'The moment Gajeel saw Evan and the others sitting around the conference table, his expression immediately changed…
"We're screwed! That siscon is back!!"
Gajeel knew very well that the rebellion he and the others had been plotting for so long was probably doomed to fail. As long as that damn siscon Evan was around, there was absolutely no way they could defeat Erza.
If they wanted to bring down Erza, they would first have to ask whether Evan's island-sized fist agreed! The reason Gajeel and the others had chosen to "rebel" in the first place was merely to take advantage of the time difference while Evan and the others were absent. Unfortunately, with the return of Fairy Tail's true "top combat power," their entire plan had fallen apart…
"We have to retreat immediately!"
At the same time, after a brief moment of thought, Gajeel had already decided to retreat. After all, they could not win a fight, and seeking justice was even more impossible. Evan was an outrageous double-standard siscon! Rather than continue fighting Erza to the death, fool around with the idiots from the Dragon Eater Guild Diabolos, and then get beaten black and blue by Evan, it would be better to retreat while their plan had not yet been exposed and Evan showed no intention of making a move…
However, just as Gajeel was preparing to run, the group of underlings he had recruited from the Dragon Eater Guild Diabolos suddenly began shouting loudly and charged straight toward Irene. This instantly scared Gajeel stiff…
"Don't! You've got the wrong person…"
Countless beads of sweat appeared on Gajeel's forehead. He was terrified that his clueless underlings would anger Irene.
"Big Brother Gajeel said that every woman with crimson-red hair must be beaten!"
Just as Gajeel was preparing to persuade his underlings, those troublesome subordinates immediately betrayed him. They started babbling at Irene while even announcing his name.
"We're screwed!"
For a moment, Gajeel froze where he stood. Cold sweat continuously poured from his forehead, and his heart turned ice-cold.
"Oh? Gajeel, so this is what you think? All women with crimson-red hair are enemies who must be defeated, right?"
After hearing what Gajeel had supposedly said, Irene narrowed her beautiful eyes slightly and revealed an absolutely gorgeous smile toward Gajeel.
"Ha ha…"
"Paradise! It's calling me!"
Gajeel laughed as well. He laughed incredibly happily.
At this moment, Gajeel seemed to have seen through worldly affairs and transcended mortal existence. He could almost see the divine light in the sky descending to take him to heaven…
"Big Brother Gajeel, don't panic! We'll deal with this vicious woman right away! We'll reclaim the rights our Dragon Slayers deserve! No one in this world can look down on us Dragon Slayers, and no one can treat Dragon Slayers as if they aren't human!"
Perhaps their shared faith had given them courage, or perhaps the mages of Diabolos still had not realized just how terrifying the beautiful woman with crimson-red hair standing before them actually was. At this moment, these mages from Diabolos were still foolishly laughing and shouting that they would teach Irene a lesson, while simultaneously comforting the seemingly frightened Gajeel.
"Idiots! Come back! If you want to die, don't drag me into it!"
Gajeel was practically in despair now. Especially after hearing what his underlings had said, his despair only deepened. He frantically shouted at them, but unfortunately, it was already too late…
"For Big Brother Gajeel, kill!"
The mages of the Dragon Eater Guild Diabolos roared and charged toward Irene. At this moment, their eyes contained nothing but the beautiful woman with crimson-red hair whom Gajeel had ordered them to attack.
They knew very well that if they wanted to revive their mage guild Diabolos, if they wanted Dragon Slayers to receive the same treatment as ordinary people instead of being regarded as cold-blooded weapons, they had to defeat the person before them who did not treat Dragon Slayers as human beings.
And then…
"Ah, one after another. You're really noisy!"
"If you like making noise so much, then why don't you all become croaking frogs…"
Irene looked at the shouting mages before her, her delicate brows slightly furrowing as a trace of displeasure flashed through her eyes.
"What are you talking about? You dare to make such arrogant claims in front of us Dragon Slayers?!"
Perhaps because they had consumed too much dragon blood, the mages of Diabolos seemed to have rather poor brains. They had no idea what kind of crisis they were about to face and continued shouting as they charged toward Irene.
"Buzz!"
In response, Irene expressionlessly waved the staff in her hand.
"Boom!"
Almost the instant Irene swung her staff, endless white light enveloped the entire group of Diabolos mages.
"Ah!!"
"Ribbit, ribbit~"
Immediately afterward, the Dragon Slayers of the Dragon Eater Guild Diabolos let out miserable screams. Perhaps it was only everyone's imagination, but amidst those screams, the members of Fairy Tail seemed to faintly hear sounds resembling the croaking of frogs.
"Boom!"
