"Gajeel?"
"Keheh. As my cat, you can't afford to mess up at a critical moment like this," Gajeel said with a grin.
"So this is Slifer the Sky Dragon, Chase's ultimate trump card?..." Gildarts stared at Slifer's unharmed head emerging from the rolling black smoke, his weathered face filled with awe.
Even without the blessing of everyone's magic power, he was certain that if Chase had summoned this monster in their earlier fight, he wouldn't have stood a chance!
After all these years as the guild's strongest, it seems he could finally lay that title to rest.
A relieved smile appeared on Gildarts's face.
"Ooh! Go for it, Sky Dragon Uncle! Beat that bastard to a pulp for me!" Natsu, ever familiar, cheered Slifer on.
"Hey, hey, Natsu..." Lucy quickly tried to stop him.
That's a real god, the existence of an absolute top-tier! You can't just address it so casually!
"Ooh! Before a true man, no Black Dragon is worth fearing!" Elfman shouted excitedly.
Then, his kidney took a sharp kick from Evergreen's bare foot. The two were still holding hands.
Lucy sighed heavily, simply not wanting to bother complaining.
It was clear that everyone's tense emotions had relaxed. The earlier feeling of powerless despair had vanished completely.
Even the strongest-willed human would tremble and prostrate themselves before Slifer's divine, oppressive pressure. It was an irresistible instinct for mortal beings facing a divine being.
But Slifer was Chase's partner, which, by extension, made it a guild partner. So, they felt this inexplicable sense of closeness.
In contrast to Natsu and the others' liveliness, Erza and Mira frowned, their eyes full of concern as they looked at the figure standing atop the Tenrou Tree.
It didn't take a genius to know that such a burden would be incredibly heavy for Chase.
And indeed, after just their first exchange, blood had already trickled from the corner of Chase's mouth. Cracks had appeared on his Exodia armor!
At that moment, he was like an energy bridge swaying in a violent storm. On one side was the immense magic power gathered from his comrades. On the other was Slifer's unfathomably vast divine power.
The immense pressure piling up from all sides made his bones creak. Pain filled every cell!
Fortunately, Mavis was there to assist, helping him balance the magic power from the guild members and alleviate some of the burden.
For now, he could still hold on!
Truth be told, a better solution than summoning Slifer and provoking Acnologia into a full-scale fight would have been to quietly wait out the seven-year seal.
But Chase simply didn't dare gamble with his comrades' lives.
What if that roar came down and Mavis couldn't release Fairy Sphere in time? What if Fairy Sphere couldn't withstand it? What if Acnologia sensed something wrong and lay in wait? There were too many unpredictable possibilities!
Rather than leaving their fate to the so-called original plot, he wanted to give it his all to protect what he wanted to protect!
High above.
Seeing the opponent so easily take its roar, Acnologia was utterly enraged.
"Unabsorbable, strange power... no fear of my roar... Good. Very good! You creature!!"
It let out a dragon's roar, then roared its dragon wings, tearing through the chaotic storm currents, carrying endless killing intent, transforming into a black streak of light and brazenly charging at Slifer!
Slifer remained indifferent. After glazing at Chase atop the Tenrou Tree, its massive body leaned back slightly like a drawn divine bow. Dense electric arcs leaped across its crimson armor.
Without any evasive maneuvers, it charged forward, braving the violent winds to meet the oncoming Acnologia!
CRASH!!
The crimson head and the pitch-black head collided like comets. Without magic or divine power, just pure brute force, the impact exploded with a thunderous roar that shook the entire sky!
This creature's body... how is it so hard? Even harder than the defense-oriented Steel Dragon or Rock Dragon...
Acnologia felt dizzy.
It had bathed in countless dragon bloods to obtain its current body!
The absolute dominance, far surpassing all the dragons it had ever faced, made Acnologia's blood boil. Every one of its scales rattled with extreme excitement.
Just then, the sound of tearing wind arrived in an instant.
Slifer swung its massive tail, like a sweeping mountain range, carrying the power of ten thousand tons and the lingering destructive thunder, slamming it squarely into Acnologia's side!
BAM—CRACK!
A heavy impact, mixed with the sound of shattering bones, rang out. Then—
"ROAR!!!"
Acnologia let out a bone-deep, agonized roar. Its massive body was sent tumbling sideways by the terrifying blow. A large section of its scaled side visibly caved in. Dragon scales, mixed with black blood, rained down like a storm.
The long-forgotten pain further stimulated Acnologia's brutality. It flapped its dragon wings, forcibly resisting the impact, then extended its claws to firmly clamp onto Slifer's body.
Its saliva-dripping maw suddenly opened, biting directly into the crimson torso in the most primal way possible!
Sharp fangs pierced the armor, sinking deep into the flesh. But instead of blood, only scattered specks of light appeared.
Slifer let out a low, pained grunt. After all, its manifestation was only possible through Chase's magic power, so its strength was ultimately limited.
Nevertheless, this directly ignited the violent fighting spirit hidden deep within its body!
Its long, trailing tail coiled upward like a python, binding Acnologia in place. Then, Slifer opened its own fang-filled maw and bit directly into the other's thick neck.
The hard scales were pierced. Blood immediately flowed!
As the divine fangs gradually sank into the fatal part, sensing the threat of death, Acnologia was the first to release its grip. It exploded all its power into a magical barrier, forcibly pushing Slifer away.
But Slifer wasn't about to end it there. It lowered its head. Thundered deep within its opened upper jaw.
BOOM!!
A point-blank Thunderforce tore through the magical barrier, exploding on Acnologia's face. The thick scales covering it were shattered, revealing smoking, charred flesh.
This only made the already twisted world-ending dragon even more terrifying, its nature growing increasingly brutal.
The rapidly gathering energy deep within its mouth evaporated the flowing blood. Amidst the steaming red mist, Acnologia fired back a roar.
CRASH!!
A massive mushroom cloud bloomed high in the sky.
Before the sky-filling flames could dissipate, the two dragon figures had already charged at each other again, ruthlessly tearing into one another.
Clawing, biting, tail whips, headbutts...
Every claw strike was enough to tear mountains apart. Every collision was enough to shake the earth. Every contact...
Was accompanied by a tragic scene of shattered scales, spraying energy, and flying blood!
The pure aesthetics of colossal violence were performed to their extreme at this moment!
***
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