Dealing with the Earth Mother Dragon's heart took a little extra time. By the time Rhodes returned, Future Rogue was already on his last breath.
He looked utterly battered. His nose no longer resembled a nose, his eyes were swollen nearly shut, one leg was broken, and one arm was dislocated. There was no doubt he had been beaten half to death.
The Ocean Dragon had already left. Only Wendy and the two Lucys remained with Mira.
As soon as Rhodes landed, Warm scurried over and hid behind his calf, trembling uncontrollably.
"You're back. Was it successful?" Mira had already returned to her usual gentle demeanor and greeted Rhodes with a smile. "Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine." Rhodes carefully examined Mira, confirming she hadn't been injured. Then he picked up the clinging Warm, gently stroking its fur. "What's wrong with him?"
"Nothing," Mira said lightly, skipping over the topic. "The battle was a bit intense. He probably got scared."
Rhodes nodded and didn't press further. "What should we do next?"
"You take the two Lucys back to the guild," Rhodes said. "I'll take Wendy and check on Natsu and the others. We'll bring this guy along too."
He crouched down and drew several confinement magic circles around the barely conscious Future Rogue to prevent any last-minute tricks. After hesitating briefly, he cast a healing spell just strong enough to keep him from dying.
"Alright. Be careful." Mira didn't linger. She casually smoothed a wrinkle in Rhodes's clothes and turned to leave with the others.
"Oh, right. This is for you." Rhodes tossed Mira a grayish-white, multifaceted transparent crystal.
"This is…" The moment Mira caught it, she felt the immense magic contained within.
Rhodes explained calmly, "It's the Earth Mother Dragon's Dragon Slayer magic crystal. I just finished making it. Keep it for our child. It may be useful in the future."
"Ah…" Mira hugged the crystal to her chest as if it were priceless, a radiant smile spreading across her face.
Their child might inherit an overwhelming amount of magic at birth, like Laxus, causing severe strain and illness. Implanting a Dragon Slayer magic crystal could alleviate that condition.
This idea had only been discussed a few days ago, and now it had already become reality.
If Mira didn't know the full story, she might have suspected that Rhodes had intentionally allowed the Eclipse Gate to open just to harvest Dragon Slayer magic.
Watching Mira leave with the others, Rhodes turned and set off with Wendy.
He still needed to check on the remaining battlefield.
After all, Mira had casually mentioned wanting at least three children to match her siblings.
That meant at least two more magic crystals would be needed.
And if there were twins?
Three might not even be enough.
Opportunities like this were rare. Hostile dragons that could never coexist with humans did not appear every day.
Along the way, Rhodes asked curiously, "What exactly happened here? Why is Future Rogue beaten so badly?"
"I… I don't really know either," Wendy admitted honestly. "He said something about killing Rhodes, and then Mira-nee told me to close my eyes. After that… it was already like this."
"Oh." Rhodes nodded thoughtfully. His wife really was considerate, even remembering to tell Wendy to close her eyes.
Warm continued trembling.
The mistress was terrifying. Even the Ocean Dragon had fled.
"Kid, go eat him!"
The Purgatory Dragon successfully lured Atlas Flame toward Natsu and the others.
Natsu shouted back, annoyed, "What is it, old man? We're busy here!"
"Heh, not bad, you brats," the Purgatory Dragon laughed upon seeing the battered Jade Dragon. "Go over there. This one's mine!"
"How dare a dragon who supports coexistence look down on me!" the Jade Dragon roared.
He refused to admit that he had been injured by humans, but reality left him no room to argue. He could only vent his anger elsewhere.
The red dragon and the green dragon immediately collided in battle.
After only a few exchanges, the Jade Dragon realized something was very wrong.
He couldn't win.
"Damn it!"
Happy hovered nearby, startled by how suddenly things escalated. "Natsu, what do we do now?"
Natsu glanced at Atlas Flame, whose entire body was blazing, then rubbed his stomach thoughtfully.
"I'm kinda hungry," he said. "Let's eat."
"Aye!" Happy carried Natsu straight toward the "flying aerial buffet."
Natsu even looked back and shouted, "Hey, old man! I'll be back when I'm full!"
The Purgatory Dragon did not respond. He was enjoying the fight. Battles with opponents that could react in real time were the most satisfying.
"Then what should we do?" Carla asked Laxus.
Laxus thought for a moment. "Let's go help Natsu."
Even if it looked like a living fireball, it was still a dragon, and he was a little worried Natsu might get overwhelmed.
Lily turned to Gajeel. "Should we go as well?"
"Tch. Why should I help some fire dragon?" Gajeel clicked his tongue and turned his head away. "Isn't there an iron-attribute dragon?"
Lily smiled. He knew that meant yes. He carried Gajeel into the air.
Happy charged directly toward Atlas Flame with Natsu. Just before collision, Happy suddenly pulled upward.
Natsu seized the moment. "Happy!"
"Aye!" Happy released him instantly.
Natsu lunged forward on his own.
Atlas Flame felt something land on his back, but he did not care in the slightest.
Because he was absolutely certain that whatever it was had already died.
His entire body was wrapped in Hellfire. Even Fire Magicians could not endure it.
His only concern now was catching that foul-mouthed Purgatory dragon and proving which of them was superior.
This was one of Atlas Flame's personal principles. Whenever he encountered another fire-attribute dragon, he had to determine who was stronger. At times like this, coexistence or opposition meant nothing to him.
Soon, Atlas Flame felt a faint itch on his back.
It was about as irritating as a mosquito bite to a human.
He turned his head in surprise. "What are you?"
Natsu clung to his body, completely buried in the flames. While devouring them with his mouth wide open, he spoke through chewing sounds.
"I'm Natsu Dragneel, a Fire Dragon Slayer, and I'm here to eat you!"
Because his mouth was full, his words came out slurred. Atlas Flame only caught the latter half of the sentence and roared angrily.
"What arrogance! A mere human dares to devour my Hellfire!"
Before he could finish, an attack slammed into his face.
"Thunder Dragon's Fist!"
"Iron Dragon's Lance!"
A golden lightning fist and a storm of iron spear tips struck Atlas Flame head-on. The flames on his face rippled violently.
He instinctively wanted to scoff. My flames burn away magic.
But pain flared across his face.
That was wrong.
Since when could human magic make him feel pain?
Natsu said nothing. He simply climbed up to Atlas Flame's neck and continued eating, as if curious whether the flames tasted different in different places.
The moment the fire around his neck was swallowed, Atlas Flame felt an unmistakable chill spread through his body.
As a Fire Dragon, this sensation was horrifying.
Being held down.
Being bitten.
Having his power devoured.
This feeling felt strangely familiar.