Natsu Dragneel In Dxd - Volume 1 Chapter 21 Overcome

Hohoho, this is a sight. It seems you all will die with if I keep up thisMagical Pressureany longer.”

“What are you doing!? I-I thought we were friends!?” Natsu screamed in confusion as he roughly fell on his knees from the crushing power he felt. Wanting to stay strong in the face of this monster, Natsu slowly stood up.

“Don’t get me wrong, Natsu. We are still friends. But this this is a test.” This voice said in a deep serious tone that showed that the person wasn’t playing around, “I am surprised though at how long all of you have survived. Maybe I should keep this up a bit longer.”

“No! Stop it now! This isn’t a game- they’ll really all die if you don’t stop!” Natsu tried to convince the person but it proved futile. The man kept up the constant wave ofMagical Powerand continued to talk.

“I can’t stop now, Natsu. Like I said, this is a test and I’m studying all of you. But what interests me is the fact of how Issei instinctively activated hisBoosted Gearwhich is also doubling his power to keep him conscious while the others have already passed out.” The voice made Natsu’s eyes widen as he turned in back of him to find Issei struggling to get up as well.

“Y-you bastard I’m gonna get you for this!” Issei yelled, supporting himself on his knees.

“Come on, how can you expect to do that?” The voice said in a mocking tone, “The only one here that can actually take me one is Natsu. Come Natsu, let me see yourDragon Force. If you activate it, you might actually be able to withstand thisMagical Pressure.”

“Natsu, I need you to get this guy! Go ahead and use yourDragon Force! I’ll protect the others!” Issei managed to get to his feet and walk over to Saji, pressing hisSacred Gearagainst his back, “BOOST!TRANSFER!” The area around them glowed a bright neon green as Saji was seen getting up from the ground, “Hey, Saji, can you hear me!? We gotta get everyone to safety!”

“E-eh? What’s happening?” And that’s when Saji felt it. The dark magical presence that surrounded his being was consuming him, making it hard to breathe, “What’s going on!?”

“Saji! You have to activate yourSacred Gearnow! Help me get everyone to a safe place!” Issei yelled urgently, instructing Saji on what to do as he helped said person off the ground. Saji, when he got up from the hard ground, did as he was told and activated his ownSacred Gear.

“I still don’t know what’s going on but screw this shit!” Saji ran over to the closes person next to him and pick him up. That person was Gasper and he put him on his back. He next went over to Xenovia and picked her up bridal style. Issei had the same idea and had Koneko on his back while carrying Asia with his arms.

“Natsu! It’s alright now! Go kick this guys butt! Wherever he is!” Issei informed Natsu that everyone was safe which made him smile and let out a sigh of relief.

“At least now I can take care of this bothersomeMagical Pressure.” Natsu’s tense demeanor was suddenly gone as his body visibly seemed to relax with his shoulders going down and his hands unclenched out of a fist.

“What’s he doing?” Saji asked, trying his best to not collapse under the dark pressure he was feeling.

“Just watch. I can’t describe what he’s doing but all I can tell you is to watch.” Issei said seriously.

“BOOST!” ‘Damn it! I still don’t have enough power to send to the others! Come on Natsu, hurry up!’

“Yosh, let’s do this!” Natsu widened his stance and dug his feet in the ground while forming his hands into fists and putting them to his sides. Both Saji and Issei felt his magic rise, higher than before as heat was radiating from his body causing waves of hot winds to hit them, “Dragon Force: Stage One!” As he said that, Natsu’s went lower into his stance while scale-like pattern of lines started to form around the visible parts of his body. His hair was standing on ends and his eyes glowed a bright bright gold while turning into snake-like slits.

“AAAHHHHH!” With his mouth gaping wide, Natsu’s canine teeth were showing to grow longer than its usual-still abnormal- size. His muscles tensed up and bulged while he screamed to the heavens. Saji watched in awe at the sight before him. He staggered a bit when he saw golden wisps of fire appear rapidly and randomly around Natsu, reappearing and disappearing in an unorderly fashion.

