"Show me your true form..." Blake's voice started low, then rose to a command that shook the trees. "TENSA ZANGETSU!"
BOOOOOM.
It wasn't an explosion of fire or lightning. It was an eruption of pure, unadulterated spiritual pressure. A column of black and red energy blasted upward from Blake's position, piercing the clouds and reaching toward the dragon circling above.
The ground cracked in a spiderweb pattern for fifty meters. The Fairy Tail mages were forced to shield their eyes as a gale-force wind whipped through the clearing.
Inside the pillar of energy, Blake's silhouette began to change. The tattered remains of his trench coat disintegrated, replaced by woven threads of spiritual energy. The sword in his hand liquefied, reshaping itself, evolving.
As the light dimmed, the guild stared in awe.
Blake stood there, but he looked different. His wounds were gone—not just healed, but erased, his skin unblemished and radiating vitality. He was wearing a long, tattered black coat with a crimson interior, the fabric moving as if it were alive.
But it was the sword that drew every eye.
Gone was the simple black katana. In its place, held firmly in Blake's grip, was a weapon of terrifying beauty. It resembled a large, modified Khyber knife. The inner part of the blade was a deep, void-like black, forming the cutting edge and the handle, wrapped in black cloth similar to his old sword. But the back of the blade was different—a slanted, silver-grey steel that jutted out to form a rugged guard.
From the base of the handle, a heavy black chain extended, looping over the top of the blade and attaching near the tip, creating a brutal, industrial aesthetic. It looked less like a sword and more like a tool designed to butcher gods.
"That power..." Erza whispered, her hands trembling. "It feels completely different from before. It's... sharper."
"He feels like a sword," Gildarts murmured, staring with wide eyes. "Like he turned his whole body into a blade."
Blake lowered the weapon. The weight of it felt perfect. It felt like an extension of his arm, an extension of his soul.
He turned to look at the guild. He saw the worry on Cana's face, the fear in Mirajane's eyes, the grim determination of Makarov.
He offered them a small, confident smile.
"Sorry for making you worry," Blake said, his voice calm, cutting through the roaring wind. "I had to sort some things out in my head."
"Blake..." Cana stepped forward.
"Don't worry," Blake interrupted gently. "I will take care of the dragon."
He looked up at the sky, his eyes locking onto the circling beast.
"Why don't you all leave the island?" Blake continued, his tone casual, as if suggesting a lunch break. "Get to the ship. I assure you, I will defeat him."
"Are you crazy?!" Gray shouted. "We're not leaving you alone with that thing!"
"We fight together!" Lucy cried.
Blake didn't argue. He didn't have time to argue.
"Trust me," was all he said.
The ground beneath him pulverized instantly.
VWOOM.
He didn't jump; he vanished. Using Geppo with a force that shattered the sound barrier, Blake rocketed into the sky, a streak of black lightning ascending to meet the apocalypse.
High in the upper atmosphere, the air was thin and freezing.
Acnologia had stopped circling. The dragon hovered, his massive wings beating rhythmically, creating hurricanes with every stroke. His blue-glowing eyes narrowed as the black streak shot up from the island and halted directly in front of him.
Blake stood in the air, face-to-face with the Dragon King. He was a speck of dust compared to the mountain-sized reptile, but his presence was undeniable. The aura radiating from his new sword pushed back against the dragon's oppressive magic.
"You survive," Acnologia's voice rumbled, vibrating in Blake's chest. The dragon sounded genuinely surprised. "I crushed your bones. I swatted you from the sky. Yet you return, insect."
Acnologia's lips curled back to reveal rows of jagged teeth.
"Interesting. It has been an age since a human survived a direct blow. You have evolved in the span of minutes."
The dragon leaned his massive head forward.
"Can you entertain me more? Or was your survival merely luck?"
Blake tightened his grip on the handle of True Tensa Zangetsu. The chain rattled ominously.