When the white light finally dissipated, the dozens of mages who had mistaken Irene for Erza and intended to defeat her had all become green frogs, lying on the ground and croaking incessantly.
"This is… personality enchantment? No, more precisely, should this be biological enchantment on the conceptual level?"
Gajeel stared at the frogs covering the ground, his eyes wide. If he had not witnessed it with his own eyes, he could hardly have imagined that these frogs had actually transformed from the mages of Diabolos.
"Oh my~"
"Little Gajeel~"
"The idiots you brought here have all been taken care of by me now~"
"So, I have a question for you! Gajeel, why don't you take a good guess? If the punishment for your underlings is becoming frogs, then what do you think I'll turn you into, as the big brother who led them?"
Irene did not even glance at the frogs croaking all over the floor. She placed her slender finger against her pale chin, slightly narrowed her long and beautiful phoenix eyes, and smiled at Gajeel.
"Uh…"
After hearing Irene's words, Gajeel stood there in a daze. His entire head was covered in sweat, and he did not even dare breathe loudly.
"What do you think about turning you into a maggot that gets eaten by frogs?"
Irene tapped her finger lightly against her red lips. After thinking for a moment, she asked the dumbfounded Gajeel with a smile.
"I'll die. I'm definitely going to die!"
Gajeel was completely panicked. Based on his understanding of Irene, he knew very well that there was an eighty percent chance she was going to kill him next.
"Big Brother Gajeel, did you guys finish them off?"
"If you can't handle it, let us do it!"
"That's right! That's right…"
"We've been waiting forever to fight the mages of Fairy Tail again~"
"This time, we Dragon Slayers are united. We absolutely won't let Fairy Tail run wild anymore."
Just as Gajeel was in complete panic, the main force of Diabolos walked out from behind him. One by one, they arrogantly spoke to the trembling Gajeel.
"Idiots! Don't come over! The enemy before you isn't someone you can deal with…"
Gajeel looked at the mages belonging to the Dragon Eater Guild Diabolos behind him and shouted nervously. He was terrified that these idiots would completely ignite Irene, whose anger level was already off the charts and who was like a powder keg ready to explode at any moment.
"Don't worry, Big Brother Gajeel…"
"This time, all of us mages of Diabolos are united! It's completely different from before. We won't lose again!"
"Exactly…"
Unfortunately, the mages of Diabolos wasted Gajeel's goodwill.
Perhaps because when Fairy Tail fought against the Dragon Eater Guild Diabolos, Evan and the others had barely needed to act since the Dragon Slayers of Diabolos were simply too weak, and aside from Evan showing a little of his strength while dealing with Georg, they had hardly fought at all, the mages of Diabolos had assumed that Gildarts, Laxus, Erza, and the others were Fairy Tail's strongest combatants…
In fact, from the perspective of the Diabolos mages, Gildarts and the others were certainly powerful, but they were not so overwhelmingly powerful as to make people despair. They were not invincible existences! As long as the Dragon Slayers joined forces, there had to be some way to deal with Gildarts and the others! Therefore, the people of the Dragon Eater Guild Diabolos were actually rather unconvinced by Fairy Tail.
Of course, perhaps this was also because these Dragon Eaters had been influenced by Natsu, inspired by Natsu's indomitable spirit?!
Among them, the four strongest members of the Dragon Eater Guild Diabolos' Black Dragon Knights—Kirin, Suzaku, Skullion, and Misaki—were especially dissatisfied with Fairy Tail's S-Class mages!
Kirin believed that he had only narrowly lost to Laxus because he had been careless. In terms of magical power, he had the advantage; he had simply been unlucky and had not known Laxus's abilities, which was why he had lost by a small margin. If they fought again, Kirin believed that the outcome between himself and Laxus was still uncertain…
Suzaku, meanwhile, felt that because all of his magic had been completely countered by Erza, his swordsmanship, his powerful physical body, and his strength—which was enough to threaten Georg, the president of the Dragon Eater Guild Diabolos—had not been brought into play at all!
Apart from Suzaku and Kirin, Skullion and Misaki were also eager to try!
In fact, Skullion and Misaki's Doll and Dimension Magic were practically BUG-level abilities!
If used properly, they were completely no weaker than Brandish and Dimaria's abilities involving form manipulation and time stop.
Unfortunately, before the two of them could display their strength, they had already been taken down by a bunch of old schemers from Fairy Tail. This left Skullion and Misaki burning with anger, preparing to take revenge on Fairy Tail!
