48)The King Meets the Devil

“Fire Dragon God? Is that above a Fire Dragon King?” Eric asked after he finished shouting at the heavens in his mind, to which Ms. Fortune looked at him with a thoughtful look before shrugging.

“I…do not know. I don’t know about any Dragon Kings, but I do know about other Dragon Gods. I don’t know them personally, though, as Lord Ignia & the other Dragon Gods do not like to meet or talk with each other in person.”

“I see. Are they a threat to other countries?” Eric asked and Ms. Fortune blinked before giggling as she waved her hand dismissively.

“Oh, not at all! Lord Ignia has no interest in anything of the modern era nor do the other Dragon Gods if my fellow guildmates are to believed.”

‘I guess that makes sense with both Zeref & Acnologia still alive. Does that mean they’re weaker than those two or do they just not care about the modern era until Fairy Tail takes that 100 Year Quest?’

“Wait, did you know Lord Ignia & the other Dragon Gods in your timeline?” Ms. Fortune asked, pulling Eric from his thoughts as he smiled & shook his head.

“No, I did not, but I wish I did. It sounds like talking to them would have been nice.”

“Oh, Lord Ignia is not the talkative type, that I can tell you. He’d rather send a rain of fireballs your way before he even says a single word to you.” Ms. Fortune said with a shake of her head and Eric smirked as Flare blinked.

“Are all Dragons this crazy?”

“The more powerful a Dragon becomes, the more extreme things they’ll do for a new challenge that will get their blood pumping.” Eric said with an amused smirk, chuckling as Flare shook her head while Ms. Fortune giggled as she nodded.

“You sound just like Lord Ignia.”

“I guess he & I have a lot alike then. Well, I’m going to leave you two ladies for now.”

“Wait, what? W-Where are you going?” Flare asked with a slightly nervous look and Eric gave a soft smile as he reached over & rubbed her shoulder.

“It’s okay. I’m not leaving the village. I’m just going to the Eternal Flame to relax.”

“Oh, nice. Can we come with?” Ms. Fortune asked and Eric blinked as he turned to Flare, who had a hopeful look on his face before both ladies cheered as he smiled & shrugged.

“I don’t see why not. We just need to check with Druwat if it’s okay fo-!”

“It’s okay. If I don’t, this one is going to be mad at me for not doing so.” Druwat interrupted with a chuckle as he walked past them, Flare simply huffing at Ms. Fortune’s giggle while Eric laughed & nodded.

“Thanks. So, shall we?”

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“Wow, it’s even more amazing than it was from a distance.” Ms. Fortune whispered with a look of awe as the three of them stood just a few meters away from the raging inferno, Eric smiling as he nodded while Flare giggled as her hair reached out & was caressed by the few embers flying off.

‘Yeah, that’s Atlas’ aura right there.’ Eric thought with a smile as he closed his eyes & took a deep breath, ‘watching’ as the burning ethernano inside the pyre reached out & wrapped around his body in a comforting embrace.

“Um, Eric? Is this supposed to happen?” Eric blinked as he heard Flare’s words, opening his eyes & a bit confused to see her & Ms. Fortune looking concerned before looking down at where they were looking.

‘…What in the hell?’ Eric thought in surprise as he stared at the flaming clawed hand wrapped around his body, looking up at the inferno only to be further surprised at the pair of glowing black eyes staring at him.

“400 years, but I finally have you in my grasp.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be…you know, dead?” Eric asked as he shifted his body, frowning as he noted just how weak the grip on his body was & felt as if he could easily tear himself free.

“Hahahaha! To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.”

“…Yeah, I should have expected it from you considering your memories.” Eric muttered with a shake of his head as he flexed his body & broke free, chuckling as Atlas grumbled while pulling his arm back into the blaze.

“So, you can’t move your body too far from the flames, can you?” Eric asked as he saw Atlas pulling his arm back, the dragon huffing as his horned dragon head extended out from the flames.

“You’re too observant for your own good.”

“…Is this actually happening?” Eric & Atlas turned as they heard Flare speak, turning to see both her & Ms. Fortune along with the two giant guards giving Atlas Flame shocked looks.

“You don’t come out much, do you?”

“Why would I? There’s nothing of interest for me in this era.”

“That’s true. So, why were you waiting for me all this time? Waiting for 400 years for just one person sounds like something only a mad man would do.”

“Or a pissed-off dragon. You don’t think I have forgotten you pushing me away from the time of my life, did you?”

