Igneel Appears

Hades Mard Gil stood in mid-air, his previously composed and strategic demeanor suddenly freezing.

He sensed the complete demise of Child Che Ezel's life force, and his delicate, pale face instantly turned terrifyingly grim, his eyes surging with dangerous rage.

It wasn't that Face was troubled by the destruction of one of his staffs; it was simply because he had just made a boastful remark in front of Fairy Tail, and the next second, his Nine Demon Gates were instantly killed.

It's like being slapped hard across the face right after filling a cup; your pride has become nothing more than a shoe insole.

"It doesn't matter."

Hades took a deep breath and finally sighed as if nothing had happened.

He forcibly suppressed his violence, his expression returning to its calm and collected state as he coldly looked down at Natsu and the others in front of him.

"That's just one of the many in Face. The number of Face is far greater than you think."

Standing amidst the ruins, Yin never once looked at Hades's face.

His gaze remained fixed on the ancient book in Hades's arms, a book emanating an ominous aura— the Book of E.N.D..

Hades noticed Silver's hostile and covetous gaze.

But he didn't take it seriously at all.

In his view, no one present combined could possibly defeat him.

"Kyoka is dead, Face is fully activated."

Hades curled his lips into a cruel smile as he announced this Despair news.

Meanwhile, in the control room far away.

The air was still thick with the pungent smell of blood.

Just now, Erza and her friends launched a fierce and relentless attack on Kyoka.

However, their all-out attack only drove Kyoka into extreme madness, directly accelerating the sacrifice of all her life force.

Just as Erza gripped the Edgeless and plunged it deep into Kyoka's heart...

A bizarre and morbid smile appeared on Kyoka's face.

At this final moment, she had already sacrificed all her life force, and the Face on the main control panel started, completely resetting to zero!

On the big screen, the red dot representing the location of Face lit up wildly.

The earth's veins trembled across the continent, and hundreds of enormous stone pillars burst forth from the ground. Their terrifying number was beyond what human power could destroy in a short time.

A brief silence fell over the control room.

"You two are always so lovey-dovey! What are we going to do now?!"

Erza stormed up to Riyao in a fit of rage.

She grabbed Riyao by the collar and shook the guy who had just been watching the show like a roly-poly toy.

"Let fate decide."

Riyao was being shaken violently, but it just shrugged indifferently, with that smug smile on its face.

Erza, upon hearing this, became even angrier and shook the object more vigorously.

Mirajane watched the two interact like children, and walked over with a sense of helplessness, reaching out to grab Erza's wrist.

"Alright, alright, Erza."

Mirajane wore a gentle smile and spoke soothingly in a soft tone.

"What if things take a turn for the better?"

"What other chance could there be?"

Erza angrily loosened her collar and pointed at the screen, which was almost completely filled with red dots.

"The continent is covered in Face; look at all these dense red dots on the screen, there are at least several hundred!"

Erza was pulled by Mirajane, and she leaned back, resting her head on Mirajane's soft shoulder.

She was clearly trying to provoke that bastard, Riyao.

Riyao, who was squeezed to the side, watched this scene and his eye twitched violently.

His instinct to protect his food awakened instantly, and he reached out to try to push away Erza's red head that was leaning on his wife's shoulder.

Is this a place for a Titania like you? Get out of the way!

Sensing the movement of the Riyao, Erza not only didn't get up, but deliberately challenged the Riyao.

She clung tightly to Mirajane's arm, rubbed her head against Mirajane shoulder, gave Riyao a defiant glance, and refused to get up.

Just as the three of them were playfully pinching each other over a shoulder,...

"Roar!!"

A terrifying dragon roar, extremely high-pitched and penetrating, suddenly resounded from the outside world without warning, soaring straight into the sky.

The oppressive force contained in that voice made the glass in the control room vibrate and rattle.

Everyone in the control room froze, immediately stopping their playful antics and turning to look in the direction from which the dragon's roar was coming.

"Here they come! The main character has arrived! Let's go watch the fun with Natsu!"

Riyao's eyes lit up, and he immediately left Erza behind. In a flash, he transformed into a streak of light, smashed through the control room window, and flew towards Natsu's location.

Mirajane was about to spread his demonic wings and follow when he suddenly felt an extremely strong pulling sensation from behind.

Lucy, like a koala, had somehow managed to cling tightly to Mirajane's waist.

She tilted her head back and gave a very obsequious and fawning smile.

"Mira... take me with you, I can't fly."

Mirajane couldn't help but chuckle softly.

With a swift movement, she lifted Lucy into her arms, and with a sudden flap of her demonic wings, she carried her quickly after them.

On the other side, Minerva didn't waste any words and immediately activated Space Magic, disappearing instantly with Erza.

When the group in the control room rushed to the ruins where Natsu was, they witnessed a shocking scene.

