"Wha—?" Natsu stared wide eyed at the scene in front of him. A large portion of the forest was destroyed, with some craters and fires still burning the ground. "Don't tell me …"
Natsu turned towards the direction of the Royal Palace. "I can only assume that Kaori and Wanda has been captured."
He can still smell the lingering scent of the two along with thousands of other people he can only assume to be knights.
"I need to go back," if Kaori and Wanda were really captured, it means the Dragon Cry was also taken away,
Natsu can't allow that. The Dragon Cry needs to be brought back and sealed, with no one being able to approach, much less use it.
He could destroy it, but just like the princess said, if he did end up destroying the thing, then all those energy in the staff could be released and could potentially cause mass destruction.
"First, I need to hide the flame."
He can't eat it now. He passed out and screaming in agony for days when he ate the Ten Thousand Beast Flame, if he ate this flame then it would probably be already too late.
Laki was able to come out unscathed and completely fine after receiving the Living Spirit Flame because Atlas Flame owned it and just transferred it to her.
She doesn't have to go through of the process of subduing the flame which could destroy her body inside out.
"Where should I hide this …"
Natsu searched the entire northern forest to find a good place to hide the flame, and came across a ruins —this kingdom really has a lot of ruins— and he decided to hide them there.
He buried it somewhere in the ruins before deciding to hurry back to the castle.
...…
...
…
"Your majesty, we have retrieved the staff." Zash presented the Dragon Cry to King Animus, who was sitting on his throne.
The Three Stars kneeled behind Zash; Swan, Gapri, and the final member Doll — a tall, burly, dark skinned man with green hair in dreadlocks that have stones attached to the ends. He has tribal tattoos across his chest while his attire are light blue tribal half arm sleeves as well as a matching light blue skirt with a skull upon the front.
"…" King Animus observed the staff, "Put it back in the ceremonial hall, and this time, make sure no plebeians would try and get their hands on it."
"Understood, your majesty." Zash nodded solemnly.
"What of the thieves?" Asked Animus.
It was Doll who answered, "We have thrown them in the dungeon, my king. They are now crippled and can no longer pose much of a threat."
"Well done." King Animus nodded in appreciation, "You three return to your duties and make sure Sonya is well protected."
"Understood, your majesty!" The three simultaneously replied.
King Animus turned towards Zash, "And Zash, this time guard the staff well. If the staff was stolen once again, your life won't be enough to pay for that offense."
Zash secretly cursed the king in his heart, but on the outside he remained calm and collected, "Understood, your majesty."
"The ceremony will begin later," said Zash, "I will have to prepare myself. You're all dismissed."
The four bowed to the king before they all stood up and left the throne room.
King Animus sighed as he leaned back on the his throne, looking at his hands that seems to be fading away before it once again solidified.
'I need to be exposed from the flame's heat again …I really need to absorb it now, but the seal from the staff wasn't undone yet.'
The Dragon Cry was sealed by a very powerful runes, and to remove the seal, it needs to be exposed from the Seal Breaking Runes he placed in the Ceremonial hall.
Normally it would take days, but King Animus believes that he doesn't have that much and improved the seal breaking runes he placed in the ceremonial hall.
Right now, he was sure that the Dragon Cry's seal would be undone just in time later this evening.
At that time, King Animus would be able to recover his "true body", use the staff to absorb the flame, and fully heal himself.
After that, he will bring back the Age of Dragons and have his revenge on Acnologia.
'Just a bit more …it won't be long before that happens.' King Animus stood up, planning on heading towards the dungeon where the Three Thousand Burning Flame is located.
The flame grants the user an "Undying Body", alongside its destructive properties. It is a very powerful flame that was once used by the Celestial Star Dragon King over four hundred years ago.
King Animus haven't personally met the guy, but from what he heard the Celestial Star Dragon King was one of the strongest dragons who fought Chaos Faction—a dragon faction who desired nothing more than to cause wanton destruction and do whatever they like.
Unfortunately, he was slain by Acnologia during the Dragon King Festival —a festival in which all dragons from across the land would gather and fight each other until only one come out on top, that dragon would then be granted the title "king".
