Who Led the Enemy into the Village?

The subspace was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. A hazy mist swirled around, like a pot of thick porridge that had boiled but hadn't bubbled.

Riyao sat cross-legged in mid-air, supporting the Parasol Tree with both hands, calming his mind and beginning to refine the magic power of Irene and the others.

This job is much more strenuous than setting bones and treating the tough guys in the guild.

It's like shoving several barrels of different brands of explosives into a single metal can; the slightest tremor and you're shot dead.

Inside the tree trunk, several top-tier forces that were completely at odds were locked in a fierce battle.

Mavis's infinite magic gushed out white light like a tap turned on, while Zeref's death power, huddled beneath the tree roots, bubbled blackly and hissed and smoked as it collided with the surrounding life force.

In addition to Irene's Dragon Slayer Power, the dragons 'Dragon Force, Larcade's power of desire, and finally her own life force and time-space power.

A fine layer of sweat appeared on Riyao's forehead. He bit his tongue and, like kneading dough, forcibly mixed this pile of things that looked like gods fighting into a ball, fusing it all into the Parasol Tree and forging it into a dragon-slaying divine weapon.

The bark bulged with interwoven golden and green veins, and the branches and leaves rustled wildly. Once the loading bar was complete, this thing would be a deadly weapon specifically designed to stab the Black Dragon in the kidneys.

It wasn't that Riyao was acting recklessly; he was thinking that the Fairy Sphere would eventually run out of magic, or that some unknown villain might unravel the mystery, and he wanted to resolve it all at once.

"I forgot about Natsu. The refining process has already started and can't be stopped. I hope Lucy can catch up."

Outside the subspace, the battlefield, which was originally covered by forests, has turned into a messy, muddy plain.

Mirajane, carrying the heavy black book in her arms, walked briskly to Lucy, handed Lucy the Book of E.N.D., and wore a motherly smile, as if she were handing over a family heirloom to her daughter-in-law.

Lucy had just gotten up from the ground when she looked up and met Mirajane's loving yet unsettling expression. Her hair stood on end, and she hugged her arms and took a half-step back.

"Mira, your eyes look strange... I'm scared."

When Mira laughs like that, it means someone is about to have a really bad time.

Without a word, Mirajane stepped forward, shoved the cold, heavy book into her arms, and patted the back of her hand.

"Oh, don't be afraid, don't be afraid. Come here, Riyao told me to give you the book, saying that you can use your writing skills to extend Natsu's life."

Lucy looked down at the three dark red letters on the cover, her head buzzing, still not understanding what writing a novel had to do with prolonging her life.

As soon as Mirajane finished speaking, Natsu was standing not far away with his hands on his hips panting, suddenly swayed twice, the color drained from his face, and he collapsed to the ground with his knees buckling.

With a dull thud, Natsu crashed heavily into the muddy water, curling up into a ball.

This unexpected turn of events startled the surrounding companions, and everyone present gasped in surprise.

Natsu!

Happy was so frightened that he dropped the fish and scrambled over to help him. Gray and Erza also paled and rushed over, kneeling in the mud to help him up, but all they touched was a hand that was ice-cold.

Lucy's heart skipped a beat. She plopped down on the grass, quickly put on her speed-reading glasses, and with trembling fingers, turned the heavy pages of the book, skimming through it while muttering to herself.

"This is so sudden! It didn't give us any time at all! Natsu, you have to hold on!"

The pages were covered with densely packed demonic script emanating a dark aura, and in many places it flickered on and off in sync with Natsu's faint heartbeat, making Lucy's eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets.

As if things weren't bad enough, they just kept coming down badly.

The miniature Igneel lying nearby suddenly bristled with scales, letting out a low growl.

"He's here!"

Mini Igneel looked at the distant sky, where the clouds churned violently, as if torn apart by an invisible hand. The air became thick and heavy, and a terrifying pressure emanated from it.

The wind stopped, and the whole world seemed to have suddenly fallen into an ice cellar.

At the edge of the sky, a small black shadow tore through the sea of clouds, rapidly growing larger at an unreasonable speed. Each flap of its sky-covering black wings created a piercing sonic boom.

It was Acnologia Irene had thrown to the edge of the world!

The sand and gravel on the ground began to hum and vibrate, Lucy was so overwhelmed by the dragon's might that it seemed to be pressing down from a great distance that she couldn't breathe.

"Ugh! What bad luck! Why does everything have to happen at once?"

Lucy's face fell, her fingers gripping the quill pen so tightly they turned white, as she frantically sped up her reading, the pages rustling as she turned them.

Natsu nearby, was already extremely weak, unable to even lift his eyelids, and his chest was only rising and falling slightly. There was no way he could be expected to jump up and fight the Black Dragon now.

