Natsu Dragneel In Dxd - Volume 1 Chapter 7 Training Time

The fight between Natsu and Raiser finished leaving all the noble Devils in awe. Rias went home to live with Issei and Asia while Natsu just went along with Sirzechs because he had no place to live for now. Walking through the hallways searching for Grayfia with Happy flying behind him, Natsu was tracking her with her scent seeing that the house the Gremory’s lived in was too big to actually search.

Finding Grayfia walking down the hallway Natsu called out.

“Oi, Grayfia wait up! I have something to ask you!” Natsu yelled out getting the attention of Grayfia as she smiled internally that he finally got her name right. Grayfia stopped to comply with Natsu’s demand as she let him catch up with her. “Grayfia do you have a map of the underworld I can borrow?”

“No, I don’t. I am sorry I could not have been of more use. But I am sure Sirzechs-sama has one for you.” Grayfia answered.

“No need to worry and you can drop the ‘Mr.’ now, it’s making me feel old. Anyway, can you tell me where Zechs is so I don’t have to search again.” Natsu said not realizing how hypocritical the first statement was.

“Of course Mr.-I mean Natsu. Sirzechs-sama should be in his office upstairs. Just go down this hallway take a left then you will see a set of stairs. Take them and go left again then make a right and that will take you to his office.” Grayfia said giving Natsu the instructions. Getting a puzzled look from him she sighed. “Do you want me to take you there Natsu?”

“Don’t worry Grayfia, Natsu can be an idiot sometimes so don’t bother. I will guide him since I remembered the instructions you gave us.” Happy said chiming in getting an angry look from Natsu.

“Hey what’s that suppose to mean!? I not stupid I can be smart too! Just that using my head takes too much work.” Natsu said not wanting to be called dumb(I honestly think he isn’t just need to use his noggin more).

“Whatever Natsu just follow me.” Happy said flying in the direction Grayfia told them while she watched the two go by with a small smile of amus.e.m.e.nt. After a few minutes of walking, but flying for Happy, the duo made to the office in one piece.

“Hey Zechs hows it goin’!?” Natsu greeted kicking the door down that was the entrance to his office. Sirzechs smiled at the nick name Natsu had given him.

“Nothing much Natsu just finishing paperwork that needs to be done.” Sirzechs said frowning at the mention of doing the work. “Anyway what have you come here for?”

“Oh yeah, well I just wanted to have a map of the underworld so I can go train somewhere without destroying any property.” Natsu explained plainly. He actually felt bad for Sirzechs because from the stress Makarov had from doing paperwork he didn’t want his new friend to suffer from hair loss.

“Hmm, is there a specific place you wanted to go?” Sirzechs asked.

“Actually there is. Igneel said to go to the coldest place you had in the underworld.” Natsu replied back remembering what his father told him.

“Well, that would be Niflheim located south of this area in which the Gremory family owns. But I warn you the temperatures there have been recorded to only go as high as 128 F and that’s only the warmest temperature there in the summertime.” Sirzechs said warning his new pawn of the upcoming dangers.

“Meh, don’t worry Zechs the harder the challenge the more success I feel when I conquer it!” Natsu said reassuring Sirzechs about his travels.

“Okay Natsu, I trust you’ll come back in harmed. Please take thisMagic Transferring Circlethat will take you to your destination and back again. The distance is about 1000 but with theMagic Circleit will get you there in minutes. But make sure you come back in a month because I have an important topic I need to talk to you about.” Sirzechs said handing Natsu a piece of paper that had the Gremory clan symbol on it.

“A month sounds reasonable. By the way, how do you use this?” Natsu asked.

“Just put your magic I to it and it will take you where it was designed to go.” Sirzechs said explaining the transferring slip.

“Well, I’m off Zechs see ya in a month!” Natsu saluted good bye walking off with Happy on his head. Getting a good distance away Natsu decided now was the time to tell the news. “Hey buddy… I’m sorry about this one but you can’t come on the training trip this time.”

“Huh? Why not Natsu? We’re always together.” Happy asked confused at his friend’s way of thinking.

“Well, you heard what Zechs said, it’s going to be dangerous and I don’t want you to get hurt, buddy. You understand right?” Natsu asked desperately not wanting his friend to get hurt.

“Kay Natsu, I get it although it’ll be boring here without you.” Happy said moping.

“Hey how about we do one of our bets again. Here it is, whoever trains more and gets the most improvement over the next month has to buy the other the best fish the underworld can get.” Natsu bargained as Happy piped up on this information.

