Erza POV
Over the weeks that follow Porlyusica and Wendy tended to M/n's injuries, keeping him under a plethora of spells and medicines to keep him resting. He had received an all-black version of the same model arm Gildarts used. He spent most of his time loafing around the guild hall, or playing cards with Cana and Macao, although recently he had been going on some of the lowest level quests with Wendy and Romeo, usually you'd see a Max, Gray and Juvia, or one of the Strauss siblings go along to keep watch too, as M/n wasn't even able to run fully yet, but nobody could manage to talk him out of going out at least on every other one with them. I had come to enjoy watching him able to relax and see what he was like again without all the commotion going on. He was a blunt and aloof persona, and many of the guild members who had never talked to him, either because they were too scared or he had brushed them off before had been telling me how strange it was to see him "hanging out" around the guild, and that they never pinned him to be so, to be frank, lazy. He went out once every other week with Wendy and Romeo, but besides that was rarely seen outside the guild hall or his rebuilt home overlooking the bay our guild hall sat on. I'm broken from my thoughts by a hand ruffling my hair.
"Sup Red?" Speak of the devil. I turn and see M/n smiling down at me, a drink in each hand. He sets one down for me and sits across the small table, groaning slightly as he does.
"Back still hurting?" I ask, he nods and takes a large swig of his drink.
"Like a bitch." He says with a big smile. "You ok? You seemed kinda zoned out when I walked up?" I laugh lightly, same old.
"I'm fine. Great, actually." He nods and looks back out towards the center of the guild hall, which was becoming wilder with every growing second the night waned on, mostly stirred up by Natsu, Gray, Elfman, and now Romeo had the confidence to get involved when the others began playfully fighting as well.
"I never thought I'd get to be this happy again." He says blankly, smiling as Elfman throws Gray into a table. "I, I kinda like this whole 'hanging out' thing. I guess I've come off as kind of some scary dickhead to a lot of the guild members, but none of them seem scared anymore, it's strange not to have people look at you with a frightened face." I feel myself crying now. He looks at me and sits up alarmed. "What's wrong? Are you ok?" He asks quickly. I jump over and hug him. "Am I dying or is there something you're not telling me? Are you dying?!" He questions as he grabs me by the shoulders. I shake my head.
"Just happy for you to be able to say that. There were plenty of times where I doubted if you ever would again"
Your POV
I was walking Romeo and his drunken father back from the guild hall through Magnolia.
"Why do you guys gotta live on the other edge of town?" I grumble as I readjust how I was carrying Macao.
"Dad says it's a lot cheaper. And he likes the quiet I think." I nod and we continue. Can't argue with a guy who likes a bargain and some peace and quiet.
Romeo POV
As we near the other end of town a woman runs by us, turning down an alley, 2 large men go chasing after her, one knocking into M/n, who already had the weight of my dad on him to fell over hard. He groans and clenches his teeth, getting back up. He gives me a look,
"Get your dad home Romeo." He turns and walks down the alley after the men and woman.
"HEY!!" I pick up my dad and trudge over to the corner of the building and peek into the alleyway. M/n was standing between my line of sight and them.
"The hell? Get lost old man, this doesn't concern you."
"W-what are you doing here?!" Huh? I recognize that voice! A white flame envelopes M/n, illuminating the alleyway. I see Laki standing there with a bruise on her face.
"What's going on Laki?" He asks, walking towards them all again.
"I-I had just come out from the bank, I had to withdraw money for rent for this month and last so I had quite a bit, t-they must've seen me or known someone there who told them!" I groan and nod.
"Romeo is waiting behind the corner with his dad, go home with them for tonight, he might need your help with Macao too, he had more than a couple too many." M/n reaches the 3 of them, the 2 men step aside as Laki runs past, the raging white inferno around M/n serving as enough of a deterrent for the men to back off. "Where's the girl's cash?" The 2 men look to each other, then each pull out a small wad in a band. M/n snatches it from them and walks back towards us. "Here you go Laki, is that all of it?" She nods and bows to him, thanking him for helping her. He gives me an uncomfortable glance and puts his hands up. "I really don't do the whole bowing thing." He says waving his hands. "Makes me feel like a prick."
"You know, sometimes I had a hard time believing some of the stories Natsu and all of them told us about you. But then I see stuff like that..." He looks at her confused.
"Hey I didn't do anything Romeo couldn't do, nothing special, just what I should do, there's no danger in me taking on those guys so no worries, no biggie." The 2 men comes sprinting out of the alley, dashing away from M/n like sissies.
"What did you say to them?" M/n was ignoring me now though, his head and eyes darting around everywhere.
"Romeo, get them both out of he-" Before he can finish something rips through the wall of the building we were standing next to and tackles M/n, driving him into the dirt and up the street. M/n recovers and kicks them high into the air, but falls to a knee afterwards. "ROMEO!!" He snarls and looks over at me. "OUT OF HERE. NOW." I shakily nod and the 3 of us hightail it out of there.