Without a doubt, Diabolos had risen again. Even though the mages of Diabolos had been defeated countless times by Fairy Tail in these few short days, they could always stand back up! Even after losing Georg, the strongest member and guild master of Diabolos, Diabolos could still rise again, simply because they had encountered a leader more suited to leading Diabolos—the successor of the Fire Dragon King, Natsu!
They believed that this battle against Fairy Tail would be completely different from before. This time, it was the first time the Black Dragon Knights had all come out together, and there were no longer any other voices within Diabolos. This Diabolos was more united than ever before!
"Big brothers of Fairy Tail, this time, please become dolls and play with me forever~"
Skullion, a member of the Black Dragon Knights and user of White Tiger Dragon Slayer Magic and Doll Magic, wore a white cat doll costume as he cheerfully spoke to the members of Fairy Tail.
"Where's that kid who uses lightning? Hurry up and bring him out so he can fight me again! I didn't even enjoy the last fight!"
Kirin, currently the strongest member of the Dragon Eater Guild Diabolos, swept his gaze around the Fairy Tail guild hall. He did not care about the other members of Fairy Tail. There was only one person in his eyes: Laxus.
"Lady Erza, please fight me again without using Magnetism Magic! I would like to have another swordsmanship duel with you. Thank you!"
Suzaku held his katana, hoping to have a battle of swordsmanship against Erza.
"This time is different from before. We also have reinforcements from outside~"
Misaki's beautiful eyes, which glittered with cross-shaped pupils, shone with an unusual light. Behind her stood the "God" Serena, who was desperately looking for a crack in the floor to crawl into.
"GOD was merely passing by! GOD begs forgiveness!"
At this moment, Serena had completely lost his previous arrogance. That was simply because he had seen the six mages sitting around the conference table in the center of the Fairy Tail guild hall—six existences symbolizing the pinnacle of the Earth-land world.
"Serena, don't panic. Didn't you intend to help us reclaim the rights Dragon Slayers deserve?"
"Rest assured! This time, Diabolos is serious. The Black Dragon Knights have gathered here, and on top of that, we have you, Natsu, and Gajeel helping us. This time, whether in terms of numbers or combat power, the advantage is clearly ours…"
Misaki glanced at the panicked Serena and smiled confidently.
Then…
"Is that so? You won't lose again?"
August, sitting at one corner of the conference table, smiled after hearing the words of the Diabolos mages. He gripped his staff and slowly rose from his seat, walking step by step toward the group of Diabolos mages.
"You old man, you're pretty arrogant, huh?! Do you know who we are? We're the mages of the Dragon Eater Guild Diabolos! You think you can directly challenge us Diabolos mages?" Seeing that none of Fairy Tail's mages had moved and that only an old man had stepped forward, the Diabolos mages immediately began shouting at the elderly man while mocking Fairy Tail's mages. "To be honest, I had rather high expectations for Fairy Tail. I originally thought you were some impressive figures, but after seeing us Diabolos mages, only one old man dares to step forward! What a bunch of cowards!"
"Heh~"
In response to the Diabolos mages' taunts, the Fairy Tail members merely smiled lightly before disdainfully turning their heads away. The scene that followed was too cruel even for Fairy Tail's mages to watch. They simply could not bear to look.
"You bastards…"
Seeing that none of Fairy Tail's mages responded to him, the Diabolos mage frowned. He immediately began gathering his magical power, intending to teach the members of Fairy Tail a lesson.
As the mage's magical power surged, the Diabolos mages sneered while the Fairy Tail mages prepared to watch the joke.
"Ribbit, ribbit…"
At this critical moment, one of the frogs somehow happened to block the Diabolos mage's path, croaking incessantly as though it were trying to say something to him.
"Where did this frog come from? Get out of the way!"
Unfortunately, the Diabolos mage could not understand frog language. Looking at the frog beneath him, he felt disgusted and, in a fit of anger, kicked it away.
"Pfft…"
Seeing the Diabolos mage kick the frog away, one of the Fairy Tail members who enjoyed watching the drama could not help laughing.
"Hm?!"
This made the Diabolos mage sense that something was wrong.
"What are you laughing at?"
The Diabolos mage asked the Fairy Tail member who had laughed at him.
"I just thought of something funny…"
The Fairy Tail members answered in unison, as though they had secretly coordinated their response beforehand.
"You dare toy with me!!"
The Fairy Tail members' behavior completely enraged the Diabolos mage. He roared at them:
"I'll show you what the power of a Fifth Generation Dragon Slayer is…"
"Boom!!"
Before the Diabolos mage could finish speaking, a fist containing terrifying magical power had already slammed into his face. The tremendous force distorted his cheek, and with a thunderous boom, his entire head was smashed into the floor of the Fairy Tail guild hall.