“Aye sir! You’re on Natsu! When you come back be ready to empty your pockets!” Happy said getting pumped about the bet.

“Hahaha! That’s the spirit Happy! Now, I’m off for now, see you later!” Natsu said walking off down the hallway. Stopping he whispered to himself. “Damn, how do I get out anyway?”

Location in an unknown forest:

Walking through the forest Natsu somehow found a way out of the maze that is a house of Gremory. Trending southward Natsu looked around seeing the horrid plants and beautiful flowers, admiring the weird nature the underworld had. Stopping, he sat down by a near tree sitting back on it and crossed his legs.

‘Igneel can you hear me?’ Natsu asked within his mind.

“Yes, child I hear you. What do you want?” Igneel said grumpily as Natsu interrupted his sleep.

‘Well before you just said to find and go to the coldest place possible. But you never said what you are going to make me do for training.’Natsu said not understanding his father’s ways but didn’t have to, because it was for a stupid reason.

“Oh yes that’s right I totally forgot about that. Ok well, to start off you will have to increase yourMagic Containerso that means meditating 2 hours in the morning Natsu.” Igneel said in a gruff voice.

‘Aw but that’s boring, all you do is sit around and think.’ Natsu whined.

“No buts Natsu, this part of the training is important if you want to survive in Niflheim and I promise to try and make it interesting. Now after you meditate you’ll just walk the rest of the time which should get us there in a week or so to Niflheim. Then 3 hours before you rest there’ll also be training. The first hour will be for stretching and enhancing your reflexes. The second will be for Cardiovascular endurance and the third for muscle strength and endurance. Got it?” Igneel asked.

‘Yeah! Now when do we get started.’ Natsu asked excited liking the second part of his training.

“Today we will take a break and walk for the rest of the time. Tomorrow is when we start.” Igneel explained.

About 12 hours later:

“Natsu wake up!” Igneel screamed in Natsu head.

“Huh! What! Is there a monster attack!?” Natsu yelled startled.

“No child it’s time for your training,” Igneel said. “You know what to do.”

As he said that Natsu sighed heavily getting up from the ground he was laying on and moved to the middle of a clearing that he made. Sitting down and crossing his legs Natsu put his arms on them.

“Listen child, the way you will do this is easy. Take deep breaths and inhale and exhale slowly. Feel the magic within you flow through your body increasing in magnitude. Let yourMagic Containerexpand going to its full limit and make it stay that way. Do not waver in this or it will backfire. Literally.” Igneel said helping and waring his son what to do.

Natsu did as his father said taking breaths, in and out and feeling the magic flow in his body. After a while fire started to dance around his body becoming smaller as he inhaled and larger when he exhaled. They more time past the farther the radius of the fire became stretching outward from Natsu as if trying to consume everything in its path. That is until Natsu, as his father said it would happen, reached his limit of hisMagic Containerand the fire stopped growing and just reacted to his breathing getting smaller than bigger with each breath.

2 hours past and Natsu collapsed on the floor exhausted using up all his magic just meditating.

“Good job son. Keep this up and your container will expand tremendously.” Igneel said impressed. Natsu struggled to get up feeling all the magic he once had drained out of his body but he did feel a slight difference.

‘Damn, this meditating stuff is actually working. I feel like my container just got a little bigger. Then if that’s the case I should do this every day!’Natsu said determinedly. Walling a while feeling the magic entering his body he decided to ask a question that’s been on his mind.

“Hey dad, will I get to train with myDragon modescause I at least want them to get stronger too.” Natsu said aloud knowing Igneel could hear him anyway.

“The training you are doing will help progress yourDragon modesas well Natsu. The more you increase your regular magic the more powerful your modes will become and the longer you can use them.” Igneel explained.

“That makes sense. The more magic I get doing the training the more power my overall magic abilities will become.” Natsu reasoned in his head.

“Couldn’t have said it better myself.” Igneel said, proud of his son for getting a complex topic so quickly.

6:00 in the evening:

“Okay son, you can stop here. It’s time for the second part of your training.” Igneel said making a not-so-tired Natsu stop. “For now go look for the biggest boulder you can find in the area and also get some strong vines from the trees.”

Natsu did as he was told looking around for strong vines and a giant rock that was at least 5 feet tall and 6 feet in diameter. Getting back to the stop he was in not wantong to lose his check mark he asked a question.

