The sea of flames scorched the earth that had just been washed by the waves. With the hissing steam rising, the surrounding temperature climbed rapidly.
Under Atlas Flame's heavy impact and Future Natsu's divine power-infused Fire Dragon Iron Fist, Zirconis—already severely wounded by Lucy—finally reached its limit. It collapsed with a thunderous crash, twitched twice, and rolled its eyes back as it fell unconscious.
At the same time, the sound of Natsu and Lucy hitting the ground rang out.
Due to momentum, Natsu had used himself as a cushion to protect Lucy from the impact.
"Natsu!" Lucy exclaimed in surprise.
"So heavy..."
Natsu's head emerged from between two hemispheres, his face full of disgust. "Lucy, how much weight have you put on lately?"
THUD THUD!
Lucy's smile froze instantly. A vein popped on her forehead as she rapped him on the head twice. "I haven't gained weight!!"
"You're clearly heavier than before we came here..." Natsu stood up, rubbing his head and muttering.
Seeing that he wasn't teasing her, Lucy panicked, frantically reviewing her recent diet.
Come to think of it, ever since arriving in the future world, banquets had been nonstop. Especially in the past few days, she'd sampled every delicacy and dessert in Crocus!
Had she really gained weight?
Absolutely not!
"Hey Lucy, want me to burn off the extra fat?" Future Natsu leaned in with a mischievous grin.
"If it helps Lucy, then there's no choice—we'll start with the chest and butt~" Natsu joined in.
The two raised their fiery fists and approached Lucy with lecherous grins.
Lucy snapped out of her thoughts, clutching her chest and backing away. "You're demons! That's harassment!!"
Atlas Flame stood atop Zirconis, its blazing eyes shifting to take in the scene behind it.
In this serious battlefield ruled by dragons, to still maintain such a playful mood—truly worthy of being Igneel's child.
On the way here, it had learned the full story from the two Natsus.
Atlas Flame's attitude toward humans had always been relatively indifferent. It wasn't as extreme as the dragons bent on extermination.
The reason it had joined the opposition faction was purely because it disagreed with the coexistence faction's self-righteousness—and also because fire-attributed dragons were naturally inclined to fight.
So once it confirmed that Natsu was Igneel's son, it decisively switched to the human side.
In a sense, Natsu's very existence represented the Fire Dragon King Igneel's stance!
Shizalansa, having recovered from its "seafood allergy" panic, was completely unaware of this. Its crimson eyes locked onto the blazing Hellfire Dragon. "Atlas Flame, what is the meaning of this?"
"Are you planning to side with the humans and become a traitor?"
Reminded of this, Lucy, who had been agonizing over her weight, finally noticed—
The two Natsus had arrived riding this Fire Dragon?!
"We only gathered for a common goal. There's no such thing as betrayal. 'Siding with humans' is a ridiculous judgment."
Atlas Flame spread its fiery wings, stirring a wave of scorching heat. "The one worth following has always been only Igneel!"
"Igneel?"
At the mention of that name, Shizalansa's expression turned sour.
It remembered the Fire Dragon King's terrifying power all too well. The opposition faction had invited Igneel to join their cause multiple times, but each time it had refused, saying, "Don't interfere with humans."
Now, from Atlas Flame's words, was Igneel leaning toward humanity?
Or was it those two humans carrying dragon scents causing trouble?
Or was this just an excuse for Atlas Flame to "defect"?
Shizalansa couldn't determine which reason was true, nor did it care to investigate.
Atlas Flame's actions had fully placed it on the opposite side. It was now an enemy that must be killed!
"This is dragon territory. You should know what the consequences of this will be!"
Shizalansa roared to the sky. As if answering its call, unfamiliar dragons descended from the heavens, surrounding Atlas Flame, Natsu, and Lucy from all sides!
These were dragons from other regions beyond the primeval forest!
"If fear of battle made me falter, I wouldn't be Atlas Flame the Hellfire Dragon!"
Atlas Flame blazed with fighting spirit, radiating waves of scorching heat like a miniature sun.
For some reason, on the two Natsus, it felt a long-lost surge of blood.
As if standing beside it now weren't human brats, but Igneel himself!
"Lucy, let's fight together until the very end!" Future Natsu clashed his fists, sparking lightning and flames, facing the dragon horde's pressure.
"If we back down here, Chase will spank us when we get back~" Natsu, also in Destruction Fire Dragon Mode, grinned.
"Even without you two reminding me, I was going to do it! Because—"
A Celestial Spirit magic circle blazed. Lucy switched to her strongest Dual Celestial Spirit Dress form.
Standing between the two Natsus, she stepped forward. Starlight burst from her clenched fist as her lips curved upward. "I'm fired up!"
The final battle, using every ounce of magic power, had begun!
At the same time, on other battlefields.
A biting wind swept across the shattered earth, lifting crimson and pure white hair.
Mirajane and Erza supported each other as they walked out from between the collapsed dragon bodies, each as massive as a hill.
They were Nidhogg the Sword Armor Dragon and Methpheon the Illusion Dragon.
"I didn't expect that defeating just these two dragons would drain all our magic power."
Erza's armor was battered and broken. Her exhausted face showed deep gravity.
Though she knew dragons were terrifyingly powerful creatures, knowing and fighting were two entirely different things.
Even with numerous buffs and all their magic imbued with divine power, they had barely managed to defeat one or two.
It was truly unimaginable what disaster tens of thousands of dragons would cause if they crossed the Eclipse Gate unprepared.
"I wonder how the others are doing."
Unable to maintain her Take Over magic, Mirajane returned to normal form. She instinctively looked toward the center of the most chaotic magic storm. "And Chase..."
Dragons were incredibly strong and versatile. Despite her absolute faith in Chase, she couldn't help but worry.
Knowing his personality, even if he stayed safe, he'd end up covered in wounds by the end.
***
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