"Uh…"
For a moment, the Diabolos Dragon Eaters who had been happily preparing to watch the spectacle were all dumbfounded.
"What just happened?!"
Everything had happened far too quickly. The Diabolos mages had not even seen who had attacked. They merely felt their vision blur, and by the time they reacted, the Dragon Eater who had been shouting so arrogantly had already been defeated.
"Boom!!"
Before anyone could think further, an enormous amount of magical power, enough to make people suffocate, erupted from the seemingly ordinary old man holding a staff. His long hair shot into the air, while red patterns covered his entire body.
In an instant, the entire Fairy Tail guild, and even the entire town surrounding Fairy Tail, was enveloped by August's terrifying magical power. Even the country where Fairy Tail's town was located was covered by an invisible and immense force!
What did it mean to be the King of Magic? This was what it meant to be the King of Magic. In an instant, his magical power covered an entire kingdom! With a single thought, the kingdom could be destroyed in the blink of an eye!
"What an enormous amount of magical power! In terms of magical power alone, he probably isn't inferior to a Dragon God, is he?"
"The sheer quantity of this magical power is simply unbelievable. Is this really something a human can possess?"
"You've got to be kidding! There's actually a monster like this hidden within the Fairy Tail Guild? Could it be that the mages who defeated our Black Dragon Knights through schemes and tricks earlier weren't even Fairy Tail's strongest?!"
The Diabolos mages looked at August in panic. They admitted that they had underestimated him. They had never sensed such an enormous amount of magical power before.
"Unlike Evan, this old man has always been rather ruthless in his methods. I wonder whether you'll be able to endure them~"
August smiled as he spoke to the Diabolos mages.
However, the Diabolos mages could no longer smile, because they knew August was not joking. He was serious. August's vast and frigid magical power, boundless like the night sky, told them so…
"We're going to die. We're definitely going to die!"
"His strength is practically comparable to Elefseria!"
"No, that's not right. I've become much stronger. I should have a chance of defeating even that old Thunder Dragon King."
"But this old man is even stronger than the aged Elefseria…"
Under August's magical power, Kirin swayed unsteadily. As he felt August's magical power, he could not help recalling the aged Thunder Dragon King Elefseria whom he had devoured when he was young. At this moment, Kirin once again recalled an emotion he had abandoned many years ago.
Its name was… fear.
"My magic… doesn't work?!"
Skullion stared blankly at August. The instant August released his magical power, she had attempted to use Doll Magic on him. However, for the first time, she tasted the sensation of her magic failing to activate.
"He's too powerful. He's so powerful that it's enough to make someone despair! Even if I pulled him into my space, the moment he entered it, he would probably take over and seize control of the space from me."
Sweat continuously appeared on Misaki's fair forehead, her expression filled with terror.
"I can't cut him! This old man has already surpassed the limits of what this sword in my hand can sever…"
Suzaku's expression was frightened. This was the first time he had encountered an opponent whom he genuinely believed he could not defeat.
For a moment, including Kirin, Skullion, Misaki, and Suzaku—the four members of the Black Dragon Knights whom the Diabolos mages called the strongest members of the guild—all the Dragon Slayers belonging to the Dragon Eater Guild felt August's overwhelming strength.
It was an invincible strength, so overwhelming that it made people incapable of even generating the desire to win.
"GOD is screwed…"
On the other side, Serena, who had been forcibly brought forward after being called out by Skullion, had tears glimmering in his eyes. Feeling August's unimaginably powerful magical energy, he was filled with despair. He seemed to have already seen the miserable life awaiting him.
"August, can you leave these Dragon Eaters to me? I have some grudges with them too~"
Just as August was preparing to attack, Selene, who had been sitting beside the long table with great interest while watching the Dragon Eaters, suddenly stood up. With an enchanting gait, she walked to August's side and smiled.
"Come to think of it, these guys ate members of your kind, didn't they, Selene?"
August heard her words, lowered the magic staff he had raised, and gently asked Selene.
"Yes~"
"Strictly speaking, these guys have a blood feud with both me and Ignia~"
Selene's phoenix eyes narrowed, a faint killing intent appearing within them.
"Se… Selene?! That name, that name is…"
When the Dragon Eaters heard Selene's name, their bodies suddenly trembled, and several traces of fear appeared on their faces.
"Could it be… you're the Moon Dragon God, Selene?!"
Misaki, as the current big sister of Diabolos, slightly trembled with her sensual lips. Her somewhat desolate voice contained traces of despair.
"Correct~"
Selene looked at the despairing Misaki and first gave her a sweet smile. Then, magical power erupted from her body, powerful enough to make the entire Northern Continent tremble!