“Oi, Igneel what now?” Natsu asked.

“Just do regular stretches before we start your real training,” Igneel said plainly. Doing as he was told Natsu did a couple a stretches for 10 minutes. “Now uproot at least 12 trees in the area.” Natsu once again did as he was told.

“Hey, what’s all this stuff supposed to do anyway!?” Natsu asked irritated.

“Well, I can’t do all this stuff outside your body so I’m asking you do it. Now shut up and listen brat! Throw the trees as high as you can and be on your best guard or you will die!” Igneel commanded having Natsu rush to throw the trees. As he did so he saw something peculiar. The leaves seemed to be turning into spikes. As realization struck him it was already too late as the tree fired the spiked leaves at him at fast speeds. Dodging recklessly as a result of his curiosity Natsu got cuts all over his body and when the tree didn’t have any leaves left on its branches it fell.

“Shit! Igneel were you trying to have me killed you overgrown gecko!” Natsu fumed at his father.

“I did warn you. Now do it again!” Igneel bellowed in his son’s head,

“Aye sir!” Natsu yelled getting back to work.

35 minutes later:

Natsu is seen lying on the ground with cuts all over his body sweating profusely.

“Now my boy, It’s time for the cardiovascular part. You see that boulder and the vines the vines I told you to get. Well, tie the boulder to your back with the vines.” Natsu did as he was told feeling the cuts around his body sting. Tying the rock to his back he tried to walk but fell over.

“Why is this thing so heavy!? It wasn’t before!” Natsu said struggling to get up.

“That’s because the rock you picked up wasn’t just any old rock, it’s alive and whenever it feels threatens it increases its weight dramatically to crush the person threatening him.” Igneel explained.

“Uhg! How do you even… know this stuff! Hah!” Natsu asked finally able to get back on his feet.

“That’s because when ever you were around that Sirzechs guy I asked him some questions using telepathy. I can’t rely on you to just go to their library and read about the underworld.” Igneel said plainly.

“Hey, that’s not fair! I can’t even read their language!” Natsu yelled defensively.

“Natsu, they have the same language back on Earthland surprisingly. Now hurry! Run 10 miles around the forest and make sure you don’t get lost!” Igneel said.

“Uh fine. You’re such a slave driver.” Natsu said not having fun with this event as he expected. After 1 hour of intense running and sprinting from monsters and demonic animals alike Natsu finally made it back to the clearing he once again.

“Oh, how I loath you right now Dad.” Natsu panted out of breath.

“You can hate me all you want son, but for now it’s the third part of the training which is muscular strength and endurance. Keep the bolder thing on your back and do as much push ups as you can until you collapse, then climb the highest tree in the area to the top and finally do 1000 lunges! Go Go Go!” Igneel instructed.

“Roger that! Yosh let’s do this, I still gotta beat Happy!” Natsu said determinedly. He did all the exercises he was told to do and was left a heaping mess. Sweat was coming out of his skin none stop making the cuts he got earlier sting even more, the cuts and bruise he got running through the forest multiple times were bleeding and in all, he passed out the minute he made it back to his temporary sleeping space.

“Good my son you are going to advance to great levels if you keep up this work. All that needs to happen now is to locate Acnologia again and keep tabs on him.” Igneel said, proud that his son was fulfilling his wish to get stronger than himself one day.

A week later:

Each and every day Natsu did the same routine in the mornings but Igneel mixed up the evening exercise for… his amus.e.m.e.nt to say the least, but to also have Natsu adapt to certain situations. As Igneel predicted it only took them a week to get to their destination as they had three weeks left until the undesired due date to return. Walking through the forest, even more, they seemed to have stopped at a border that leads to Niflheim. Going up to a giant gate Natsu was forced to stop as two guards came in a blizzard of wind knocking Natsu off his feet.

Looking back up he saw that the guards were pretty huge going up to at least 8 feet in height. And their skin was blue as if they had frost bite but didn’t affect them. ‘Must have adapted to the harsh weather and got that as a result.’

“What have you come here for peasant. This territory doesn’t belong to you but the great lord Ghalgeth!” The First guard shouted.

“Well, Zechs told me to come to train. He said it was okay.” Natsu said plainly not afraid of the two giants.

“Who this ‘Zechs’ you speak of.” The second giant asked.

“You know, Sirzechs theDemon Lord.He said it was okay to come here but just to be careful.” Natsu explained having the guards get to their knees.

