DW DXD Chapter 105 A Hunt for a Wyvern? Part 2 (Patreon)

The Blizzardvern roared as it lowered its armored head as it charged straight down the center of the field.

Natsu meanwhile rolled his shoulders, sheer excitement practically radiating off him in waves. "Lucy! Happy!" Bright, furious flames ignited around both of his fists, sending thick clouds of white steam rolling across the frozen terrain. "Don't jump in!"

Lucy stared at his back in absolute, incredulous disbelief. "You think you need to tell me that?!"

"Aye!" Happy shouted, already beating his little wings in rapid reverse with Lucy toward the outer perimeter of the field. "We're going to be very supportive from all the way over here!"

Natsu let out a booming laugh. "Good! This one's mine!"

Neither Lucy nor Happy had the slightest intention of arguing. Akitsu had described the Blizzardvern as powerful, but hearing a description while sipping tea in a luxurious mansion was a world away from seeing a multi-ton, dragon-like apex predator charging directly at your face.

 It was utterly massive as its muscular shoulders stood well above Natsu's head, its armored frame stretched several meters from its horned snout to the tip of its heavy, spiked tail, and every violent footfall shook the subterranean bedrock beneath their boots. Magical frost poured off its scales like a freezing mist, instantly converting the fertile soil and Mount Hakobe Herbs beneath its talons into solid ice.

Lucy had faced more than her fair share of nightmarish enemies, enough to know that she could instantly recognize the terrifying gulf between an ordinary beast and an S-Rank threat. One look at the wyvern’s staggering magical aura was enough to tell her that stepping in would accomplish little beyond turning herself into a secondary target.

The Blizzardvern then closed the remaining distance in a fraction of a second, but Natsu didn't flinch. The wyvern dipped its head at the last moment, aiming its massive, crown-like horns directly at the Dragon Slayer's chest to impale him.

At the absolute last possible millisecond, Natsu's grin sharpened into a razor edge as he leaped above the beast.

The Blizzardvern thundered directly beneath him, its razor-sharp horns missing his chest by a hairsbreadth. Natsu flipped forward cleanly over its head, roaring dragon fire erupting around his right fist as he twisted his entire body midair.

"FIRE DRAGON'S IRON FIST!" His flaming punch crashed directly into the side of Blizzardvern's skull with a thunderous BOOM!

A massive shockwave of orange fire exploded across pale scales, the sheer brute force driving the wyvern's heavy head violently sideways. The beast’s colossal body skidded through the field, its heavy claws carving four deep trenches through the icy earth as shattered herbs and frozen soil showered the area.

Natsu landed cleanly in a low crouch, sweeping his arm back. "Gotcha!"

Slowly and terrifyingly, the Blizzardvern's head turned back toward him. As the residual flames died away, Natsu’s eyes widened slightly as there wasn't even a scorch mark on its white scales.

Natsu blinked, his smile faltering for a split second. "...Huh."

Blizzardvern's massive, spiked tail whipped around like a steel cable.

WHAM!

"NATSU!" Lucy screamed.

The Dragon Slayer became an instantaneous projectile as he blasted backward across the field, obliterating three ice pillars before slamming back-first into a massive, ice-covered boulder hard enough to shatter the stone into a dozen jagged boulders.

Happy winced, covering his eyes with his paws. "Oof... that's gotta hurt."

Before the dust could even settle, the mountain of rubble violently exploded outward. Natsu emerged from the debris, wiping a line of blood from his mouth as he burst into a booming, delighted laugh. "HAHAHA! MAN, YOU ARE STRONG!"

Lucy stared at him, clutching her head. "Why does that make you happy?!"

The Blizzardvern then answered with a furious, echoing roar, unfurling its enormous, leathery arm-like wings. A gale-force wave of icy wind blasted across the cavern, bending the entire herb field nearly flat. The wyvern expanded its chest, inhaling deeply as intense frost rapidly gathered around its jagged jaws, condensing into a swirling, unstable sphere of pale blue energy.

Natsu's eyes lit up with instant recognition. "Oh!" He threw his arms wide and inhaled a massive breath. "FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!"

The Blizzardvern quickly unleashed its icy attract at the exact same moment. A massive, swirling torrent of orange dragon fire collided head-on with a roaring cyclone of dense ice and snow right in the middle of the field.

The center of the cavern completely vanished behind a blinding explosion of superheated steam. Flame shoved violently against frost, boiling frozen air into vapor while the wyvern's magic continuously froze the expanding moisture back into jagged, lethal shards. The two breaths struggled for dominance, outputting massive kinetic shockwaves that ripped entire beds of herbs out of the ground and sent refrigerator-sized chunks of ice flying in every direction.

Lucy immediately ducked behind a thick, icy pillar, grabbing Happy and pulling him down beside her. "This is insane!" She yelled over the deafening roar.

Happy peeked his blue head over the edge of the pillar. "Aye!"

The deadlocked balance suddenly shattered. Blizzardvern's arctic breath surged forward with terrifying force, making Natsu's eyes widen just a second before his fire was completely overwhelmed.

BOOOOOOM!

A massive, jagged fortress of solid ice exploded upward, completely engulfing the Fire Dragon Slayer.

"Natsu!" Lucy shot upright, her heart dropping into her stomach. For one terrible second, she saw nothing except a towering pillar of pale-blue ice where Natsu had been standing. Then, spider-web cracks snaked across the surface as a brilliant, blinding orange light burst through from within.

CRACK!

The entire frozen structure exploded outward into fine powder as Natsu erupted from the core, bright, wild flames swirling around his limbs. He landed hard, sliding backward ten feet as he dug his fingers deep into the ground to anchor himself. Frost coated his bare arms and chest, his breath billowed in thick white clouds, and several shallow cuts bled along his skin where the ice shards had grazed him, yet his grin was wider than ever.

The Blizzardvern glared at him as a distant memory stirred, of once battling another human who commanded the power of fire.

Natsu stared right back, his dark eyes burning with pure excitement.

The Blizzardvern then lowered its center of gravity, spreading its wings to their absolute limit as raw magical power surged violently across the crystalline spikes lining its spine. It officially recognized that the small human standing before it was no longer mere prey. It was an equal.

