The silence in the courtyard of Castle Mercurius was absolute, a heavy blanket draped over a scene of mythic slaughter. But beyond the castle walls, down in the labyrinthine streets of Crocus, the roar of battle was still deafening.
Blake stepped over the cooling snout of the Crimson Dragon. He didn't look back at his handiwork. He had done his part—he had decapitated the leadership, crushed the morale of the invasion, and removed the bulk of the threat. Now, he walked toward the city edge, his boots crunching on debris, his coat slung over one shoulder like a weary traveler.
He stopped at the shattered ramparts, looking down into the urban sprawl.
Smoke pillars rose from four distinct locations in the southern district. Flashes of magic—Gold, Shadow, Iron-Grey, Red, and Yellow—illuminated the twilight like a chaotic thunderstorm.
Blake closed his eyes for a moment, his Observation Haki expanding outward like an invisible sonar. It bypassed the chaotic magical signatures of the battle and sought out specific heartbeats.
Found them.
Deep within the reinforced underground shelter of the Domus Flau, he sensed the familiar, steady rhythm of Cana Alberona's heart. She was agitated, likely drinking from a barrel she'd smuggled in, but she was unharmed. Beside her, the distinct, lazy aura of Brandish μ was present.
Blake focused sharper. He sensed the small, frantic heartbeats of the children. They were safe. Brandish had likely shrunk any falling debris that came near them, or perhaps she was shrinking candy to make it last longer. Either way, the "Next Generation" was secure.
"Good," Blake whispered, his shoulders relaxing slightly.
He opened his eyes. He sat down on the edge of the castle wall, legs dangling over a hundred-foot drop.
"Now... show me what you've learned."
---
Sting Eucliffe and Rogue Cheney were fighting for their lives.
Their opponent was the Scythe Dragon, a creature with scales as sharp as razor blades and a tail that ended in a crescent-shaped bone blade. It was fast—faster than anything they had faced in the arena.
"White Dragon's Roar!" Sting screamed, firing a laser of holy light.
The dragon twisted its body with serpentine grace, the beam scorching a harmless line across its flank. It whipped its tail around.
"Shadow Drive!" Rogue merged into the shadows on the ground, barely evading the scythe-tail that sliced through the stone pillar he had been standing next to. The building behind him collapsed cleanly in two.
"You are annoying flies!" the Scythe Dragon hissed. "Fast, but weak!"
It lunged at Sting. Sting crossed his arms. "White Drive!"
He caught the dragon's jaws, his boots skidding backward, carving trenches in the street. The physical strength of the beast was overwhelming.
"Rogue! Now!" Sting gritted out.
Rogue erupted from the dragon's shadow, right under its belly. "Shadow Dragon's Waxwing Flash!"
Shadows bombarded the dragon's soft underbelly. The beast roared in annoyance, shaking Sting off and spinning to swat Rogue into a storefront.
"Damn it," Sting panted, wiping blood from his forehead. "It's too durable. My attacks aren't piercing deep enough."
"We need an opening," Rogue said, pulling himself out of the rubble. "A big one."
High above on a rooftop, Wendy Marvell was glowing with a pale blue aura. She was the anchor. Her lungs were burning, her magic draining rapidly as she maintained enchantments on five different people simultaneously across the city.
"Vernier! Arms! Armor!" Wendy chanted, casting the buffs on Sting and Rogue again. "Please... you have to win!"
---
Gajeel Redfox was having the time of his life, which meant he was currently being beaten into a pulp.
He was locked in a slugfest with the Dark Steel Dragon. This dragon didn't breathe fire or wind; it breathed a corrosive black mist that rusted metal instantly.
"Iron Dragon's Club!" Gajeel extended his arm, turning it into a massive steel pillar.
The Dark Steel Dragon met the strike with its own head.
CLANG.
The sound was like a church bell ringing inside a tin can.
