Chapter 21: Zancrow

Chapter 21: Zancrow

After his meeting with Ultear, Natsu left Era to make preparations for his meeting with Zancrow.

Even though he's confident in overpowering Zancrow, being a bit cautious doesn't hurt him.

According to Ultear, Zancrow should be arriving in Tenten village. There is a branch of Grimoire Heart working in the shadows. They failed to pay yearly protection fees to the Grimoire Heart, so Zancrow is there to destroy them, including the village itself as judgment.

(A/N: I know Tenten village is not a proper village name but meh... Who cares about a random village going to be destroyed anyway.)

On the way to the Tenten village, nothing noteworthy happened. He peacefully arrived there.

The village looked was lively with many small stalls here and there selling different local foods and accessories.

'I don't know when Zancrow will arrive here, better make some preparation.' thought Natsu internally.

Natsu then scanned the village for an Inn. He saw a friendly Inn and went inside it. He met with the owner and booked a nice room for a week. Then, he went inside the place to relax and plan his actions. He laid down on the bed and started thinking.

'I wish my teleportation magic didn't have limitations of only available for already visited places. Otherwise, it will send me somewhere random, which is not a good idea. My life would be a lot easier otherwise.' thought Natsu inwardly. Natsu has almost learned every available spell from the guild library, including teleportation. But, this magic has a fatal limitation; it can only send the user to a familiar place.

"*Yawns* well, I better get some rest while I can. I don't know when Zancrow will arrive here. It isn't a good idea to fight someone without proper rest even though that someone is a lot weaker. You never know what may happen." said Natsu with a yawn. Then he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

---

Next few days, nothing noteworthy happened. Natsu managed to find the branch of Grimoire Heart in the village. But, they were happily having a party utterly unaware of their upcoming demise.

Natsu visited different stalls and ate different local street foods. He even bought some local fruits to eat later.

Natsu wore a hoodie and hid his guild symbol while exploring the village. He doesn't want to attract unnecessary attention to him during his stay. He was there only for Zancrow and would leave immediately after accomplishing his task.

Today was the same as usual when suddenly a loud explosion sounded all over the village. Natsu was in his room, eating his breakfast when he got alerted by the explosion.

'This explosion! Zancrow must have arrived here. I'll properly welcome that bastard for making me wait for so long hehe...' thought Natsu with an evil chuckle.

He then left the room, searching for the source of the explosion. On his way, he saw black flame all over the village, bringing its destruction. People were screaming and running away. When Natsu touched the black fire, it stung him a little. It didn't do any damage but brought pain to him by merely touching it.

'Yes, these are the flames I need to complete my black flame. I need to go to Zancrow's location immediately. I'm excited to complete my Amaterasu flame finally.' thought Natsu in excitement, quickly running toward the source of flame.

He soon arrived at the same place those dark mages were partying. Black flames were devouring the building, and a guy was laughing maniacally holding the head of a guy.

"HAHAHAHAHA! Did you think you could get away from the Grimoire Heart without paying the protection fees? I'm here to claim the worthless lives of all of you and destroy this village with my godly flame. Be honored to die by my flame." shouted Zancrow with a maniac laugh. Soon, the black flame started spreading everywhere, and all the nearby villagers and the guild members were pulverized instantly.

Zancrow has long and spiky blond hair that reaches down to his lower back like Super Saiyan in Dragon Ball franchise. He has a psychotic grin on his face as he shows his teeth. His red pupils consist of several concentric circles, which further enhances his crazed appearance.

After finishing his work, Zancrow was satisfied and wanted to head back, but something caught his attention.

Natsu was late to stop the destruction, but it didn't bother him much. He started clapping his hands, gaining the attention of Zancrow, and slowly head towards him.

"Wow, wow... That flame is awesome, isn't it? Zancrow of the seven kin of purgatory of the Grimoire Heart." said Natsu smiling with praise.

"Of course, it is awesome. It's a godly flame made using my God Slayer Magic. Who are you anyway? Do you want to taste my flame as well? HAHAHAHAHA!" said Zancrow with a maniac laugh.

"Of course, I'm here to taste that flame. Why do you think I'm here for anything except that. So please be a good boy and let me claim your life." Natsu said with an evil grin.