Natsu slammed his fists together with a heavy thud, roaring orange flames erupting upward into a towering pillar as he unleashed his Fire Dragon Slaying Magic. "That's right," Natsu said, his voice dropping into a low, confident growl. "Come on!"

Blizzardvern launched itself forward with a deafening screech while Natsu sprinted directly into a head-on charge to meet it.

The second collision shook the entire subterranean cavern to its core.

Blizzardvern swiped a colossal foreclaw downward in a blinding arc. Natsu twisted his torso mid-sprint, the razor-sharp talons missing his nose by millimeters and ripping deep trenches through the rock. Without missing a beat, he leaped onto its hindleg, sprinted straight up the creature's armored limb, and drove a flaming, iron-hard knee directly into the underside of its jaw!

The wyvern's massive head snapped upward with a crack of bone on scales. But before Natsu could capitalize with a follow-up strike, one enormous, heavy wing swept sideways like a battering ram, swatting him straight out of the air.

Natsu hit the frozen earth hard, rolled across the dirt, and immediately sprang back onto his feet. He ducked beneath the creature's snapping, fanged jaws, gathering intense, swirling heat around his right leg. "FIRE DRAGON'S TALON!"

His spinning kick struck Blizzardvern's massive neck with enough sheer kinetic force to send a visible shockwave rippling across the entire field!

The wyvern stumbled back several paces, but abruptly snapped its wings open and beat them once with tremendous force. The resulting gale of freezing wind launched Natsu flying backward through the air. He flipped cleanly through the haze, landing firmly on both feet as his sandals slid three meters through the damp soil.

The Blizzardvern threw its head back and roared and Natsu threw his head back and roared right back at it.

Lucy, watching from behind the crystal pillar, slowly lowered the golden Celestial Gate key she had instinctively drawn from her belt. A sudden realization hit her. Natsu hadn't dragged them out to this frozen wasteland merely to beat Blizzardvern into submission. Tamamo had made it crystal clear back at the mansion that a true Familiar Contract required the creature's genuine acceptance. And surprisingly enough Natsu had actually listened to that part as he was currently communicating through battle. He understood people through the clash of fists and wills. Some of his absolute deepest friendships had been forged in the middle of a brutal fight. If he wanted an apex predator like the Blizzardvern to accept him as a partner, Natsu was going to prove his worth in the only language he truly trusted.

Happy smiled softly, the exact same realization dawning on him. "Natsu's having a blast."

Lucy watched as Natsu narrowly dodge a deadly barrage of ice spears before sprinting at full speed straight up a vertical frozen wall, vaulting off it, and launching himself straight toward Blizzardvern's exposed back.

"Of course he is," She muttered, a tiny, fond smile fighting its way through her exasperation.

Natsu landed squarely between the wyvern's massive shoulders, grabbing hold of one of its thick, crystalline dorsal spikes with both hands. "HAHAHA! GOT YOU NOW!"

Blizzardvern's reptilian eyes dilated in sudden panic.

Lucy immediately saw the fatal flaw in his brilliant plan. "Oh no."

The wyvern began thrashing violently.

"NATSU, YOU IDIOT!"

Blizzardvern rocketed straight up into the cavern's high ceiling, Natsu's ecstatic laughter echoing off the walls as he clung for dear life to its back. "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Happy's eyes sparkled with awe. "Whoa... that actually looks super fun!"

"NO IT DOESN'T!" Lucy shrieked.

Blizzardvern shot across the vast chamber like a missile, twisting and barrel-rolling violently through the air in a desperate bid to throw the stubborn Dragon Slayer off. Natsu held on with pure stubbornness, his body whipping wildly from side to side as the wyvern wove between giant hanging stalactites. It smashed through upper ice formations, pulled into a sharp, vertical climb toward the glowing ceiling, and then suddenly folded its wings flat and plunged into a terrifying, terminal-velocity nosedive straight toward the ground.

Natsu's face went a shade of nauseous green, but his toothy grin refused to vanish.

Just fifty feet above the deck, the Blizzardvern pulled out of the dive and executed a violent midair twist. The sudden torque finally broke Natsu's grip as he went flying off its back, skidding twenty feet across the dirt before plowing face-first into a dense patch of frosted herbs.

Dead silence fell over the cavern.

Happy slowly raised one paw, wincing slightly. "Aye... I guess the Blizzardvern takes round one."

From deep within the patch of crushed blue leaves, a muffled, muddy voice growled out: "I'm not done yet!"

Blizzardvern landed on the opposite side of the field with a bone-jarring impact, unfurling its massive wings and letting out a triumphant, echoing roar of dominance.

Natsu then pushed himself upright. Black dirt covered his face, shattered leaves were stuck in his messy pink hair, and his vest was left half-shredded yet the fierce fire burning in his eyes hadn't diminished in the slightest. If anything, his wild grin slowly stretched even wider.

Blizzardvern lowered its armored head, its broad chest heaving as its enormous blue eyes locked onto Natsu with total focus. Frost rolled from its nostrils in thick, rhythmic clouds, its talons dug deep into the frozen earth, and its crystalline wings remained half-spread, perfectly poised to strike or defend.

Natsu recognized that posture instantly. He had seen it in the eyes of every great rival and formidable opponent he had ever faced.

Flames slowly curled back around Natsu's knuckles, heat shimmering off his body. "Heh. You're finally taking me seriously, aren't ya?"

Blizzardvern answered by throwing its head back and releasing a thunderous, earth-shaking roar. A tidal wave of raw, unbridled magical energy erupted from its body, rippling across the entire chamber in a visible ring of pale blue force. The temperature within the cavern plummeted so violently and abruptly that Lucy gasped, frost instantly creeping across her thick coat, cheeks, and eyelashes.

Even Natsu's fierce flames visibly shrank against the sudden, unnatural chill. But the Blizzardvern wasn’t done as it slammed both of its massive hindclaws into the ground. Jagged, colossal spires of solid ice erupted outward from the impact point, surging across the field like a rapidly expanding forest of lethal frozen spears!

