemies. They learned that the explosion was caused by Erza battling one of the Seven Kin of Purgatory. Furthermore, Mest’s memory magic had been discovered by Lily, causing it to automatically deactivate.

To Natsu’s astonishment, he discovered that a member of the Council was among Wendy’s group! Natsu and Happy exchanged a look; their instincts screamed at them to flee.

Nancy sighed in exasperation. “Look, can you tell friend from foe first? We’re still in the middle of a fight!” she exclaimed, gesturing towards the surrounding Grimoire Heart members.

Natsu, regaining his composure after hearing Nancy’s words, immediately joined the fray. With Natsu’s powerful addition to their forces, Wendy and her companions felt a wave of relief wash over them. Lily, one of their key members, had depleted his magic reserves during his earlier battle with Azuma, reverting to his smaller form. Wendy and Mest alone were struggling to cope with the overwhelming number of enemies.

However, this tense situation was abruptly interrupted by a burst of maniacal laughter. From the words of the other Grimoire Heart members, they learned the identity of their new opponent: Zancrow, one of the Seven Kin of Purgatory.

His long, golden hair cascaded down to his waist, and he was clad in a striking yellow and black outfit. He approached with a characteristic wide-legged swagger.

“This guy’s far beyond your capabilities, hehehe!” Zancrow declared, his voice dripping with arrogant confidence. “You should all hurry off to find Zeref! I can handle these weaklings all by myself.”

Zancrow’s gaze locked onto the group before him, a predatory gleam in his eyes. He licked his lips with a disturbingly unnatural flourish, resembling a wild beast sizing up its prey.

“But… this guy’s incredibly strong…” a masked Grimoire Heart member whispered anxiously from the rear.

“Yeah, he’s the legendary Fire Dragon…” another member added, their voices laced with a palpable sense of fear.

The Grimoire Heart members exchanged uneasy glances. Natsu’s ferocious display of power in the previous battle had clearly left a lasting impression on them.

However, Zancrow’s confident smirk instantly vanished, replaced by a chilling expression of anger.

“Strong?” he spat, his voice laced with venom. “In this world, there is no guild more powerful than Grimoire Heart!”

Black flames began to erupt from Zancrow’s body, engulfing him in a sinister aura.

“Grimoire Heart has no need for weaklings like you!”

Zancrow extended his hand, aiming it at the masked Grimoire Heart members below. In an instant, a torrent of black flames cascaded down upon them.

“Aaaaaah!” The screams of the burning mages filled the air. The remaining Grimoire Heart members, witnessing the horrifying scene, didn’t dare to linger. Each one desperately sought to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the terrifying Zancrow.

Zancrow erupted into a fit of maniacal laughter, reveling in the suffering of his former comrades.

“Flames?” Natsu, a Fire Dragon Slayer himself, exclaimed, his eyes wide with surprise.

“And black flames at that!” Happy added, his expression grim.

“Is this guy insane?” Lily muttered, his brow furrowed in concern.

“This guy… he’s a complete lunatic!” Nancy concluded, her voice laced with a mixture of fear and disbelief.

The black flames dissipated, revealing the lifeless bodies of the mages who had been caught in its inferno. Natsu’s eyes widened in disbelief and horror.

“You… you killed your own comrades?!” he roared, his voice filled with righteous fury. Natsu’s deep-seated loyalty to his comrades made this act utterly abhorrent to him.

“Comrades? Hahahahaha!” Zancrow roared with laughter, as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world. With a swift, violent movement of his right hand, he unleashed a massive pillar of black fire towards Natsu.

“Natsu! That flame is incredibly dangerous!” Wendy cried out in alarm.

Wendy’s assessment was accurate. Even Natsu could sense the immense danger emanating from the black flames. However, the flames were already upon him, leaving him no time to escape.

In the next instant, Natsu was completely engulfed by the black flames.

BOOM—!!

“Aaaaaah!” Natsu’s agonizing screams pierced the air, causing Happy’s eyes to widen in shock and disbelief.

“Impossible… Natsu’s actually screaming in those flames? That only happens when he faces Finn!” Happy exclaimed, his voice laced with a mixture of disbelief and growing apprehension.

Within the heart of the inferno, Natsu instinctively opened his mouth, attempting to consume the excruciatingly painful flames, as is his nature as a Dragon Slayer. However, he quickly discovered a stark and terrifying truth: he was utterly incapable of consuming these flames.

The black flames detonated with a violent explosion, sending Natsu flying backwards with immense force.

“Hehehe! A mere Dragon Slayer attempting to consume a divine fire that far surpasses even the power of Dragon’s fire? You’re courting divine retribution!” Zancrow declared, his laughter echoing through the air.

Natsu, having just managed to pick himself up from the ground, glared at Zancrow with newfound seriousness.

“Divine fire?”

Zancrow’s smile widened, his eyes gleaming with a sinister light.

“I am a Devourer of Gods!” he proclaimed, his golden hair whipping in the wind, adding to his already menacing aura. “I am a God Slayer!”

————

Elfman and Evergreen stood on high alert, their eyes fixed on the figure that had materialized before them. The figure possessed gray hair combed neatly back, was clad in a plush, luxurious coat, and sported a pair of stylish black-rimmed glasses, lending him an air of sophisticated gentility. In his hand, he held a single flower, its petals on the verge of falling.

He gently closed his eyes, inhaling the delicate fragrance of the near-wilted bloom, before speaking in a voice that was both melancholic and theatrical.

“In this desolate forest, demons and fairies have unexpectedly converged,” he declared, his tone imbued with a profound sense of wistful longing, as if he were a prince from a tragic fairytale. With a dramatic flourish of his hand, he announced, “This shall be our sacred battleground!”

Evergreen and Elfman exchanged a bewildered look.

“What’s wrong with this guy?” Elfman whispered, his voice laced with confusion.

“You don’t need to ask,” Evergreen replied, her tone dry and laced with a hint of exasperation. “It’s pretty obvious he’s not playing with a full deck…”

Overhearing their hushed conversation, the figure before them let out a subtle chuckle.

“Please allow me to introduce myself,” he announced, executing a graceful, almost theatrical bow. “My name is Rustyrose, and I am one of the esteemed Seven Kin of Purgatory, serving under the banner of Grimoire Heart!”

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