With a howl, the entire town where the Fairy Tail Guild was located instantly turned into night. A brilliant golden full moon appeared high in the sky, radiating endless magical power and a cold, desolate moonlight!
At the same time, the town outside Fairy Tail had already fallen into complete chaos…
"The moon! The moon has gotten bigger!!"
"Could the moon be falling down?!"
"Run!"
"Run? Where can we run? To another world?!"
Countless townspeople stared at the enormous full moon in the sky with terrified expressions. Some shouted, some fled, while others knelt on the ground with their hands clasped together, continuously praying to the gods.
Unfortunately, whenever Fairy Tail people act, even the gods retreat! No god dared interfere…
"I… finally understand why Mr. Makarov never cared about collecting protection fees from our town! He never intended to let us live in the first place! This Fairy Tail… could it be some dark mage guild from somewhere?!"
The mayor, who had been happily chatting with Makarov and had sincerely developed admiration for him, stared at the brilliant golden full moon in the sky with his narrow eyes wide open. Cold sweat covered his forehead, and fear filled his heart as he seemed to finally understand something.
"This overwhelming magical power… absolutely does not belong to an ordinary person! The woman before us is the genuine Moon Dragon God, Selene!"
At the same time, the Dragon Eaters directly facing Selene's magical power could not stop trembling. They faintly seemed to see a terrifying nine-tailed celestial fox baring its fangs and claws behind the beautiful woman before them. That immense power was absolutely beyond what human strength could compare to.
"Selene, why don't you leave these guys to me? I'll burn every last one of them to ashes!"
Seeing Selene and August enter the scene one after another, Ignia immediately smiled. The next second, endless magical power erupted from Ignia's body. The scorching aura was like a blazing sun hanging in the sky, illuminating the heads of every Dragon Eater present. It was as though with a single thought from Ignia, endless flames would burn the heads of every one of these Dragon Eaters to ashes.
"Ignia, are you trying to avenge your kind as well?"
"When did you start caring so much about your fellow dragons? Aren't you always in favor of survival of the fittest?"
"And… don't you know what 'first come, first served' means? These guys are my prey!"
Selene, who had been preparing to attack, stopped the magical power continuously pouring from her body after hearing Ignia's words. Her beautiful eyes glared at Ignia as she asked coldly.
Meanwhile…
The moment Selene uttered Ignia's name, the Dragon Eaters became even more frantic.
"That scorching aura, and that unique name! Could that hooligan-like guy be the legendary Fire Dragon God, Ignia? Two Dragon Gods? And they're both in the same mage guild?"
Misaki's face was pale. She was completely dumbfounded. This was entirely different from the information she knew. She remembered that Georg, the former guild master of the Dragon Eater Guild Diabolos, had once said that the Dragon Gods were all enemies of one another!
If the Dragon Gods, who already possessed extraordinary strength and overwhelming combat power, were all in the same guild, then what were these Dragon Eaters supposed to do against them?! Instead of doing that, they might as well find somewhere cool and stay there…
"Hahahaha…"
Just as Misaki's brain short-circuited, Ignia suddenly laughed. He laughed extremely loudly.
"I'm not trying to avenge those weak dragons that were devoured! The reason I want to attack these Dragon Eaters is simply because I don't like the sight of them… As for first come, first served? Ha? Who the hell are you? Why should I, Ignia, listen to you? Whoever I want to fight, I'll fight! You, Selene, can't control me…"
Ignia first laughed loudly before glaring at Selene and asking.
"Huh?"
Selene's expression immediately turned cold. The smile that had originally adorned her beautiful face vanished like a fleeting flower, disappearing without a trace after only a brief appearance.
"Hey! You guys are getting a little noisy! I'm getting annoyed listening to you…"
Acnologia, who had remained silent the entire time, casually picked at his ear before staring sharply at Selene and Ignia and speaking coldly.
"Acnologia… you want to fight, is that it? You think I'm afraid of you?"
Ignia immediately turned his attention toward Acnologia.
"Acnologia, don't think you're still the Dragon King from four hundred years ago, while we're still the weak little dragons we were four hundred years ago!"
Selene also showed Acnologia no courtesy.
"That man actually dares to provoke Selene and Ignia? And from the looks of it, the Moon Dragon God Selene and Fire Dragon God Ignia are actually at a disadvantage? You've got to be kidding!"
As Selene, Ignia, and Acnologia exchanged barbs, all the Dragon Eaters were stunned. They knew the identities of Selene and Ignia. They were Dragon Gods, dragons who had been given the names of gods, possessing power comparable to that of deities. Yet now, dragons with power equal to gods were actually on the weaker side? It was simply unbelievable…
"Acnologia? I think I've heard that name somewhere before. It looks like Acnologia already knew Ignia and Selene four hundred years ago. Wait, they mentioned the Dragon King Festival just now… Could it be? No way?!"
