Melkobia fell silent for a moment, then let out a light chuckle, his deep-sea-like eyes staring straight at Hope. "I've lived for hundreds of years, yet I've never seen a Mage as arrogant as you."
Hope spread his hands. "Eh, now you have."
Melkobia's expression stiffened slightly. He had seen plenty of shameless humans, but this was the first time he'd met one who took advantage of a situation so readily.
But the confidence Hope radiated from the inside out made him a bit uncertain. Was this guy truly powerful, or was he simply all talk?
Isolation Magic completely separated the two from the outside world.
Melkobia watched the hotel owner, who had turned into a clownfish, darting between buildings; he saw the children, turned into a school of fish, circling around Natsu; he saw the residents, who were ordinary humans by day, frolicking to their hearts' content on the seabed.
"You're a bit different from the Mages Elefseria sent to subjugate me before."
Those who came in the past usually focused solely on finding clues about the Water God Dragon. How could they ever play with the residents of this town?
"Of course we're different. We're Mages from Fairy Tail. I can't speak for other things, but we have a whole bunch of extraordinary individuals."
Hope's matter-of-fact tone left Melkobia somewhat speechless. Every time he wanted to have a proper talk, this human would open his mouth.
Doesn't he know it's hard for me to respond to him?
However, what came next was even harder to respond to.
Hope looked at the joyful scene outside the Isolation Magic and spoke nonchalantly, "Melkobia, I heard that each of you Five Dragon Gods has power rivaling the Black Dragon."
Upon hearing this, the originally calm Water God Dragon suddenly became agitated, as if suffering from PTSD. "Who did you hear that from?!"
"Elefseria."
"Slander! He's slandering me! He's slandering me!"
Melkobia was so anxious he was practically hopping in the water, completely losing his previous calm and slightly melancholy demeanor, looking instead like a cat with its fur standing on end.
The huge contrast made Hope unable to help but find it a bit funny.
"That damnable Elefseria!"
"Of the Mages he sent to subjugate me before, I let everyone go except those who ignored my warnings and insisted on seeking death. I never expected that old geezer to pull a stunt like this on me!"
Melkobia gritted his teeth. "By spreading such rumors, if the Black Dragon notices, all the dragons and Dragon Slayer Mages on this continent will be finished together!"
Hope watched the Water God Dragon, who was grumbling incessantly and had hurled a dozen insults at the Law Dragon in half a minute; it was clear this guy was genuinely triggered.
But this also proved from another angle how terrifying the Black Dragon was.
Look at the psychological shadow he had left on Melkobia. Just saying he had strength no less than the Black Dragon's was enough to scare the poor guy like this.
Ten minutes later, as if the anger in his heart had finally been vented, Melkobia calmed down and turned to see Hope quietly watching him make a fool of himself.
He was cracking melon seeds with one hand and holding a slightly shimmering magic crystal in the other.
Melkobia was slightly stunned. If he wasn't mistaken, that should be a high-grade Recording Magic Crystal capable of clearly recording both images and sound.
"What do you want to do?" For some reason, Melkobia suddenly had an ominous premonition.
Hope casually spat out a melon seed shell and shrugged. "A recording is for watching, of course. It just so happens that I recently met a guy named Acnologia."
"No need to doubt, it's the Acnologia you know."
"Im... Impossible!"
Melkobia said in panic, "How could the Black Dragon possibly let a Dragon Slayer Mage leave alive!"
"Probably because he couldn't do anything to me either."
Hope stretched and reclined in the water, saying with a hint of mockery, "Do you really think Acnologia doesn't know you guys escaped to Giltina? That would be underestimating the sense of smell of the strongest dragon and the strongest Dragon Slayer Mage."
"That guy is just a bit of a shut-in and doesn't want to leave Ishgar."
Melkobia's expression flickered, seemingly torn over how much of Hope's words were true.
But Hope's mischievous streak surfaced again. He activated the Recording Magic Crystal and played the footage of Melkobia's outburst.
"Tell me... if Acnologia sees this recording and sees you in such high spirits, what do you think he'll feel?"
The little fish and shrimp from back then have grown up; it's time to harvest.
This thought instantly popped into Melkobia's head. Regardless of whether the Black Dragon knew there were still dragons on the Northern Continent, as long as that terrifying existence saw this recording, he would definitely come.
Because Acnologia harbored an incomparable hatred for the dragon race.
Facing Hope's smug smile, Melkobia was panicking inside. Since Hope dared to say it to his face, he must have the confidence to escape from his hands.
It seemed that killing him to silence him wouldn't work.
So... the focus now should be on what tone to use when begging for mercy so it wouldn't seem so humiliating.
Seeing Melkobia's internal monologue written all over his face, Hope pressed him further, like the boss of an incompetent husband.
"Water God Dragon, you wouldn't want the Black Dragon to find out about you, would you?"
Threatened with such audacity, Melkobia looked grief-stricken and indignant. As the saying goes, even a clay figure has a bit of temper, let alone the dignified Water God Dragon.
Humans have dignity, and dragons need to save face too.
Foreign Mages are truly too impolite!
If I don't show some power, do you really take me for a little sea snake?!"
The decision to act didn't even take a second. Melkobia's body had already moved, raising his palm.
In the blink of an eye, a massive water column shot into the sky, carrying terrifying power enough to instantly tear steel apart, completely swallowing Hope's figure.
Melkobia's chest heaved violently, a complex light flashing in his eyes.
He had lived for hundreds of years and seen countless arrogant humans, but someone this audacious was truly a first.
"A pity..."
Melkobia whispered to himself, "If you hadn't used the Black Dragon to threaten me, perhaps we could have sat down and had a good talk."
As soon as he finished speaking, a lazy voice sounded from behind him.
"Talk about what? Talk about how you'll beg me not to show the recording to Acnologia?"
Melkobia's pupils contracted sharply. He spun around instantly to see Hope standing perfectly intact three meters behind him, his clothes unscathed, holding the Recording Magic Crystal and looking at him with a playful gaze.
"You..."
"Stop 'you'-ing me. According to turn-based rules, it's my turn to make a move now."
Hope yawned, putting away his lazy smile. Not a trace of danger could be felt from him. "Relax, I'll only throw one punch."
The next second, a sky-shattering killing intent suddenly erupted.
"110,000 Horsepower!"
"Wuji Zen Tremor!"
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