"Natsu!" Lucy screamed over the grinding sound of shattering rock.

But he was already moving as instead of retreating, Natsu sprinted directly toward the oncoming destruction. He weaved effortlessly between the first wave of rising spears, launching himself cleanly onto the flank of an ascending ice pillar. His sandal struck the slick, vertical surface, he pushed off with explosive force, landed on a second pillar, then a third, turning the Blizzardvern's area-of-effect attack into a custom staircase to rush the sky.

"Whoa!" Happy cheered from behind the crystal pillar. "Look at him go!"

Natsu launched himself off the peak of the highest pillar, jet-propulsion flames exploding from the soles of his feet to launch him forward like a comet. "FIRE DRAGON'S BRILLIANT FLAME!" He brought both of his blazing hands together, releasing a massive, concentrated sun of fiery destruction directly above Blizzardvern's head.

The resulting detonation completely swallowed the giant wyvern in a towering inferno of crimson fire. A wave of scorching heat blasted across the chamber, instantly evaporating the frost that had formed over Lucy and Happy and forcing them to shield their eyes from the blinding glare.

Natsu skidded across the dirt fifty feet past the blast zone, breathing heavily as he turned to watch the thick, dark smoke rise into the high ceiling.

"That... that had to do something, right?" Lucy murmured, her hands tightly clasped.

Happy nodded emphatically. "Aye! That was huge!"

A deep, vibrating growl echoed from the core of the smog.

With a violent snap, two gigantic, pale wings blew outward from within the smoke screen, scattering ash, fire, and vapor in every direction. The Blizzardvern stepped forward, its scales steaming heavily. Several sections of its dense armored hide were noticeably scorched, and a distinct, blackened mark finally marred the pale scales along the left side of its thick neck.

Natsu's dark eyes instantly lit up like fireworks. "YES!"

Lucy stared at him in utter disbelief. "Why are you celebrating?! You barely scratched the thing!"

"Because that means I can hurt it!" Natsu shouted back, his voice bursting with joy.

Blizzardvern clearly arrived at the exact same realization from the opposite perspective. Its reptilian pupils narrowed into razor-thin slits, its posture shifting into a predatory, lethal stance.

Lucy slowly pressed her palm to her forehead, letting out a long, long groan. "...And now you've gone and made it angry."

Then Blizzardvern quickly surged forward with terrifying speed. Natsu barely had time to cross his arms before the creature's colossal head slammed into him like a battering ram, driving him backwards. His sandals tore twin deep trenches through the icy dark soil as he reached up, grabbing both of Blizzardvern's jagged, icy horns in a desperate attempt to halt its momentum through sheer brute force.

"Ghhhh—!" Natsu grunted, his biceps bulging and muscles straining as the massive wyvern continued to push him back foot by foot. The frozen ground cracked under his heels.

Blizzardvern snarled, digging its talons into the dirt to double the pressure. Natsu's dark eyes widened as he realized he was losing the contest of pure strength, but then his bruised face relaxed into a sudden, mischievous smirk.

"Man, you're pretty strong," he muttered, steam rising from his arms. Flames erupted violently around his hands, traveling straight up Blizzardvern's horns. "But let me show you how a Dragon Slayer fights!"

Natsu abruptly stopped resisting. He dropped his weight and slid cleanly beneath the wyvern's lunging head, letting the beast's own massive momentum carry it forward over him.

Rolling seamlessly between its heavy forelegs, Natsu popped upward right underneath its exposed chest and drove both feet upward into its armored underside.

"FIRE DRAGON'S TALON!" The explosive, fire-fueled kick lifted Blizzardvern's heavy front half straight off the ground. Natsu landed smoothly on his feet, spun on his heel, and immediately followed up with a roaring, flaming punch directly against its ribs. Then another. And another. Each impact produced a booming shockwave that echoed like cannon fire as Natsu hammered relentlessly against the exact same cluster of scales.

Blizzardvern roared in pain, sweeping one massive claw downward to swat him away, but Natsu ducked under the swipe. Its second claw lashed out from the opposite side, which Natsu vaulted cleanly over it, twisted midair, and drove a spinning back-kick across the wyvern's jaw.

The beast’s heavy, spiked tail came whipping around from behind like a ball-and-chain, but Natsu had been waiting for it. He spun, opening both arms, and caught the tail directly against his chest. The kinetic force dragged him several meters sideways across the slick ground, but his grip held fast.

"GOTCHA!" Natsu roared.

Before Lucy could even begin to process what he intended to do, Natsu planted his feet firmly into the earth, threw his head back, and began to pull.

Blizzardvern’s reptilian eyes dilated in sheer, unadulterated shock.

"There is no way..." Lucy whispered, her jaw dropping.

Natsu's back muscles surged as he twisted his entire frame, leveraging his low center of gravity against the wyvern's immense weight. The enormous creature stumbled sideways, losing its footing. Natsu kept spinning.

"AAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Blizzardvern's claws tore deep, useless grooves through the dirt as the absolute impossible happened: Natsu swung the multi-ton Ice Wyvern off its feet, spinning it around by its tail. Once! Twice! On the third blistering rotation, he let go.

Blizzardvern flew straight across the massive cavern, crashing violently into a soaring wall of solid blue ice. The impact sent a web of massive, spiderwebbing fractures rippling through the rock and ice overhead.

Happy’s jaw hung open. "Natsu just... threw a dragon."

Lucy stared blankly at the smoking crater. "Of course he did."

The shattered ice wall exploded outward with a roar as Blizzardvern charged right back out of the rubble, scales gleaming.

"AND OF COURSE THAT DIDN'T STOP IT!" Lucy shrieked.

Natsu threw his head back in a laugh and sprinted headlong toward the beast once more.

What followed ceased to resemble a tactical battle and descended into a glorious, brutal clash of pure stubbornness. Blizzardvern bit, clawed, rammed, and battered Natsu with its armored wings and tail while attempting to impale him with multiple ice attacks, while Natsu answered with a relentless barrage of fists, kicks, elbows, Dragon Slayer fire, and an seemingly endless well of endurance.