“Issei, Saji! Get ready!” Natsu screamed intensely while hisMagic Powerwas still rising. Suddenly, there was another giant wave of magic that surrounded them, hitting Issei and Saji hard, making them almost lose their balance. It all happened in an instant, and in that instant, all the fear and crushing power they felt was gone.

“Hahahahaha! Just what I’d expect from you! I can’t believe you managed to cancel my ownMagic Pressurewith yours!” The voice laughed hysterically, echoing throughout the area, “Don’t you know that could have backfired and killed everyone here if you didn’t get the exact amount of magic right? Man, you’re really insanely skilled, aren’t you Natsu.”

“Just come out, Azazel.” Natsu said angrily.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m comin’.” From the trees that surrounded their area came Azazel, walking out lazily with a slouch and a small smile formed on his face. He wore a black robe and under it a dark blue shirt with some traditional sandals on his feet. In all, he looked like he just got out of bed.

“T-that’s Azazel!?” Saji screamed in shocked at the sight of a middle-aged man being one of the strongest people in the realm.

“Wait, I thought you were one of my contractors? How could you be Fallen Angel when you contracted with me and Natsu?” Issei asked seriously, not letting his guard go down. He knew he had to protect his friends from this guy, just as he said he would to Natsu.

“Well, it’s not just humans that Devils can have a contract with, Issei.” Azazel answered smugly, “If you wanna survive in this world, you’ve got to have knowledge of it first.”

“Cut to the chase, Azazel. Why did you come here?” Natsu attitude wasn’t any different from Issei’s. His eyes were sharp, cutting through to Azazel’s while said person laughed.

“Don’t be so uptight Natsu. What, are you mad ’cause I hurt your friends?” Azazel scoffed when he said this, staring right back at Natsu with the same intensity while his carefree demeanor seemed no more, “You’re still a naive child if you think friends will make a difference in your power. Allies are what really matter- people who you can use their attributes and resources for our own purpose while doing the same for them. But, I suppose your friendship is what got you that far in the first place.”

“Stop with the bull shit, Azazel! My friends are the reason why I’m still alive in this world, and that’s why I fight for them! That’s why I fightwiththem!” Natsu fumed at Azazel as steam came off his body.

“Woah, Natsu, cool down. I was just sharing my opinion on the matter.” Azazel’s lazy manner was back while he jokingly fanned himself off, “Oh, and Issei, you can share your power with your friends now. I guess you were waiting until you had enough power to distribute while still having some to yourself so you can fight, right?”

“How did you?” Issei stared confusedly towards Azazel in wonder until he realized what his objective was.

“BOOST!TRANSFER!” Issei turned towards his friends while Saji laid the rest down where they all got some of his power to help regain consciousness. The residence there suddenly glowed a bright green as each one started to slowly rise from the ground off their backs.

“Huh? W-what’s going on Issei-san? Saji-san?” Asia weakly opened her eyes and looked up to see the two boys but both of them had grim faces, “Issei-san, what’s going on?” When he didn’t answer, Asia slowly realized the redundancy of her question. How could she not? It was so obvious. TheMagical Pressureshe was feeling was consuming but familiar. Turning her head to where Issei was looking, she saw Natsu in his state ofDragon Force. Going off of what he said before about his magic, Asia assumed that it was the first stage because as Natsu stated, his scales didn’t have the color of his element.

Slowly getting up from her position, Asia shakily walked up to Issei, “That’s Azazel,” Issei suddenly said. She swore that she heard that name before. Wasn’t he “He’s one of the leaders of the Fallen Angels.”

“Is Natsu-san going to be okay?” Asia asked worriedly.

“I’m not sure. We’ll just have to wait and see.” Issei said frowning at the end, “In all honesty, I’m not sure how this will all turn out. I’m scared shitless right now. But I’m sure Natsu is too.”

“What do you mean?” Asia asked again but with no answer. That’s when she realized the whole group jumped beside Natsu prepared to fight.

“What’re you doing!?” Natsu screamed anxiously, “You gotta leave, now!”

