There was still one major problem—Aldoron's rain of blades had not stopped.
The endless barrage filled the sky, forcing Erza and the others to remain on the defensive.
"You all start gathering Magic Power! I'll hold them back!"
Raizel enlarged himself once more until he was nearly as tall as Aldoron's prone body.
The Brave Shield expanded into a massive barrier, sheltering everyone behind it as the overwhelming rain of blades crashed against its surface.
...
Inside Aldoron's body, Natsu was in terrible condition as well.
He panted heavily beneath the pressure of the densely packed blades surrounding him.
"My dance of swords will never end—not until your life does."
More than a dozen spikes were embedded in Natsu's body.
His fists had been pierced so badly that blood streamed from them, and even the slightest movement sent pain shooting through him.
"This is the fate of those who defy the will of a god."
Aldoron turned away, intending to relocate.
"With this much heat... they should burn just fine."
Still lying on the ground, Natsu pulled out one of the spikes and bit into it.
The blades had been formed from Dragon Slayer Magic, and each contained an enormous amount of magical energy.
The moment Natsu devoured them, he entered Dragon Force.
Flames erupted around his entire body, surging upward through the hollow interior of Aldoron.
"Looks like some things really will burn if the temperature's high enough."
Every spike embedded in Natsu's body was reduced to ash by the flames surrounding him.
Aldoron remained perfectly composed.
"A mere human dares to oppose the power of a god?"
After studying Natsu more closely, however, surprise entered his eyes.
"No... You are not human. Are you both a child of dragons and a demon?"
Natsu's gaze remained unwavering.
"I don't care what I am."
"I have companions. I have people who believe in me!"
Everyone knew that Natsu had once been E.N.D., the Fire Demon, but they had always treated him as a person.
"So I'm me!"
"I'm Natsu Dragneel of Fairy Tail!"
Wrapped in flames, Natsu charged forward and drove his right fist into Aldoron without holding anything back.
The force of this blow was completely different from his previous attacks.
A scorched black mark spread across Aldoron's cheek.
"This Magic Power... The flames of the Fire Dragon King Igneel!"
Aldoron's surprise quickly turned to fury.
"A mere human dares to wield the power of a dragon?! You are nothing more than prey waiting to be hunted! You are a hundred years too early to challenge a Dragon God!"
Natsu locked onto him with the eyes of a hawk.
"A hundred years have already passed!"
"During those hundred years, countless Mages sacrificed themselves trying to defeat you Dragon Gods. We're standing here now because of everything they built over the last century!"
Aldoron roared in rage.
"All humans are nourishment for me! No matter how many years pass, that will never change! Humans can never defeat dragons!"
Natsu and Aldoron's fists pressed against each other, neither side yielding.
At this point, the battle had become a clash of wills.
Unfortunately for Aldoron, he had stepped directly onto one of Fairy Tail's greatest sore spots.
Nothing angered them more than someone who treated life as worthless.
Natsu's voice dropped.
"How many people have you killed?"
Aldoron laughed loudly.
"Who bothers counting how much food they have eaten? Still, over the last three hundred years, several hundred thousand humans must have lived upon my body."
There was even delight in his voice.
"Many worshiped me and willingly offered up their lives. What fools. They never once realized they were nothing more than nourishment, yet they continued believing they would be rewarded with happiness."
Natsu suddenly smiled, almost with relief.
"I'm glad you're a bad guy. That makes this easier."
"Though I'm still really pissed off!"
"Mercphobia is a good person, and Selene only wants to live peacefully. That's why we decided that if any of the Five Dragon Gods turned out to be good, we wouldn't fight them."
"But you're different."
"You treat human lives like dirt, and you'll keep hurting more people if no one stops you."
"So I'm taking you down right here!"
Flames blazed wildly around Natsu.
Fueled by his anger, their temperature continued climbing.
"You humans certainly enjoy twisting logic to suit yourselves," Aldoron sneered. "Do humans not kill other animals for food?"
"That's survival of the fittest. People eat to live—they don't wipe out everything just because they can."
"And humans can learn to coexist. We can even coexist with dragons!"
"Igneel, Belserion, Metalicana, Grandeeney, Mercphobia, Selene, and Kurnugi are all proof of that!"
With every name Natsu spoke, the flames around him burned brighter.
The fire of the Fire Dragon King Igneel.
The flames of Atlas Flame, the Hellfire Dragon.
The Purgatory Dragon's fire he had obtained from Ultear.
And Natsu's own demonic flames.
Four different fires raged together around his body.
Even Aldoron could not hide his astonishment.
"A composite fire-dragon energy formed from several different flames... What exactly is this fire?"
"This is my fire!"
"Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Purgatory Halberd Dragon Flame!"
The flames around Natsu's left fist took the shape of a deep-crimson halberd.
He drove it straight through Aldoron's abdomen.
At the same moment, Raizel lowered the Brave Shield.
Every attack the others had prepared poured into Aldoron without restraint.
"Eight Dragons' Wild Fang!"
"Evil Explosion!"
"Astron: Azure Dragon Form!"
"Draw Slash!"
"Sky Dragon's Roar!"
"Iron Shadow Dragon's Roar!"
"Crimson Lightning Fire Dragon's Roar!"
"Sword Saint Dragon's Roar!"
"Moonlight Flame!"
"Enchant: Dragon Slayer Beam!"
And finally—
Dragon-form Irene Belserion used Master Enchant upon a meteor beyond Earth Land.
"Deus Sema!"
Deus Sema represented the highest level of Heavenly Body Magic and the pinnacle of Enchantment Magic at the same time.
By using her dragon form to remotely Enchant a meteor outside Earth Land, Irene could pull it toward a chosen target and unleash devastation across an enormous area.
The sky suddenly darkened.
The earth rumbled violently.
Unlike her earlier attacks, Irene was no longer holding anything back.
Brilliant crimson light pierced through the clouds.
A gigantic meteor coated in Dragon Slayer Magic descended toward Aldoron, flames roaring across its surface.
Had Aldoron's body not been so enormous, Irene would never have used this spell.
If it struck ordinary land, the destruction would have been catastrophic.
"EVERYONE, GET DOWN!!!"
At Raizel's command, everyone obeyed except the enormous Irene, Selene, and Kurnugi.
[Take Over: Alphamon Ouryuken.]
Raizel dropped into a crouch and drove the Ouryuken into the ground. A defensive barrier expanded around everyone, completely enclosing them.
RUMBLE—!!!
The meteor crashed directly into Aldoron's back.
The impact erupted like a hydrogen bomb.
The deafening explosion tore through the surroundings as the buildings and vegetation across Aldoron's body collapsed.
The land caved inward, while vast clouds of white vapor, smoke, and dust surged into the sky.
Mira and the others lay flat against the ground as dirt and debris rained down across their backs.
None of them had the strength to care.
They could feel the earth itself trembling and screaming beneath them.
Such was the terrifying power of Deus Sema.