07x237 - Tartaros Chapter, Prologue – Natsu vs. Jackal

[bunniefuu]

[GRAN DOMA]

Whatever the truth,

we've put off this

problem for too long.

It's time we dealt with it.

We don't know as

much as I would like.

But, if we can crush Tartaros,

the Baram Alliance will

certainly disappear.

I propose that we employ

the full power of the Council

to remove this blight

from the face of Fiore.

[SID, NOCRA]

Uh...

[LEIJI]

Mm...

[ORG grunts]

There's an emergency situation!

[LEIJI]

Hm?

What's the fuss about?

You fool! This better

be important!

[MESSENGER A] I'm terribly

sorry. But, there's an intruder!

[ORG]

Uh!

[FROGS scream]

[DORANBOLT]

Master Org!

We're not out of danger!

--[ORG groans]

--[DORANBOLT] Uh!

[JACKAL]

You can't be alive.

k*lling all of you

was the whole point.

Your pals played along, but I

guess you need some convincing.

expl*si*n.

Damn you!

[ORG]

Doranbolt. Run away!

[DORANBOLT grunting]

I can't do that!

There's no reason for you

to die with the rest of us.

Hate to burst your bubble,

but there's no running

from my explosions.

[ORG]

Leave! Do it now!

[DORANBOLT groaning]

The name's Jackal, by the way.

One of the Nine Demon

Gates of Tartaros.

Tell that to your

friends in hell.

They should know the name of

the man who slaughtered them.

Tell them I enjoyed it.

[ORG groaning]

Live!

Find what justice means to you,

and defend it till the end.

That's an order!

[chuckles]

[DORANBOLT]

Master Org!

[CROWD screams]

[COBRA] No one in

Tartaros is remotely human.

They're all demons,

from the Book of Zeref.

[DORANBOLT gulps]

[COBRA]

Their master's name is. E.N.D.

The most powerful demon

there's ever been.

Whirr.

[YAJIMA whimpers]

What is this guy?

Yajima, no!

[BIXLOW, FRIED grunt]

[BIXLOW groans]

[FRIED groans]

Ka-boom!

[BIXLOW screams]

[FRIED screams]

[YAJIMA groans]

Fwoosh.

[YAJIMA screaming]

Today we go to w*r!

Our foe is a pillar of

the Baram Alliance.

As strong as Grimoire heart

and the Oración Seis.

But they should've learned

from their allies' mistakes!

For by the time

our work is done,

the bloodied remnants

of their guild

will look back on

this day and rue it!

For this is the day they

made an enemy of Fairy Tail.

They've att*cked our brethren.

The pain they've caused

is mine and yours.

The blood they've

spilt is our blood.

Now it is time for the

blood not shed to boil.

For our pain to feed

our burning rage.

Let us fight not for justice,

but for the thunder

in our souls.

I make this oath upon

the honor of our guild.

Fairy Tail will

destroy this foe!

[FAIRY TAIL MEMBERS cheer]

[JACKAL] But you should

learn to pay attention

when someone's talkin'.

Huh?

Natsu! Look!

[NATSU]

Uh! What the...?

My curses can change anyone

stupid enough to touch

me into a living b*mb.

I wonder. How many

times did you touch me?

[NATSU growling]

Are you okay?

Keep away, Happy! That goes

for the rest of ya, too!

[LUCY]

But, Natsu.

[WENDY]

We can't!

Get outta here!

[WENDY, LUCY, HAPPY panting]

--[CARLA screams]

--Natsu!

[LUCY]

Get down!

[laughing]

[MICHELIA]

Oh no!

Is he...?

I can't really tell.

[JACKAL] We don't use

magic in Tartaros...

[NARRATOR] After learning of

Tartaros' plan to eliminate

both current and former members

of the Magic Council,

Fairy Tail dispatched several

teams to thwart them.

They sent their strongest

wizards to the home

of each former council

member they could locate.

[CARLA, HAPPY]

Uh...

[JACKAL]

expl*si*n Spiral!

[WENDY, LUCY scream]

[WENDY screams]

[LUCY groans]

[WENDY groans]

[HAPPY]

This is bad!

[CARLA]

No, Wendy!

[WENDY, LUCY whimpering]

[NARRATOR] Sent along with Lucy

and Wendy to protect Michello,

Natsu began a hard battle

with Jackal of Tartaros.

[NATSU] I've already

gotten the hang of it.

[JACKAL]

Say what?

Natsu!

Be careful!

[JACKAL gasps]

[laughs]

[CARLA, HAPPY laugh]

[WENDY, LUCY laugh]

This shouldn't be possible.

How are you standing?

What did you do?!

You got me all fired up.

I don't get it.

Just who are you?

[NATSU]

I'm Natsu!

[JACKAL groans]

[JACKAL groans]

[chuckles]

Idiot. Ha! You touched me again.

Ya know what that means.

It's time for you to go nova!

Natsu!

Hang in there!

[JACKAL laughs]

[JACKAL grunts]

[NATSU] That was pretty

nasty the first time.

But now I know what to expect.

[JACKAL]

No matter what I try...

[JACKAL] ...this human

just consumes my curses.