At this moment, Misaki, the most knowledgeable member of the Dragon Eater Guild, suddenly trembled. She abruptly remembered where she had heard the name Acnologia and immediately exclaimed.
"Big Sister Misaki, have you heard of the name Acnologia?"
Misaki's little sister Kiria looked at the trembling back of her normally fearless big sister, who always charged forward without hesitation, and could not help asking.
"Acnologia… If I remember correctly, that was the dragon who drove the dragons out of Ishgar four hundred years ago and, in the battle historically known as the 'Dragon King Festival,' exterminated all the dragons who participated in the Dragon King Festival. He was known as the final Dragon King of the dragon race, and his name was recorded by the Magic Council ERA of Ishgar in the Book of Revelation. He was the 'Black Dragon King' Acnologia, the King of All Dragons, an existence capable of destroying the world!"
Misaki told her little sister Kiria about the information she had once researched.
"Uh… The King of All Dragons? Compared to the Dragon Gods, who is stronger?"
Kiria froze for a moment. She suddenly felt cold air rising from her entire back. Just the title of King of All Dragons, along with the fact that he had driven the dragons from the continent of Ishgar by himself, was enough to make Kiria's entire body shiver. Not to mention what Misaki had said afterward about Acnologia exterminating all the dragons during the battle historically known as the Dragon King Festival.
At the same time, Kiria suddenly became interested in Acnologia's strength. She wanted to know who was stronger between Acnologia, who possessed so many titles, and the Dragon Gods who wreaked havoc across the Northern Continent. Thus, Kiria softly asked Misaki.
"I don't know! I only know that the reason the Dragon Gods came to the Northern Continent was because Acnologia drove them out of Ishgar… I think Acnologia is probably only stronger than the Dragon Gods, not weaker?!"
Misaki froze for a moment before answering softly.
In fact, Misaki knew very well that the Dragon Gods had been driven away by Acnologia for four hundred years, and that they had never dared to return to Ishgar to cause even the slightest trouble for Acnologia. That alone was enough to reveal who was stronger…
However, Misaki did not dare say it. She was afraid that Kiria, who was already despairing, would become even more desperate after hearing her words.
"Uh…"
Unfortunately, after hearing Misaki's words, Kiria was already completely despairing.
"Hahaha…"
"Why don't we take this opportunity to hold another Dragon King Festival?"
"Let's decide both victory and death!"
At this moment, Acnologia suddenly spoke.
Acnologia gave Ignia and Selene a cold smile. His eyes were as calm as an ancient well, like a pitch-black abyss and an endless black hole, seemingly intending to crush Ignia and Selene before him.
"What?!"
Selene and Ignia immediately had veins bulging on their foreheads, burning with rage.
"Hey, hey, hey! Aren't you guys getting this wrong? These Dragon Eaters were the ones who provoked me first~"
"Even if someone is going to deal with them, it should be me…"
"Since when did it become your turn… you juniors?!"
Just as Selene, Ignia, and Acnologia were confronting one another, Irene, who had been watching the spectacle, spoke once again. The already terrible situation instantly became even worse. With Irene joining in, the atmosphere gradually became completely different from before.
"Juniors?!"
Irene's words caused Acnologia's expression to change slightly, but he said nothing. After all, he was a Dragon Slayer, while Irene was the Mother of Dragon Slayers. Strictly speaking, he really was Irene's junior.
"Juniors?!"
Ignia and Selene exchanged glances. Their parents were both of the same generation as Belserion. Unless Irene was also of the same generation as Belserion, they should have been of the same generation as Irene.
"Belserion and I were both teacher and friend."
Just as Ignia and Selene wore strange expressions, Irene smiled and explained.
"Uh…"
After hearing Irene's explanation, Ignia and Selene immediately raised their brows. According to Irene's explanation, they really had become her juniors. But how could that be?!
"Dragons are different from you humans. We never care about seniority. We only look at strength!"
Thus, Ignia changed his wording.
"Exactly!"
Selene, for once, agreed with Ignia.
"Dragon Gods, and even the predecessors of the Dragon King?!"
As for the Dragon Eaters, they were completely dumbfounded. The seniority of the Dragon Gods and Dragon King was already beyond their imagination, yet Irene's seniority was even higher than that of the Dragon Gods and Dragon King! Who exactly was Irene? How powerful was she? No one present even dared imagine it.
"Then let's fight!"
