Lucy, on her part, faced the kingdom's army and directly opened the Gate of the Maiden, Virgo.
Virgo, in her maid outfit, skipped twice and said, "Princess! Is there a punishment for disturbing the Founding Festival?"
Seeing the army charging toward them, Lucy said with an anxious expression, "Anything is fine, just deal with them quickly!"
"Yes!"
Virgo responded, and several holes instantly opened in the ground, causing all the charging soldiers to fall in.
She looked at the even more soldiers ahead, expressionless. After diving into the earth, she instantly opened countless holes, and the soldiers kept falling in until not a single one was left.
Virgo said, "Princess, please proceed!"
"Thank you so much!"
Lucy nodded and hurriedly rushed out. Behind her, Virgo dissipated into a cloud of pink mist... At this moment, Acnologia and Irene had arrived at the easternmost sea of Ishgar. Further away was the unknown East Continent, the distance to which was even greater than that to the Western and Northern Continents.
Looking at the endless sea, Irene was somewhat puzzled: "What are we doing here? Are we going to the East Continent?"
Acnologia tossed the book in his hand to Irene and said, "It's in the sea below. Wait for me!"
With that, he dove headfirst. After about thirty minutes, the sea exploded with a boom, sending water splashing a thousand meters high.
Irene's gaze grew serious. What kind of situation would require Acnologia to use a Roar?
Just as she was about to go underwater to check, she saw a familiar figure leap out of the water.
She stepped forward and asked, "What happened down there? Were there enemies?"
"There are no enemies; I just used a Roar to destroy a powerful seal."
Magic power surged through Acnologia's body, evaporating the water on his clothes. He tossed a shrunken iron gate to Irene and explained, "That ancient book recorded the past of the dragons and the phoenixes."
"Both come from different worlds, which can be temporarily called the Dragon World and the Phoenix World. In an earlier era, both worlds entered Aslant simultaneously, and a war broke out."
"The result was a victory for the alliance between the Dragon Race and the Human Race, killing all the phoenixes. This gate is the passage to the Phoenix World, sealed at the bottom of the sea by the combined efforts of humans and dragons."
Irene looked at the iron gate, shrunken by shrinking magic, in shock: "Could there be other phoenixes in the world behind this iron gate?"
"Yes, I can clearly sense that the phoenixes inside still want to charge through."
Acnologia chuckled: "However, now that the passage is in my hands, they can forget about coming out again!"
Irene was thoughtful. No wonder there were only ten or twenty thousand dragons four hundred years ago. Compared to the Human Race, which easily numbered in the tens or hundreds of millions, even if dragon reproduction was difficult, it shouldn't have been so few.
It turned out they also had a Dragon World... She suddenly said, "Do you think Igneels Five Dragons went looking for this door?"
Acnologia thought it was possible and said, "During this time, I've figured out who the aura of the other dragon inside Natsu belongs to."
"It's the Moon Dragon Selene!"
Seeing Irene's confusion, Acnologia didn't keep her in suspense and explained, "She is a dragon who can cross worlds and stands on the side of humans. Her taking away Igneels Five Dragons might be related to the Dragon World."
Irene was slightly surprised: "Crossing worlds, that's truly an impressive ability."
That Moon Dragon Selene was probably the most free and experienced dragon.
"When we have the chance in the future, let's go see the Phoenix World together."
Acnologia shrunken the iron gate to the size of a fingernail, wrapped it in magic power, and swallowed it. It was safer to keep it in his stomach.
Irene smiled slightly: "Then I look forward to it!"
...On the other side, Natsu and the others were fighting the kingdom's army. The opponent was strong, and Dist, the leader of the Carbuncle Guild, had even seriously injured Natsu, Happy, and Momon.
"I'll never forgive you for hurting my friends!"
Natsu's eyes became angry and determined, and his fists ignited with scorching flames, the high temperature melting the surrounding earth.
Dist's gaze was cold as he said indifferently, "It's about time to grant you death!"
"Fire Dragon!"
Bang!
An invisible attack instantly sent Natsu flying, smashing through a wall as he spat out a mouthful of blood.
Immediately after, he was grabbed by an invisible force and repeatedly slammed against the wall, over and over, until the sound of breaking bones could be heard.
Dist's gaze was indifferent. He slightly raised his hand, sending Natsu flying into the sky, then slammed him hard into the ground, leaving him completely unable to get up.
He felt slightly bored and turned to leave: "A person like you cannot make the Phoenix Stone shine."
Just then, a black figure descended from the sky. The moment he landed, the earth shattered, and a terrifying storm destroyed all the surrounding buildings.
"What a terrifying aura!"
Dist's pupils shrank as he stared intently at the figure in the mist. That world-crushing pressure made his hands tremble uncontrollably.
"You've beaten my friend quite badly!"
A magic storm swept through, clearing the smoke, and a blue-haired man stepped forward.
Happy was instantly overjoyed: "Acnologia!"
Natsu, lying on the ground on the verge of death, also breathed a sigh of relief: "You guy, you finally showed up!"
Acnologia's figure flickered, passing Dist to reach Natsu and Happy. With a wave of his hand, a magic storm sent all the soldiers in front of him flying.
Then, a healing spell fell on Happy, Natsu, and Momon. Soon, their wounds healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Natsu said nervously, "That guy is strong. Defeat him first before healing us!"
Acnologia said indifferently, "Do you think I need even a second to kill him?"
As his voice fell, Dist, standing behind him, showed despair and fear in his eyes before turning into a pile of flying ash.
Until the moment of his death, he couldn't understand what had happened in that instant.
Natsu, Happy, and Momon were stunned in shock. Not only did Dist not see it clearly, but even the three of them as onlookers didn't see it either. It was as if Acnologia had done nothing, yet that guy died.
Natsu's eyes widened in disbelief: "Did you strike the moment you came over??"
Happy was full of curiosity: "That's too amazing! That guy beat Natsu until he couldn't get up!"
Seeing that they had mostly recovered, Acnologia withdrew his magic: "I just used magic. This is what it looks like to kill someone invisibly."
He used the Divine Power of Life and Death, similar to Zeref's passive, Death Predation, stripping Dist of his life in an instant.
"So that's how it is!"
Natsu suddenly understood. If it was magic, it made sense, because some magic can be cast without moving.
Happy added mockingly, "Even if it's magic, Acnologia still insta-killed that guy in a heartbeat."
Natsu said confidently, "I will definitely become stronger than him in the future!"
The reason he wasn't as good as Acnologia was because he was still young. It had to be that.
Acnologia said mercilessly, "Stop bragging. Talk about surpassing me once you've beaten Laxus!"
Natsu said enthusiastically, "I'll challenge Laxus as soon as I get back!"
Happy said helplessly, "I hope you can last more than two moves."
..."}],
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