He might be even stronger than

he was when this fight started.

I was wrong. There's

no way he's human.

He's a monster!

[JACKAL groaning]

--[JACKAL groaning]

--[NATSU] Uh.

[JACKAL]

But so am I!

Guess he's not surrendering.

Watch out! We don't know

what he can do in this form!

Uh?

[JACKAL roars]

[roaring continues]

Least now we know where

he got his name.

[JACKAL roaring]

[JACKAL roars]

[NATSU grunts]

--[JACKAL roars]

--[NATSU groans]

[LUCY, WENDY scream]

[NATSU groans]

[JACKAL roars]

Punchin' walls, are ya?

Leave the town outta this,

your fight's with me.

[JACKAL]

I'm a demon.

The most perfect and

powerful creature there is.

Humans are like cockroaches

to my kind. Easy to k*ll!

You're a demon?

I hope I didn't hear that right.

You the only one, or is

your guild full of demons?

I'm done talkin'!

I came to spill some blood!

If that's the only thing

you're fightin' for,

then you never stood a chance!

[JACKAL roars]

[NATSU] 'Cause we're

fighting for our friends!

The ones your guild-mate

tried, and failed, to k*ll!

[JACKAL groans]

[NATSU] I don't care you're

a human, god, or demon.

You hurt my friends,

you pay the price!

This one's for Laxus,

and the Thunder Legion!

Lightning Flame Dragon.

Firing Hammer!

[JACKAL screams]

[NATSU panting]

Bad guy's down.

Town's destroyed.

I'd say our work here is done.

That's how we roll.

[WENDY, LUCY]

Uh?!

Natsu!

That expl*si*n was huge. Even

for someone as tough as him.

[HAPPY]

What happened? You okay?

We managed to evacuate the

townspeople to a safe distance!

[HAPPY]

Uh... Natsu!

What did we miss?

Turns out Jackal was a demon.

Natsu managed to beat

him, but just barely.

[NATSU]

Yup. Kicked his butt.

We're very proud of you.

--[NATSU groans]

--Wore yourself out hittin' him?

He has quite a bit

to answer for.

[JACKAL laughs]

[WENDY, LUCY, HAPPY gasp]

Well. I'll be damned

if I saw this comin'.

Haven't taken a beating like

that since I was still a pup.

Guess it had to happen sometime.

Kyoka, forgive me.

[JACKAL] You're gonna have a

tough time bringin' me back.

But this is the only one way

to take these humans with me.

Guys? I don't like this.

Me neither.

He must be planning to

demolish the whole town.

[LUCY]

Stop! Please!

Even if I wanted to,

it's too late.

I'm not the kinda b*mb

that you can just defuse.

This body is rigged to

blow, even if it dies.

[laughs] I'll see you in hell,

so don't miss me too much!

What do we do now? We're gonna

get caught up in the blast.

[HAPPY grunts]

[HAPPY]

Not if I can help it!

[screams]

Hey!

Happy! No!

What're you...

You stupid little cat!

Happy! Get away from him, now!

You can tell your

friends to stay in hell,

'cause you're

never gonna win!

[JACKAL]

I'll be back!

Happy!

[LUCY whimpers]

[WENDY whimpers]

[CARLA cries]

This can't be for real.

[CARLA cries]

[NATSU]

He can't be gone.

[NATSU gasps]

[CARLA gasps]

[WENDY, LUCY, NATSU laugh]

Nice hair.

I could really use a fish.

We're gettin' close to town.

Hope we're in time.

[JUVIA gasps]

Easy... What's the matter?

[creature growling]

I think she must be

frightened of something.

[GRAY]

Uh.

[GRAY]

Who knows what's waiting for us.

You've found Master Hogg?

[GRAY] We did, but Tartaros

found him first.

Just how late were we?

Has the culprit left?

[JUVIA]

Late enough, and yes,

the k*ller is gone

but, unfortunately,

not without a trace.

[GRAY] They destroyed half

the town on their way out.

Such horrific destruction.

How was your luck, Gajeel?

What's Master Belno's

current status?

[GAJEEL]

They m*rder*d her, too.

The city's fine though, nothing

like what Gray described.

It would seem that this

k*ller is the stealthy type.

[GAJEEL] I failed.

I should've gotten here sooner.

We did our best.

They beat us to Master Hogg

and Master Belno, so,

that leaves us with

Master Michello,

who we assigned to Natsu's team.

And Master Yuri, who Elfman and

Lisanna have been searching for.

We didn't make it. Can't tell

how, but they got him.

What do we do now?

Get the communication

lacrima ready.

We need to report

this to the guild.

[LISANNA]

Right.

[ELFMAN] I don't understand it.

He's completely uninjured.

It's almost like

he died naturally.

[gasps]

[LISANNA]

Uh?!

Master Yuri, you're alive. I

checked your pulse, and...

[yelps]

What do you think you're doing?

That was our only way

of reaching the guild!

[LISANNA, ELFMAN]

Uh...

Uh. Did he just

die all over?

That was creepy.

[SEILAH] I did try to make

him look convincing,

but a corpse is a corpse.

