Before the royal palace, Lucy felt as though even her breath was scorching.
The instant sweat appeared on her forehead, it evaporated.
The stone slabs rapidly turned red.
Metal weapons began to heat up as well.
Even Atlas Flame, the Hellfire Dragon, let out a low growl.
It was made of flames itself.
Yet the temperature emanating from Lu Chongwei still made it feel as though it were burning.
"What kind of fire is this...?"
Natsu looked down at it.
"Even you can't withstand it?"
Atlas Flame did not answer.
It stared fixedly at Lu Chongwei.
That was no longer ordinary fire magic.
Fifteen million degrees Celsius was far from the upper limit of this power.
The intense heat swept past Crocus.
It spread throughout all of Fiore.
White mist began rising from the rivers.
The lakes' water levels kept falling.
Great clouds of steam appeared over the sea.
The earth lost its moisture, cracks spreading across it.
Trees withered yellow.
The grasslands dried and split.
Countless living beings raised their heads, looking in the same direction.
If this power continued for ten minutes, the oceans would evaporate and the land would become a dead zone.
The entire world would face the extinction of all things.
Lu Chongwei tightened his grip on Zanka no Tachi.
The warning from the future flashed through his mind again.
He could not drag this out.
He could not allow the power to keep spreading.
He had to end it in a single strike.
High in the sky, the three giant dragons were completely stunned.
They neither continued attacking nor fled.
The intense heat had already sealed off the surrounding space.
The film of water covering the Sea King Dragon's body had completely vanished.
The scales on the Rock Cave Dragon's body began to soften.