“We are sorry, I didn’t know the greatDemon lordsent you. Let me check in with my lord and you will be able to enter. Once again I’m sorry for the inconvenience.” The second guard apologized sincerely but Natsu just laughed it off.

“Hahahaha it’s okay guys just a little misunderstand. No need to go to your knees, it’s a little over excessive.” Natsu said as the giants got up and started talking to no one in the area.

“Okay, sir my lord said that it’s okay for you enter his territory, but for how long?” The first giant asked.

“Eh, like 3 weeks or so, won’t be long.” Natsu said. The giants nodded in understanding and opened the gate that led to Niflheim. As the doors opened he could already feel the chills coming to him but decided to take it and walk through while the guards closed the gate.

“M-m-m-m-man I-I-I-Ig-g-gneel-l-l! I-i-i-it’s l-l-like h-h-h-hell in h-h-here!” Natsu screamed shivering none stop.

“Natsu we were already in hell. But I guess this is hell frozen over. Anyway do you see any near by mountains?” Igneel asked. Looking around for said mountain Natsu finally spotted on through the blizzard.

“Y-y-yeah I-I s-see one.” Natsu answered shaking again.

“Now Natsu I need you to travel to it. But as part of your training, you need light a fire above your head and keep from being put out by the coldness of this land got it? But you also still need to do the meditating in the mornings and forget about the evening exercise, we need to get to the mountain fast.” Igneel said as Natsu complied and starting walking to the mountain he saw with a small flame on his head. It took three days to get to the base of the mountain with the meditating included and Natsu finally got used to the cold a bit.

“Kay Igneel, I made it here. What do you want me to do now?” Natsu asked.

“Obviously climb it son. Go to the peak of the mountain and when that’s done the training is finished. But I warn you to be careful about the falling rocks. The winds here are strong and can blow both you and the debris off the mountain.” Igneel warned.

“You got it, dad! Time to conquer this thing!” Natsu said jumping high unto the mountain walls and crawled his way up at a fast pace. After getting up about 400 meters above the ground, the temperature dropped and the oxygen level was depleting leaving the flame above his head to get weaker and smaller as he too slowed down his pace.

Getting up on one of the flatter levels of the mountain, Natsu rested finding a cave on the leveled place to shield him from the storm that was happening. Waking up sore from the climb he started to do his meditating with Igneel instructing him.

“Listen here child, the environment of this mountain is deadly. You and your flame need to keep up with its changes as it gets colder towards the top, for survival. Your fire needs to be able to withstand these changes and become stronger as the flame you posses is one of aDragon King’s- which is my fire.” Igneel said motivating his son even more to complete the training. “The fire you have within you one of the most powerful one’s I have ever seen and is capable of extraordinary things. You are aFire Dragonslayerson of Igneel and you will be able to withstand the most frigid of weather and the most scalding of heat. So get stronger so you can do me proud son.”

As he said this Natsu finished the meditation feeling more confident in his abilities to be able to complete the task of climbing the mountain. Jumping back on to the rocky wall Natsu trended up the walls of the mountain at a fast pace as the fire above his head burned brightly as if showing his determination. Scaling about 200 meters up he heard rumbling as the sound got louder the more time past.

“Oh shit,” Natsu said realizing what the sound was when all of a sudden giant mounds of ice fell towards him. “Fire Dragon’s Iron Fists!” He yelled punching a block of ice coming towards him. Time past as Natsu was defending himself, alternating his hands to punch the ice mounds and keep his balance. When he thought the barrage of ice blocks were over he let his guard down but he was wrong as of block of ice hit him sending him flying towards the ground.

Grabbing onto the icy rocks Natsu stopped himself from dying as his hand and boots were torn from the rocks cutting him. Not wanting to lose the distance he gained Natsu started to scale the walls once again at a fast pace ignoring the pain he felt from his hands. It was Night fall and Natsu made it to another temporary base camp feeling sore. Laying down on the snow Natsu relaxed looking at his bleeding hands but decided to leave them alone thinking they would heal in time by tomorrow morning.

“Hey Igneel… I’ve been thinking about this for a while. Why do I even have to keep this flame on my head burning? And what’s climbing this mountain for anyway, plus where’s food I can get, I starving.” Natsu asked when his stomach grumbled.