When Blizzardvern slammed him into the frozen dirt, Natsu grabbed its hind leg and hauled himself right back to his feet. When Natsu struck its jaw hard enough to stagger the massive beast, Blizzardvern retaliated by whipping a heavy, winged arm directly into his chest. The surrounding field was systematically demolished as rare magical herbs were scattered to the wind, giant crystal formations were pulverized into glittering dust, and huge slabs of frozen earth cracked beneath their violent impacts.

Lucy and Happy were forced to continuously retreat toward the far cavern wall as the blast zone expanded. At one point, Blizzardvern unleashed another sweeping stream of freezing breath, and Natsu countered with a full-powered Fire Dragon's Roar. The elemental clash triggered a massive explosion of scalding steam that completely blinded both fighters.

Blizzardvern used the whiteout to strike from the flank, but Natsu's honed senses caught the sudden shift in air pressure a split-second before impact. He ducked under the snapping jaws, rose on his toes, and drove a fierce flaming uppercut right into the wyvern's chin.

"He's completely adapting to its tempo," Lucy realized aloud, her eyes locked on the fray.

She had watched Natsu fight enough times to recognize his pattern. At the start of a brawl, he threw himself in headfirst, recklessly testing his opponent's limits through direct force. But the longer a fight lasted, the deadlier his instincts became. He had stopped trying to overwhelm Blizzardvern's breath head-on. He was actively dodging the tail counter-attacks instead of letting them catch him off guard. He had identified that the wyvern's thickest armor covered its back and head, so his strikes were now ruthlessly targeting the softer tissue beneath its joints and its underbelly.

But the Blizzardvern was evolving its strategy, too. It had learned that raw cold wouldn't douse the Fire Dragon Slayer's inner heat, so it began concentrating its magic into dense, piercing attacks. It kept its lower body guarded after charging. Whenever Natsu tried jumping for its spine again, the wyvern immediately flared its wings to throw him off balance before he could anchor himself.

"They're actively reading each other..." Lucy muttered softly.

Happy beamed, his tail swishing behind his green coat. "Aye! They're getting along!"

Lucy slowly turned her head toward him, her eyebrows drawn together. "Happy, they are literally beating each other senseless."

"That's how Natsu makes all his best friends! With the exception of you, of course!"

Lucy opened her mouth to argue, paused, and slowly closed it. "...I hate how right you are."

Eventually, the two combatants broke apart, creating distance.

Natsu stood on the ruined edge of the battlefield, hunched slightly forward as he drew heavy, ragged breaths. A thin line of blood trickled down from a cut above his left eyebrow, his vest hung in scorched tatters, and deep bruises mottled his arms and torso. Frost clung stubbornly to his shoulders despite the heat radiating off his skin.

Across the field, Blizzardvern was far from untouched. Several patches of its dense azure scales were scorched black, one of the crystalline spikes along its spine was snapped clean off, and its chest heaved with heavy, labored breaths. The wyvern shook its massive head, scattering frost, and stared at Natsu with a mixture of rising respect and fierce irritation.

Natsu wiped the blood from his brow with the back of his hand, looking straight into the monster's icy eyes.

"Man, you are awesome!" Natsu panted, a wide, genuine grin spreading across his face. The wyvern tilted its head slightly, confused. "Seriously! You're super tough, your ice is crazy strong, and you can fly!" Natsu raised his fists again, flame sparking off his knuckles. "You're exactly what I was hoping to find down here! I want you to join me!"

Blizzardvern blinked once, lowered its head, and let out a deafening roar right into his face.

Natsu's white scarf blew straight back in the arctic draft, but his toothy grin only grew wider. "HAHAHA! YEAH! I like you too!"

Lucy covered her face with one gloved hand. "I am ninety-nine percent sure that is not what it just said."

Suddenly, the Blizzardvern unfurled its massive wings to their fullest extent.

Surging magical power pulsed through its body, but this time, it didn't lunge. A violent cyclone of sub-zero wind erupted around the beast, drawing in loose ice, snow, and crushed minerals from every corner of the vast cavern. The ambient temperature plummeted to a terrifying degree, the remaining herbs instantly froze solid, and the floor disappeared beneath a rapidly thickening sheet of white snow.

Natsu's grin slowly faded into intense concentration as he felt the crushing weight of the magic gathering across the field. This wasn't just another elemental attack; Blizzardvern was channeling every drop of its remaining strength into a single, devastating ultimate strike.

Lucy felt the suffocating magic pressure from across the field, her hand instinctively flying to her key belt. "Natsu...!" she called out, worry sharp in her voice.

Natsu offered a brief glance over his shoulder, shaking his head with a calm, confident smile.

Lucy hesitated. Every rational instinct told her to summon her Spirits and leap in to back him up—the sheer aura coming off the wyvern was making it difficult to breathe. Yet looking at Natsu's steady eyes, she slowly pulled her hand away from her keys. "...You had better win this," she muttered softly.

Natsu's grin flashed back.

Happy pumped his tiny paw into the air. "Kick its butt, Natsu!"

"AYE!" Natsu declared, his voice echoing with absolute resolve.

With a thunderous screech, Blizzardvern thrust its massive wings forward, collapsing the swirling arctic cyclone inward and channeling the entire blizzard into a single, devastating beam of absolute zero that blasted straight toward Natsu!

For a split second, everything became violently silent. Then the entire cavern disappeared beneath a blinding white blizzard.

A colossal torrent of sub-zero ice, razor-sharp snow, freezing wind, and raw, concentrated magical energy erupted toward Natsu. The ground froze solid instantly. Thick sheets of blue ice climbed the rock walls, and the ambient moisture in the air crystallized into lethal needles.

Yet Natsu simply planted his sandals firmly into the earth and drew in a massive breath. Instead of instantly releasing a counter-roar, his dark eyes narrowed into sharp, reptilian slits. Deep crimson flames ignited and swirled rapidly throughout his body. The temperature around Natsu surged wildly upward—his fire darkening into a deep, dense crimson as he tapped directly into the true strength Igneel had passed down to him.

Lucy's eyes widened from across the field as she instantly recognized the shift in his magic. "Natsu..."

The catastrophic arctic wave slammed forward.

