"This... is actually pretty interesting."
The sight before them left both Marco and King Toma deeply shaken.
With this many dragon bones piled together, what exactly had happened here in the past?
The name "Dragon Graveyard" honestly made the place sound far too dignified.
This was no graveyard.
It was practically a mass dumping ground for dragon corpses!
"Dumping ground" really was the most fitting description. One look at the dragon skeletons was enough to tell that they had definitely not been properly buried here.
They looked as though some creature had simply thrown the bodies down like discarded corpses, wild and brutally careless.
"Unbelievable... Are these really all dragon bones?"
King Toma ran back and forth, examining the remains with disbelief written all over his face.
He would honestly rather believe that all of this was fake.
Although he had discovered this place together with the construction workers, catching a brief glimpse of it and actually stepping deep inside were two completely different things.
At this moment, King Toma thought of many legends, and of many stories passed down through the Fiore royal family for generations.
As a royal bloodline that had existed for several centuries, the Fiore royal family naturally knew quite a few secrets.
And because King Toma himself had personally experienced certain things, it was even easier for this place to stir his emotions.
"These aren't fake. These... are all the remains of real dragons."
Marco walked up to one skeleton and touched the dragon bone.
From it, he sensed a trace of a familiar aura.
Even after being dead for hundreds of years, the bones were still stained with the presence of the terrifying creature that had killed them.
That's right.
Every corpse in this entire Dragon Graveyard had been killed by the same being.
And it was a being Marco had already encountered before.
"The Black Dragon, Acnologia." Marco spoke that name.
In that instant, it was as though the Ethernano throughout the entire Dragon Graveyard trembled.
The magic power that had seeped out of these dead dragons had lingered in this space for centuries, and it seemed to still possess some kind of instinctive awareness.
The name of the terrifying existence that had slaughtered them would not be forgotten simply because they had died.
If anything, death had only carved it deeper into what remained of them.
"If Chico's magic weren't limited to Magnolia, she could definitely come here. She might actually be able to bind quite a few dragon souls. The dragonic presence in this place's magic power is incredibly dense. The chance of summoning dragon spirits here would be extremely high."
Marco couldn't help sighing.
This place was truly special.
It could be sealed off and preserved for now. Perhaps it would still prove useful one day.
"The Black Dragon, Acnologia! I know that monster! The Black Feather of the End! The Destroyer of the World! The legendary Demon Dragon!"
The moment King Toma heard Marco mention the Black Dragon Acnologia, he nearly jumped.
He was far too familiar with that name.
Because he had once personally witnessed the Eclipse Gate open.
He had personally seen the efforts ancient mages had made to defeat Acnologia, and the Fiore royal family had been part of that effort.
"..."
King Toma's expression became conflicted.
He did not know whether he should speak about those events.
Mainly because the role he had played in them... was not exactly honorable.
He had failed to fulfill the promise he made to a friend.
"King Toma, does the Fiore royal family know something about the Black Dragon Acnologia?"
Marco narrowed his eyes as he looked at King Toma.
Although his words came in the form of a question, he already had an answer in his heart.
"If you know anything, please tell me. Any information at all is fine. To be honest with you, Fairy Tail has already encountered the Black Dragon Acnologia twice."
Seeing that King Toma was still conflicted and silent, Marco continued speaking.
That sentence finally caused King Toma's emotions to shift.
He looked at Marco in shock, as though he could not believe what he had just heard.
"You... You just said you've already encountered the Black Dragon Acnologia?!"
King Toma spoke in disbelief, as if he had just heard something unimaginably terrifying.
"That's right. The first time was when Gildarts encountered it alone. He was only a hair away from being burned to ash! Gildarts, powerful as he is, was nearly killed by a single attack."
Marco nodded heavily and continued telling him about their encounters with Acnologia.
King Toma's face turned pale as he listened.
He knew perfectly well how strong Gildarts was.
"The second time was on Fairy Tail's sacred ground, Tenrou Island. Along with us, members of Grimoire Heart from the Balam Alliance were also there. No one could stop it, except me. But even then, I only barely managed to scare it off."
The moment Marco finished speaking, King Toma's jaw practically dropped to the floor.
"HUUH?!"
King Toma stared wide-eyed, wondering if he had misheard.
They had just been talking about how terrifying the Black Dragon Acnologia was, so how had the final conclusion suddenly become, "I scared it off"?
"Is... is that a joke?" King Toma asked carefully.
It was not that he doubted Marco's strength. He simply found it difficult to accept.
That was the Black Dragon, after all.
A terrifying legend that had existed since King Toma was a child.
"Of course not. To keep our sacred ground from being completely destroyed, one of our guildmates released magic to protect Tenrou Island. Even now, that island still hasn't been unsealed. The members of Grimoire Heart are all trapped inside it. Why would I need to lie to you?"
Marco explained calmly.
His words sounded far too real, filled with too many details, leaving King Toma no choice but to believe them.
The short king listened with his mouth hanging open, unable to close it.
"Marco-kun! Your strength... is actually that powerful!"
King Toma looked at the composed Marco with absolute worship in his eyes.
As someone who adored mages, his admiration for Marco deepened even further.
He practically wished he could become Marco himself and personally experience those thrilling magical adventures.
"So, King Toma, what exactly does the Fiore royal family know?"
Marco smiled and guided the conversation back to the main point.
Hisui definitely did not know about these matters.
There were still secrets passed down within the royal family that King Toma had never told Hisui.
Marco was certain of that.
Otherwise, Hisui would definitely have told him.
"Ah..."
Faced with Marco's persistent questioning, King Toma's expression shifted several times.
In the end, he sighed and made his decision.
Those things truly did need to be told to Marco, because the Black Dragon Acnologia had already appeared.
It was no longer some distant legend.