“Well the reason you suppose to keep the fire on your head burning is to let your body naturally learn how to use magic without exhausting your reserves. Second of all your climbing the mountain is to make up for the evening training you skipped. This will make your sure you’re in top physical condition. But for the food part… I actually didn’t know about. You are just going to have to toughen it up and deal with it.” Igneel nonchalantly.

“Ah, that’s bullshit! How I’m supposed to-” And with that Natsu passed out falling asleep only to wake up and do the whole thing all over again. 2 weeks passed and there was a routine that set into play since then. Natsu woke up doing his morning training, then went on climbing the mountain while slipping and punching ice mounds, then got to a secure platform and fell asleep complaining about how there’s no food. This day he was almost to the summit of the deadly mountain and it was as cold and harsh as it can get. The flame he had above his head was dwindling in size but was still there. Natsu slowly and painfully climbed all the way to the summit that was surprisingly flat in some places and roared to the skies signaling his victory and that he conquered the mountain that seemed to try and kill him multiple times.

“See that Father… I did it just as you told me. Now all I need to do is… get… down.” Natsu fell to the ground hard passing out from exhaustion, lack of oxygen and starvation.

Location in a castle:

Natsu woke up feeling his body bandaged and sore but was still manageable. He opened his eyes to find himself in a luxurious room like the one he slept in the Gremory residence but everything was some different shade of blue. Seeing that he was on a bed, he got up and looked around walking towards his clothing that was shockingly all fixed up. Putting them on and taking off the robe he had on Natsu walked towards the door and opened it only to see a lady dressed in a maid outfit staring at him blankly.

“Oh, I see you are awake sir. I just came here to check on you. Please follow me so we can meet my lord, he has been waiting for you.” The maid lady said.

“Uh, where am I and who’s this “lord” you speak of?” Natsu asked.

“You are in the estate of Lord Ghalgeth.” The maid answered not looking back.

“Well Okay then. Where are you taking me?” Natsu asked again getting curious about this Ghalgeth guy as he swore he heard the name before.

“I am taking you to meet with Milord. He has taken interest in the person Sirzech-sama has sent here.” The maid answered again like a robot which Natsu thought was weird.

“So is there gonna be food when I’m meeting him ’cause I’m starvin’!” Natsu said enthusiastically as drool was seeping from his mouth.

“Yes, there is, the chefs are preparing a buffet for you and my lord to conversate in. Now if you may be quiet until we make it to the dining room ,I would appreciate it.” The maid answered coldly this time as Natsu gulped in fear.

“A-Aye sir.” He said pathetically. Walking through the castle that was seemingly like a maze similar to The Gremory home, Natsu looked around to see statues made of ice that looked like it was showing a tale of events the more you go down the hall. Stopping at a giant door that was too made of ice the maid opened it effortlessly showing the dining that had a table two times the size the Gremory’s had and had food that was humongous going down the whole table.

Seeing that the two head table seats were at least three times his size Natsu decided to sit in one of the regular seats.

“Hahahahaha I see you are awake little one. Tell me, how did you sleep?” A man of large proportions with a deep rough voice came through the door that was as tall as the guards at the gate. His body was very well built making Elfman’s look like a beginner and his veins were visible on his arms and legs. His skin also had a shade of light blue on it like the guards but had two big dark blue horns coming out from his forehead. His hair was as white as the purest snow going down to his waist and was wearing armor. Although he only wore boots that stopped at his knees, a vambrace, metal shoulder pads, and a chest plate that only covered the front and under it he was wearing a standard toga.

“Ahh… who are you?” Natsu said having a blank face at this man’s entrance.

“Hohoho how rude of me not to introduce myself, I am Lord Ghalgeth and I presume you are Natsu?” The man named Ghalgeth introduced himself.

“Yup, Natsu Dragneel at your service!” Natsu said happily.

“Well, Natsu go ahead and fill yourself! Although I am surprised you made it to the top of our deadliest mountain Mt. Gradinare. The environment there makes it impossible for things to live there so I’m guessing you had nothing to eat for weeks.” Ghalgeth said concerned.

“Yeah but it’s no big deal. I still survived didn’t I so let’s leave that in the past. Anyway, how did you find me?” Natsu asked.

“Well my men were just doing a regular check of the territory to see who snuck in and that’s when they found you on top of the mountain almost dead,” Ghalgeth explained. “They recognized as the one they let in and sent you here to recover and that’s when I called Sirzechs to see if you were telling the truth about who you are and turns out you weren’t lying.”

“Uh… well that sucks… I almost died… again.” Natsu said sweat-dropping.