But Natsu’s burning eyes snapped open. "FIRE DRAGON KING'S—" The bedrock beneath his boots shattered into dust. "—ROOOOOOOOOAR!"

An enormous, blinding sun of pure infernal fire erupted from his mouth.

Fire and ice collided head-on, and the resulting explosion was nothing short of apocalyptic. The entire subterranean cavern flashed pure, agonizing white.

Lucy grabbed Happy by his coat, throwing her body over him behind a massive, solid ice pillar just as the shockwave ripped across the chamber. The remaining crop of herbs was flattened instantly. Massive stalactites shattered from the ceiling like fragile glass. Superheated steam exploded outward so violently that visibility vanished in a fraction of a second, and the cavern violently shuddered as though Mount Hakobe itself were collapsing.

For nearly thirty seconds, Lucy could hear nothing except a high-pitched ringing in her ears. Slowly, the deafening roar of the elemental collision subsided, replaced by the rhythm of dripping water, distant falling rubble, and thick, heavy steam rolling through the devastated field.

"Natsu?" Lucy called out, her voice trembling. No answer came. Her heart shot into her throat. "Natsu!"

Happy flew up from beneath her, beating his wings frantically through the fog. "NATSU!"

Through the dense veil of white steam, a distinct silhouette began to form. Lucy and Happy both let out long, shuddering breaths of relief as Natsu was still standing. His knees were shaking violently, his arms hung loosely at his sides, and thick crusts of frost covered half of his torso, but he was upright.

Across the ruined chamber, another massive silhouette emerged. The Blizzardvern was also standing, too. For several agonizing seconds, neither combatant moved a muscle.

Then, Blizzardvern's massive rear leg buckled. The colossal wyvern dropped heavily onto one knee, its chest heaving.

Natsu grinned weakly, a thin line of steam rising from his lips. "Gotcha..." Then his own legs completely gave out, and he collapsed backward onto his rear with a dull thud. "...Man, I'm completely wiped."

Lucy nearly collapsed onto her knees from sheer relief, shouting through her tears. "YOU ABSOLUTE IDIOT!"

Suddenly, Blizzardvern slowly raised its massive head. The wyvern wasn't done, it could still fight.

Lucy caught the movement immediately. Exhausted or not, an S-Rank monster was still a deadly force. Her hand flew back to her key belt, ready to summon her entire Spirit arsenal if necessary.

But the Blizzardvern didn't attack. Instead, it slowly, painfully pushed itself back up onto its two rear limbs.

Natsu remained sitting on the ground as the massive Ice Wyvern began taking long, heavy strides directly toward him.

Lucy swallowed hard, her pulse racing. "Natsu..."

Without looking back, Natsu held up one open hand, silently asking her to stay put.

Blizzardvern halted directly in front of him, its immense, armored body casting a massive shadow over the bruised Dragon Slayer. Heavy, frosty mist rolled from its nostrils with every labored breath, washing over Natsu's face before dissolving against the heat radiating from his skin.

Slowly, the enormous wyvern lowered its head until one brilliant, reptilian blue eye was level with Natsu's face.

For several long seconds, neither moved. The cavern, which had been thundering with explosions of fire and ice moments prior, fell into absolute, serene silence, broken only by the steady drip of melting frost.

Natsu stared straight into the wyvern's eye without a single trace of fear. Blizzardvern had battered him, frozen him, thrown him through rock, and pushed him hard enough that every muscle in his body burned. Yet there wasn't an ounce of malice or anger in his face. If anything, his eyes held pure, unadulterated admiration.

A broad, genuine smile slowly spread across Natsu's bruised face. "You are seriously strong," He said simply.

There was no wounded pride or posturing behind his words, just the highest, most sincere compliment Natsu knew how to give.

The Blizzardvern stared at him for a beat before letting out a low, vibrating rumble from deep within its chest. Natsu's smile softened, and he slowly reached out his right hand toward the massive creature.

A few meters back, Lucy unconsciously held her breath, her fingers hovering near her keys. The Blizzardvern had stopped attacking, but putting his hand right next to its mouth felt like the exact kind of reckless gamble Natsu would make after surviving a near-death brawl.

Happy, meanwhile, watched with wide, shining eyes as Natsu's palm finally rested gently against Blizzardvern's ice-cold snout.

Nothing bad happened. The wyvern didn't snap its jaws. It didn't growl or pull away. Instead, Blizzardvern's massive blue eye slowly closed as Natsu gently stroked the smooth, frozen scales beneath his palm.

Happy’s face lit up with absolute joy, while Lucy finally released her breath, a soft, relieved smile breaking through her exhaustion. Whatever unspoken understanding had formed between the two during their chaotic fight, it was entirely mutual.

"I wasn't lying earlier," Natsu continued, his usual roaring enthusiasm replaced by a rare, quiet sincerity as his fingers traced the creature's scales. "I came all the way up this mountain because I really want you to be my partner."

The Blizzardvern opened its eyes, looking down at him curiously.

Natsu scratched the back of his neck with his free hand, suddenly looking a little sheepish. "I mean, I know I could've just walked up and asked you without fighting first..." He paused, his expression shifting back into absolute seriousness. "...But man, that would've been super boring!"

"NATSU!" Lucy nearly faceplanted right onto the dirt.

Happy nodded emphatically. "Aye! So boring!"

"DO NOT ENCOURAGE HIS TERRIBLE DECISIONS!"

Natsu completely tuned them out. His focus remained locked on the wyvern. "But hey, you don't have to come with me if you don't want to. Tamamo made that part super clear. She told us the Familiar Contract won't work unless both sides really want it, and I'm not gonna force you into anything." Natsu kept his palm steady against its snout. "If you want to stay in this cave, that's totally cool. But if you come with me..." His eyes sparkled with sudden, vibrant energy. "You'll get to see all kinds of crazy places! You'll be friends with Happy, Lucy, and everyone at Fairy Tail! You'll get to hang out with Issei and Kuromaru again, too. We'll go on adventures every single day, so you won't be stuck sitting around in the dark!" Natsu's grin stretched wide. "And there are tons of super strong guys out there to fight!"

