Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
June, x787.
Nearly six months have passed since Alfonzo, Elicia, Ikaruga, and Irene came to the Village Hidden in the Leaves. In that time, Not much of note took place. One thing to mention, however, was the fact that the Kingdom of Fiore held its first annual Miss Fiore Pageant.
Gathering the most beautiful women from all over the kingdom to compete for the title of the kingdom's most beautiful woman, the citizens of the kingdom found themselves drawn to the spectacle as well.
Unsurprisingly, a number of wizards were among the front runners for the newly created title of Miss Fiore. And there were a certain three who stood among the top of that pyramid. Namely, Mirajane Strauss of Fairy Tail, Karen Lilica of Blue Pegasus, and Jenny Realight, also of Blue Pegasus.
In the end, Mirajane, the most popular model in the continent wide publication, Sorcerer Weekly, ended up taking the title of Miss Fiore x787. However, although the outcome was expected, the result of Mirajane's victory did little more than light a fire under the other competitors, who vowed to surpass her in the coming year.
"*Sigh* I fucking hate this job." Alfonzo grumbled from his seat at the dining room table in his temporary residence in the Village Hidden in the Leaves as he lay a copy of Sorcerer Weekly on the table. "If it wasn't for this god damn job, I would have been there to see Mira win."
"I know what you mean, Fonzie." Elicia, sitting next to Alfonzo at the table, said with a smile as she leaned over and rested her head on Alfonzo's shoulder. "I would have loved to be there, too. But duty calls, as they say."
"*Sigh* I know." Alfonzo replied as he gently closed his eyes and enjoyed the time before he had to leave for work on the training grounds in the village. "Still, I would have liked to be there for her."
"I'm sure Mira understands." Elicia said in a soothing tone. "She'll definitely make sure you make it up to her when we get back, though."
Smiling in response, Alfonzo wrapped an arm around Elicia's waist. At the same time, he placed his free hand on her belly. Then, he began to rub his pregnant wife's belly gently.
"I know." Alfonzo replied. "And I'd be happy to make it up to her."
Smiling in return, Elicia placed her right hand on Alfonzo's. Then, the couple fell into a comfortable silence as they simply enjoyed each other's company.
Meanwhile, as the Marcus couple enjoyed their time, Irene, who had spent very little time with the group was currently seated in her bedroom in the residence. With her eyes closed and a magic staff resting across her lap, she was currently delving into her inner world to speak with the [Spirit] of her [Soul Armament].
At the center of Irene's inner world, Irene sat on a stone throne in the throne room of a large castle at the center of an old city. To those who knew her past, they would recognize the city as capital city of Dragnof, the country Irene ruled before her [Dragonization].
However, unlike the Dragnof of the past, this city and castle were in ruins. The ruined city, nothing more than a memory of a painful past. However, Irene was not alone. Well, not physically, anyway. Because as crazy as it sounded, Irene was carrying on a conversation with an unseen individual.
["I think it is about time you allowed yourself to accept the truth, My Queen."] A deep, masculine voice sounded throughout Irene's inner world. ["I am certain my voice, my presence has allowed you to know my true name months ago."]
"As true as that may be, it doesn't change the fact that accepting you is difficult." Irene replied calmly. Though, if anyone could see her expression, they would know that she was struggling with herself. "Accepting the truth of the matter would mean accepting that my closest and most loyal advisor had been with me all this time. A fact that I was unaware of."
["Tis not your fault, My Queen."] The masculine voice said consolingly. ["Back then, not even I knew of a place so deep within one's mind. Not to mention, I was completely unaware of the small part of myself that had mixed with your soul when you began training [Sage Dragon Slayer Magic]."]
As it turned out, All dragons who taught humans [Dragon Slayer Magic] unknowingly implanted a small portion of their souls into their students. And that part of the dragon's sol is what later became the [Dragon Seed].
At first, this portion of the dragon's soul only facilitated the use of [Dragon Slayer Magic]. However, as the potency of the magic grew, it became obvious that the body of a human was not strong enough to contain the power the magic could output. So, it began slowly mutating the Dragon Slayer into the form most suitable to wield its power.