[sighs]

Are you from Tartaros?

Tell us what you did

to Master Yuri, now!

The old man already had

one leg in the netherworld,

I merely helped him along.

And stayed to play

with his corpse?

These Fairy tales are quite

dull. They all end so happily.

About as entertaining

as watching blood dry.

What your kind needs

is a demon tale.

Lisanna. Are ya ready?

Yeah!

Uh... Uh!

Hey, what are you

doing, brother?

[LISANNA choking]

[ELFMAN] This isn't me.

I'm sorry, I-I can't control it!

Lisanna, no! Please,

hang in there!

Elfman, you have

to tell the guild.

[ELFMAN] Whatever you're doing

to me, stop! Stop it right now!

One thing I prefer

about demon's tales,

they don't contain irksome

words such as mercy.

It's working! Hey, gramps,

can you hear me?

[MAKAROV]

Lucy? What happened?

We'd've contacted you

sooner if we could,

but we ran into a little

trouble on the mission.

Have you located Michello?

[LUCY] Yeah, he's

safe and sound.

[ALL]

Ah!

Can't quite say the

same for Natsu though.

I'm the champ.

He beat a member of

Tartaros all by himself!

Victory!

And he's proud of it.

The town looks like a

hurricane's been through it.

You could say that

about my hair, too.

We need to know everything

you were able to find

out from Michello.

About that...

They seek The White Legacy.

They will use Face.

[MICHELLO whimpers] Believe me.

I know nothing, I swear!

I don't know anything,

I'm telling you!

What is this "Face"?

It's a w*apon.

The most powerful

one the council has.

Probably the strongest

ever made.

[MAKAROV]

Mm.

[GRAY, JUVIA]

Uh.

[GAJEEL, LEVY]

Huh?!

[WENDY]

Uh...

[NATSU grunts]

What was it for?

Somethin' like that sounds

too strong to use.

I'm sure they thought they

needed one last ace in the hole.

Power breeds paranoia,

from what I've seen.

Now I for one would

love to hear more.

The council possesses

many such weapons.

Each subject to its own rules,

based on its potential

for misuse.

One example is the

Etherion Cannon.

[MICHELLO] Etherion is a

hyper-magical a*tillery piece,

capable of dropping its ordnance

at any target in the continent.

It has power enough to

turn an entire nation

into a smoking crater

with a single blast.

Thus it cannot be fired

without the approval of nine

Council members and the

input of ten security codes,

each possessed by a

different senior official.

Wait a sec... All of those

council members are dead now.

Then the council can't

activate Etherion,

till they get new leaders.

They may have k*lled current

members to shut it down,

and retirees to keep it down.

[MAKAROV] What exactly does

this "Face" of yours do?

I understand that this is a

secret, but no one's left

to make use of your

knowledge but us.

Face is an anti-magic

pulse b*mb. This device

can clear our continent

of any trace of magic.

Uh!

A w*apon that can

erase all magic?

That's horrible!

[CARLA whimpering]

That would give Magic

Deficiency Syndrome

to every wizard alive.

It gets even worse.

The demon that Natsu fought,

told us that Tartaros members

use curses instead of magic.

So Face's activation would wipe

out every guild but theirs.

Every wizard who

stands against them

would find themselves

helpless and in agony.

What a deplorable w*apon

your council has made.

[MICHELLO whimpers]

You tell me where

it is right now.

That thing never should've

existed in the first place.

I... I really don't know.

Please forgive me.

From what I heard,

it was sealed away by three

former council members.

They did this by means

of body link magic.

I have no idea who

those members are.

Only the former chairman

can tell you that.

So what the heck is

body link magic?

It's the kind that Brain used

to keep Zero sealed away.

If us beatin' the Seis broke

the seals that bound Zero,

then them k*lling

those council members...

Yes. If Tartaros kills all

the councilmen who sealed Face,

then the spell will be broken.

We've seen no signs

of interrogation,

which makes me think they might

already know where Face is.

So all they gotta do is knock

off a few more council members,

and then they can eliminate

all magic? Screw that!

[MAKAROV] We need to

get those three protected

as fast as we can. You said

that the former chairman

can tell us who

they are, yes?

Yes. I'm all but certain.

[MAKAROV]

Drop everything else!

Find out where that

chairman lives!

We can assume that Tartaros

is looking for him as well.

Beat them!

We're on it, sir! We've

located the addresses

of sixteen other former

council members.

We've got people from our guild,

and a couple of others,

on the way to protect them.

Turns out that one

of those addresses

was the former

chairman's!

Send someone to him,

as quickly as possible!

[LAKI] One step ahead of you,

sir. They're already en route!

[LAKI] The two best

wizards we could send.

[LUCY] Erza and Mirajane

rush to the aid of Crawford,

former Chairman of

the Magic Council.

Unfortunately, Tartaros

has other plans for them.

Meanwhile, Doranbolt makes

a desperate decision.

One which he may come to regret.

In order to gain

information about Tartaros,

he strikes a deal with

none other than Cobra,

of the Oración Seis.

Next time: Tartaros Chapter -

Immorality and Sinners

The prayers of sinners.

Echoing across the wastes.