Blizzardvern stared at him silently before slowly turning its massive gaze toward Happy.

The little blue Exceed instantly beamed, waving both paws enthusiastically. "Hi! I'm Happy! I really like fish!"

Blizzardvern blinked once, then shifted its gaze toward Lucy.

Lucy offered a weak, awkward smile, raising one gloved hand. "Um... hi. I'm Lucy. And unlike these two idiots, I promise I'm relatively normal."

Blizzardvern inspected her for several seconds before its attention drifted past all three of them. Its head slowly turned, looking at the completely ruined herb field behind them.

Lucy followed its gaze, her smile instantly evaporating. "...Oh no."

The area looked as if a tornado had collided with a volcano. Thousands of rare Mount Hakobe Herbs had been completely annihilated. Some were incinerated into black ash by Natsu's dragon fire. Others were trapped beneath solid ice blocks from Blizzardvern's attacks. Hundreds had been uprooted by shockwaves, trampled beneath claws, or pulverized into green paste. What was once a pristine ecosystem was now a muddy, scorched wasteland.

Blizzardvern very slowly rotated its head back toward Natsu. Its reptilian blue eye narrowed into a dangerous, razor-thin slit.

Natsu followed its gaze back to the destroyed garden. "...Uh."

A low, menacing growl rumbled from deep inside Blizzardvern's throat.

Cold sweat broke out on Natsu's forehead. "Okay! Hold on!" Natsu threw both hands up defensively. "In my defense, you destroyed a bunch of them too!"

The wyvern's growl deepened, vibrating the ground.

"Natsu, be very careful," Lucy warned in a frantic whisper.

"But don't worry!" Natsu blurted out hurriedly, leaning forward. "I know a place that has way more of these exact same plants!"

The growling abruptly cut off. Blizzardvern tilted its massive head.

Realizing he had hit the jackpot, Natsu enthusiastically gestured with his hands. "Seriously! Issei and Akitsu brought a whole bunch of these herbs back with them! They're growing them at Issei's house right now in a huge garden with all kinds of weird, awesome plants!"

Blizzardvern's crown-like ear spires twitched slightly.

"And that's not even the best part!" Natsu declared, his eyes shining. "There is so much amazing food outside this mountain! Meat! Fish! Rice! Curry! Barbecue! Giant cakes!" He practically began drooling as he listed the menu. "Fairy Tail has tons of food, too! Mira cooks giant feasts, and Issei's family makes insane meals! If you come with us, I'll share all of it with you!"

The wyvern's suspicious glare gradually softened into intrigue. A low, inquisitive rumble escaped its throat.

Natsu nodded frantically. "Yeah! I swear on my honor as a Dragon Slayer!"

Another low rumble echoed from the wyvern.

"Of course I'm serious! I'd never lie about food!"

Lucy blinked, staring in utter disbelief.

Happy tilted his head in wonder. "Wait... can Natsu actually understand what it's saying?"

Lucy watched the two of them carrying on an entire conversation. "...Honestly, Happy? I have no idea."

Apparently, however, Natsu's sheer sincerity and the promise of a glorious, endless buffet, had convinced the Ice Wyvern as it lowered its massive, crown-spiked head once more and gently, firmly pressed its smooth snout right against Natsu's chest.

Natsu stumbled backward a step from the unexpected weight, coughing once before bursting into a booming, delighted laugh. He placed both bare hands against its freezing scales, rubbing them warmly. "Heh! I'll take that as a big fat YES!"

His explosive excitement immediately gave way to a rare moment of deep concentration as he remembered Tamamo’s strict instructions. Natsu took three measured steps backward and took a deep, steadying breath. It was one of those exceedingly rare instances where Lucy could visibly see him forcing his chaotic brain to carefully recall something he'd been taught, rather than relying on his usual combat instincts.

He raised his right hand, focused his magic power, and began constructing the Familiar Contract spell Tamamo had demonstrated for them back at the Hyoudou Mansion.

A radiant, intricate magic circle flared to life beneath Natsu's sandals, while a second, vastly larger crest expanded beneath the wyvern.

Golden-white, ancient symbols emerged out of thin air, rotating slowly through the ambient steam before brilliant, shimmering strands of pure magical energy extended outward, weaving back and forth between human and wyvern. The wyvern tensed briefly as the warm, bound magic enveloped its massive frame, but it didn't resist. Instead, it slowly lowered its heavy eyelids, trusting the bond.

The twin magic circles flashed with blinding brilliance and the contract was accepted almost instantaneously.

Natsu gasped aloud as something entirely new unlocked at the very edge of his consciousness. It wasn't a vocalized voice, nor could he suddenly read every thought passing through the beast's mind as it was far more primal and intuitive than that.

He could feel its presence hovering inside his soul. He felt the heavy ache of its physical exhaustion from their brutal duel. He felt a flickering curiosity toward him. He felt its lingering, petty irritation about the completely ruined field. But beneath all of it was a profound, quiet acceptance, a newly forged bond linking them together across any distance. The Blizzardvern’s eyes snapped open at the exact same moment, looking equally startled as she experienced the spiritual connection from her side. 

The swirling magic circles erupted into a shower of millions of glittering, golden particles before softly dissolving into the cold air.

For one silent heartbeat, Natsu just stood there, staring at his hand.

Then "WE DID IT!" Natsu rocketed five feet into the air, throwing both of his flaming fists straight toward the cavern ceiling.

"AYE!" Happy immediately beat his wings and zoomed toward him.

The two of them collided midair in a ridiculously violent high-five before landing hard on the ground and launching straight into an equally absurd victory dance, holding hands and spinning in circles.

"I GOT A WYVERN!" Natsu cheered at the top of his lungs.

"Natsu got a wyvern!" Happy sang back.

"A REALLY, REALLY STRONG WYVERN!"

"Aye!"

"I'M GONNA RIDE IT EVERYWHERE!"

"Aye!"

"WE'RE GONNA HAVE SO MANY ADVENTURES!"

"AYE!"

The Blizzardvern stood over them, watching the chaotic victory dance with an utterly bewildered, deadpan expression that seemed to openly question whether signing a lifelong contract with this pink-haired fire idiot had been an irreversible error in judgment.