"Is that all?" the dragon mocked, its metallic scales unblemished. "Your iron is soft! It is impure!"
It opened its mouth. A cloud of rusting mist sprayed over Gajeel.
Gajeel grinned. He didn't dodge.
He inhaled.
"Thanks for the meal!"
He sucked the corrosive mist into his lungs. It burned. It tasted like battery acid and old coins. But to an Iron Dragon Slayer, it was fuel.
His skin turned a dark, carbonized black. "Iron Shadow Dragon Mode!"
"You ate my breath?" The dragon stepped back, confused.
"I eat anything tough," Gajeel growled, shadows leaking from his eyes. "Iron Shadow Dragon's Roar!"
A vortex of steel shards and shadows blasted the dragon. It pushed the beast back, scratching its armor, but the dragon dug its claws into the street and held its ground.
"Still not enough!" the dragon roared, charging forward and ramming Gajeel through three consecutive buildings.
---
Laxus Dreyar stood alone in the center of a crater. His shirt was gone. His body was crackling with enough electricity to power the entire kingdom.
Hovering above him was the Thunderhead Dragon, a beast constantly shrouded in storm clouds.
"You call yourself a Lightning Dragon Slayer?" the dragon boomed, its voice sounding like thunder. "I AM THE STORM!"
A bolt of natural lightning, miles wide, descended from the heavens.
Laxus looked up. He didn't block. He raised his hand and caught the lightning bolt.
He channeled the millions of volts through his body, his muscles seizing up, his eyes glowing white.
"You're just a battery," Laxus spat.
He redirected the energy. "Red Lightning: Calamity Bolt!"
He fired the red lightning Blake had helped him master back at the dragon. The red energy tore through the dragon's clouds, striking its wing. The beast screamed, falling from the sky and crashing into a park.
But as Laxus prepared to finish it, the dragon recovered instantly. It shook off the damage, its wounds cauterizing with electricity.
The dragon roared, firing a breath attack of concentrated plasma.
Laxus was forced to dodge, the beam vaporizing the city block where he had stood. He was panting. He was strong, but the dragon's stamina was infinite compared to his.
---
Natsu Dragneel was facing the Furnace Dragon.
This dragon was unique. It wasn't just fire; its body was made of molten rock and contained a core that burned hotter than magma.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Natsu punched the dragon in the leg.
His fist bounced off. The heat was so intense it singed Natsu's knuckles—something that shouldn't be possible.
"Hot, hot, hot!" Natsu shook his hand.
"You cannot burn fire," the Furnace Dragon rumbled. "I was bathed in the heart of a volcano for a hundred years. Your flames are nothing but a candle."
The dragon swiped its claws. Natsu barely rolled away, but the heat wave sent him tumbling.
"I'm all fired up," Natsu claimed, but his voice was strained. He was exhausted from the Games. His magic reserves were low. And this dragon... it was just so big.
He tried to eat the dragon's flames, but the Furnace Dragon simply stopped using breath attacks and started using its massive tail to bludgeon Natsu.
WHAM.
Natsu was slammed into the ground. He tried to get up, but the dragon stepped on him, pinning him under a claw the size of a carriage.
"End of the line, human."
---
From his vantage point on the castle wall, Blake frowned.
"They're hitting the wall," he muttered.
The Dragon Slayers were powerful. They had the potential. But they were running on fumes. The dragons, fresh from the gate and fueled by ancient magic, were simply outlasting them.
Gajeel was buried under rubble.
Sting and Rogue were back-to-back, surrounded by the Scythe Dragon's rapid movements.
Laxus was on one knee, his lightning sputtering.
Natsu was pinned.
"Do I step in?" Blake asked himself. He stood up, his hand drifting to his sword.
If he stepped in now, they would live. But they wouldn't learn. They wouldn't transcend.
He hesitated.
Then, he felt it.
Hundreds of magical signatures rushing from the evacuation zones.
A smile touched Blake's lips. He sat back down.