“Were you not helping Natsu fighting against those dragons?”

“I was helping because he & I are nearly like family. You & I are not!”

“We’re father & son, dipship!”

“Hell no, we’re not! That’s you & the other Atlas! I’m your sworn enemy, especially after you killed my sworn brothers & sisters!”

“Oh, you are not playing that card, motherfucker! Other variant or not, you are still related to me. You even gave me your fucking memories!”

“That’s not the same fucking thing!”

“…Should we…say something?” Ms. Fortune whispered to Flare as they watched the dragon & dragon slayer arguing vehemently to each other, to which Flare snorted & shook her head.

“At this point, it’s better to just let them fight it out unless you wanna get in the middle of it.”

“Oh?! So, now you think just because you beat six dragons, you can take on the strongest of us?!”

“From what I hear, the few that are left are in hiding because they’re too scared to fight against modern mages!” Eric shouted back as he glared up at Atlas, the two dragons glaring at each other before Flare sighed as a clawed fist reached out from the side of Atlas’ pyre while scarlet flames covered Eric’s fist.

“Well, this is not going to end well.”

“Hell Dragon Slayer’s Iron Fist!” / “Hell Dragon’s Fist!” Eric & Atlas roared respectively as they punched forward and Flare quickly wrapped her hair around Ms. Fortune & leapt away.

Her hair quickly shot out & wrapped around the two giant guards just as the two dragons clashed, watching in awe as a pillar of scarlet flames erupted into existence & sent out a shockwave that sent even the giants stumbling backwards.

“Do we interrupt now?!” Ms. Fortune shouted as she saw Eric leaping away while Atlas reeled back inside his pyre, to which Flare frowned before grunting as her hair shot out rapidly & pulled her forward.

“Stop!” She shouted as she pulled herself into the path of their blows, Eric’s eyes widening as he quickly pulled his punch back while wrapping his arms around her, leaping into the air with her squealing as Atlas’ attack barely missed him.

“Do not! Do that!” He exclaimed as he landed a few meters away from the pyre before being surprised at the glare in her eyes.

“I could say the same to you! You two are too close to the village to be going all-out like that!”

“Out of the way, girlie! I need to teach this brat some manners!” Atlas growled as he turned to glare at Eric before being surprised as Flare spun around with her own glare aimed at him.

“And you! You’re supposed to be the older & more mature one, so why the fuck are you being the most immature out of the two of you? Stop being such a little bitch and start acting your age! Dear fucking god, am I the only mature person around here?!” Flare exclaimed as she turned & stomped away, both Eric & Atlas Flame stunned silent as they watched a giggling Ms. Fortune following after the angry girl.

“...Just so you know, this is all your fault.”

“Go fuck yourself, brat.” Atlas grumbled as he pulled his limbs back into the pyre, Eric rolling his eyes as he sat down cross-legged in front of the inferno.

“So, before we got…distracted, what did you want to talk about?”

“Hah, your memories, dumb brat. Why do you have my memories?” Atlas asked as he laid down on his arms and Eric blinked before smirking as he nodded.

“Oh, I’ve already said why.”

“I was heated in an argument. You’ll have to forgive me for not listening to your idiocy.”

“Go jump in the ocean & drown yourself. As for your question, you gave me your memories along with your dragon slayer magic when we first met. Well, after you told me that you sent me through time to try & protect me from the other dragons that tried to kill me.”

“Huh…my other self turned into a wimp.”

“Hey, you might be the same person, but I’ll still beat your ass, dickhead.” Eric spoke with a glare aimed at Atlas, who simply huffed as he rose an eyebrow at his ‘son’.

“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, you said I gave you dragon slayer magic? That’s not possible to do with a simple action.”

“Not unless you give me the core of your magic. In other words…”

“My heart. Huh, I guess my other self wasn’t such a wimp, after all. So, did I tear my heart out or what?”

“You did while you were branding me with the Sun mark. I’m surprised it even survived the transfer.” Eric spoke with a hum as he looked at the sun crest on his chest, looking up as Atlas cackled & nodded.

“Good. Very good. And how proficient in your Dragon Slayer Magic?”

“Oh, I’m good in it. Your memories helped me a lot in understanding what exactly to do with training it.” Eric said and Atlas smirked as he looked at Eric, taking a deep breath before Eric rolled his eyes at the wide grin on the dragon’s face.

“Oh yeah, you do indeed. Hatred & anger suppressed to the darkest depths of your mind until you need it. Ohoho~You are a Hell Flame Dragon in all but flesh & blood. Actually…you wanna become one?”