In the end, the wizard would go through [Dragonization] when their power reached a certain threshold. At the same time, the two sols would assimilate, which was the process that facilitated the transformation into a dragon.
In response to the voice's statement, Irene could only close her eyes. She knew what the voice said was the truth. However, the scars from her past made it hard for her to accept it.
["Another thing you should take note of, My Queen."] The masculine voice continued. ["Should you not find it in yourself to accept my identity, you will never be able to confront the princess and tell her the truth."]
"*Sigh* Yet another troublesome matter." Irene muttered in response. "But all this is moot if the boy's claims are untrue."
That statement was where all of Irene's insecurities were concentrated. In her long life, she had been disappointed far too many times. And should Alfonzo's [Soul Armament] not perform as advertised, she would face yet another disappointment. One that she may never recover from.
Meanwhile, the owner of the masculine voice, after seeing Irene's expression, decided that more drastic measures were in order.
["*Sigh* Perhaps my loyalty was misplaced all those years ago."] The masculine voice said in a tone filled with lament. ["The woman I pledged myself to all those years ago is no longer the woman from the past."]
"Of course I'm not." Irene replied, not even realizing how easily she acknowledged the voice's vow of loyalty from the past. "Everything has changed over the last four hundred years."
["Even so, the woman I pledged my loyalty to was not such a coward."]The voice replied. ["Nor was she so indecisive. How could I have ever pledged myself to a queen like this."]
With every word the voice spoke, Irene could feel her irritation growing. And the fact that it was insinuating that she had become a coward over the centuries was turning her irritation into fury. And by the time the voice's words ended, Irene's magic power had begun to leak, not only in her inner world, but in the physical world, as well.
"Be silent, Belserion." Irene ordered in a cold tone.
Meanwhile, back in the real world, the staff laying across Irene's lap, which was originally a plain staff with a metallic hue, began to shift in form. Now, taking on a beige color as it elongated. Then, one end of the staff split into five protrusions, making the end of the staff resemble a dragon's claw. And finally, the entire staff gained a dragon scale-like pattern.
At the same time, Alfonzo and Elicia's heads snapped in the direction of Irene' s bedroom. While Elicia could only feel the swelling magic power, Alfonzo could also feel the change in Irene's [Soul Armament]. Not to mention, they could both feel the change in Irene's magic power signature.
And the change in Iren's magic power signature was not subtle. From a deep, overwhelming feeling that was similar to, yet not as potent as, Acnologia's to one more similar to Natsu's, Gajeel's, and Wendy's, though on a larger scale.
"She finally did it." Alfonzo said with a smile.
"Yeah, she doesn't feel like a dragon anymore." Elicia said with a happy smile on her face. A moment later, tears began to well up in her eyes. "I'm really happy for her."
As she spoke, Elicia began moving the hand that was resting on Alfonzo's, causing him to rub her belly.
"Even if it's late…" Elicia continued while maintaining her smile as tears began to drip down her face. "… now she can be the mother she never got to be in the past."
Smiling lovingly at his wife, Alfonzo gently removed his hand from Elicia's belly. Then, he tenderly wipe the tears from her face.
"That's right." Alfonzo replied. Then, Alfonzo turned his attention towards the residence's front door. "Before we go and congratulate her, though, I should probably go and tell our landlords there's nothing to worry about."
Meanwhile, back in Ireen's inner world, Irene wore a shocked expression. For as long as she had been able to hear her [Armament Spirit's] voice, she had been denying its true identity, unwilling to speak its name. So, after speaking its name, Belserion, the dragon who taught her [Dragon slayer Magic], when she lost control of her emotions after being called a coward, she could not believe what happened when she regained control.
At the same time, Irene's inner world began to shudder. As it did, the ruins of Dragnof began to levitate, ascending into the sky. Upon levitating, it all moved to a specific point above Ireen. Eventually, the ruins, landscape, and even the throne Irene sat upon were all suspended in the sky, leaving Irene to look up in awe.
