Chapter 411: Alive and Well
"That man is still alive?!"
How could that be possible? The dragons on the Ishgar continent were supposed to have been completely eradicated by Acnologia. Even though the Fire Dragon King, Igneel, was renowned in his era, there was no way he could have matched the Black Dragon of the Apocalypse.
"Ah! He's alive and well." Ren recalled Igneel's fiery temperament. The man should be giving Natsu special training right about now, though Ren had no idea where that training was actually taking place.
Hearing this, the Moon God Dragon Selene's expression shifted. Igneel was Ignia's father; while she didn't fear him in a one-on-one fight, if that father and son duo were to team up, the situation would become incredibly troublesome.
Of course, there was also this human standing before her. Judging by his calm tone, his relationship with the Fire Dragon King seemed quite good. Most, there was his sheer presence—a latent strength potent enough to make her feel genuinely wary.
In his Nine-Tailed Demon Fox form, his power was entirely capable of rivaling the Five God Dragons. Even if she vastly outclassed him in sheer magical capacity, she couldn't guarantee she wouldn't be taken down by him in a short, explosive burst of combat.
"Alright, now it's my turn to ask a question. Are you an evil dragon?" Ren abruptly changed the subject, directing his gaze at Selene.
"An evil dragon?" Selene couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle at the question. "Perhaps I am. But this world doesn't strictly differentiate between good and evil. Do you think this person is a good guy?"
The Moon God Dragon pointed a slender finger toward Suzaku.
"Uh... I don't really know Suzaku all that well, so I couldn't tell you what kind of person he is." Ren had only just met the swordsman; how was he supposed to judge his moral character on the spot?
"I am a good person!" Suzaku declared loudly, though he felt a sudden flash of embarrassment as the words left his mouth. After all, proclaiming oneself to be a 'good person' always sounded a bit unconvincing.
"Let's assume he is a good person," Selene continued, her tone cooling. "But he ate my son. As a mother, I want to kill him. Do you think I have the right to do so?"
"You absolutely do!" Ren nodded without a second thought. Her son had been consumed by the other party; as a mother seeking vengeance against the culprit—it was a completely justified reaction.
"Then, if I kill someone that humans consider to be 'good,' will you all declare that I am an evil dragon?"
"Hmm..." Ren pondered the logic.
"Difficult to answer, isn't it? It's all a matter of perspective," Selene smiled faintly.
"But you've plunged Elentir into a crisis of absolute destruction!" Faris screamed at the Moon God Dragon, her voice trembling with grief and rage.
"That, too, is a matter of perspective," Selene replied dismissively. "From the standpoint of humans, you might consider me evil. But from the standpoint of the Dragon Clan, I see no issue at all. After all, I merely wanted to make my living environment a little more comfortable."
Having said her piece, Selene completely ignored Faris and shifted her golden eyes back to Ren. "Why did you ask me that question?"
"Nothing major. I was just considering my plans for completing the 100 Years Quest."
"Oh? And what kind of plans might those be?" Selene asked, genuinely curious.
"It depends entirely on the situation. If you're like the Water God Dragon—kind to humans and devoid of malicious intent toward them—then I'll let you be. But if you're an evil dragon like the Wood God Dragon who only views humans as prey, I will kill you."
Ren's tone was flat, as if he were discussing something as trivial as the weather. This casual indifference made Selene feel deeply insulted. She was one of the Five God Dragons; since when had she been looked down upon by a mere human, spoken of as if she were livestock waiting to be slaughtered at his whim?
"Boy, I acknowledge that your strength is formidable," Selene said, her expression darkening into a grim scowl. "But do not think that just because you wounded the Water God Dragon and killed the Wood God Dragon, you have the right to look down on me, the Moon God Dragon Selene."
"Look down on you? No, how could I?" Ren replied smoothly. "The power of the Five God Dragons is not to be underestimated, so naturally, I wouldn't look down on you. But I don't exactly hold you in high reverence, either."
