As evening fell, Lucy, filled with aspirations for Fairy Tail and a final unrealistic fantasy about "Salamander," bid farewell to Ace and Natsu and planned to return to her hotel.
Ace, Natsu, and Happy "happened" to be "strolling" nearby.
...
Night.
At the port, beside a lavishly decorated sailboat.
Just as Ace expected, the naive Lucy was duped by the fake Salamander Bora's sweet talk and boarded the ship.
When Bora revealed his true colors and the atmosphere in the cabin turned tense...
A torrent of scorching flames blasted through the cabin wall.
Natsu's figure appeared amidst the fire.
Although his face was a little green from motion sickness, the fury in his eyes burned hotter than the flames themselves.
"How dare you deceive Lucy! Unforgivable!" Natsu roared.
"Yo, Natsu, you were pretty quick this time." A smiling voice came from above the hole in the cabin.
Ace's figure landed lightly on the broken railing as if he were weightless, his black cloak fluttering in the night wind.
He glanced at the still-shaken Lucy inside the cabin, confirmed she was unharmed, and then cast an icy gaze upon the pale-faced Bora and his men.
"W-Who are you people?!" Bora shouted, trying to sound tough, but his heart was screaming that this was bad.
Never mind the pink-haired one, but the other, despite just standing there quietly, exuded an unfathomable and terrifying pressure, even greater than that of the fiercest pirate captains.
"Na-Natsu of Fairy Tail, ugghh!"
"Ace of Fairy Tail."
The two announced their names simultaneously.
"F-Fairy Tail?!" Bora and his men's legs began to tremble.
They might not fear ordinary mages, but the madmen from Fairy Tail... especially the "Digital Summoner" Ace, who was currently the most infamous of them all.
He was a jinx capable of making Dark Guilds pack up and move overnight!
"Damn it! Don't underestimate me!"
Seeing no escape, Bora went all out, unleashing his strongest fire magic.
For a moment, the cabin was engulfed in blazing flames.
However, Fire is useless against Natsu's Dragon Slayer Magic.
Ace walked forward, glanced at the sick Natsu on the floor, then turned to Lucy.
"Are you okay, Lucy?"
"I-I'm fine, thank you!" Lucy quickly straightened her clothes, looking at the two with gratitude, especially Ace.
She couldn't believe that just this morning she had received a gift from him, and tonight he had saved her again.
Lucy glanced at the suffering Natsu. "By the way, is he really okay?"
"Happy, take Natsu and get out of here first." Ace looked at the dark sea outside, then at the sizable sailboat and the swindlers lying all over the deck.
A sudden idea struck him.
"Since he used the title of 'Salamander' to deceive people, then..." A meaningful smile curved Ace's lips.
"Why don't I let him see what a real 'Salamander' looks like."
As his voice fell, he mobilized the magic within him, aiming at the sea outside the ship.
There was no complex incantation, just a single thought.
"Descend—MetalSeadramon!"
VMMM—
A dark blue Magic Circle suddenly unfurled on the sea surface beside the sailboat, expanding rapidly.
Immediately after, a vast, abyssal, cold, and majestic aura descended with a horrifying screech of grinding metal and the sound of boiling seawater.
SPLASH!
The sea surface exploded in a colossal spray of water.
The shadow of a behemoth slowly rose from within the Magic Circle.
A streamlined body over fifty meters long, covered in Chrome Digizoid alloy, reflected the cold moonlight.
A majestic metallic dragon head, crimson draconic eyes, and a snout resembling a cannon barrel.
It was none other than the Mega-level sovereign of the deep seas—MetalSeadramon!
"ROOOOAR!"
A low, metallic dragon's roar resounded, vibrating through the sea and air.
The mere presence of a part of its body and the pressure it emitted caused the entire ship to tremble slightly.
Bora and his men, sprawled on the ground, were so terrified they lost control of their bladders, their pants becoming soaked.
Lucy also covered her mouth in terror, her azure eyes wide with disbelief as she stared at the metallic leviathan that had suddenly appeared, as if it had walked straight out of a myth.
"Is... is that... a dragon?!" Natsu was also taken aback, but then, an even hotter, more excited battle lust ignited in his eyes.
This colossal metal dragon probably be one of Ace's Summoned Beasts evolution!
"That's a real dragon... dragons really exist in this world!" Bora stared at the metallic dragon head just inches away, its crimson eyes like the gaze of death itself.
He completely broke down, tears and snot streaming down his face.
"S-Spare me! I'll never do it again!"
MetalSeadramon indifferently swept its gaze over the ant-like human.
The cannon on its snout adjusted its direction slightly.
It didn't attack.
Instead, with a gentle flick of its powerful tail, it coiled around the limp Bora and his men, then violently flung them into the air.
"Ahhhhhhh—!"
Amidst shrill screams, the men were tossed dozens of meters into the air.
They traced an arc through the sky before crashing heavily onto an empty patch of ground on the distant port shore.
It was unknown if they were dead or alive.
After casually disposing of the trash, MetalSeadramon didn't spare them a second glance.
It turned to the little guy on the ship who was radiating intense battle intent toward it—Natsu.
"Hey! Big iron dragon!" Natsu stood on the ship's bow, smashing his fists together, sending sparks flying.
His face was filled with undisguised excitement and belligerence.
"We didn't get to finish our fight last time! This is perfect! Let's go a round!"
He had indeed fought this big metal lug before!
And he hadn't been as strong back then, so he'd taken a severe beating.
Now, he felt he had gotten much stronger, and it was the perfect time to redeem himself.
MetalSeadramon's eyes flickered a few times, seeming to understand Natsu's meaning.
Its massive body slowly turned to face Natsu directly.
The cannon on its snout lowered slightly, locking onto the little human who dared to challenge it.
An even more condensed battle intent and pressure emanated from it.
Ace watched the eager Natsu and the battle-ready MetalSeadramon.
He didn't stop them.
Instead, he took a few steps back, leaving the stage to the man and the beast.
He glanced at Lucy, who still hadn't recovered from the shock, and smiled faintly.
"Don't worry, let them fight. It's a good chance for Natsu to stretch his muscles."
"As for you, Lucy," he looked at the girl, "are you ready to watch what's the real Fairy Tail mages looks like?"
Lucy stared blankly at the man and dragon on the verge of battle, then at the composed, smiling Ace beside her.
She felt as if her entire worldview had been completely overturned tonight.
But for some reason, the longing for Fairy Tail in her heart had become even more fiery and real.
"I... I'm ready!" She clenched her small fists and nodded firmly.
Off the port, on the moonlit sea, Natsu's flames and MetalSeadramon's low growls intertwined!
A battle between the son of the dragon and digital dragon was about to erupt!