“Well Natsu let’s get eating I’m guessing you’re starving and so am I!” Ghalgeth said digging into his food like a monster similar to Natsu. Minutes past and the two didn’t stop eating, looking like they were in some sort of competition as determined faces were etched on and were filling themselves to the brink only for all the food to gone before they finished their “food fight”.

“Hahahaha I never meant anyone that was able to keep up with me in a food eating contest.” Ghalgeth said impressed patting his bloated stomach.

“Ahh~ yeah, I have some friends at home who eats like this too and would totally envy me about doing this,” Natsu said burping at the last part sighing as if in full bliss. “So Ghal I was wounding how you have such a huge territory. Are you part of one of the 72 Devil clans?” Natsu asked taking in the lesson Grayfia taught him about the Devil world into play.

“No boy, I’m not part of the Devil clans. I got this much land from my power alone! I can say truthfully that I’m at least on par with Sirzechs level or stronger than Grayfia when it comes to controlling ice!” Ghalgeth yelled proudly.

“Oh really! If you’re that strong than fight me! I wanna see how far this training got me!” Natsu yelled jumping from his chair.

“Oh, you’re a feisty one I see. Ok Natsu, I shall fight you. I want to see how strong the soon to-be-pawn of Sirzechs is!” Ghalgeth said excitedly.

“Huh, you know about that? I thought we weren’t supposed to tell anyone yet?” Natsu asked puzzled.

“Hahaha, my boy! Sirzechs and I have been friends for hundreds of years! He knows I won’t tell anyone mostly because I like being solitary.” Ghalgeth explained. “Now follow me to my personal arena! There we can have the fight of our lives!”

Getting to the arena Natsu gasped as it was almost two times the size of the Grand Magic Games arena. ‘This man sure likes to go big.’ Natsu thought. The whole thing was made of ice and was surprisingly not slippery, feeling like real ground.

“Ok, Natsu this place is filled withMagic Runesto protect the castles so you can do as much damage as you want! Don’t hold back because I won’t!” Ghalgeth said charging his magic.

“I’m betting you’ll regret saying that when I’m done Ghal!” Natsu yelled excitedly, charging his magic too. Being as reckless as he always is, he charged forward seting his fist ablaze ready to knock out Ghalgeth with one punch. “Fire Dragon’s Iron Fist!” He yelled punch towards Ghalgeth aiming for his abdomen but Ghalgeth was quick to take action using his forearms to block the attack but the force of the punch made him skid back losing his balance.

“Fire Dragon’s Crushing Fang!” He screamed setting his hand on fire and did a swiping motion down towards the defenseless Ghalgeth sending him to the ground.

“Hohoho this is going to so much fun! I haven’t had a good fight in years!” Ghalgeth said getting back up dodging a swift kick towards the head as he grabbed his legs and threw Natsu in the air. “Glacier Smash!” As he said that a huge block of ice formed above his head slamming him down to the ground breaking the ice in the process.

Getting up from the rubble Natsu brushed off the pieces of ice that stuck on him and set his body on fire. “Fire Dragon’s Sword Horn!” Dashing towards Ghalgeth, Natsu did headbutt to him in the stomach destroying his chest armor and sending him back. But Ghalgeth retaliated grabbing hold of the boy who embedded himself in his stomach and picked him up ready to smash his head to the ground. Natsu acted quickly doing a flame-enhanced axe kick to the head of Ghalgeth as he letting him go.

Backing away, Natsu tried to think of a strategy. ‘Damn, he’s using his size and strength against me I need to stay back and do long rage attacks and try to get up close when his guard is down.’Getting out of his train of thought as Ghalgeth send a wave of ice towards him, he jumped to the right getting away from the attack and sucked in a lot of air making his chest swell. “Fire Dragon’s Roar!” Natsu sent a huge wave of fire to the unsuspecting Ghalgeth as he was sent back trying to regain his balance.

‘Tsk, this boy is using his speed and agility against me. How am I supposed to counter that if he just hits and runs?’ Ghalgeth thought, finding his footing again. “Whatever, at least the boy knows how to use his head in a fight.Avalanche!” Ghalgeth yelled sending another wave of ice and snow to the still airborne Natsu as he put his arms up to block while being sent back to the runes wall.

