Kon'nichiwa, minna~♡  I have the next chapter here and ready for you! ^^ Geez, sorry I didn't update sooner!  I slept in more than I would have liked. *_*  Anyways, I hope you all enjoy, and please tell me whenever I publish when there are spelling mistakes. x3  

TIP: For in this chapter, 440m is about the size of the Empire State Building. c:

I dedicate this chapter to NaLuGirl, thanks for being so nice to me and a good friend. c:  I really apreciated it~! ♥  Well, I hope you all enjoy, and feeback is very much appreciated, as always!  Until next time, ne?

♡{ яу-¢нαи | тнє иαℓυ ωяιтєя }♡

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Light erupted from Lucy's body, stretching out in a wide column and into the sky.

"No, Lucy!"  Wendy exclaimed, an arm in front of her face as wind whipped past her.

Zeke arrived then.

"No!"  He exclaimed, his teeth clenched together tightly.  "It's already started!"

The column emanating from Lucy churned and snapped like a whip, and then a dragon made of fire spun out from Lucy, arching it's massive wings.  Then, it flowed with the light up and into the sky.  When it reached the high point, it made a loud boom, a ring of black light flying from the column and spreading across the sky.  When the ring evaporated, another took its place, repeating until the sky grew incredibly dark and malicious.

Rater!  What are we going to do now?!  Zeke called, knowing it was hopeless to call out to him.  Rater could only converse with Lucy, who was unconscious.

Coven lunged forward, ice erupting from his palm and slamming into Erza, making her stagger and then throwing another deadly beam at Erza along with Gray and Zeke.

It hit them, knocking them clean off their feet and sending them flying.

When they hit the ground, the pain started to erupt and they all collapsed, Zeke cursing that he had to go through this again.

Suddenly, a battle cry was heard, and Natsu rushed from the shadows and approached underneath Coven's defenses.  Roaring, Natsu slammed his flamed hand into Coven's jaw, making him leave the ground slightly.  In that time, Natsu slammed his calf into Coven's side, making him fly back a few paces and skid against the ground.

Absolute fury was running through Natsu's veins, and it showed obviously through his eyes.

"Natsu!"  Happy called, who had appeared right behind him along with Carla.

"You!"  Coven snarled, taking a few threatening steps forward.  "I thought I killed you!"

"It'll take more than that!"  Natsu spat, looking absolutely frightening since his face was shadowed and flames licked at his tightly-clenched fists.  "Now, stop the resurrection!"

Coven laughed darkly, as if Natsu was a child.  "Why would I?"  Coven had to yell over the rushing wind and small thunder-claps.  "Even if I wanted to, I have no control over it now!  Daronyt is finally coming, and he will destroy this world!"

Lifting both hands up and bringing them close together, the same poisonous black beam flew into the wall a few feet away from Natsu.  But when Coven got it under control, he moved it quickly; straight for Natsu.

"Look out, Natsu!"  Erza barked through the pain.

But the beam collided right into him.

"Natsu!"  They all yelled.

But when the smoke cleared, Natsu was still standing.  His clothes were smoking, and flickers of purple magic flashed around him before finally disappearing.  Natsu's arms were crossed in front of his face, his teeth grinding together and rage in his eyes.  The posion magic didn't have any affect on him.

"He's okay?"  Gray asked, confused.  

"B-But how?!"  He choked out before going into another coughing fit.

Zeke's face was strained, but it held slight exception.  "He's forcing the pain away."

Natsu lunged forward, roaring as smoke eminated from his clothes while he ran.  The rumbling of the ground didn't faze his charge; the thunder didn't drown out his cry for vengeance.  Racing forward, Natsu brought his right fist back for a heavy swing.

Coven barely dodged it, shocked that Natsu had gotten so much more faster than before.  The fire skimmed his cheek, and he grunted in surprise.  Natsu's eyes were hysterical with anger, and he slammed his feet into the ground heavily, making dust rise into the air.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!"

Natsu's ball of fire erupted from his mouth and his circled fists, slamming into Coven and slamming into the wall far behind them.  As Coven hit the ground, Natsu advanced once more; he was completely overcharged.

But before he could attack again, a large gust of wind slammed into his back, making him fly forward and hit the ground on his stomach, skidding a few feet before stopping.  He turned, looking to see Lucy reacting to the summoning.  Her face was contorted in pain, and her eyes were twitching as she struggled to bring her head down, which also shook in pain.

Lucy was hurting.

It made Natsu's heart shake.

Suddenly the column disappeared.  When it evaporated, everything went dark, lighting crackling in the clouds a few miles away.  Natsu and the others watched in wonder, seeing Lucy unmoving and nothing happening.  All of the sudden a ball of light flew from the Caballeen Stone, growing in size as it rose into the sky.  By the time it was close to the atmosphere, it had grown in size tremendously, almost covering the entire sky.

Coven was heard from behind.  "Daronyt has arrived!"

Natsu turned to look at him with shock, his hair and clothes flailing through the wind along with the other's.  The light suddenly exploded, but it exploded soundlessly and without a pulse.  