After clashing with Acnologia, he no longer harbored any deep-seated fear toward these dragons. It wasn't that the Five God Dragons lacked strength; they all bore the title of 'God,' so their raw destructive power was unquestionable.
It was simply that, after facing Uchiha Madara—a man who also bore the moniker of a god—he had forged the absolute courage to face any situation without flinching.
As the saying went: all fear stems from a lack of firepower. When one possessed sufficient firepower, there was naturally nothing left to fear.
Selene was so infuriated that she actually laughed. "I really am being underestimated."
She was the Moon God Dragon, a being synonymous with divinity. Yet now, after living for over five hundred years, she was being belittled by a twenty-year-old human brat.
"Boy, whatever your goal may be, I will teach you a lesson in humility. I will make you understand the true might of the Five God Dragons!"
Selene roared. Her body began to warp and expand rapidly. In the blink of an eye, she transformed into her true Dragon form—a majestic, terrifying beast boasting multiple tails that looked strikingly similar to those of a fox.
"This is..."
"The Moon God Dragon..."
Suzaku felt the catastrophic shift in Selene's magic power, his expression contorting drastically. He had barely been able to hold his own against her human form, but in her true draconic state, her power surged exponentially. It was on a completely different dimension compared to her humanoid guise.
Kyria and the others also felt the suffocating weight of the Moon God Dragon's magic, sharing Suzaku's deep dread. In the face of this overwhelming, world-ending power, there was no way they could possibly stand as her opponents.
"Boy, do you feel it?" Selene's booming voice echoed across the mountains. "This is the true power of the Five God Dragons!"
"Take Over: Namikaze Minato!"
Ren didn't hesitate for a second. He instantly initiated a Full Body Take Over with the Fourth Hokage and activated the Tailed Beast Transformation. In a flash of blinding light, his body was engulfed and replaced by a colossal Nine-Tailed Demon Fox manifested entirely from blazing golden energy.
The majestic, powerful aura radiating from his golden form left everyone paralyzed with shock.
When he came here, he had naturally prepared himself for all-out war. In this world, power spoke the loudest; if you didn't fight, no one would ever bother to listen to what you had to say.
Suzaku was utterly astounded watching Ren transform into the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. That golden, multi-tailed appearance was so strikingly similar to the Moon God Dragon's own silhouette that it easily made one suspect if there was some special, hidden connection between the two of them.
"Let me see exactly what kind of skills you possess!" Selene gathered the terrifying might of the Moon God Dragon into her massive claws and lunged violently toward Ren.
Ren, devoid of even a sliver of fear, swung his own golden claws to meet her head-on.
BOOM!
The collision of their two apocalyptic forces caused the entirety of Black Moon Mountain to quake violently. Their physical strength was perfectly matched; neither side gave an inch.
'So strong!'
At that moment, Suzaku finally understood that Ren's earlier words hadn't been an arrogant exaggeration. The young man's power was truly on a level he couldn't even begin to compare with.
Selene whipped her massive tails forward to strike Ren, but the golden fox leaped lightly into the air, gracefully evading the devastating sweep. Simultaneously, Ren lashed out with his own nine golden tails, forcing Selene to cross her tails to block the heavy counterattack.
"Moon Dragon's Roar!"
Selene opened her maw, unleashing a torrent of devastating magical breath. It was the signature technique known to all dragons, boasting catastrophic lethality. For a dragon at the pinnacle like Selene, a single Roar could effortlessly wipe an entire island off the map.
Swish!
Ren instantly used the Flying Thunder God Technique, teleporting away to evade the catastrophic beam of light. He wasn't foolish enough to let such a concentrated blast of God Dragon magic hit him directly.
KABOOM!
The distant mountain range erupted in a blinding, deafening flash of light, followed by a horrifying explosion. The violent tremor caused even Black Moon Mountain to shudder on its foundations, while a massive shockwave expanded outward, obliterating everything in its path.
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