“Time to test out something new.Flame DragonGodmode!” Natsu yelled out covering his arms in black and red fire dashing towards Ghalgeth as he was about to do counter attack but was shocked when he stopped ten feet in front him. “Flame DragonGod’s Implosion!” Natsu smashed his arms together creating a giant contained explosion that burned Ghalgeth who was inside of it. “Ha! it worked!”

“Don’t celebrate now boy! The fight isn’t over. Now it’s my turn,Absolute Zero!” Ghalgeth shouted as a huge blueMagic Circleformed above the arena encompassing the whole place in ice as it froze everything except himself. “You have put up a great fight lad, but no one has been able to break out of that ice.”

As he said this the thick ice that covered Natsu whole was cracking and a few moments later, a fiery eruption came from Natsu as he looked at Ghalgeth with a big shit-eating grin.

“Unbreakable ice you say? Well, sorry Ghal but I’ve been known to do the impossible!” Natsu charged at Ghalgeth covering his hands in black and red fire. “Flame DragonGod’s Explosive Fist!” He jumped high punched downward towards Ghalgeth’s face who put his arms in defense. When the attack met with his arms it created a crater underneath Ghalgeth who punched Natsu back, sending him flying.

“Flame DragonGod’s Ignition!” Natsu yelled as fire came from his elbows and boosted him forward at fast speeds to Ghalgeth who encased his right hand in ice. Natsu and Ghalgeth’s attacks connected but with Natsu’s enhanced punch getting overtaken by the sheer amount of force from Ghalgeth, sending him to the ground.

“Glacier Smash!” Ghalgeth shouted forming a giant mound of ice over the downed Natsu and brought it down on him.

‘Crap gotta move!’ Natsu thought when the giant ice crashed down on him creating an uprise of debris to cloud Ghalgeth’s vision. Sending a pulse of magic to blow the dust away he looked around to see Natsu unharmed by the attack and lightning crackling around him. ‘Wow Igneel’s training did work, I can switch myDragon modesinstantly. Now let’s put it to the test!’

“Impressive Natsu, you truly are worthy to be Sirzechs’ pawn. Now that the warm-up is over let’s start the real thing!” Ghalgeth yelled excitedly as his magic swelled up showing snow and ice swirling around him.

‘You gotta be kidding me right? He still has this much energy left? Well better get serious too!’Natsu thought impressed with Ghalgeth’s strength as he too flared his magic energy as lighting and fire covered his body. “Let’s do this!Lightning Flame Dragon’s Brilliant Flame!” He yelled bringing down a huge torrent of fire and lightning.

“Avalanche!” Ghalgeth shouted creating a wave of snow matching in intensity as the two magic attacks fought for dominance but none of them came out on top, creating a giant explosion sending both of them flying back. “Hailstorm!” Ghalgeth yelled being the first to recover bringing down a barrage of huge ice mounds to where Natsu was before.

“Lightning Flame Dragon’s Firing Hammer!” Natsu screamed getting out of the ice attack with a few bruises sending a wave of lightning and fire towards Ghalgeth who just put up an ice wall. “Flame DragonGod’s Scything Horn!” Natsu yelled switching modes and covered himself in the black and red fire dashing towards Ghalgeth as he did a move similar to hisFire Dragon’s Sword Hornbut was spinning at fast speeds like a drill breaking through the thick ice wall and hitting Ghalgeth who was sent flying back but recovered quickly.

“Ice pillars!” Ghalgeth yelled in frustration as giant spiked pillars of ice were protruding from the ground trying to impale Natsu as he dodged swiftly. The battle went on for hours but anyone with keen eyes saw that Ghalgeth had the upper hand.

“Gah!” Natsu screamed getting hit by hisHailstorm. Panting Natsu tried to think of a strategy. ‘I can’t keep doing this! Everything I hit him with just doesn’t effect him, it’s like his skin is a piece of armor alone!’

“Natsu listen you can’t beat him without usingDragon Force.” Igneel said interrupting Natsu’s train of thought.

‘Igneel! What are you talking about, I don’t know how to useDragon Force!’Natsu thought in a hurry dodging more of Ghalgeth’s attacks.

“What do you think the training for!? Listen you have to look deep within yourself and find your inner Dragon. Once you do let it out and go on a rampage! You heard what Ghalgeth said, you can do as much damage as you want!” Igneel smirked when he felt the change in his son’s magic.

“Heh, you’re right Igneel I just gotta let loose!” Natsu yelled to himself as hisMagic Powerincreased dramatically, causing the heat to rise melting the surrounding the ice shocking Ghalgeth.

