Future Rogue extended his right hand, spreading his five fingers wide, while his left hand clamped firmly around his wrist as he gathered magic.
"Earth Mother Dragon Motherglare, heed my command! Kill Rhodes here, kill all Dragon Slayers, seize their power, and then together with me, defeat the Black Dragon and rule..."
Motherglare did not wait for him to finish.
Her massive tail swept out violently.
Future Rogue's body bent like a shrimp as blood sprayed from his mouth. He was hurled backward, crashing through four or five walls in succession with thunderous impacts before finally landing two streets away.
"Why… my Dragon Control Magic..."
He coughed violently, spitting out several more mouthfuls of blood. His ribs were likely broken, and his internal organs badly injured.
Yet the physical pain mattered far less than the confusion tearing at his mind.
The spell had been cast smoothly. His connection with the other Dragons had responded without issue. So why had it failed with Motherglare?
Motherglare did not spare him even a glance.
She labored to spread her wings, intent on leaving this troublesome battlefield behind.
That idiot could not even defeat a human. He could not even deal with a Dragon who specialized in healing magic, yet he dared dream of challenging Acnologia?
If the Black Dragon could be defeated so easily, why would they ever have needed to pass through that unknown gate?
If he wanted to die, let him do so alone.
Motherglare resolved to retreat, recover from her injuries, and observe how things unfolded from afar.
As for Dragon Control Magic, what a joke.
Dragging her wounded body into the air, she only hoped that the human named Rhodes would deal with Rogue first instead of pursuing her.
Rhodes granted her that wish.
He turned his attention toward the fleeing Future Rogue instead.
The Earth Mother Dragon was slow, injured, and massive. Even if she escaped, she would be easy to track down later.
Future Rogue, however, was slippery. He needed to be dealt with immediately.
Sure enough, the moment Rhodes reached the sky above that street, Future Rogue sucked in a few ragged breaths and decisively transformed into a shadow, sinking into the ground.
Rhodes dove straight down.
His fist slammed into the earth, shattering the ground across several hundred meters in a single strike. Buildings nearby rumbled, cracked, and collapsed. Small dragon constructs stumbled as the ground caved in beneath them, sinking several meters before being buried under falling debris.
From the Ocean Dragon's back, Lucy watched the scene in shock.
"So scary… and he's so much like Gildarts!"
Future Lucy gave a wry smile as she stared at the devastation.
"If anything, this finally confirms it. Mr. Rhodes really is from Fairy Tail."
Wendy nodded thoughtfully.
"Brother Rhodes must be doing this because it's necessary."
Rhodes, however, frowned.
He was not certain the attack had hit its target.
Shadow Dragon Slayer Magic was simply too good at concealment and escape.
"I'll have to try the Murk Wolf form," Rhodes muttered. Among all the magic he possessed, only that form had any direct connection to shadows.
"No need."
A pair of wings folded gracefully as Mirajane landed beside him.
"Take Over.!"
Before Rhodes could say a word, she had already rushed toward a broken stone pillar a dozen meters away and kicked it with overwhelming force.
The shadow at the base of the pillar suddenly solidified, tearing itself free from the ground. The half-human figure was sent flying by Mira's kick and crashed onto the street.
Future Rogue coughed up another mouthful of blood, clutching his chest.
"Demon Mirajane… I've never heard of this form."
During the past two days, his attention had been entirely focused on Rhodes and Dragons Treasure. Someone like Mirajane, who had no equivalent in his own timeline, had completely escaped his notice.
Mira ignored him entirely and turned to Rhodes instead.
"Erza and the others will be back at the guild soon, so don't worry. The First Master said you might need help here. Leave him to me."
Rhodes nodded.
As expected of his wife, she grasped the key points instantly, even in chaos, just like him.
"He also possesses Sting's magic attributes. Be careful."
Rhodes offered the warning, then departed without hesitation.
Before leaving, he layered several buffs onto Mira. After taking to the sky, he asked the Ocean Dragon, Wendy, and the two Lucys to keep an eye on her, then casually dropped Warm as insurance.
Considering that Mira still possessed a Celestial Spirit King key, Rhodes felt there was little chance his wife would be in any real danger.
But Future Rogue suddenly felt that he might be in serious danger.
The Earth Mother Dragon had finally encountered the person she least wanted to face.
Already heavily injured, she was unable to outfly Rhodes, who was now in Cloud Dragon Soul form and further boosted by Wendy's acceleration magic.
Not long after leaving the capital, Rhodes caught up and seized the Earth Mother Dragon's tail.
This time, he switched to Mountain Dragon Soul form.
As his hands transformed into massive dragon claws, he layered Earth Magic over them, forming gigantic stone hands larger than his own body. Those rock hands clamped down tightly on the tip of the Earth Mother Dragon's tail.
The heavy wings on Rhodes's back beat violently, halting the Dragon's momentum in midair.
The Earth Mother Dragon struggled desperately, flapping her wings with all her remaining strength, yet she could not advance even an inch.
Just as she twisted her head to bite back at him, an overwhelming force surged through her tail, followed by a sudden wave of vertigo.
Rhodes braced his core, twisted his waist, and rotated his entire body.
Astonishingly, he swung the Earth Mother Dragon through the air, spinning her half a turn.
Then another.
And another.
Using pure momentum, he continued accelerating the rotation until the colossal Dragon spun like a massive top in the sky.
Her enormous body generated violent air currents. Even from high above, sand and stones were torn from the ground, trees bent low, and debris scattered in every direction.
Simply spinning this Dragon now rivaled high-level Wind Magic in destructive force.
After dozens of rotations, Rhodes subtly angled downward, released his grip, and hurled the Earth Mother Dragon away like a shot put.
To make matters worse, he immediately raised his hand and activated Earth Magic.
Nine massive stone spikes erupted from the ground at the Dragon's predicted landing point, each towering twenty to thirty meters high.
"Stalagmite Array!"
Dazed and disoriented, the Earth Mother Dragon struggled instinctively, managing only to slightly alter her posture.
Instead of crashing headfirst, she landed squarely on her back.
Unfortunately, that meant colliding directly with the Stalagmite Array.
Under normal circumstances, her terrifying defense and sheer mass would have shattered the spikes instantly.
But she was no longer in normal condition.
Her body was already riddled with injuries, and many of her once-indestructible dragon scales had been cracked or destroyed.
As a result, although all nine stone spikes eventually shattered, seven of them pierced deep into her flesh before breaking apart.
"Awooooooo!"
The Earth Mother Dragon's agonized howl echoed through the sky.
Even in unbearable pain, she did not dare to hesitate. She struggled desperately, trying to force herself back to her feet.
But it was already too late.
Layer upon layer of grayish-white spiderwebs descended from above, enveloping her massive form.
She tore through one layer with her left foreclaw, only to find her right hind leg immobilized.
When she tried to free that leg, her wings became entangled instead.
Neck, limbs, wings, tail.
Within minutes, the extraordinarily resilient spiderwebs had bound her completely.
The more she struggled, the faster blood poured from her wounds, and the weaker her movements became.
"Human!"
The Earth Mother Dragon glared at Rhodes with bloodshot eyes, seething with hatred.
She had fled one nightmare only to run headlong into another.
Why was it that creatures meant to be mere prey always produced monsters like this?
Rhodes met her gaze and smiled calmly.
"Good. With that attitude, I feel even less guilty."
He raised his hand slightly.
"I'll borrow your heart for a moment."
...
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