Irene smiled and spoke with an utterly calm expression.
"Boom!!"
The instant Irene finished speaking, the magical power of Ignia, Irene, Selene, and Acnologia erupted into the sky simultaneously. The terrifying waves of magical power crushed the Dragon Eaters the instant the four released their power! With the exception of the four members of the Black Dragon Knights, who continued to hold on, everyone else immediately fell to their knees. They crawled against the ground, pressing their proud heads firmly against the floor as though they were worshipping their king, their god!
"Four Dragon Gods!"
At the same time, after sensing the magical power released by Irene and the others, the minds of the Dragon Eaters all went blank before four words appeared in their thoughts.
"Four Dragon Gods!"
Just as Irene and the others continued releasing their magical power, Evan finally moved!
In an instant, magical power no weaker than that of a Dragon God, and even faintly surpassing them, erupted from Evan's body! Evan was clearly a human, yet the magical power he released was already almost equal to the combined magical power of Selene and Ignia.
In other words, Evan's magical power had faintly reached twice that of a Dragon God…
"Bang!"
At the instant Evan released his magical power, the four members of the Black Dragon Knights finally could not hold on any longer. Under this immense magical pressure, they were forced to kneel on the ground, unable to look directly at the five figures who seemed like gods beneath the radiance of their magical power.
As for August, he had already returned to his ordinary appearance and was using his own magical power to help the Fairy Tail members resist the pressure released by Evan and the others.
"Five Dragon Gods! There are actually five monsters on the level of Dragon Gods within the Fairy Tail Guild!"
"Damn it, which is actually the better destination for Dragon Slayers? Is it our Dragon Eater Guild Diabolos, a guild completely composed of Dragon Slayers, or is Fairy Tail the true paradise for Dragon Slayers?!"
"And another thing! Your guild has so many monsters on the level of Dragon Gods, so why don't you call yourselves the Dragon's Tail? Why insist on calling yourselves Fairy Tail? After entering this guild, I've seen a monster old man, a horned demon, and invincible Dragon Gods, but I haven't seen a single fairy! Bastards…"
Misaki cursed helplessly. Her mentality had completely collapsed.
"We were wrong! Master Evan, GOD really knows our mistake! Can you give us another chance? One last chance…"
Just as Misaki sensed that she was about to die, Serena suddenly knelt before Evan and began crying out repeatedly.
"Huh?!"
Misaki stared at the crying Serena before her, her eyes suddenly lighting up. She thought, "Could there be a turning point?"
"A chance?!"
Evan sneered in response.
"It's over!"
Seeing Evan's cold smile, Misaki's heart immediately sank. She knew that this chance probably did not exist.
"Giving you a chance isn't necessarily impossible!"
Just as Misaki fell into despair once again, Evan spoke.
"Surely we really have no chance… Wait, what did you say?!"
Misaki had already fallen into despair, but after hearing Evan clearly, a seed called hope suddenly sprouted in her heart. After experiencing despair, hope became extraordinarily precious.
For a moment, all the Dragon Eaters' spirits were shaken as they looked at Evan with trembling hearts.
"Don't look at me like that. After all, I'm not exactly a devil…"
Evan merely smiled as he felt the longing in the eyes of every Dragon Eater.
"No! How could the devil possibly compare with you?! That would be an insult to you! You're obviously even more devilish than the devil…"
After Evan finished speaking, this was the thought that simultaneously emerged in the hearts of the Dragon Eaters. They all silently complained.
"How about this? Let's play a game~"
"You know the Dogramag Great Labyrinth, which was transformed from the Earth Dragon God, right?"
"An old man's heart fell inside that labyrinth. If you can enter the labyrinth and bring that heart out completely unharmed, I'll let you go!"
Evan smiled as he spoke to the Dragon Eaters.
"The Dogramag Great Labyrinth? I heard that labyrinth is extremely dangerous! But… we have no other choice. We can only risk everything and fight!!"
The Dragon Eaters exchanged glances. They knew this was their final chance.
Thus, led by Kirin and Misaki, the Dragon Eaters solemnly replied to Evan:
"We understand. Rest assured, we will definitely bring the heart out completely unharmed!"
"Very good…"
"But a game without competitors would be boring!"
"Besides you Dragon Eaters, I'll also send mages from the Fairy Tail Guild into the labyrinth. They will compete against you for ownership of the heart! If the people from Fairy Tail ultimately bring the heart out, then I'm sorry, but the game ends, and you will still be punished… Remember that, understood?"
Evan nodded in satisfaction at the Dragon Eaters' attitude before smiling and continuing.
"We… understand!"