"Maybe, maybe not," Blake shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe you will be my entertainment, lizard."
Silence stretched for a heartbeat.
Then, Acnologia laughed.
"GUAHAHAHAHA!"
The laughter dispersed the clouds for miles.
"ARROGANT! I LIKE IT!"
Acnologia moved.
He swung his right claw. It wasn't the casual swat he had used before. This was a dedicated strike, powered by the muscles that had torn civilizations apart. The air screamed as it was compressed ahead of the claw.
Blake didn't dodge.
He stepped into the air, bracing his legs against the nothingness. He swung his sword upward.
CLANG!
The collision was cataclysmic.
The sound didn't just deafen; it silenced the world. A shockwave expanded horizontally, a ring of pure force that cut the sky in two.
Below, on the island, trees were uprooted by the sheer pressure of the air being displaced.
In the sky, Blake held his ground.
His blade was locked against Acnologia's claw. Sparks the size of bonfires rained down from the point of contact.
Blake's muscles bulged, the veins in his forehead throbbing.
Acnologia pressed down.
"Is this your limit?!" the dragon roared, applying more force.
"Not... even... close!" Blake gritted out.
He channeled the spiritual pressure. The white aura mixed with his black Haki.
With a roar of effort, Blake pushed.
He didn't just hold the claw; he forced it back.
Acnologia's eyes widened. He felt resistance—true, unyielding resistance.
"HOH?"
Acnologia exerted his full physical power. The muscles in his arm rippled, scales grinding against each other. The force was enough to shatter a continent.
Blake matched it.
He poured every ounce of his Conqueror's Haki into the blade, creating a barrier that refused to break. The sheer density of his spirit equalized the sheer mass of the dragon.
They hung there in the sky, a stalemate of titans. Man and Dragon, locked in a test of strength that defied physics.
Master Makarov watched the battle. He saw the shockwaves. He saw the black speck holding back the black mountain.
His heart hammered in his chest.
He's doing it, Makarov thought, awe and terror warring in his mind. He's actually fighting him. But for how long?
Makarov knew war. He knew that stalemates against monsters like Acnologia were temporary. Eventually, the human would tire. Eventually, the dragon would use magic.
"Listen to me!" Makarov turned to the guild, his voice hard as iron. "Everyone, head to the ship! We are retreating to Magnolia immediately!"
The guild erupted in protest.
"What?!" Natsu screamed, pointing at the sky. "You want us to run away?! Blake is fighting for his life up there!"
"We can help him!" Gajeel shouted. "If we all attack together—"
"NO!" Makarov slammed his giant fist into the ground, silencing them. "Look at that battle! That is a clash of gods! If you stay, you will not be reinforcements. You will be collateral damage! You will be a distraction!"
Tears welled up in Makarov's eyes. "Do not let his sacrifice be in vain! He is buying us a chance to survive! MOVE!"
"We're not leaving!" Gray argued, stepping forward. "Fairy Tail doesn't abandon its own!"
Makarov closed his eyes. He had to be the Master. He had to make the choice that saved the future.
"This is a Master's Order!" Makarov bellowed, his magic power flaring. "All members are to evacuate immediately!"
He paused, looking at the strongest among them.
"However... we cannot leave him completely unsupported."
Makarov took a deep breath.
"S-Class Mages. You stay."
The crowd froze.
"Gildarts. Laxus. Erza. Mirajane." Makarov looked at the newest member. "And Cana. You five remain with me. We will form the final line of defense. If Blake falls, we buy time for Blake to breathe."
He pointed to the rest. "Natsu, Gray, Gajeel, Wendy, Lucy, and the others... GET ON THE BOAT!"
"Gramps!" Natsu protested, tears streaming down his face.
"GO!" Gildarts roared, stepping forward. His face was terrifying. "Do as the Master says, Natsu!"
Reluctantly, painfully, the guild began to move. Natsu was dragged away by Happy and Lily. Wendy was crying hysterically as Carla pulled her toward the shore.
