Hellish Training: The Waterfall
The chase training was designed to push their speed and stamina to the breaking point.
Next came muscle training.
Raizel had them do weighted burpees under the watchful eyes of the Blade Spirits.
If they slowed down, they got poked.
Finally, it was time for the main event: Waterfall Meditation.
The waterfall in the East Forest was high, and the water hit the bottom with crushing force.
Even Raizel and Laxus couldn't withstand it when they first started. Naturally, Natsu and Gray were far from ready to sit under it directly.
"See those four metal chains?"
Raizel pointed to the top of the cliff.
Four heavy chains hung vertically down the face of the waterfall. Two were right in the center of the crashing water, and two were on the edges.
"I had these custom-made at a magic weapon shop," Raizel explained. "The top is hooked into the bedrock. The bottom has harnesses for your waist and legs. They aren't legendary weapons, but they won't break or rust."
Raizel had prepared this spot years ago. He had carved small handholds and footholds into the slippery cliff face.
"You start by climbing the two sides of the cliff. One on the left, one on the right."
"So high!!!"
Natsu and Gray looked up, their jaws dropping.
The cliff was steep, wet, and terrifying.
To make climbing easier, they were stripped down to their shorts (though Natsu refused to take off his scarf).
"Don't stop! Climb!"
Raizel barked orders from below.
Whenever Natsu or Gray slowed down to catch their breath, the Blade Spirits would thrust at their ass from behind.
"Wah!"
Not wanting to get stabbed, they scrambled upward desperately.
After a grueling struggle, the two boys finally reached the top.
They collapsed onto the grass at the cliff's edge, arms and legs spread wide, gasping for air like dying fish.
Raizel hovered up to the edge in his Jesmon form.
"Good job," he said calmly. "Now, climb back down."
To Natsu and Gray, his calm voice sounded like the whisper of a demon.
"NANIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII?!!!"
An earth-shattering scream echoed through the mountain forest.
Even Ultear and the others, who were training far away, heard it clearly.
"HELP MEEEE——————"
....
Evening
The sun was already setting.
Natsu and Gray looked like corpses.
Their heads drooped, and their arms hung limply. They were being carried back to civilization by the Blade Spirits, with Raizel following behind.
Even after the spirits dumped them on the ground, the boys didn't move.
They just lay face down in the dirt.
Ultear blinked, looking at the bodies. "What on earth did you do to them?"
"Well..." Raizel scratched his temple guiltily, deactivating his Take Over. "Laxus and I went through this hellish special training before. During the peak of it, we both ended up in Porlyusica's infirmary at the same time..."
He had slipped a bit too far into his "Devil Coach" mode.
These two had passed out from exhaustion halfway down the cliff.
But it was nothing serious.
Dragon Slayers and Ice Mages were tough. They would probably be lively and energetic again by tomorrow morning.
...
Raizel trained them for seven days.
Erza and the others watched with morbid curiosity. They felt Raizel had completely abandoned his humanity, pushing the boys to their absolute limits.
By the end of the week, Makarov had found a permanent house for Natsu (the same one he would live in for the rest of the series).
"From now on, I won't be babysitting you," Raizel announced. "Your training depends entirely on your own discipline. I've taught you the methods. The rest is up to you."