“Hmm, you should listen to Natsu. Low-class Devils know that even ganging up on me is a futile idea, so why try it anyway? Plus, if we do have to fight, you all would just get in Natsu’s way.” Azazel said mockingly, smirking slightly when he saw no one move from their spot, “Well, I commend you on bravery but I shun you on your stupidity.”

“You’re not gonna fight, are you.” Natsu stated seriously, getting out of his fighting stance and deactivating hisDragon Force.

“Well done, my student. You know how to sense hostility from your opponents!” Azazel praised, putting his hands in his baggy sleeves, “That’s right, I’m not gonna fight. Like I said before, this was a test of power and you all failed.”

“What do you mean?” Issei asked, his interests hitting its peak.

“First of all, the power I put out before was 75 percent of Kokabiel’s full power. On a rough margin of course. That means that you all could die in an instant if someone that strong came along,” Azazel explained, “The only reason you guys won the fight is because that stupid Fallen Angel has too much of an ego to actually go full power against Low class Devils- even strong ones.”

“He kinda seemed like a plain racist to me.” Natsu blurted out suddenly.

“Yeah, he kind of was.” Azazel said, nodding in agreement, “But nevertheless, Natsu, you also had a factor in that fight. Why did you not go intoDragon forcein the first place even though you knew he was strong? You knew that you could match him full strength if you just activated it, didn’t you?” Azazel paused, letting everything he said sink in, “But you didn’t. And that’s why Rias almost died… your pride is what stopped you.Youkilled Rias, Natsu.”

“That’s bullshit! You’re sayin’ nonsense!” Natsu yelled in denial, stepping back in response with distress clearly on his face.”

“Deny it all you want Natsu, but face the truth. You were able to go into Stage one ofDragon Forceand match Kokabiel’s strength easily. In my perspective, you just used him as a practice dummy to test your new found power after training,” Azazel said shrugging his shoulders at the end. Looking at all the shocked faces of the people around him, he smiled. “But, I guess it did help you to sorta unlock your second phase.”

“I’m tired of hearing shit coming out of your mouth Azazel! If you wanna provoke me you did a damn good job at that!” Natsu screamed agitated as lighting started to crackle around him.

“Oh, going into your Lightning mode, eh? Well, you see there, that just proved my point. Why didn’t you go back intoDragon ForceNatsu? You made the mistake of not going full power in beginning even though you know that I’m way stronger than you. I’m sure Kokabiel mentioned this when you guys met but I’m gonna restate it. Natsu, youcravefighting; you love it to the point where it gets disturbing,” Azazel said, causing Natsu to stop his raging fire and lightning as he stared in shock at what he said, “I can’t put my finger on it but there’s something inside you so primal it’s scary. It’s like it runs purely on instinct; just waiting for its next prey.”

“Natsu-san what is he talking about?” Asia asked frightened. She hid behind the corner of the building with Gasper by her side as she looked at the situation and the things the ‘Azazel’ man was saying with fear. She knew Natsu would never do that stuff. Letting other people suffer for his own gain- he fought for their protection and she admired him for that… But the things this man was saying did have some truth behind it that added up but Asia shut her eyes tightly, wanting none of that stuff to be real.

“I don’t understand Natsu, what is this man saying? What’s this primal thing inside you?” Xenovia asked gripping her sword tighter than before. But Natsu didn’t answer; he stood there in silence as his bright red hair shadowed his eyes showing no type of emotion.

“N-Natsu-senpai” Koneko stuttered in worry, not knowing how to express her emotions.

“This is over. I’m not gonna hear any more of this.” Natsu stated firmly, looking up at Azazel with distaste.

“I understand, I did bash on you enough. The test has been over, right now I’ve been giving the lesson,” Azazel said with a smirk, “So going onto another subject. Is the guy with the “good and evil” sword here?”

“If you mean Kiba, he’s gone.” Issei answered objectively, wanting this shady guy to leave.

“Oh, what a bummer. I wanted to examine him.” Azazel said stroking his beard.

“Do anything to him and I will-”

“Hey, slow your roll soldier boy! I was joking!” Azazel put his hands up to calm the fuming Issei while he continued to talk, basically ignoring him after, “I see that you have Vampire on your side. It’s interesting to see one with theForbidden Valor View Sacred Gear.” The moment she heard this, Asai

“Yeah, what about it? Just leave us alone, Azazel.” Issei said furiously, trying his best not to lash on the guy in front of him.

“Well, let me explain. A person with a weak mental and physical state could be left harming themselves if their power control is not dealt with immediately. You can use the blonde guy’sSacred Gearto limit the amount of power the Vampire kid emits when he is using his ownSacred Gear. Pretty simple actually.” Azazel explained as easily as he could, waving his hand in front of his face as if it was no big deal.

“What’re talking about? MySacred Gearcan do that?” Saji asked perplexed at what he heard. He has just been told that he can reduce a person’s power with his own using this ability. All he could think was how kicking-ass good that sounded.

“You didn’t know? Man, you guys are killing here,” Azazel said, slapping his forehead with his palm, “You have one of theFive Dragon Kings: Vritra, also known as theDark Dragon Vein. Its absorption line is able to negate and absorb another’s power and connect itself to other things as well, but for a short time, I’m saying that using that ability would make training much easier.”

“Is that it?” Xenovia said dangerously, squinting her eyes in suspicion.

“Oh yes, you’re right. There’s one more thing” Azazel said teasingly with a gleeful smirk.

“Just spill it. Stop wasting out time!” Issei said annoyed at this guy’s antics.

“Fine, fine. All you have to do is have the Vampire boy drink the blood of a person wielding the power of a Dragon. That’s all,” Azazel’s grin widened in anticipation as he watched Gasper hug tighter to Asia, “Well, try it out and see how it goes. I’m sure it’ll work out.” And with that, he started walking away until stopping suddenly, “Hey, Natsu, hope i didn’t leave off on the wrong note but I still want to friends. No hard feelings, right?”

“Whatever” Natsu said emotionlessly, turning his back away from the man. He just laughed and continued

‘Yup, you’re still a child Natsu. And you need to grow up fast,’Azazel thought, “One more thing. Natsu, don’t youevertry to merge your two Dragon modes again. Goodbye.” That was before being engulfed by a whirlwind of black feathers and disappearing out of everyone’s sight.

The group’s reaction was one of relief and exhaustion as Issei, Asia and Gasper all dropped to the floor, and sighing loudly, Issei spoke, “This is insane. How’re we supposed to trust this guy if his acting like this?”

“Don’t worry about that, Issei. He wouldn’t’ come here just to tamper with us after hiding his identity all this time. Plus he’s supposed to be our friend. And friends wouldn’t trick others like that.” Natsu said confidently before walking away from the others.

“Hey, Natsu! Where do you think you’re going?” Saji asked worriedly, standing up from his spot.

“I just need to be alone for a while. Nothing much.” Natsu said while continuing his brisk walk.

“Natsu-san” Asia said to herself. ‘What that man said must have really hit him hard. I don’t think it’s a good idea to help him right now even though I really want to.’She thought depressingly.

“Natsu-senpai what’s wrong?” Koneko asked to herself in worry.

“What exactly is he feeling right now? What is Natsu thinking that would make him get this way right now?” Xenovia questioned herself, feeling concerned for Natsu’s well-being. She immediately put her sword away in her pocket dimension and walked towards the others with no intent on budging into Natsu’s personal life but the question still lingered in her mind.

“So what are we going to do now?” Issei asked dumbly.

“We’re gonna train of course! If what Azazel said is right then this training could be beneficial for me and Gasper!” Saji said excitedly.

“Yeah, you’re right! Let’s get right to it!” Issei yelled determined, quickly getting up from the ground, “Let’s go, Gasper!”

“B-but, I’m scared. What if the mean man c-comes back!” Gasper said frightened.

“Don’t worry about that! If we train, we’ll be able to take him on, no problem!” Issei ran to where Gasper was and picked him up, putting him on his back.

“Let’s go to the gym. I have a better idea of how to train him.” Xenovia said confidently.

Location with Natsu:

Natsu was currently in the club room, lying down on the couch lazily while he took in a deep breathe. As of right now, he was sulking in his deep thoughts, wondering how Azazel would accuse him of such things. Him? Killing Rias? It was his fault? It all didn’t make a lick of sense to Natsu, but the next thing he talked about was intriguing to say the least. Mostly because he thinks that it’s true.

That there’s a monster inside him.

He slowly brought his arm up to cover his eyes from the last rays the sun was giving up while continuing to look up at the ceiling. What was it that caused him to think like this? He was sure that the only primal thing he felt built up inside was Igneel’s influence as a Dragon but there was something more to it as the feeling he got sometimes weredarkerthan usual. At times, he felt like killing the person in front of him after they hurt his family, friends and himself. Destroying their prized possessions and and exposing their deep secrets Natsu didn’t want to forgive them at all, but he took the things Makarov said to heart, not listening to the feeling inside of him; the dark instinct that told him tokill or bekilled.

But that just wasn’t right.

But it did sound good at times.

The closest he ever got to killing someone was with Kokabiel. That man pushed him over the edge, more than any other of his adversaries did.

“If only If only I had done something in the beginning than Rias wouldn’t have to live her life with that memory. I don’t want any of them to remember it. So why didn’t I go full power at first?” Natsu questioned himself, uncertain about his own resolve, “Azazel was right thereissomething wrong with me.”

“It is not good to dwell in the past, my son.” Igneel informed in his child’s head, grunting at the end.

“But what am I s’posed to do when I don’t know what to do. Has everything I thought about myself been a lie?” Natsu said aloud, answering his father truthfully.

“Doubt is one of the most power poisons a fighter with a strong will can get. I understand if you’re worried but doubting your own beliefs is something that is not forgivable, Natsu. What if you’re unsure if you should protect someone that’s begging for your help? Would you just turn your back to them because you can’t trust that person or yourself?” Igneel questioned as Natsu gained a deep frown.

“But-” Natsu was interrupted by the booming voice in his head.

“Did you not just listen boy!? Why are you still doubting yourself!? Do you doubt your strength because you could not protect that girl from getting hurt? If so then get stronger! Do you doubt your reliability to your friends? Then gain their trust back! If you doubt what I’m saying then don’t listen!” Igneel’s deafening speech left a resounding hold on Natsu as said man was caught speechless, “Listen Natsu, there are simple solutions to some of life’s biggest problems, all you have to do is find them.”

“Okay then, what about this weird feeling that keeps coming up when I fight? What am I going to do about that? I could really hurt some of the people that I don’t wanna.” Natsu asked understanding what Igneel was saying completely, but he didn’t how to deal with those problems even if he found those simple solutions.

“Natsu, what’s inside you is not a foreign entity. In fact, I don’t even know why you’re afraid of it. The feeling you get every time you fight is not a bad thing, it’s something that’s apart. So neglecting it isn’t going to make it better. Embrace the feeling you get and accept it, then you might be able to control it,” Igneel explained logically, smirking to himself, “I will always love you Natsu and nothing will change that. You’re my son; I raised you, fed you and sometimes bathed you. Whatever you do, I can never hate. Whatever decision you make, I can’t go against. Even if you somehow turn evil, I can never hurt my own son. You are precious to me and whatever you’re going through I’ll be there to help, ’cause after all, you’re still growing up to be a fantastic man.”

Natsu couldn’t hold it back; the tears flowed easily down his face and sniffles were heard effortlessly throughout the room. Natsu wiped his face with the sleeves of his school shirt and answered shakily, “Y-yeah, Igneel I love y-you too! I don’t want you to ever leave me again!” He cried aloud as more tears came down.

“Yeah, yeah, like I would do that. Just fix yourself up already so we can go see how your friends are doing.” Igneel smirked to himself merrily until the happy demeanor was gone and was replaced with a deadly one, “Hopefully this will be enough to have Natsu accept what’s happening to him later on… Because I’m eventually going to have to tell him myself that he is E.N.D” Igneel thought to himself so that Natsu couldn’t hear at the moment.