"Headmaster Dumbledore makes sense. Goku, focus on recovering first. We'll test the waters against this Black Dragon for you."
Makarov grunted his agreement with Dumbledore's strategy.
"Alright then! Let's get him! Maybe we can take this lizard down without Goku even having to step in!"
Invigorated by the plan, the guild members roared in unison.
"We are Fairy Tail!"
As the Black Dragon spread its massive wings and dove from the sky, everyone shouted their battle cry. With seamless teamwork, they launched an all-out assault.
Makarov transformed into a hundred-meter giant once more, locking his arms around the dragon's neck. He strained every muscle to wrench the dragon's head aside, exposing its undefended underbelly.
The rest of the guild unleashed their most devastating spells toward the dragon's stomach. Fire, lightning, ice, and conjured blades—a barrage of destructive magic capable of leveling several cities—all slammed into the dragon's scales.
However, a wave of horror washed over the group. The combined magical onslaught hadn't left a single scratch. Not even a single scale had fallen. It was as if their magic was completely useless against it.
"Acnologia possesses Devouring Magic. He can reduce any spell to raw Ethernano and consume it to fuel himself. Only physical attacks have a chance of harming him. But as the sole Dragon King who exterminated all other dragons... his strength is not something you can handle. Run while you still can."
A melancholy voice drifted from behind the group.
They spun around to find a young man in black robes standing a hundred meters away, watching them with profound sorrow.
When Acnologia first appeared, Zeref's instinct was to flee to avoid being captured.
But the memory of Goku's technique—the one that might finally end his immortality—made him hesitate. He decided to stay long enough to offer a warning.
"Master Zeref? Is that you?"
Warrod stared at the young wizard in disbelief.
"You... you're truly still alive!"
Decades ago, Warrod, Precht, and Yuri had been treasure hunters searching for the "Tenrou Jade" on this very island.
There, they met Mavis. While fleeing from the Blue Skull guild, they encountered the Black Wizard Zeref. He had instructed them in magic, allowing them to grow strong enough to defeat their enemies and found Fairy Tail.
Warrod recognized him instantly; despite the passage of many years, Zeref had not aged a day.
"The Black Wizard Zeref!"
The others turned pale at the name. Zeref was the most malevolent, powerful, and evil wizard in history.
The demons he had created with a casual flick of his wrist had brought untold catastrophe to the continent.
"Warrod... it has been a long time. You should all leave. Even I am no match for Acnologia. He is merely playing with you right now; he hasn't moved a muscle in earnest. Once he gets serious, escape will be impossible."
Zeref looked at Warrod and sighed, struggling to suppress his innate kindness. If he allowed himself to feel too much affection for his former pupil, his curse would erupt again.
"What!?"
The wizards trembled. If even the legendary Zeref admitted he was no match, how terrifying was this dragon?
Sure enough, a mocking glint appeared in Acnologia's eyes. With a casual jerk of his head, he threw off Makarov's grip.
The Giant Master was tossed aside like a ragdoll, crashing into the earth and shrinking back to his original size.
"Physical attacks, then? Allow me."
Jellal stepped forward, shielding the group. He pressed his left hand to the ground and tilted his right hand toward the sky. A massive magic circle manifested above Acnologia.
"True Heavenly Body Magic: Sema!"
With Jellal's roar, a gargantuan meteor tore through the sky, hurtling toward the Black Dragon at extreme speeds. Since this spell used gravity to pull a physical celestial body from orbit, the primary impact was kinetic—physical, rather than purely magical. Surely, an impact of this scale would wound even Acnologia.
However, Zeref shook his head.
"It's no use."
One of his own subordinates, Irene, could cast "Deus Sema" to summon meteors far larger than this, yet even she couldn't harm the dragon. While Acnologia could devour magic to make himself immune to spells, it didn't mean he couldn't use magic himself.
Acnologia looked up at the falling meteor with disdain. He opened his maw, and a roar shook the foundations of the world. This was not the simple gust of air from before; it was the ultimate racial magic of the dragons.
"Black Dragon's Roar!"
A pillar of black energy surged into the sky, vaporizing the meteor into dust in an instant. It was as if the celestial rock had never existed.
"So this is a true Dragon's Roar..."
The wizards felt the dragon's magic power and their bodies began to shake uncontrollably. If that roar had been aimed at them instead of the meteor, they would have been turned to ash.
They realized now that all of them combined weren't worth a single breath from this creature.
Zeref was right—the dragon had just been playing.
"Guess it's my turn to meet him!"
Goku tossed aside a large, empty tin of beef, wiped his mouth, and walked forward without a hint of fear. He instantly expanded into his ten-meter Giant Form. During the brief respite, he had restored much of his stamina by devouring his stored rations.
"Hello, Acnologia! I'm Son Goku! Please guide me!"
Goku clasped his hands politely in a martial arts bow before dropping into the Turtle School stance.
"Human... you actually possess some measure of strength," Acnologia said, speaking for the first time.
Normally, he wouldn't deign to communicate with "ants," but this human gave him a slight sense of threat. Only a slight one, but enough to earn a single sentence.
"Here I come!"
Goku's figure blurred. He leaped high above the Black Dragon, delivering a powerful, explosive kick aimed directly at the dragon's head.