It is why Dragon Kings were very respected and feared, because they received their title after defeating all dragons in the land, making them the strongest dragon of their generation.
There are many dragon kings, but Animus only respected one of them, and that is the Fire Dragon King, Igneel.
Back in the day, a demon known as END terrorized the land, even dragons dared not to approach that being as it killed anyone it sees, leaving nothing but scorched earth and mountain of burnt corpses in his wake.
Even the Chaos Faction was startled by the brutality of the demon; they at least wanted some humans to survive so they can reproduce and increase in numbers again, so they'd have nigh infinite foods and entertainment.
But the Demon END just like to kill, and destroy.
Many dragons wanted to end the demon to stop its rampage but failed, becoming nothing more than another corpse.
It happened so many times that dragons retreat at the mere presence of the demon.
But Igneel was different. As the Dragon King of that era, he challenged END …the battle lasted for many days, weeks even, and eventually resulted in Igneel's defeat.
Well, it's not much of a defeat since Igneel did stop the rampaging Demon, but he failed to destroy it.
But for Animus, he consider it a win. The only dragon to have stood and won against that demon.
Animus has nothing but admiration to the Fire Dragon King.
While Animus was lost in thought, he eventually arrived in the dungeon, in front of the altar where the flame used to be …and he was shocked.
"It's gone …" yes, the Three Thousand Burning Flame was missing! "Where is it!? Who stole my flame!?"
Animus roared in anger, causing the dungeon to shake from pressure.
...…
...
…
"Hm?" Zash frowned, noticing the palace shake, "an earthquake?"
"Lord Zash," Sonya—who was standing in front of Zash who was guarding the ceremonial hall—called out to him, "may I come inside and have a look at the staff?"
Zash turned towards Sonya, who completely ignored the shaking, "Unfortunately, I can't allow that even if it's you, Lady Sonya."
"Why?" Asked Sonya.
"His majesty's orders, I'm just following it." Replied Zash.
Sonya frowned. She really needs to see the staff. She wanted to confirm if what the pink haired guy she had helped earlier was true.
Can the Dragon Cry really save their country? Or would it be the one to destroy it?
If Sonya can just grab ahold of the staff she can see its true nature.
Personally she believed that King Animus would not lie to her, at the same time she can also tell that the guy she had helped was absolutely serious.
She doesn't know who to believe, and decided to just check the staff for herself.
"Then …apologies, I'm barging in." Sonya took a step forward, wanting to go inside the ceremonial hall.
"Lady Sonya, I told you—" Zash paused, his hands which was about to grab Sonya, was stopped by someone, "What do you think you're doing?"
It was Swan, who has been secretly following and guarding Sonya. She grabbed Zash's wrist, preventing him from grabbing Sonya.
Swan narrowed her eyes at Zash, "Touch even a single strand of lady Sonya's hair, and I'll make sure you won't be able to use this hand for the rest of your life."
"How dare you!" Zash glared at her, "I am your superior!"
"One time superior," Gapri showed himself, sitting on a large crystal orb, "The king gave you the authority to command us because of the mess you made, but it no longer applies now."
"Indeed. We are now protector of Lady Sonya, and we only follow orders from the king and Lady Sonya herself." Said Doll, the third member of the Three Stars who showed himself leaning on the wall.
Swan smiled at Zash, "If you feel like you can accompany the three of us in a dance troupe, then I welcome you."
Zash stared at the Three Stars, before he clicked his tongue and flick his hand, slapping Swan's hand as he retracted his arms.
"His majesty will hear this." Threatened Zash to the three stars, who look unbothered.
"Thank you." Sonya nodded at Zash, before he went inside the hall.
Sonya immediately felt a malicious aura emanating from the hall, and upon closer inspection she noticed that it all came from the staff floating in the middle of the room.
She frowned, her stomach felt like they were being turned upside down from the feeling the staff was giving off.
But she resisted and chose to move forward until she stood in front of the staff.
Her hand stretched as she grabbed it.
"…This—"
Her eyes widened in fear at that moment.