Lucy: "What does that have to do with me?!"
Future Lucy: "I didn't see anything either."
"Aye~ Because the toothpaste came from Lucy."
"So it was you two who stole my toothpaste!!" Both Lucys shouted in unison, their expressions and movements perfectly synchronized.
Clearly, both worlds' Natsu and Happy had done the same thing, more than once.
"I... I also take personal hygiene very seriously," Wendy said weakly.
Even Future Rogue and Future Sting couldn't help but explain to Future Minerva and the others nearby.
In their subconscious, having been raised by dragons, they too were "dragons."
"..." Motherglare's mouth twitched uncontrollably.
These human ants are casually chatting away. Do they have no respect for me at all?!
After its rage subsided, it belatedly noticed a familiar name mentioned earlier. Its gaze snapped to Natsu. "Brat, what's your relationship with Igneel?"
"Igneel is my father! Do you know him?!" Natsu suddenly became excited.
"I see. No wonder there's such a repulsive smell about you." Motherglare snorted coldly.
Like Atlas Flame, it had been beaten by Igneel.
Unlike Atlas Flame, who later became friends with Igneel, Motherglare harbored resentment. Though it hadn't joined the coexistence faction, it had also refused the opposition faction's invitation.
Hearing this, Natsu rushed forward to ask about Igneel's whereabouts, but Chase pulled him back. "He lived four hundred years before our time. Asking is pointless."
More importantly, your old man is currently inside you watching the show.
Ignoring the dejected Natsu, Chase met Motherglare's gaze and got straight to the point.
"Tell me about the other side of the Eclipse Gate. Where is it located, how many dragons are there, and how do they compare to you?"
Motherglare paused for a moment. Guessing what the human intended to do, its gaze turned ice-cold. "You think I'll tell you?"
"I figured as much."
Chase shook his head lightly, then slid a card from his fingertips.
It was the Magic Card: Brain Control, capable of dominating a target's will!
A magic circle bloomed. Motherglare instinctively sensed something terrifying and tried to resist despite its injuries, but a phantom black hand had already pierced through its head, sinking deep into its brain.
ROAR!!!
A pained, struggling roar echoed across the field. The shockwave sent everyone stumbling backward.
Some of the weaker ones were thrown into the air, crashing onto distant rubble in disarray.
If Motherglare had been at full power, Brain Control would have required much more effort. But in its current state, it had no strength to resist.
So the violent dragon quickly calmed, its eyes going blank as it submitted to Chase.
"Just like that... he 'tamed' a dragon?!"
The sheer absurdity of it left Future Jura and the others stunned.
They thought they had already overestimated this mysterious Card Mage who had appeared out of nowhere. Who knew they had still underestimated him!
"Can you turn it into human form?" Chase asked the Dark Magician.
The bad breath was a major issue.
Though he could directly extract all the information from Motherglare's mind, he was too lazy to relay everything to the others, especially since this wasn't going to be a solo mission.
The Dark Magician nodded coolly, raised his staff, and conjured a dark purple magic circle beneath Motherglare.
Light enveloped the dragon. It vanished, replaced by a cold-eyed human woman with long hair.
Similar to the magic Zeref had used on Irene, Motherglare's essence remained a dragon, but it now possessed a human form.
The sudden appearance of this undeniably sexy "human" left everyone speechless once again.
Even Chase looked somewhat surprised.
Though he already knew about Motherglare's human form, the sheer contrast was still hard to accept. Its voice had been so rough!
Surprise aside, business needed to be done. Under his questioning, Motherglare truthfully revealed everything about the other side of the Eclipse Gate.
Whether by misfortune or fate, the gate opened into territory controlled by the opposition faction, home to a great number of dragons.
They were powerful, each with their own territory. Dragons with individual titles—like Zirconis the Emerald Dragon, Atlas Flame the Hellfire Dragon, and others—were among the elites.
This wasn't unexpected. If they didn't hold status and power, they wouldn't have been the first to pass through the Eclipse Gate.
And the strongest among them was the "Nether Dragon King" Bahamut, who commanded death-attribute power.
A dragon that hadn't appeared in the original story, one capable of rivaling Igneel!
However, according to Motherglare, the magic power in the world four hundred years ago was far less concentrated than now. Comparatively, Bahamut was actually a level below Igneel.
(This was precisely why Igneel had decided to send Natsu and the others into the future.)
After learning the dragons' distribution, power structure, and the general environment of that era, Chase temporarily sealed Motherglare in a blank card.
As a staunch member of the faction that would annihilate the future world, this creature was an enemy of humanity, beyond "reformation."
The reason he hadn't killed it on the spot was mainly out of consideration for the children present—Wendy, Sherria, and others—as well as the unique bond Natsu and his companions had with dragons.
But its fate was already sealed. There was no other outcome.
Mirajane and Erza understood his thoughts but remained silent. It was a matter of principle.
After Chase put away the card, everyone was still processing the terrifying picture Motherglare had painted of the past world.
They now understood even more clearly what disaster would come from recklessly opening the Eclipse Gate: tens of thousands of dragons, all hostile to humanity!
"Wait, Mr. Chase."
Future Jura was the first to snap out of it, his heart pounding as he ventured a guess. "The 'next phase' you mentioned earlier... surely you don't mean—"
After gathering so much intel about the other side, it couldn't just be out of curiosity, right?!
"Exactly."
Under everyone's horrified gaze, Chase smiled, his fist clenched, eyes blazing with fighting spirit.
"Since those dragons plan to destroy the human world through the Eclipse Gate, we can just as easily go back and crush them first!"
***
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