Your POV
I turn towards the freaky looking dude. "Who are you?"
"You killed my massster. New massster sssent me." I watch as the long-tongued freak stares me down with webbed eyes.
"Your master? Who? No, you're from Diablos, aren't you?" I get down into a fighting stance. "You're one of those Dragon Eaters, correct?" The freak cackles and runs towards me on all fours.
Romeo POV
We burst into the empty guild hall, except for Wakaba passed out drunk and Mira cleaning up behind the bar.
"Romeo? Laki? What's going on?"
"Some freak is attacking M/n! We gotta help him!" I frantically look for the emergency communication lacrima that could reach each of the Fairy Hills residencies. Only a few people answer, but all who do immediately run out. I nod back to Romeo.
"Ok, leave your dad here with Laki, let's go."
Your POV
I swallow hard as I watch his teeth turn to fangs, and small patches of scales appear on his skin.
"Dragon Force... Shit." He rushes, and knocks me back down the street, he didn't just get stronger, he's doubled his power twice over, the hell kind of Dragon Force was this? He jumps up, clinging and running along the wall of a nearby building, then launches himself off of it towards me. Before he can get close though, an Arrow hits him and knocks him aside to the ground. "Sagittarius?" I peer over behind him, and see Lucy standing there with Levy and Cana. "What are you guys doing here?" I turn to them, although they all scream and point behind me. I feel what felt like a baseball bat being swung across my cheek and go careening up the street, sprawling past the girls. I get caught by something oddly soft though. I look around and see I had landed on Panther Lily. "Ah shit, you ok man?" He nods, looking slightly dazed. I look around and see Gajeel, Max, and Elfman standing there looking towards the strange guy.
"Who's this freakshow?" Gajeel asks, stepping between him and me.
"He's another Dragon Eater from Diablos. Nebaru."
"I thought Rockwell was going to 'take care of it?'" Elfman questions. How did I not put that together myself?
"Rockwell..." There's no way this guy was capable of killing him.
"We'll worry about that later, right now we've gotta find a way to put this guy down." Max says, taking his hands from his pockets. I groan and push myself back up.
"You all need to go find Master Makarov, tell him to start evacuating people."
"What? Why? Won't that cause a panic and more harm than good if people are lining the streets trying to leave?" I growl as I see more scales begin appearing on this guy, he was still adapting and growing more Dragon-Like characteristics.
"You claim to be some Dragon Eater, right? So tell me... How did you learn to control the Dragonification process? With no teacher, no lacrima, nothing but the curse of a Dragon's soul tied to you... Tell me, do you experience the same nightmares I did for hundreds of years?!" I step forwards passed the others. "After months of being able to relax, and spend time with these people..."
Gajeel POV
I watch as his Golden flaming aura returns around him, burning high into the sky.
"I've come to enjoy my new life, yet still you people try and take it all away... You've already killed yourself by using your Dragon Force. SO ALLOW ME TO FINISH THE JOB!!!" M/n disappears, reappearing above him. Lightning strikes down from the sky onto the freaky Dragon Eater. M/n picks him up by his neck after, his face slowly changing shape, turning into a Dragon's with every passing second. "I may not be what I once was, some overwhelming, unstoppable force of nature, but don't, for a second, think that I am not capable of things you couldn't dream up." I choke on nothing as M/n snaps his neck in front of us, but he then sets him down slowly, closing the Dragon Eater's eyes as he did. He was looking down at the now deceased Dragon Eater, his teeth still clenched. "Reizen... He had no idea what a Dragon Eater is. And he was creating a small army of them? It makes no sense, he had to have been after more than just Dragons. Right?" He asks, looking up to all of us. "W-we have to go find Rockwell."
"Natsu and all them are out on a different Quest right now, master said they may not be back for weeks or months." Max says. "Is it really smart to go after these guys without any of them?" With that M/n stands once again, I noticed the black metal arm he wore looked as if it had been melted through. Although besides that, a small trail of blood on his cheek was the only indication he had even been in a battle.
"Like I said, I'm not an unequaled force anymore, but to think we'll be running into people who can kill me?" He looks up to the sky. "I... I think I killed the only person capable of killing me." He looks at all of us, then sighs. "Everybody go home and get some sleep. I'm sorry to have worried you."
Your POV
I arrive back at the guild hall, which was baren, except for a small old man sitting upstairs, overlooking the main dining room of it. He turns to me as I enter.
"You seem troubled my child." I walk up and sit down across from him, putting my feet upon the railing he was sitting.
"I fear it again." I say, turning to him.
"Fear what?" I take a deep breath and exhale.
"Death. I don't want to die anymore... I-I want to live, but I don't know if they'll ever stop. I'm scared Master Makarov." I say biting my lower lip. "I'm not almighty anymore, I don't know if I can protect everyone." I thin my lips, trying not to start crying. I had experienced fear all my life... But, never before in it, had I feared death on the battlefield.