“What do you mean ‘become one’? The only way I know of a dragon slayer becoming a dragon is bathing in the blood of multiple dragons.”

“That’s only step 1. You see, you don’t have the antibodies like most dragon slayers do and with your constant usage of Dragon Slayer magic, your Dragon Seed is probably ready to bloom. All it needs is one last push, i.e. you exploding with rage & anger.”

“Hell no. I know my rage better than any person and I can tell you that is not something anyone wants, especially with what’s going on inside my mind right now.” Eric muttered the last part softly to himself, Atlas frowning at the slight distant look in Eric’s eyes before nodding as he laid back down.

“Very well, but if you ever want to…”

“I know where to find you. Don’t worry about it. If I need to ever do it, I’ll just come to you and we’ll do i-!” Eric stopped talking as he felt a chill running up his back, a sea of scarlet flames shooting out from his back & creating a giant flaming sphere around him & Atlas just as he felt something heavy impacting it.

“What the hell?!” Atlas growled as they turned in the direction of where the impact had come from, Eric dropping his flaming sphere before hiding his surprise as he saw a very familiar man slowly walking up the hill towards them.

“Damn, I was hoping to take out the demon with that one.” The well-built man spoke with a sigh as he ran his fingers through his spiky black hair, his black eyes giving Eric a disapproving stare as a long scar extended from his hairline to his lower left ear.

Dressed in a gray metal chestplate that had ‘Absolute Zero’ on the left pectoral with a long brownish-white cape, two blue rounded pauldrons, a black fitting shirt with a thick, gray fur collar and a pair of dark brown pants tucked inside brown boots, the man looked away from Eric towards Atlas as a cold mist began to radiate from his body.

“Okay, I wanted to end this quick, but I guess I’m going to be rough. Kid, if you don’t want to get hurt, get out of the way.” Silver Fullbuster spoke with a frown as the ground under him began to freeze over before a wave of purple icicles shot out towards the dragon.

However, he frowned as tendrils of scarlet flames shot out from Eric & wrapped around the icicles, watching as the flames melted away his ice with some difficulty while the dragon slayer slowly walked down the hill towards him.

"Don't think it's going to be that easy to get him."

"Why are you even protecting him, kid? Just get out of the way and let me end him."

"Well, despite the fact that he pisses me off, he is still my father so I will protect him no matter what."

"Yeah, I pull back everything I said. My other self raised a wimp."

"Don't you start!" Eric shouted up at Atlas, who simply snorted before they turned as they heard Silver chuckling, Eric frowning as he saw the man shaking his head before looking up with resolve in his eyes.

"He's manipulated you that much, huh? You demons never cease to amaze me with your ruthlessness & your lies."

"Uh, buddy? You might want to get your eyes checked out because if the dragon head doesn't tell you enough, you are as blind as a bat."

"Demons can take any form in order to manipulate & deceive their way into getting what they want." Silver answered as another wave of cold frost raced across the ground towards the two dragons only to let out a frustrated sigh as Eric flexed his firepower & melted away the ice.

"Well, listen here, buddy. Just turn around & go back to whatever place you came from before someone gets hurt. That someone being you, of course."

"Hahaha...oh, you think that you know what being hurt is truly like? Being hurt isn't just getting hit by a powerful spell or getting a limb broken. It's about-!"

"When you lose something you truly cherish and there's not a thing you can do about it, right?" Eric chuckled while palming his face & Atlas frowned as he heard the slight change in Eric’s voice, Silver watching as the dragon slayer lowered his hand before his frown deepened at the rage burning in the dragon slayer’s eyes.

“You know, when you are the cause of everything & everyone you love being destroyed, you have this hatred & anger for yourself that makes you just want to kill yourself. Then, you don’t have the guts to actually do that so you’re now angry at yourself for not being able to have the guts to do that.”

“Is this going somewhere or are you going to get out of the way?” Silver asked before his eyes widened as Eric was clad in a blazing aura, the ground under him bubbling & melting away as the dragon slayer cracked his neck.

“Oh, you’re about to find out.”

A/N: And now, the battle of slayer vs slayer finally begins!

Next chapter, get ready for the battle!

Also, the reason this story is late is because it's my birthday and my family did not want me behind a screen the whole day. So, I had to snuck away for the past two hours to finish this before they come kidnap me again.

As always, read, enjoy, review and until the next one…

Ba-Bye~!!