"How is this possible...? How could I be burning...?"
Natsu's three dragon flames and demonic fire continued raging across the God Seed Aldoron, spreading into the surrounding roots and walls.
The violent tremors finally subsided.
No one paid any attention to the dust covering them. Their eyes were fixed on Aldoron's colossal body as it slowly began to disintegrate.
"Did we defeat Aldoron?"
"But where's Natsu?"
Using the last of his flames, Natsu blasted through Aldoron's abdomen and leaped from the collapsing body.
"Happy—!"
"Aye!"
Happy activated Aera and flew as fast as he could, catching Natsu in midair.
The moment he had him safely in his paws, tears welled in Happy's eyes.
"Thank goodness you're okay, Natsu! You have no idea how worried I was!"
"Run first! This whole place is collapsing!" Raizel shouted toward them.
Everyone retreated to higher ground and watched as Aldoron gradually disappeared.
In a way, his death resembled the fall of a great whale, giving life to everything around it.
Aldoron had treated humans as nourishment, yet in the end, he became nourishment for the land himself.
Before long, this region would become fertile soil stretching across the horizon.
Perhaps the Magic Council or one of Guiltina's kingdoms would eventually build a new city here, allowing people to settle on the newly enriched land.
It was only a shame that the original residents could not be saved.
They had been completely assimilated by Aldoron long ago. There had been nothing Raizel or the others could do for them.
The Wood Dragon God had been easier to defeat than Raizel expected.
Apart from his enormous reserves of Magic Power and vitality, neither his defenses nor his offensive ability had been particularly impressive.
Compared to Acnologia, he was nowhere close.
Aside from leaving everyone filthy and exhausted, the battle had not caused any serious injuries.
Selene waved one hand, opening a spatial passage in front of the group.
"I'll send them back first."
Raizel nodded, then turned toward Irene and handed her the magic crystal containing Wraith's soul.
"Could you please Enchant him into a sword and use Personality Enchant? He used to be a member of Fairy Tail. Simply giving him a body will be enough—he can find the Master on his own afterward."
Wendy could have handled the process herself, but keeping Wraith with them would have been inconvenient.
Besides, Wraith undoubtedly wanted to see Makarov and Porlyusica as soon as possible.
It made more sense to let Selene and Irene take him back ahead of the others.
Irene accepted the crystal and nodded.
"That won't be difficult. Leave it to me."
At her current level, casting a Personality Enchant was as effortless as eating or drinking.
Selene placed one hand on her hip and gave Raizel a strange look.
"There was a Fairy Tail member here too?"
Raizel shrugged.
"I have no idea why he ended up here. Most of his memories were gone, and the guild master of the Dragon Eaters found him sometime afterward."
Wraith had even forgotten how he died.
Even if he claimed to remember how he reached Guiltina, there was no guarantee that memory would be reliable.
Before leaving, Brandish was still lamenting the same tragedy.
"I never got to eat an Aldoron parfait..."
"We'll bring back some of Guiltina's local specialties before we go home!"
Lucy gave Brandish a wink and raised her thumb.
Gajeel also flashed Raizel a thumbs-up.
"Call me again if something like this happens. Heh, that was one hell of a fight."
"Don't forget the great Kurnugi either!"
Kurnugi had originally considered tagging along for the rest of the Hundred Years Quest.
After thinking it over, however, he decided that Raizel would call him whenever his help was needed.
He would rather return to the guild and spend his time chatting and bragging with Makarov, Macao, and Wakaba.
Before Laxus and August entered the passage, they both looked toward Raizel.
"Say something if you need help."
August had already spent the last several days in Fairy Tail's guild hall with Mavis, so returning with the others was convenient.
Besides, he could teleport back to the Alvarez Empire whenever necessary.
The empire was relatively stable now, and Ajeel had begun taking over some of his grandfather Yajeel's duties.
"Be careful."
Irene gave Erza and Wendy one final reminder before leaving as well.
She and Selene still needed to continue searching for Athena, and traveling together would be safer than separating.
...
Raizel, Ultear, and the others decided to rest for three days in the nearest town to Drasil.
Those three days were mainly for Natsu's recovery.
He had been pierced countless times by Aldoron's Forest of Blades, then consumed a large amount of non-fire Dragon Slayer energy.
He spent most of the next three days lying in bed like a corpse.
...
Magia Dragon—
"Aldoron has been sealed?"
Elefseria stared in amazement.
"After a hundred years, have Mages truly grown this powerful?"
Raizel's group had already surprised the Law Dragon by peacefully resolving matters with Selene, the Moon Dragon God, and Mercphobia, the Water Dragon God.
He had never expected them to possess enough strength to defeat the Wood Dragon God as well.
Now only the Gold Dragon God and the Fire Dragon God remained.
...
Ignia sat cross-legged upon the volcanic earth, his bare upper body surrounded by intense heat.
The corner of his mouth curved upward, yet his eyes remained chillingly cold beneath the smile.
"Natsu... that's how it should be."
"Keep burning until your flames are strong enough to consume this entire world."
Natsu's current strength had finally become worthy of Ignia's attention.
He had not expected Natsu to possess the flames of three different fire dragons, along with the fire of a demon.
...
The Dragon Eater guild, Diabolos—
Although Diabolos was officially recognized as a legal Mage guild, its headquarters looked far more like the lair of a Dark Guild.
A stone statue resembling a skeletal demon crouched atop the building, while the surrounding decorations gave the entire place a sinister, unsettling atmosphere.
A heavily bearded man sat inside.
An open coat hung from his shoulders, leaving his scar-covered upper body exposed.
An X-shaped scar marked his forehead, and his mouth was filled with sharp fangs more suited to a canine or feline beast than a human.
The skin around his eyes was pitch-black, resembling two enormous dark circles.
His entire presence radiated cruelty and menace.
At that moment, he was devouring a massive leg of meat, crunching through the bones along with the flesh.
Standing across from him were Skullion, Kiria, and Madmole, who had only just returned to Diabolos.
"Hmph!"
Georg Reizen gave an unhappy snort.
"..."
The three Dragon Eaters did not dare make a sound.
"So Aldoron turned back into dirt and wood?"
Georg tore another mouthful from the meat.
"That certainly doesn't sound appetizing."
"Nebaru disappeared after undergoing dragonification."
"Wraith seems to have recovered his memories and returned to his original guild—Fairy Tail."
Georg narrowed his eyes, his voice thick with mockery.
"And the three of you tucked your tails between your legs and ran away? Should I call you lucky, or simply pathetic?"
Skullion remained calm.
"Fairy Tail..."
"?"
Georg frowned, waiting for him to continue.
Skullion revealed everything they had learned.
"We underestimated them. Our investigation showed that they are the strongest Mage guild in Ishgar."
"Every member they brought to Guiltina possesses exceptional combat ability. According to the available reports, Fairy Tail also formed the core of the alliance that killed the Black Dragon Acnologia."
However, Skullion and the others had been unable to uncover the details of Acnologia's defeat.
The Magic Council of Ishgar had sealed all information concerning the battle.
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