"The safety of the members of a guild is the responsibility of its Guild Master. Not you." I look over to him and raise a brow.
"I'm worried about Rockwell, he's my oldest friend in this world. I think I'm going to need him, he always had the answers for my questions, and ever since Acnologia's death, it's like a part of my mind was opened up or something."
"You want a family, don't you M/n?" I nod slowly.
"I think, no. I know that's what I want, to come home and... Be happy with people, but is that even in the cards for me? To be able to go to work and come home? You and I both know I'm under zero normal circumstances." Makarov takes a deep breath and sighs.
"I don't know if it is. At least not while these people are showing up every now and then looking to..." He pauses. "To try and eat you."
"So, Diablos has to fall and I can have a family? Again Master, and I mean no offense by this." He cuts me off.
"It's too easy, a fever dream at best." I nod.
"Not too mention the other God Dragons." This time he raises a brow my way.
"You are Thee. Dragon God Slayer. I'm much less worried about the likes of them, especially given you defeated the man who slayed the Wood one." I swallow hard, something was bothering me about that.
"I think he was lying." Makarov's eyes go wide.
"Explain."
"Wood God Dragon Slaying Magic... He never used it. It makes no sense why he wouldn't have used it. I don't think he slayed Aldoron, maybe a part of him, maybe the actual Aldoron is sealed away, I don't know, but he didn't kill him, I'm sure of it." Makarov nods slowly.
"You're right, that makes no sense... I will send Laxus and the Thunder Legion to find information on this Diablos guild."
"No way Makarov, if Rockwell hasn't returned-"
"My grandson is stronger than him." I blink hard and frown slightly, taken aback and confused.
"You think if Diablos killed Rockwell, that Laxus could then go in and survive, much less win?" He nods slowly.
"You've seen my grandson fight on empty, or poisoned, or weakened by said poison." He turns to me, his face was cold and emotionless. "Laxus is now Gildarts' equivalent, and Natsu is on his tail, his own words not mine."
"Gildarts fought Laxus?" He shakes his head.
"No, he saw him fight your, acquaintance, Mora." I nod slowly. "Where did she run off too anyways?" I shrug.
"Don't know, don't care."
"Now its my turn to say this. You and I both know that's a lie." I grumble and sigh.
"She was the only other Dragon Slayer from the us originals that was excommunicated from the group. Because she also backed the humans. But I have zero idea where she is."
"She believes the only family she had left was just taken from her, and now she's all alone and nobody knows where she is, and there's only a handful who even know her name... She's incredibly powerful, but feels she is being hunted by everyone. Sound at all familiar M/n?" Damn... He's got me, old wart may not be as physically powerful as he once was, but still wiser than a guy who's 5 times his age... "Laxus and the Thunder Legion will head for Diablos, I will send Gildarts looking for Mora, you need to give him any clues you have. You are going to stay here in Magnolia at the guild hall. That's an order. With all these people trying to hunt you down this is what's safest for you, sending you out alone would be a death sentence, especially given that arm of yours looks like it's about to fall apart." I look down at the thing, which Nebaru's acid gooey shit had melted through it and rusted it in quite a few places.
"If you send Laxus and the Thunder Legion anywhere near Diablos... I don't think they'll return, not alive and in one piece at least."
"Why do you say that? What do you know about these people?"
"It was something Rockwell said, that he knew someone who could lead them. Lead wasn't the right word, it was somebody who was powerful enough to scare every member of that guild into complete submission. Somebody who could come in, claiming to have killed Reizen and say that they were done doing whatever it is they were doing... It's one of 3 beings. Most likely Mercuphobia or Selene, possibly Ignia, but I doubt it. And finally... Viernes..." I didn't even like saying his name.
"You think he somehow convinced one of the God Dragons to take over the guild?"
"No way it's Ignia, he hates everybody. Even less likely its Viernes..." I run a hand over my face, who would he have gone too?
"Viernes, the look on your face each time you speak his name." I nod.
"Yeah, he's the strongest..."
"The strongest of the God Dragons... A mighty foe indeed."
"No. Just the strongest. Period." He looks at me and rubs the hair on his chin.
"The strongest in our world... Even stronger than the Slayer of his kind? A God Dragon Slayer?" He raises a brow looking to me.
"Join reality Makarov... I'm not going to be what I once was. Viernes is now number 1. Ignia or Selene is next, I don't think I could beat any of them right now..."
"I'll see what I can dig up on this Viernes." I shake my head, laughing softly.
"No, you won't. Even if somehow you did find some kind of information on him, you'll be dead within the week, they all are. Nobody knows anything about him because he doesn't want anybody to know anything about him, and being the strongest, he can force that wish into reality. There's nobody alive who's seen him."
"Nobody? Not one? Not even a lead to anyone who might have?" I shake my head slowly.
"Etherion, maybe. Not even the other God Dragon's like to bring him up."
Then there's a knock on the door.