"Calvary's here."
"GET YOUR DIRTY CLAW OFF HIM!"
A massive wave of ice crashed into the Furnace Dragon's leg. It wasn't enough to freeze the magma beast, but the thermal shock caused the dragon to flinch and lift its foot.
Natsu scrambled free, gasping for air.
He looked up. Standing on a rooftop, shirtless as always, was Gray Fullbuster. Beside him was Lyon Vastia.
"Gray?" Natsu coughed.
"Don't look so pathetic, Flame Brain," Gray shouted, molding a massive ice cannon. "We're not done yet!"
"Ice-Make: Eagle!" Lyon fired a barrage of ice birds that bombarded the dragon's eyes, distracting it.
In the Western District, Laxus was staring down another plasma beam.
Suddenly, massive rock pillars erupted from the ground, intercepting the beam. The rock turned to slag, but it held just long enough.
Jura Neekis stepped out from an alleyway, dusting off his robes.
"I cannot let the man who defeated me fall to a beast," Jura rumbled. "Iron Rock Wall!"
Behind him, the Trimens of Blue Pegasus arrived on their magical bomber, the Christina (or a smaller version of it), firing magical missiles at the Thunderhead Dragon.
"Go, Laxus-san!" Hibiki shouted over the loudspeaker. "We'll draw its fire!"
In the Southern Plaza, Sting and Rogue were cornered.
Suddenly, gravity intensified around the Scythe Dragon, pinning it to the floor for a split second.
Kagura Mikazuchi walked into the street, her blade Archenemy unsheathed.
"I will cut the path," Kagura stated calmly.
Millianna and the rest of New Dawn guild followed, launching binding tubes to restrict the dragon's movements.
"Now, Sabertooth!" Kagura yelled.
And in the East, Gajeel pulled himself out of the rubble to see Levi McGarden writing runes in the air.
"Solid Script: Iron!"
Huge blocks of iron fell from the sky, raining down on the Dark Steel Dragon.
"Eat up, Gajeel!" Levi screamed, tears in her eyes.
Shadow Gear and members of Lamia Scale unleashed a barrage of generic magic attacks at the dragon's legs, chipping away at its balance.
The tide turned.
It wasn't that these new mages could kill dragons. They couldn't. Their magic did little damage. But they provided distraction. They provided defense. They provided ammo.
Natsu ate the flames created by Macao and Wakaba (who were trying their best).
Gajeel gorged himself on Levi's iron.
Laxus absorbed the electricity from the Thunder Legion's lacrima batteries that Freed had set up.
Sting and Rogue felt the support of the entire city cheering them on.
"ALRIGHT!" Natsu roared, his flames turning a deep, crimson red. The heat coming off him began to rival the dragon itself. "EVERYONE, GET BACK!"
Gray and Lyon combined their magic. "Ice-Make Unlimited: Ice Geyser!"
A massive eruption of ice froze the dragon's feet to the ground.
Natsu jumped. He utilized the flames on his feet to become a rocket.
He coated his fist in fire, lightning (from his mode), and the sheer will to protect his guild.
"Lightning Flame Dragon's... DEMOLITION FIST!"
He punched the Furnace Dragon in the chest.
The thermal shock of fire-on-fire, combined with Natsu's slayer magic, shattered the dragon's molten core.
The dragon's chest exploded. It screamed as its body began to cool rapidly, turning into dead stone. It crumbled into a pile of volcanic rock.
---
Erza Scarlet arrived on the scene. She donned her Piercing Armor.
"Gajeel! I will make the opening!"
Erza launched herself at the dragon, her lance spiraling. She didn't aim to kill; she aimed for the one spot where the scales were rusted from Gajeel's earlier attack.
She pierced the armor, creating a hairline fracture.
Gajeel transformed his entire body into a shadow composed of iron filings. He flew inside the crack in the armor.
From within the dragon, a metallic roar echoed.