The Dragon Eaters' expressions changed slightly upon hearing that Fairy Tail would compete against them, but they quickly calmed down. It was not that they were unafraid of Fairy Tail or believed that Fairy Tail would not cause them difficulties. Rather… they had no way out anymore. They could only risk everything.
"Very good. Then let me say this one last time. Since Natsu, Gajeel, and Serena have joined you, they will count as members of your faction~ As long as any one of those three brings the heart out, it will count as a victory for Diabolos!"
Evan assigned Natsu, Gajeel, and Serena to Diabolos' side.
"Good!"
The people of Diabolos knew Natsu's strength. As for Serena and Gajeel, with Suzaku of the Black Dragon Knights vouching for them, their strength naturally could not be poor. With Natsu, Serena, and Gajeel's assistance, the odds of victory for the Black Dragon Knights would inevitably increase greatly.
Meanwhile, the S-Class mages and S-Class mage candidates of Fairy Tail were also eager to participate.
"The heart will definitely belong to Fairy Tail!"
Led by the "Desert King" Ajil, the hot-blooded faction excitedly stared at the Diabolos mages. They seemed unable to wait any longer to begin the game.
"This is getting interesting…"
"Winter General" Invel Yura gently pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose, the corners of his mouth rising slightly.
Yes, Invel was getting excited too…
"Since that's settled, what are you all standing around for? Go~"
Evan waved toward the members of Diabolos and Fairy Tail.
"Yeah!"
Inside the Fairy Tail Guild, Selene and Irene exchanged glances before simultaneously casting teleportation magic.
"Buzz!"
In an instant, the Dragon Eaters of Diabolos and the mages of Fairy Tail disappeared from the guild hall.
Almost in the blink of an eye…
Everyone only felt their vision blur. When they opened their eyes again, they had already arrived at the entrance of the Dogramag Great Labyrinth.
The Dogramag Great Labyrinth was unimaginably enormous, so naturally it had more than one entrance. The mages of Diabolos and Fairy Tail were randomly scattered among the various entrances.
Thus, naturally, there were situations where Dragon Eaters from Diabolos were assigned to the same entrance as Fairy Tail mages.
"You're a Dragon Eater? Die!"
"Damn Fairy Tail mage, you're the one who should die!"
Therefore, the moment they were teleported, the battle had already begun.
"Then let's sit back and enjoy the show~"
Evan snapped his fingers lightly. Immediately, scene after scene appeared before the remaining members inside the guild. Yes, Evan, Irene, Selene, Ignia, Acnologia, August, and Makarov, the guild master, had all chosen not to participate in this competition.
"This is pretty interesting~"
Selene watched the scenes before her with great interest.
"I see Erza."
Irene directly selected the scene showing Erza from among the many images.
"Boring!"
Acnologia was as self-centered as ever.
"Hehe, good luck, Fairy Tail!"
Makarov and August, the two guild masters of Fairy Tail, continuously cheered for Fairy Tail.
"Uh…"
Only Ignia was drenched in cold sweat as he stared at the scenes before him, completely flustered.
"Could it be that Evan has figured out my plan with Dogramag?"
"Did Evan actually use dealing with the Dragon Eaters as an excuse to deal with me and Dogramag?"
Ignia's body trembled slightly, his heart filled with anxiety.
"No! Not necessarily. After all, my plan is invincible…"
After thinking for a while, Ignia comforted himself.
"Ignia, why are you so nervous?! Could it be… that you've done something guilty?"
Just as Ignia was reassuring himself that Evan had not discovered the dirty dealings between him and Dogramag, Evan somehow appeared beside Ignia. He leaned close to Ignia's ear and asked with a mischievous smile.
"N-no, nothing! What do I have to be nervous about? And as for doing something guilty, how could I possibly do something like that?"
Upon hearing Evan's words, Ignia's body trembled as though he had been electrocuted. He immediately distanced himself from Evan while awkwardly trying to conceal his panic.
"Really? I thought you and Dogramag had engaged in some dirty py transaction and were planning to do something you didn't want anyone to know about. What do you think, Ignia?"
As Ignia desperately tried to conceal his extremely guilty conscience, Evan patted him on the shoulder and spoke with a gentle, smiling expression.
However, Evan's words concealed murderous intent. Although they sounded like a question directed at Ignia, his tone sounded much more like a statement.
"Ah… We're screwed! Evan really did discover my conspiracy with Dogramag!"
When Ignia heard Evan's voice, his expression finally stiffened, and the smile on his face gradually froze.
"Hehe~"
Evan looked at Ignia's ashen face and immediately smiled.
A smile never truly disappears.
It merely transfers from one person to another…