As the dark figure drew closer, a magical light suddenly shone above the clouds, and the distinctive static of a loudspeaker resounded throughout the venue.

"Everyone, I'll hold them off for a moment. Please get ready quickly, man!"

The Christina, a magical bomber ship with a flamboyantly painted hull, broke through the clouds and appeared in the sky, its stern spewing out thick flames as it fearlessly charged toward Acnologia.

Within the Blue Pegasus formation on the ground, three young men in suits simultaneously raised their arms and waved, tears welling in their eyes.

"One Night Teacher!"

"Master for one night!"

"One Night Brother!"

Hibiki, Ivan, and Ren shouted it out in unison.

The group, who had been on edge, turned to look at the three clowns, their foreheads creased with exasperation. They were all speechless; these three had never managed to shout in unison all night.

However, this humor did little to mask the stench of blood in the air.

Gajeel, Wendy, Sting, Rogue, and Laxus, the Dragon Slayer standing behind, all looked up and stared intently at the dark figure in the sky, feeling their blood boiling and their hearts pounding wildly.

That oppressive feeling, originating from one's bloodline and very being, was so heavy that it made it hard to breathe, even from thousands of meters above the ground.

This is an enemy they must face. Thanks to the symbiotic dragons and extensive training, they are now much stronger than they were a year ago.

But when this Black Dragon of the Apocalypse, standing at the top of the food chain, truly reappeared before my eyes and I faced it again, I still felt so insignificant.

High above, the air currents scraped across the ship's hull like knives.

The stern valves of the Christina opened wide, spewing out a large cloud of pink smoke and emitting an indescribable fragrance.

The scent was exactly like the aura of a dragon. The Black Dragon hovered in mid-air, its nostrils twitching as it sniffed. Its dark golden vertical pupils were fixed on the airship, and it immediately turned and rushed towards the Christina.

Inside the bridge, Yi Ye, sporting orange curly hair, casually rested her chin on her hand while leaning on the control panel, striking a pose with an extremely flamboyant air.

"Man~ This is a dragon's breath perfume that I specially developed~"

Beside him, a blonde woman dressed in a simple long dress, with a face that bore a striking resemblance to Lucy, stood solemnly beside him.

This person was none other than Anna Heartfilia, an ancestor of Heartfilia.

Anna pressed her hands against the porthole, her gaze fixed on a patch of distorted light in the air ahead.

"It's right ahead, a naturally formed spatial rift. If we lure the Black Dragon into it, there's a high probability we'll banish it."

That was a void rift where even the concepts of space and time were completely chaotic. As long as the Black Dragon was lured inside, the monster could be imprisoned in the void.

He immediately dropped his pretentious pose, gripped the control stick tightly, and patted his chest.

"Miss Anna, don't worry, the Christina will definitely leave the Black Dragon far behind... Damn it, the Black Dragon is accelerating."

His composure lasted only three seconds before he noticed the red dot on the radar almost touching the airship's rear, and his face instantly turned a deep shade of liver in fright.

After a night of frantic activity, he began operating the system, his ten fingers leaving afterimages on the control panel. He pushed the thrust lever all the way to the limit, maximizing the performance of the Christina, and the engine roared to life.

Boom!

The airship shuddered violently, its tail flames turning a blindingly bright white, and it accelerated again, shooting forward like a meteor, narrowly leaving the Black Dragon behind.

The Black Dragon, hot on its heels, didn't immediately smash the airship to pieces with its roar. A hint of mockery flashed in its Black Dragon pupils; it treated the chase as a game.

The scent of dragons wafting from the battlefield below grew stronger, stirring his bloodlust and making him unconsciously excited.

Hopefully, this big battle won't disappoint him.

With a flap of its wings, the Black Dragon's massive body, like a black lightning bolt, closely followed the Christina, which was moving at full speed.

Three hundred meters, two hundred meters, one hundred meters!

The invisible rift ahead was already very close.

He gritted his teeth and slammed the steering wheel, sending the airship flying in a magnificent arc, grazing the edge of spatial distortion and avoiding the invisible spatial rift.

The Black Dragon behind it was already blinded by the scent of perfume and the thrill of the hunt, and ignored all other considerations, charging straight ahead with a destructive momentum.

Click!

A sharp, shattering sound, like glass breaking, rang out in mid-air. As expected, the Black Dragon's massive body crashed into the spatial rift and was swallowed up by the void in the blink of an eye.

In the bridge, both Ichiya and Anna breathed a sigh of relief, but before they could even laugh, a sudden, chaotic commotion erupted from the crack—

"I'm awesome!! Who let the Japanese devils into the village!!"

A shrill, frantic explosion rang out from the spatial rift, piercing through the high-altitude gale and crashing onto the deck, startling Yi Ye and Anna.