Irene, we aren't right for each other

Under the Conqueror's Coating Dragon Claw Fist, a hint of panic flashed across Elefseria's face, especially when Hughes' five fingers sliced through the air and pierced through the wind, the dull sound of which made his heart tremble.

He hadn't forgotten that Hughes's attack now carried the Dragon Slayer Power; if he were hit by this attack, he would be crippled even if he didn't die.

Realizing he couldn't withstand the attack head-on, Elefseria's pupils constricted. His silver-white dragon body emitted an ethereal light, appearing and disappearing... He needed to enter another dimension to avoid Hughes's attack!

"Buzz~"

Ripples spread through space, and just as Elefseria was about to escape, dazzling chains suddenly appeared in the void, instantly sealing off the entire space. Elefseria's faintly visible dragon body solidified again.

"Irene, well done!" Hughes's praise followed immediately.

"Elefseria, let's see who still has time to train?"

While Elefseria was still in shock, Hughes returned his earlier mocking words to him, and then his Haki Dragon Claw Fist came crashing down!

"Wait, I..."

Elefseria, nearly scare-stricken, was about to say that this wasn't how the plan was going to go when he saw Hughes's claws glide across his dragon body and slam into the ground.

As he brushed past Elefseria, Hughes feigned shock. "You had a trick up your sleeve, cutting out space to cover your dragon body, making my attack miss!"

Elefseria: (··)?

"Ah... right, kid, didn't expect that, did you!" Elefseria, realizing what was happening, quickly chimed in, though her expression was slightly unnatural. As she spoke, her massive dragon tail exerted force, slapping Hughes hard.

"Boom!"

Hughes landed with lightning speed, and the Conqueror's Coating Dragon Claw Fist, imbued with all his strength, and the slapping power of the Law Dragon, caused the earth to shatter the moment it made contact with the solid ground.

Amidst the deafening roar, spiderweb-like cracks spread endlessly across the ground.

A series of impacts surged out from the cracks, solidifying into transparent white light. They first turned the fragmented ground into dust, and the remaining force rippled through the void, causing the space to tremble and creating gnarled cracks!

The clicking and snapping sounds entered my ears.

The spatial sealing chain that Irene had painstakingly created instantly collapsed, turning into stardust that drifted away.

Elefseria was flying in mid-air, suddenly brightened up and immediately cast a spell. Her dragon body leaped up and vanished without a trace.

Before leaving, Elefseria, with her back to Irene, gave Hughes a wink.

Hughes secretly gave him a hand gesture, indicating that he understood.

According to the plan, Elefseria Seriazin would test his strength and then make a brief appearance in front of Irene before leaving.

The purpose of showing his face was to confirm the veracity of what he had told Irene earlier, so that Irene wouldn't run away.

Hughes took a deep breath. Elefseria's role was over; now it was his turn.

Two breaths later, Hughes's furious question came from the still-shaking air, "Irene, what are you doing? Didn't I tell you to seal off the space? How did he get away?"

Upon hearing this, Irene, who was busy knocking away the rubble, paused, her crystal-clear red lips trembling almost imperceptibly.

How can you blame her? Who shattered the magic chains that sealed off her space?

Her captivating eyes glanced sideways. "Has anyone ever told you that you resemble something?"

Hughes, who had jumped out of the pit, turned to look at her, his expression a mixture of curiosity and confusion.

Irene paused for a moment, then parted her teeth slightly and slowly uttered the word "garbage."

"That's it?" Hughes scoffed, not ashamed but proud, "Two or three years ago, everyone called me a hooligan!"

Just then, the shaking caused by Hughes stopped, and Irene was too lazy to argue with the shameless Hughes anymore.

"Buzz~"

A powerful magical force emanated from Irene, spreading outwards and enveloping Hughes's destructive range.

The thick smoke and dust dissipated immediately, revealing a wide and deep pit.

Irene considered for a moment and said, "Weren't you supposed to go inside to check the situation? How did a fight break out?"

Hughes shrugged nonchalantly, and a lie came easily to his lips. "At first, things went well, and I even got a lot of information from him. But I never expected that this dragon was such a lecherous one, and he set his sights on you."

"How could I tolerate this? He doesn't even look at himself; how could he possibly be worthy of you!"

Only a handsome and capable young man like me is worthy of you: of course, I'm referring to 400 years ago when you were unmarried and had a kingdom as your dowry.

You're too old now; it'll be difficult for you to be a good match for me.

At this point, Hughes shook his head, seemingly regretting that Irene had missed out on him.

Irene gripped her wand tightly, the veins on her smooth face visibly bulging, her chest heaving violently with anger.

Having lived for over 400 years, she had never imagined that anyone could be so shameless.

Not only are they treating themselves like fools, but they're also so shameless.

The silver-gray dragon was originally a mage who mastered Dragon Slayer Magic; Hughes hadn't lied to her about that. However, she could sense that his Dragonization wasn't as deep as hers or the Black Dragon's, and that he could revert to human form at any time— Hughes had lied to her about that.

As Irene raised her wand, pointing it at herself, Hughes pulled a scroll from his chest and tossed it to Irene.

Of course he knew that Irene could see Elefseria's condition. Given Irene's magical prowess, it would be a problem if she couldn't see Elefseria's condition!

So, before he staged a fight with Elefseria, he asked Elefseria for this.

"It's normal for intelligence to be a mix of truth and falsehood!" Hughes said with a double meaning.

"However, I obtained the information you wanted from Elefseria!"

This document was one of the conditions Irene was required to come to the Guiltina Continent with him.

Upon hearing this, the rampant magic emanating from Irene temporarily subsided. She unfurled the scroll and examined it carefully, her beautiful eyes gradually furrowing slightly.

With nothing to do, Hughes's gaze fell on Irene's pretty face, which exuded a strong sense of wifely charm, and a strange sense of guilt arose in his heart.

What he gave Irene was Elefseria's research into Dragon Slayer Magic, and his experiences and insights after Dragonization.

Irene gained her human form through Zeref, but Zeref is mortal; he is seeking death.

If he dies, whether Irene will retain her physical body or revert to her original form and become a dragon again, Hughes doesn't know.

road.

But he knew that once people obtain something, they will only crave something more perfect.

For Irene, Dragonization was a nightmare; she would rather die than experience that torment again.

Everything Hughes said to Irene on the Alakitasia Continent can ultimately be based on this.

If we disregard the deception in their words, Hughes felt that both sides had gotten what they wanted.

Irene wanted to use dragons to vent the darkness that had accumulated in her heart for 400 years, and then, through the Dragon Eaters and Elefseria, to find a way to return to human form without Zeref.

After a moment, Irene put away the scroll in her hand. "Let's go check out the Water Dragon God you mentioned earlier!"

Seeing her expressionless face, Hughes didn't dare to ask any more questions, lest he incur her wrath, and instead led the way with his head down.