Lucy laughed softly despite herself, leaning against her knees as tears of relief pricked her eyes. After climbing Mount Hakobe, getting hopelessly lost in icy mazes, being repeatedly mauled by the native wildlife, watching Natsu nearly freeze to death, and enduring hours of pure stupidity, seeing him this genuinely happy made the entire nightmare feel strangely, wonderfully worthwhile.

Eventually, Natsu pulled out of his victory spin and froze mid-dance, his eyes wide. "Wait."

Happy stopped beside him, hovering cross-legged. "What is it?"

Natsu slowly turned to face the giant Ice Wyvern, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "We need to give you a name!"

Happy gasped loudly, slapping his paws together. "Aye! It can't just be called 'Blizzardvern' forever!"

Natsu folded his arms, scrunching up his face as he stared at the wyvern with profound, painful concentration. "It has to be something super cool and tough."

Happy raised a paw enthusiastically. "I know, Gray the Second!"

Natsu's face instantly twisted into pure disgust. "NO WAY IN HELL!"

"Why not?!"

"Because my new partner is ten thousand times cooler than dumb, pants-less Gray!" Natsu shouted defensively.

Happy nodded in deep, thoughtful agreement. "That's a very fair point."

Lucy let out a long sigh, pressing a hand to her temple. "You know Gray isn't even here to defend himself from you two, right?"

Natsu completely ignored her. "How about... Icefang?!"

The Blizzardvern stared at him blankly, its tail flicking once.

"Frostfire!"

Zero reaction.

"Hailspike!"

The wyvern's reptilian eye narrowed into a subtle glare.

Happy suddenly thrust both paws into the air. "FISH!"

Lucy stared at the cat in complete disbelief. "Why on earth would you name a terrifying S-Rank monster 'Fish'?!"

"Fish is a noble and delicious name," Happy insisted solemnly.

Natsu snapped his fingers with a loud CLACK! "I got it! Freezer!"

It is then that the Blizzardvern released a low, deeply displeased rumble that vibrated the rocks beneath their feet.

Lucy finally stepped between Natsu and the wyvern, waving her hands defensively. "Okay, everybody stop. All of those names are absolute garbage."

"What?!" Natsu protested, clutching his heart like he'd been struck. "Icefang was awesome!"

"She clearly hates every single one of them," Lucy pointed out.

Natsu and Happy both blinked in unison. "How do you even know that?" Happy asked, tilting his head.

Lucy gestured broadly to the towering beast. "Because she has been looking progressively more annoyed and ready to eat us every single time you two open your mouths!"

Natsu scratched his messy pink hair. "Huh. Maybe he just doesn't like tough guy names."

Lucy sighed softly, throwing her hands up. "Or maybe she doesn't like all the ridiculous, hyper-masculine names you keep trying to slap on her!"

Absolute silence fell over the chamber.

Natsu blinked.

Happy blinked.

Slowly, in perfect synchronization, both of them turned to stare at Blizzardvern's lower half, then turned back to stare at Lucy.

"What do you mean?" Natsu asked, looking genuinely confused.

Lucy stared at him in utter, unadulterated disbelief. "Natsu... The Blizzardvern is a girl."

Natsu's eyes blew out to the size of dinner plates, and Happy's jaw dropped so low it nearly hit the dirt. "EEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!" Their synchronized, ear-splitting shriek echoed off the cavern walls and bounced around the entire mountain.

The Blizzardvern actually recoiled slightly, flattening her ear spires from the sheer, overwhelming volume of their shock.

Natsu immediately sprinted around to the side of the wyvern, aggressively inspecting her scaled flank and legs as if an obvious, glowing label had suddenly manifested. "YOU'RE A GIRL?!"

The Blizzardvern let out a low, warning growl, snapping her tail.

"Natsu!" Lucy snapped, striding over and smacking him on the shoulder. "Don't say it like it's some impossible mystery!"

Happy floated right up to the wyvern's snout, squinting closely. "Man... I really couldn't tell at all."

"Me neither!" Natsu squawked, wringing his hands.

Lucy covered her face with both gloved hands, groaning into her palms. "Of course you couldn't..."

Natsu trotted back around to the front, scrubbing the back of his neck in deep embarrassment. "Okay... okay, fine. Then we need a proper girl name."

"Snowy?" Happy offered helpfully.

"No."

"Icy?"

"No."

"Lady Gray?"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Natsu and Lucy yelled in unison.

Lucy pushed her way past both of them, stepping directly into Glacielle's field of view. "Leave this to me before you two insult her so badly she revokes the contract and freezes us into popsicles."

Lucy then looked thoughtfully up at the Ice Wyvern. Up close, without the terrifying context of a death-match charge, The Blizzardvern was undeniably intimidating, but she also possessed a breathtaking, almost regal beauty that Natsu and Happy's mindless suggestions completely ignored. Her pale, pristine scales shimmered like polished glacial glass beneath the cavern's luminescent crystals, and the deep blue lines tracing the membranes of her massive wings looked just like frozen subterranean rivers.

Lucy offered a warm, gentle smile. "How about... Glacielle?"

The wyvern's head tilted slightly, her intelligent blue eyes locking onto Lucy.

"Glacielle," Lucy repeated softly, her tone melodic. "It sounds like a glacier... but a little more elegant. Fits a queen of Ice."

For several long seconds, the wyvern seemed to weigh the sound of it. Then, Glacielle released a soft, deep rumble of approval, leaning her massive head down to gently nudge against Lucy's shoulder.

Lucy's smile burst wide. "See?"

Natsu immediately punched the air with a bright burst of flame. "GLACIELLE IT IS! AWESOME!"

"Aye! Welcome to Fairy Tail, Glacielle!" Happy cheered, looping around her head.

Glacielle released another pleased, purr-like rumble, settling comfortably onto her front limbs.

Natsu placed his hands proudly on his hips, puffing out his chest as he admired his magnificent new partner. "Alright! We found Glacielle, kicked some butt, made the contract, gave her a kickass name... Now it's finally time to head back home to Fairy Tail!"