At the end of Irene's line of site, the entire floating city began to form itself into the shape of a quadrupedal creature with a large pair of wings. Then, the pieces of Irene's past began smoothing themselves out into a form that she could not be more familiar with. And as they did, the colossal creature started to descend in front of her.
Eventually, the creature, a dragon with beige-colored scales, landed in front of her. And on it's large, draconic face, Irene could see it… no, him… smiling at her. And while staring into his eyes, Irene could see the plethora of emotions she wore on her face.
Relief. Nostalgia. Happiness. Longing. Uncertainty. Those were only a few of the emotions she could gleam in her reflection. Before she could identify anymore, however, the dragon, her [Armament Spirit], Belserion, spoke.
"It is good to see you well, My Queen." Belserion said in a respectful tone.
"Belserion, I…" Irene stuttered, unsure of how she should respond.
"And please, allow me to apologize." Belserion continued while bowing his head. "I truly meant no disrespect with my words. However, I felt that you needed a… 'kick in the rear'… so to speak. Still, I ask for your forgiveness. I will accept any punishment you deem worthy for my transgressions."
Once again, Irene was rendered speechless. However, that speechlessness did not last long. Instead, it was broken by Irene's chuckle. A chuckle that quickly morphed into full-blown laughter. Full-blown laughter that sounded much freer than any laugh she had produced over the last four hundred years.
"You owe me no apologies, my old friend." Irene said, sounding like a totally different person. "It is true that I, indeed, needed that 'kick in the rear.' And as my most loyal retainer… no, friend… I thank you."
Hearing that, Belserion raised his head while his smile widened. However, when he made eye contact with Irene once again, the smile on his face could not help but stiffen.
"Despite the fact that you were in the right with what you did and said, that will not help you escape the punishment you deserve for your disrespect." Irene said while smiling sadistically. "To think you would ever consider implying that I, Irene Belserion, am a coward. Such an act truly deserves a fitting punishment."
Surprised, and a bit frightened, by Irene's demeanor, Belserion took an unconscious step back. Although he knew of Irene's current sadistic personality, he had yet to experience it. And his first experience was leaving him unsure of how to handle the situation.
Meanwhile, Irene's inner world, which had been stripped bare as it formed Belserion's body, was reforming from the blank space it had become. Forming around the two, there was now a large plain. And as time went by, a truly enormous castle was being built, brick by brick. On top of that, the sky was that of night time while a scarlet red full moon hung among the stars as it bathed the plain and rapidly building castle in an eerie, scarlet red hue.
When the castle was finally built, Irene and Belserion found themselves standing in an absurdly large throne room. A throne room whose walls were lined with all sorts of torture instruments, some of which were large enough for use on a dragon.
"My Queen, surely this is too---" Belserion began to say as he took a step back.
"Oh, come now, Belserion." Irene said, her smile morphing into something pleasant as she spoke. "There's no longer any need for such formalities. Please, just call me Irene. Dragnof no longer exists, after all."
With that, Irene took a step forward. And as she did, one of the torture devices on the wall flew from its place before landing in Irene's outstretched hand.
"However, I do believe that you said you would accept any punishment I deemed worthy, did you not?" Irene asked as she continued to walk forward. "You wouldn't be going back on your word, would you?"
"No, of course not, My Queen." Belserion replied while taking another step backwards. "I just---"
"Didn't I already tell you to call me Irene?" Irene asked while tilting her head in a cutesy manner, something she picked up from spending time around Sun.
"Yes, you're right, Irene." Belserion said as he took yet another step back. "I only ask that you show mercy."
"I see." Irene replied with a nod. "I understand. Well then, let's get to the punishment."
It should be known that Irene's inner world was filled with the shouts of a dragon begging for mercy until Alfonzo and Elicia arrived at Irene's bedroom to congratulate her on her newly returned humanity. Unfortunately, that took longer than expected as the shinobi of the Village Hidden in the Leaves were quite worried about the extreme spike in magic power that had just occurred.