The ship was loaded. The engine roared to life.
On the beach, six figures stood watching the sky. Makarov, Laxus, Erza, Mirajane, Cana, and Gildarts. The last line of defense.
As the boat was going to Magnolia...
The ship cut through the water, moving as fast as its engines could push it. On the deck, Natsu and the others watched the island shrinking in the distance, the flashes of black and blue light in the sky marking the battle.
High above, Acnologia's nose twitched.
Even in the midst of his clash with Blake, his predatory instincts were sharp. He smelled it.
Dragon Slayers.
The vermin he had come to destroy were moving away. They were clustering together on a piece of wood in the water.
Acnologia's eyes shifted from Blake to the ocean.
"The impurities... are escaping."
Blake felt the shift in pressure. "Hey! Eyes on me!"
Acnologia ignored him. The Dragon King didn't care about a duel; he cared about his mission. Extinction.
Acnologia flapped his wings, breaking the stalemate and ascending higher. He opened his maw wide.
Magic gathered.
It wasn't a fireball. It was raw, blue arcane energy. A Dragon's Roar capable of vaporizing an island. And he wasn't aiming at Blake. He was aiming at the ship.
"ARCANE DRAGON"S ....."
The light in his throat became blinding. The sheer heat began to boil the ocean below.
On the ship, Natsu and Gajeel felt the lock-on. They froze. "He's targeting us!"
Blake saw the trajectory. His Observation Haki showed him the future: The ship turning to ash. Cana screaming on the shore.
"NO YOU DON'T!"
Blake kicked the air.
He moved faster than he had ever moved in his life. He didn't go for the dragon's neck or back. He went low.
He appeared directly beneath Acnologia's massive lower jaw.
He sheathed his sword mid-air, crouching into a tight ball of potential energy.
He drew the sword upward in a vertical uppercut, putting his entire body weight, his soul, and his desperation into the strike.
Hakoku Sovereignty
THWACK.
The flat side of the heavy Khyber blade slammed into the underside of Acnologia's jaw.
It wasn't a cut. It was a blunt force impact of astronomical proportions.
Blake released a pulse of Anti-Magic directly into the dragon's throat glands, destabilizing the gathering energy.
The force of the uppercut was so violent that it snapped Acnologia's head upward.
The dragon's neck whipped back. The mouth, which had been aiming down at the ocean, was forcibly directed toward the stratosphere.
"...ROAR!"
The roar fired.
But instead of hitting the ship, the beam of blue devastation shot straight up into space.
VROOOOM.
The sky split open. The beam exited the atmosphere, punching a hole in the clouds that revealed the stars for a brief second before the shockwave slammed shut again.
The recoil of the misfired roar sent Acnologia tumbling backward in the air. He flailed, smoke pouring from his nostrils, disoriented by the interruption and the sudden blow to his chin.
The dragon shook his head, a low growl rumbling in his throat that sounded like tectonic plates shifting. He leveled his gaze back at Blake. The amusement was gone. Now, there was irritation.
"You..." Acnologia hissed. "You dare divert my judgment?"
Blake spun his sword, resting it casually on his shoulder, though his heart was racing a mile a minute. He forced a cocky grin onto his face.
"Getting distracted in the middle of a fight?" Blake clicked his tongue, wagging a finger at the giant dragon. "That's bad form, your Majesty. Keep your eyes on the opponent in front of you."
Blake pointed True Tensa Zangetsu at the dragon's nose.
"Looking away might lead to serious injuries. Next time, I won't use the flat of the blade."
Acnologia's eyes glowed brighter. The air grew hot.
"Insolent worm," Acnologia roared, abandoning the ship. "I will erase you first, then I will hunt them down!"
"That's it," Blake whispered, his grip tightening. "Focus on me. Hate me. Forget about them."
He flared his aura, challenging the King of Dragons to come and get him.
"Come on!"