The white light faded. The battlefield, which had been roaring with dragon attacks moments before, suddenly fell into an eerie silence.
Though more dragons slowly trickled in from outside the white light's range, seeing Chase standing alone amid the ruins, they lost all courage to attack.
Magic that could easily pierce dragon scales. The oppressive aura of a divine presence. Unprecedented, terrifying methods.
All these factors combined made the dragons, who had always viewed humans as ants, feel fear for the first time.
Once this emotion took hold, survival instinct spread rapidly, overpowering all contempt, arrogance, and hubris.
"Future world mages have grown to this extent?!"
"Motherglare must have already died at his hands!"
"A monster. This man isn't human—he's a complete monster!"
These frightened cries only amplified their fear.
So some dragons began to retreat, beating their wings to flee.
Though they were all from the opposition faction, that only meant they opposed the coexistence faction and weak humans. Their internal unity was far from solid.
Some were willing to fight to the death. Others were cowards, deciding it wasn't worth dying for.
BOOM!
Just as more dragons began to waver, a loud crash rang out. The first dragon to flee was sent plummeting from the sky, smashing a deep crater into the ground.
A dark, oppressive storm followed, landing nearby and stirring up a cloud of dust. It revealed a massive black-gray dragon covered in crimson markings, several times larger than ordinary dragons.
Without hesitation or mercy, the black-gray dragon stepped on the struggling dragon's heart, crushing it instantly. Blood sprayed everywhere.
"Those who see weak humans as prey, yet flee from strong ones."
The black-gray dragon's gaze swept coldly over the rapidly cooling corpse. "You're worse than those coexistence faction fools with their pitiful kindness. You are unworthy to stand beside me."
The watching dragon horde fell silent, frozen in place, not daring to move.
The reason was simple. This was the absolute ruler of the entire region—Bahamut the Nether Dragon King!
"Scram. Go deal with the other humans." Bahamut raised its black-armored claw.
The rest of the dragons fled as if granted amnesty, roaring as they charged toward the other battlefields.
Chase didn't stop them. He trusted his comrades' strength, and trusted the Kuriboh chain's protection.
Even if he wanted to stop them, he wouldn't have had much chance. The "black dragon" that had suddenly appeared before him radiated an overwhelming pressure—far beyond the likes of Asoubit the Rock Soul Dragon!
With that thought, Chase's gaze sharpened. He released his magic power without reserve.
His Dual God Slayer-Exodia form expanded rapidly, matching the other's height to keep their eyes level.
"Bahamut the Nether Dragon King?"
"Hm? You know me?" Bahamut seemed surprised.
"Information I extracted from Motherglare." Chase stretched his body, speaking truthfully.
"I see. Human, you have some skill."
Bahamut's tone was surprisingly calm. There was none of the cold brutality it had shown toward its own faction's dragon, nor any anger that Motherglare had "betrayed" it.
In fact, there was even a hint of appreciation.
Chase noticed the anomaly. "Aren't you from the faction opposing coexistence with humans? Yet you speak so calmly with me?"
"Opposition faction?"
Bahamut extended its forelimb and clenched its fist. A terrifying grin spread across its dragon face. "I simply look down on all weaklings equally. Coexist with ants that break their bones if you blow on them? Don't make me laugh!"
"So in your eyes, I fall into the 'strong' category?" Chase understood immediately and smiled.
This creature reminded him of a rebellious Laxus, or Sabertooth's Jiemon.
The difference was that Bahamut wasn't a tsundere like Laxus, nor hollow like Jiemon. It possessed overwhelming power that truly justified its "might makes right" philosophy!
"Correct. Your earlier battle proved that." Bahamut nodded in affirmation. "That is why I am here. In pursuit of ultimate combat!"
Those words struck a chord with Chase, a fellow battle-maniac.
"Then what are we waiting for? Come!"
"Come!"
A short time earlier, right after Chase's punch had split the forest and everyone had just charged out of the Eclipse Gate.
Both Natsus immediately noticed Atlas Flame, who had been knocked onto a distant hill by Slifer. Its massive, burning body was far too conspicuous for Fire Dragon Slayers.
So these two idiots threw the battle plan out the window. They called both Happys and broke away from the main force, heading straight for it.
"What was that lightning just now? My flames can't burn away this strange energy that keeps eating at me?!"
Atlas Flame was still trying to purge the Thunder Force's effects when the two Natsus landed before it.
"Amazing! A world four hundred years ago, and there's wild flame that looks exactly like a dragon!" Future Natsu exclaimed.
"Hehe! Looks like it'll taste great!" Natsu's eyes gleamed.
"Hey Natsu, I think we should save it. After we've fought the dragons and gotten hungry, we can come back and eat it."
Happy offered a serious suggestion.
Future Happy raised his paw in agreement.
Perhaps because Atlas Flame hadn't moved, these four idiots had mistaken it for a dragon-shaped "wild flame"!
To be fair, it wasn't entirely their fault. Every dragon they'd encountered before—Gandora, Acnologia, Motherglare—had all been solid entities. Natsu only had one more reference than Happy: Igneel, who was also solid.
Unfortunately, Lucy wasn't here, or she'd have been complaining up a storm.
Listening to these humans and cats casually discussing its edibility, Atlas Flame's fiery mouth twitched uncontrollably.
"I am Atlas Flame! Not wild flame!!!"
The dragon's roar was deafening, carrying waves of scorching heat.
"The flame talked!!!" The four idiots clutched their cheeks in unison, thoroughly spooked.
Atlas Flame: "..."
What kind of parents raised these four prodigies?!
It had originally joined the opposition faction simply because it didn't like humans. Now it felt it had a much more justified reason.
Feeling deeply offended, the Hellfire Dragon erupted in rage. It stepped forward and unfurled its enormous, sky-darkening wings.
A terrible wave of heat exploded outward. Wherever it passed, fallen trees and thick undergrowth ignited. Even rocks and earth began to melt!
In an instant, the entire area was engulfed in flames, like a scene from hell!
As Dragon Slayers, the two Natsus were largely unaffected. As for the two Happys—
They were instantly "killed" and forcibly teleported back through the Eclipse Gate by the Kuriboh's transport array!
***
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