However, this is when the real chaos began.

The sky turned blood red as far as the eye could see, and the light turned flat and like a black hole.  It descended from the sky, until it was about four-hundred and fourty meters above them.  Then, it started to expand, barely engulfing the sky as it began to shake the very air.

Then a peircing roar erupted from the portal. 

It was screechy and overpowering, and it sent shivers running down everyone's spines.  Natsu's eyes widened in shock, his mouth parting slightly.  Everyone stared as the legs solidified from black light, and Wendy covered her mouth as frightened tears formed in her eyes.

"Lucy..."  She murmured, but forced herself to continue to heal Zeke and the others.

Natsu was frozen as the saucer-like light grew smaller and smaller the more Daronyt was revealed, showing the terrifying monster contained.  When the top of its dragon-like head was revealed, the light disappered from the sky, leaving the silent and unmoving monster behind.

Then, it's eyes opened, and they were completely blood red, glowing in the now-present darkness of the sky.  Letting out the most powerful roar its made so far, it seemed the very air shook with the depth of its call.

"I-It's...!"  Natsu exclaimed, his eyes wide as he laid them upon Daronyt.

Daronyt had black smog flying around its body, along with a lick of black flames.  Its body and neck were dragon, along with gangly wings that were frighteningly damaged and that had holes burnt into the wing membrane.  But it had three tails, all incredibly long; and they could grow in length at the Monster-Dragon's command, churning like dark smoke.  Its head was half mechanical, however, and had metal horns sticking from the temples of its skull.  Natsu had to crane his neck back slightly to see the full body of Daronyt, which was about two-hundred meters tall.  It towered above them, swinging its tails and head through the air.

It stretched its neck fully up into the air, and black fire built in its maw and - surprisingly - shined.  Suddenly, the fire flew from its mouth, taking the form of a sphere and flying higher into the sky.  When it stopped, it split into four large balls, spreading out across the area.

After a few moments, the balls completely dropped, forming into black columns and hitting the ground with a deafening roar.  Natsu and the others shielded their faces, but for Natsu, he was pushed back by the wind's velocity and slammed into the wall.  When the column cleared, the area it had struck was completely melted, a giant hole in the ground from where the fire had disintigrated the earth.

Natsu stared with shock, but then clenched his teeth angrily.  Turning, he stomed forward and grabbed Coven by the collar.  Natsu got right into his face, shaking Coven roughly despite his size.

"How do we stop it?!"  Natsu exclaimed, his eyes black slits in panic and fury.  "Tell me!"

Coven chuckled, his eye turning red.  Natsu stopped, looking at him with shock.

"There isn't a way,"  Coven started, his voice husky and deep.  "To stop it.  It will finally destroy this world!"

Natsu shoved him against the wall.  "Why in the hell would you bring something like this back?!  Why?!"

Coven smirked vilely, glancing up at his "achievement".

His eyes went dark.  "So I could have Time!"

Zeke, - who was now healed by Wendy - along with her and Natsu, looked at him in confusion.

"Time..?"  Wendy murmured in question, her eyes slightly narrowed in worry.

"If Daronyt is contained, I can rule over him and control Time as a god!"  Coven exclaimed, his expression crazy.

Natsu gasped slightly, seeing Zeke now there.

He didn't look happy.

In fact, Zeke grabbed Coven by the collar and slammed him harder than Natsu had into the wall.

"You idiot!  Those were just myths!  Daronyt doesn't control time!  It's just a monster, sealed up because of the hell it would bring!  Now look what you've done!  You've completely destroyed this world's future; and for what?  Something that doesn't even exist!"  Zeke's face was furious.  "Do you realize what you've done to Lucy?!  You've pratically--"

Coven's face was grim.  "We shall see."

With that, he melted into the air, leaving them behind.

Natsu slammed his hand into the wall.  "Damn it!"

Looking up at the monster, who had just finished making another deadly attack, his face was stern.

"Happy!"  Natsu exclaimed, starting to run forward.

"Aye sir!"  Happy exclaimed, scooping Natsu up as he jumped into the air, taking off into the sky.

"Let's go, Zeke!"  Natsu exclaimed, his face urgent and angry.  "It can destroy Fiore over my dead body!"

Zeke hesitated for a moment, but then nodded; Carla offered to take him up after asking Wendy, who was still healing Erza and Gray.

"Natsu!"  Wendy called after him, on her knees with her palms outstretched towards Erza.  "We'll try to help Lucy!"

He nodded, guesturing for Happy to start moving.  As they started to fly through the sky, Natsu let his eyes slide to his left.  Natsu looked at Lucy as Zeke and Carla sailed past him, seeing her unconscious expression lingering.

"I'm sorry, Lucy."  He murmured, his expression turning to one of guilt and despair.  

"I let you get hurt again..!"

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What is Lucy doing right now?  Is she truly in a perpetual sleep, or is she doing something else?

Find out in the next chapter, Chapter 40: Lucy's Will and Her Answer!

Thanks for reading! c: