The Dragon's Feast
Three minutes passed in the blink of an eye.
That towering, Heaven and Earth Transformation, seemingly holding the heavens and earth in its grasp, began to shrink rapidly, like a deflated balloon.
Finally, Jiang Bai's body returned to its original size, and he slowly fell from mid-air.
The enormous drain on his magical energy made his face look somewhat pale, and his body swayed slightly.
Opposite him, the Black Dragon King, who had just been struggling frantically in his palm, was in no better condition.
Compared to its imposing appearance when it first arrived, Acnologia is now noticeably flattened.
Its massive dragon body was twisted and dented everywhere from the immense force that had squeezed it. Countless dragon bones had been crushed inch by inch by the irresistible force. Its self-healing power was also weakened than ever before due to the almost completely drained magic power.
Just now, in order to protect its core from being crushed by Jiang Bai's terrifying strength, it almost used up all its magic power.
It had no doubt that if that monster had persisted for just one more minute, it would have truly become the first dragon king in history to be crushed to death by a human.
Severely injured.
Magic depleted.
After finally escaping the giant hand that had brought endless terror, Acnologia gasped for breath, staring intently at the human in the distance who also appeared to be severely depleted of magic and on the verge of collapse.
A thought began to frantically grow in its mind.
Kill him!
Now is the time to risk everything and completely eliminate this enormous threat that could threaten my life!
However, this thought only lasted a second before it was replaced by an even stronger emotion.
That was... fear!
The helplessness and despair I just felt in my palm, so close to death, has become the deepest imprint, etched into its very soul.
Ultimately, the fear of death overwhelmed his pride as the Dragon King.
Acnologia made the most humiliating, yet wisest, decision in its four hundred years as Dragon King.
Run!
It flapped its battered wings violently, its massive body, looking somewhat disheveled, soared into the sky, preparing to escape the island that filled it with fear.
But, in the next second, something unexpected happened!
At the edge of the sky, a terrifying magical power, so immense that it could make the heavens and earth tremble, began to gather wildly!
A massive magic circle, radiating destructive light, slowly unfurled above the clouds!
That is... the continent's most powerful strategic weapon— the Etherion!
It turned out that the Magic Council, far away in the Kingdom of Fiore, was completely panicked after Take Over the mythical battle footage sent back by Mest.
When they saw the legendary black dragon and felt its destructive power, which was enough to make people suffocate even through the images alone, all the judges were terrified.
But then, when they saw Jiang Bai appear and beat the Black Dragon King to the ground in an even more unreasonable manner, an indescribable and complex emotion quietly grew in their hearts.
Shock, jealousy, and... greed.
Finally, when they saw Jiang Bai and the Black Dragon both severely injured and their magic power exhausted, and the Black Dragon preparing to flee in a sorry state, the demon called "greed" completely took over the hearts of these bureaucrats.
Now, the black dragon is severely injured and its magic power is depleted!
Jiang Bai, that monster, was also greatly exhausted and unable to fight anymore!
This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
If they could use their Etherion to completely destroy this legendary black dragon at this moment...
Then, this unparalleled glory, worthy of being recorded in history, will belong to the Magic Council!
As for Jiang Bai, who actually managed to beat Heilong to such a state? Who would remember him?
People will only remember that it was the great and wise Magic Council that used the ultimate weapon to save the world and defeat the evil dragon!
Driven by greed, these foolish councilors did not hesitate to issue the order to activate the Etherion.
That's how this scene came about.
The terrifying magic, powerful enough to destroy a small country, had completed its energy charge, precisely locked onto the fleeing black dragon, and was ready to launch!
"Jiang Bai!"
"Xiao Bai!"
Almost the instant Jiang Bai landed, Erza and Mirajane appeared beside him, supporting his swaying body from either side.
The rest of the guild members also gathered around, their faces filled with worry.
Hey! Are you alright?
"Brother-in-law, how are you feeling?"
They all breathed a sigh of relief when they confirmed that Jiang Bai had only overused his magic power and had not suffered any real harm.
However, Jiang Bai's brows were tightly furrowed at this moment.
He looked up at the destructive light about to fall from the sky, and muttered a curse in a tone filled with disgust:
"Those idiots in the Magic Council!"
"Brother Jiang Bai, why do you say that?"
Levy asked, somewhat puzzled. Having read extensively, she certainly knew how powerful the Etherion was—the ultimate weapon.
In her opinion, wouldn't it be perfect to use this thing to eliminate the heavily wounded black dragon?
Moreover, based on her understanding of Jiang Bai, he wasn't the kind of person who cared about empty fame.
"Why?" Jiang Bai glanced at her and asked irritably.
"I'm asking you, Natsu and the others are hungry, they can consume flames, iron blocks, or even air to replenish their magic power."
"Then why do you think a real dragon wouldn't do the same thing?"
One sentence left everyone present stunned.
"Eh--!" Lucy exclaimed in disbelief.
"Then... what can that black dragon devour? I didn't see it eat anything just now."
Jiang Bai sighed, as if looking at a bunch of idiots.
"To it, all magic except Dragon Slayer Magic is energy that it can devour."
"As for why it didn't devour my magic in the first place..."
Jiang Bai curled his lip, his tone tinged with disdain.
"That's because, in the beginning, they didn't even consider us 'little insects' a threat, and disdained to 'eat' us."
Makarov's face instantly turned extremely serious and ugly upon hearing these words.
"If that's the case..."
Jiang Bai nodded and gave the most despairing answer.
"Ah! That's right."
"This Etherion is, to it, the most delicious and abundant... supply in the world!"
Just as expected!
As if to confirm Jiang Bai's judgment, the Etherion in the sky was launched with a roar!
A thick, pure white beam of light, powerful enough to pierce the heavens and earth, roared toward the black dragon with the power to purify everything!
However, faced with this attack that would make even the Ten Wizard Saints Mages despair, the black dragon, which was already preparing to flee, not only did not dodge, but suddenly stopped and turned its head!
A flicker of human-like surprise and fervor flashed in its dragon eyes!
It opened its enormous dragon mouth, and instead of dodging, it charged straight towards the destructive pillar of light!
The next second, a scene that everyone will never forget unfolded.
The pure white beam of light, powerful enough to flatten an entire country, did not explode upon contact with the black dragon.
Instead, like rivers flowing into the sea, it was swallowed up continuously and frantically by its gaping maw!
"Glug... Glug..."
The black dragon's throat throbbed repeatedly, as if it were savoring some unparalleled delicacy.
After completely consuming that enormous energy, it even let out a satisfied burp.
Immediately afterwards, a magical power, far greater and more terrifying than ever before, erupted from its body!
The body that Jiang Bai had squeezed out of shape rapidly expanded and returned to its original state at a speed visible to the naked eye!
The dragon bones, crushed by immense force, crackled and popped, then instantly reformed and healed!
The hideous wounds covering his entire body healed and disappeared rapidly under the nourishment of the immense magical power!
In just a few seconds, the Black Dragon King, who was already severely injured and on the verge of death with depleted magic power, was at least 70-80% recovered to its peak condition, if not at all.
Acnologia slowly turned its massive head, its dragon eyes, once again burning with the fires of savagery and destruction, locking onto the group of... insignificant humans below.
Especially Jiang Bai!