"Chase, are you alright?"
"You're hurt so badly! We need to get you emergency treatment right away!"
Mira and Erza hurried over, their hearts aching with concern as they looked at Chase, covered in blood.
"Requip!"
Worried sick, Erza instinctively changed into her sexy nurse outfit, holding bandages, thinking she could at least do some simple bandaging before Wendy arrived.
Knowing her "professional" bandaging skills, Mira quickly reached out and hugged her. "Um, Erza, I think Chase's condition isn't that bad yet. Let's wait for Wendy."
"But—"
Just as Erza was about to say something, she suddenly noticed Chase's expression was off. His gaze into the distance was terrifyingly serious.
At the same time, golden particles fell like fine rain over Tenrou Island.
Slifer's body, coiled in the sky, gradually dissipated. It slowly turned its head, its sacred gaze sweeping over everyone, eventually landing on Chase among the rubble.
"That black lizard is indeed somewhat peculiar. My energy is exhausted, little brat. The rest... you'll have to handle yourselves."
The majestic voice came from the void. Unable to maintain its manifested state, it returned to the Card Space.
The moment the words faded, the relaxed, cheerful atmosphere suddenly froze.
"Wait... on our own? Sky Dragon Uncle, are you saying—"
"No... it can't be?"
"You're joking! An attack like that couldn't kill it?!"
WHOOSH!!
As if confirming everyone's unthinkable yet undeniable guess, a towering pillar of water suddenly exploded from the distant sea.
The falling droplets formed a hazy curtain of rain, obscuring that area.
Deep within the rain curtain, a massive dark shadow was vaguely visible. The pitch-black demon dragon slowly opened its crimson eyes.
ROAR!!!
The enraged dragon's roar completely shattered the last remaining shred of hope.
In the few breaths it took to react, a pitch-black hurricane, carrying a rich aura of despair, howled toward them. Acnologia crossed the vast distance, crashing heavily onto Tenrou Island with a thunderous BOOM, appearing before them once again!
It no longer looked as majestic as when it had first arrived.
Its dragon face was a bloody mess. Its sturdy chest and abdomen were scorched black. Its right claw and arm were reduced to scattered flesh, with stark white bones clearly visible.
Its once-symbolic pitch-black wings were even more torn, covered in tear marks like a ragged piece of cloth, giving it the eerie appearance of a zombie dragon.
However, this pitiful, miserable state didn't diminish Acnologia's oppressive aura. Instead, it visibly showcased its brutality and ferocity.
Even crippled, just locking eyes with those blood-red pupils sent chills down one's spine, making the body tremble!
"Heh. I see. To devour a god's power, you need a little finesse..." Acnologia grinned, clenching its bone-white right fist, which crackled with golden electric arcs.
A familiar sacred aura radiated from within its body. Makarov and the others' expressions changed dramatically.
It had actually eaten Slifer's Superconducting Wave?!
The shadow of despair once again descended. A deep sense of powerlessness, combined with the strain of overconsumed magic power, made it impossible for them to hold on any longer. They lost the strength to resist and slumped to the ground.
How could they possibly defeat such a monster...
"No!"
Chase walked forward with Mira and Erza. His gaze was fixed on Acnologia, which was as massive as a small mountain. "That thing... is only bluffing!"
Having used Slifer's God Slayer Magic countless times, he could see at a glance the fatigue beneath Acnologia's furious, arrogant facade.
Under certain conditions, a Dragon Slayer could indeed forcibly digest a God Slayer's power. For example, Laxus during the civil war, or Natsu in the original story.
But the divine power of the true Slifer and what Chase himself could cast were on completely different levels!
Though Acnologia was no ordinary Dragon Slayer, with incredible talent and physique, it absolutely couldn't do this easily. At the very least, right now, the residual divine power was still eroding its battered body!
"Given enough time, I will fully digest it. But before that..." Acnologia didn't deny it. Its bloodied dragon eyes flickered with a menacing light. "...all things related to dragons, and you who have colluded with them, must be completely erased!!"
Even heavily wounded, Its magic power difficult to mobilize under the suppression of lightning, the arrogant Black Dragon still wouldn't take mere ants seriously. It would still carry out its intent to slaughter the dragons and their "allies" to the very end.
"Talking about erasing everything related to dragons... then why don't you just kill yourself, you bastard?!"
The hot-tempered Natsu, enduring the churning discomfort in his body, shot back aggressively.
Having grown up under Igneel's teachings, his fear of giant dragons was apparently less than the others'.
Of course, even without that factor, this guy would still act the same way.
His shouting gave the others courage. They supported each other and stood up, facing the invincible dark shadow ahead.
"Wasn't it you who came out of nowhere to our guild's sacred ground and caused all this destruction?" Lucy stood up too. For a rare moment, she was courageous. "If you want to fight, then fight! I'm not afraid of you!"
With her comrades by her side, she was fearless!
"This is what I was supposed to teach her. And yet, in the end, I was the one who held back," Gildarts said, tightly gripping Cana's hand, his gaze steady. "What a failing examiner I am..."
"Bring it on! In the end, Fairy Tail will be the victor!" The others also ignited their fighting spirit.
At this point, fear would only make all their previous efforts meaningless.
Only by fighting could they survive!
Among the crowd, Chase glanced at Natsu, whose body was radiating heat like a furnace.
Not just Natsu, but Gajeel and Wendy also showed similar magical fluctuations. Their faces were twisted in pain, clutching their chests, cold sweat beading on their foreheads.
They thought it was backlash from exhausted magic power, gritting their teeth and trying to strengthen their resolve. But Chase knew better.
The Fire Dragon King Igneel, the Iron Dragon Metalicana, and the Sky Dragon Grandeeney—the dragons hidden within them—were probably about to emerge.
He remembered that in the original Tartaros arc, Igneel and the other dragons had also shown signs before appearing, and only when "the time was right." There had been no such response to the major crisis on Tenrou Island.
Given Igneel's personality, he would never stand by and watch Natsu be killed. There was also no reason for him to know that the first master would activate Fairy Sphere.
So, Chase quickly deduced that it probably took time for them to break free from the Dragon Seed seal and emerge.
Based on this judgment, what needed to be done next became very clear.
If they could finish off the crippled Acnologia, great. If not...
They had to hold out until the Three Dragons broke free!
***
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