"Iron Dragon's Dark Sword!"
Massive iron blade pierced the dragon's body like a pincushion. The Dark Steel Dragon fell, motionless.
---
Jura and the Blue Pegasus bomber kept the dragon distracted. The dragon was annoyed, swatting at the airship.
Laxus stood on the highest tower. He raised both hands.
The sky darkened. But not with the dragon's clouds. With Laxus's clouds.
"You said you are the storm?" Laxus grinned, his teeth sparking. "I am the lightning that kills the storm."
"Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Roaring Thunder!"
He dropped a hammer of red lightning so massive it blinded the entire city. It struck the dragon mid-flight. The sheer voltage overloaded the dragon's nervous system. Its heart stopped instantly. The beast fell out of the sky, crashing into the plaza with a thud that shook the foundations of the world.
---
Minerva Orland appeared. She used her territory magic to warp the dragon's tail, causing it to slice its own wing off.
"Do it now!" she commanded.
Sting and Rogue clasped hands. Light and Shadow merged. A vortex of black and white energy spiraled into the sky.
"Unison Raid: Holy Shadow Flash Fang!"
A beam of duality shot forward. It bypassed the dragon's scales entirely, striking the soul. The Scythe Dragon was obliterated, fading away into particles of light and darkness.
The Silence After the Storm
The explosions stopped.
The roaring ceased.
The four dragons lay dead or dissolving.
For a moment, nobody moved. The mages of Fiore stood amidst the rubble, chests heaving, clothes torn, magic depleted.
Then, a single cheer started.
"We... we did it?"
"WE KILLED THEM!"
"FAIRY TAIL!"
"SABERTOOTH!"
"HUMANITY WINS!"
The city erupted. People poured out of the shelters. Mages hugged each other. Natsu collapsed onto his back, grinning at the sky. Gajeel was trying to pull himself out of the iron corpse he was stuck in. Laxus gave a thumbs up to Jura.
It was a victory earned through blood, sweat, and unity.
But then, the sound of heavy footsteps silenced the nearby crowd.
Through the smoke of the southern plaza, a figure walked toward them.
He was shirtless, his body a map of scars and muscle. He was covered in blood—green, red, purple, black—so much that his skin looked dyed.
He dragged a black energy sword behind him that carved a groove in the stone street.
The cheering died down as the mages turned to look.
Natsu sat up. "Blake?"
"You took your time," Blake said, his voice raspy.
"Blake!" Lucy ran over from where she had been helping evacuate. She stopped, seeing the state of him. "You... look at you! Are you hurt?"
Blake looked down at his blood-soaked chest. "This? Not mine."
He pointed a thumb back toward the castle.
"There are fifteen more up there. You guys handled four. I handled the rest."
Silence.
Sting dropped his jaw. "Fif-fifteen?"
Rogue looked at the castle, sensing the lingering death in the air. "He killed fifteen dragons... alone?"
Jura Neekis closed his eyes and bowed his head. "Truly... a monster among men."
Blake walked over to Natsu and offered a hand.
"Good job, kid," Blake said.
Natsu grinned, gripping Blake's hand. Blake pulled him up.
"I told you I'd win," Natsu beamed, then immediately grimaced in pain. "Ow, everything hurts."
"Pain is good," Blake said, looking around at the battered mages of Fairy Tail and the other guilds. "It means you're alive."
"Now," Blake announced, his voice carrying over the silent crowd. "Who knows where the nearest bar is that isn't crushed by a dragon? I need a drink."
Cana appeared from behind a pile of rubble, holding a miraculously un-spilled barrel. "Way ahead of you, Husband."
Blake laughed. It was a genuine, warm sound.
"Perfect."
The sun began to set, casting a golden light over the ruined city of Crocus. The Dragon King Festival was over. The future had been rewritten. And in the center of it all, Blake Corvus stood with his family, ready to face whatever came next.
But first, the festival needed a real celebration.