He turned on his heel to lead the way and then his broad grin slowly faltered.

Lucy slowly turned in a circle, looking around the massive, ruined chamber while Happy did the exact same thing from midair.

The cavern floor was surrounded by at least two dozen identical, pitch-black tunnel openings. Not a single one looked even remotely familiar, and the thin blue mist was already beginning to settle back over the subterranean labyrinth.

Lucy deadpanned, her voice entirely devoid of life. "And now... we have absolutely no idea how to get back out."

Before an argument could even begin to spiral out of control, Glacielle shifted her weight, slowly lowering her massive frame down into the frozen soil right beside them. She extended one enormous, wing-arm outward like a ramp, glancing over her shoulder toward her broad back with a quiet, expectant look.

The trio instantly fell dead silent.

Happy’s eyes blew open wide. "Wait... does she want us to get on?!"

Natsu's tired face illuminated in an instant. "SERIOUSLY?!"

Lucy, however, immediately stepped closer, her brow furrowing with genuine concern as she looked over the wyvern's battle wounds up close. Several patches of white scales remained heavily scorched from Natsu's fiery assault, one of her thick crystalline dorsal spikes was broken in half, and her chest was still heaving with residual fatigue.

"Wait... are you really sure?" Lucy asked gently, stepping up to the wyvern's snout. "You're hurt, too. You really don't have to carry us all the way."

Glacielle answered with a loud, impatient snort, blowing a small puff of mist over Lucy's bangs.

Through their freshly forged bond, Natsu felt her answer ripple through his mind far clearer than any spoken sentence. She was the apex predator of this mountain, a few scratches weren't going to stop her.

Natsu’s grin stretched ear to ear. "She says she's more than fine."

Lucy looked at him, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. "Did you actually understand her, or are you just making things up?"

"...Kinda both?"

Glacielle snorted loudly a second time, as if confirming it.

Natsu threw his head back and laughed. "See?! Told ya!"

Lucy let out a soft chuckle and shook her head. If Glacielle was confident she could handle the flight, none of them were going to sit there and argue with the only creature who actually knew how to navigate this frozen labyrinth.

Natsu clambered up first, scrambling up her extended wing and settling himself carefully between two large, crystalline ridges along her spine. Lucy climbed up right behind him. Looking down at the steep drop, she realized there was virtually nothing else to hold onto for leverage, so she hesitantly wrapped both arms tightly around Natsu's waist.

Natsu glanced over his shoulder at the sudden, warm contact, but he didn't tease her—he just offered a bright, reassuring grin. Lucy felt a faint blush creep into her cheeks, quickly pressing her face into his scarf to hide it.

Happy zoomed up and squished himself snugly between the two of them.

"Is everybody buckled in?" Natsu shouted enthusiastically.

"Aye!"

"As ready as I'll ever—"

Glacielle moved and her massive, majestic wing-arms snapped fully outward.

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

A single, explosive beat of her wings launched them straight off the subterranean floor.

"AAAAAAAAAAAH!" Lucy shrieked, instantly squeezing her arms around Natsu's waist with enough force to pop a rib.

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Natsu roared at the top of his lungs, pure exhilaration bursting from his chest.

"AYEEEEE!" Happy cheered, his little ears flying backward in the draft.

Glacielle climbed rapidly through the cavernous gloom, her broad wings beating with astonishing power and grace despite her injuries. The devastated field of Mount Hakobe Herbs shrank into a tiny blue dot beneath them within seconds. She banked sharply, executing a breathtaking tilt as she aimed straight toward a massive, hidden tunnel opening carved into the high ceiling—hundreds of feet above the dark, confusing passages Natsu, Lucy, and Happy had been aimlessly stumbling through all day.

Lucy stared up in absolute disbelief. "YOU MEAN THERE WERE TUNNELS IN THE CEILING THE ENTIRE TIME?!"

Natsu laughed over the rushing wind. "Guess that explains why we couldn't find our way in by foot!"

"THAT IS STILL NOT FUNNY!"

Glacielle flew with effortless confidence through the high-altitude shaft. Unlike the endless, winding maze below, she knew every single inch of these caves. She twisted effortlessly between massive hanging stalactites, soared through a sheer vertical throat of solid rock, and zipped through hidden chambers the trio hadn't even realized existed. Several local ice monsters caught sight of her colossal shadow and fled instantly into the deep crevices, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt why Issei and Akitsu’s journey with Kuromaru had been so peaceful.

Then, a distant point of bright orange light pierced through the subterranean darkness ahead.

Happy’s ears perked right up. "Look! Over there!"

The circular opening rapidly expanded into a wide archway of open sky.

Glacielle beat her wings with rhythmic, powerful strokes. In a single, magnificent burst, they shattered the darkness of Mount Hakobe.

Crisp, biting evening air rushed across their faces as the claustrophobic underground world evaporated behind them. Spread out before the trio was a boundless sky, painted in breathtaking shades of deep orange, dusty pink, soft violet, and twilight blue. The setting sun hovered right over the distant horizon, pouring liquid gold across Mount Hakobe's frozen peaks and turning every glacier below into shimmering fields of brilliant, liquid fire.

For once, no one said a single word.

Lucy stared out at the endless horizon in pure, silent wonder, her arms still wrapped securely around Natsu's waist as the cold wind brushed her hair back.

Happy extended his tiny paws outward into the slipstream, his eyes sparkling like stars.

Natsu simply grinned, his dark brown eyes reflecting the brilliant sunset.

Glacielle flared her broad wings, leveling out her flight as she transitioned into a smooth, effortless glide high above the mountain range that had been her domain for so long.

Natsu leaned forward, reaching out to gently pat the cool scales of her long, majestic neck. "Pretty awesome view, huh, Glacielle?"

The Ice Wyvern let out a deep, contented rumble that vibrated through her entire body.

Natsu's toothy grin widened as the evening breeze rushed through his pink hair. He pointed dramatically toward the distant, glowing horizon ahead. "ALRIGHT!" Natsu shouted into the sunset. "NEXT STOP, FAIRY TAIL!"

Done. Tell me what you think and if I made any mistakes.