‘This boy truly is incredible. I’m glad I got to meet you Natsu but it seems you want to end the fight as well!’ Ghalgeth said raising his power even more like Natsu, getting ready for the finishing attack. Natsu’s appearance as Ghalgeth saw was changing with his skin forming lines like scales, his already sharp teeth growing and his hair getting more wild and spikier.

“Fire Dragon’s Secret Art: Crimson Lotus-Exploding Flame blade!” Natsu screamed sending all the power he had into this attack as golden flames were shooting towards Ghalgeth who also had an attack ready.

“Eternal Ice Age!” Ghalgeth yelled swinging his arms back and bringing them forward again shooting a large torrent of ice that collided with Natsu’s golden fire. The result of the two enormous magic attacks colliding which caused a brilliant light to cover the arena as the attacks shook the whole castle. When the light finally died down you can see a silhouette standing above a beaten one. As the dust died down Ghalgeth was the standing over an unconscious Natsu, but was very beaten and bloody with burn marks all over his body.

“You truly are a Dragon’s son… Natsu Dragneel. You will rise to the top in no time at the pace you’re going.” Ghalgeth said smiling. “Rosette! Make sure Natsu gets medical treatment! I want it so that no one can tell we even had this fight!” He called for the same maid that escorted Natsu down the hall as she picked him up and teleported in a flash of light. ‘Now I just gotta wait till I’m all fixed up too.’

3 days later:

Natsu awoke to see that he was in the same bed as last time. Groaning as he got up he remembered what happened during the fight and realized he lost. Frowning at his defeat he got over pretty quickly just deciding to train harder. Once again getting up and finding his clothes all fixed he took off his robed and put his original clothing back on.

Walking to the door Natsu opened it only to see the same maid again. ‘What a strange case of Deja vu.’

“Oh, Natsu-sama, I didn’t know you have awakened. I just came here to check on you.” Rosette said.

‘Okay, major case a Deja vu!’ Natsu thought. “Oh hello, uh… I actually never caught your name. Can you tell me what it is?”

“My apologies Natsu-sama, my name is Rosette. Now would you like to eat breakfast with Ghalgeth?” She asked Natsu who grinned in response.

“Hell Yeah! Man, fighting Ghal sure takes a lot out of you! By the way, you can just take out the ‘sama’ out of my name please, makes me feel like I’m some sort of important person.” Natsu said scratching his head.

“Oh but you are Natsu-sama. You will be Sirzechs-sama’s Pawn not too long from now so I need to show you the utmost respect.” Rosette said bowing.

“Ah come on, can’t we just be friends? How ’bout this, you can this still call me ‘Natsu-sama’ and I can call you… Rose, hpw about that?” Natsu asked as Rosette blushed at being called a new name and just noded. Following Rosette to the dining hall, Natsu drooled at smelling the food and ran towards the door kicking them down, only to see Ghalgeth smiling at him with the table filled with food.

“Hahahaha Natsu my boy! I’m glad to see you are alright! Now come and eat with me, friend!” Ghalgeth shouted enthusiastically as the two participated in another eating contest that sent food flying everywhere as Rosette just sweat-dropped at their childish actions.

“Whew, this is the life~.” Natsu said satisfied as his stomach was huge like a balloon.

“Ahh, ” Ghalgeth sighs burping. “Natsu, I was wondering how long you can stay here. And for your reference, you were out for 3 days.”

“Uh well, Zechs said I have a whole month so I guess I have like… 2 days left.” Natsu answered.

“Hahahaha that’s great! Now I can have fun with my new friend before he leaves.” Ghalgeth said happily getting a shout of approval from Natsu. So for the last two days, the two friends fought, battled, joked and laughed with Rosette, unfortunately, being in the middle of it. Natsu at the end of it considered Ghalgeth to be his new rival and of course Ghalgeth agreed with it saying, “I will not lose this battle of superiority!”.

Also during the two-day period Natsu found out he can now use his modes freely without feeling any exhaustion while can changing between them instantly and can go into stage oneDragon Forcebut for only a half an hour.

“Ok Ghal, Rose, see you guys soon!” Natsu said waving them good bye.

“See you Natsu-sama.” Rosette said surprisingly having the smallest of smiles on her face.

“Hahahaha see you again my friend!”Ghalgeth yelled as tears run down his face comically. So in a flash of light Natsu was gone heading towards the Gremory Household via Magic.