Accompanied by dazzling flames and suffocating heat, a colossal creature engulfed in crimson flames soared into the sky from where Natsu was standing.

It spread its enormous wings, which blotted out the sky, and brought with it a violent hurricane, soaring straight into the sky!

Fire Dragon King - Igneel!

Natsu, it's been a long time.

Igneel's deep, resonant voice, like muffled thunder, echoed in the sky, carrying a hint of warmth from a long-awaited reunion.

"I... Igneel?!"

Natsu was completely dumbfounded.

He tilted his head back, opened his mouth wide, and stared with eyes as big as saucers, blankly asking the biggest question that had been swirling in his mind.

How did you get inside me?!

Everyone present was stunned into a blank.

A dragon that disappeared four hundred years ago was actually hiding inside Dragon Slayer?

What happened next further escalated everyone's shock.

High in the distance, the once clear sky suddenly darkened.

A colossal, Despair- inducing black shadow, carrying a terrifying aura capable of destroying the world, was tearing through the clouds with an extremely ruthless manner, rapidly approaching this battlefield.

As the shadowy figure drew near, and the dragon's body, covered in mysterious black patterns, was fully revealed to everyone, all breaths stopped at that moment.

Dragon King - Acnologia!

"How did it get here?!"

Sensing the terrifying magical power that far exceeded human comprehension, the people on the ruins instantly felt a chill run through their bodies.

High in the sky, Igneel turned his majestic vertical pupils and stared intently at the approaching Black Dragon.

It looked down at Natsu, who was still in a daze, and its tone became more serious than ever before.

"Alright, Natsu, we can talk about any questions later!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Igneel raised his head and let out a roar that shattered the clouds. His massive body transformed into a burning meteorite and charged fearlessly toward the Black Dragon.

The two colossal dragons, representing the pinnacle of global combat power, instantly engaged in a primal and brutal battle at an altitude of ten thousand meters!

"Roar!"

Igneel opened the gaping maw of the abyss, showing the humans and demons below what true...

[Fire Dragon's Roar]

A scorching pillar of fire, a hundred times larger and countless orders of magnitude hotter than Natsu's roar, erupted forth!

The terrifying flames exploded in the air in an instant, like a sun, illuminating the originally dark night sky as brightly as day!

"Igneel!!"

Natsu finally snapped out of his daze after witnessing the earth-shattering battle in the sky.

He suddenly stood up from the ruins, his eyes becoming extremely determined.

A powerful burst of flames erupted from beneath his feet, propelling him like a fiery meteor as he hurtled towards Igneel in the sky.

He had so many questions to ask!

Just as everyone was still immersed in the shocking duel between the two dragons, two crisp clapping sounds suddenly rang out.

Riyao stood on a pile of broken walls and clapped his hands, successfully drawing everyone's attention back from the sky.

"Alright, everyone."

Riyao pointed to the sky, then turned to look at everyone and casually dropped a bombshell.

"Iron Dragon, White Dragon, Shadow Dragon, and Sky Dragon have already gone to deal with those troublesome Face on the continent. As for us..."

Riyao's gaze shifted to Pluto, a benevolent smile playing on his lips.

"We should get down to business and get rid of these eyesores completely."

These words were like a depth charge dropped into a calm lake.

Gajeel, Sting, and Rogue, who were present, all gasped simultaneously, their eyes widening even more than Natsu's had just been.

"W-What did you say?! Where are they?!"

The three Dragon Slayer shouted in unison, their voices trembling with excitement.

For the three of them, the destruction of the world and defeating the demon before them were all unimportant.

Finding our long-lost dragon is the most important thing in the world!

"How would I know where they are? They're all over the continent. They'll probably come looking for you after they've dealt with Face."

Riyao shrugged and gave a perfunctory, irresponsible reply.

Just as Gajeel and the other two were scratching their heads in frustration, wanting to rush up and grab Riyao to get to the bottom of things,

A sharp, piercing sound suddenly rang out!

While everyone was talking, Yin acted without hesitation.

Now that Riyao had clearly stated that a dragon had been sent to deal with Face, his biggest worry was completely put to rest.

His only obsession now is to destroy the Book of E.N.D. in Hades's arms!

Battle is about to break out!

The three of Gajeel were interrupted by the sudden attack. Although they had a lot of words stuck in their throats and felt uncomfortable, they could only suppress their inner turmoil and assume a fighting stance in the face of a formidable enemy like Hades.

"Foolish humans..."

Hades sneered, finally abandoning his nonchalant demeanor.

Seeing Gin rushing towards him and the eager Fairy Tail members, he suddenly waved his hand, and the enormous Curse Power within him erupted.

Rumble--

With a violent tremor, countless thick, thorny brambles burst forth from the ground!

These thorns, like giant, living pythons, moved with incredible speed across the battlefield, instantly separating the group.