When Rhodes arrived, the Fire Dragon was nowhere to be seen.
Only the Purgatory Dragon remained, pinning the Jade Dragon to the ground and relentlessly attacking him.
More precisely, Rhodes arrived just in time to see the Purgatory Dragon clamp his jaws around the Jade Dragon's neck and drag him downward.
The Jade Dragon's foreclaws were buried deep into the Purgatory Dragon's shoulder, tearing open several bloody holes, yet blood poured far more violently from his own throat, raining onto the ground below.
With a deafening crash, the Jade Dragon slammed onto his back. His right wing was folded beneath his body, the flesh at his throat torn apart, and his head struck the earth heavily.
The light gradually faded from his eyes.
The claws gripping the Purgatory Dragon's shoulder finally lost all strength and fell limp.
The Purgatory Dragon spat out the torn flesh from his mouth and let out a victorious roar toward the sky.
"So strong," Wendy murmured in awe.
Rhodes stepped forward and greeted him calmly. "You worked hard."
"It's too early to relax," the Purgatory Dragon replied. "I'm going to check on Chemtech."
He knew the Mountain Dragon and the Cloud Dragon might take offense if he interfered, but Chemtech and Hex were different. Those two were straightforward, dull-witted types. As long as Rhodes's objective was achieved, nothing else mattered to them.
Since someone had already gone to Hex's side, the Purgatory Dragon turned and flew off to find the Chemtech Dragon.
"Eh… what happened to Natsu and the others?" Wendy asked.
"Ask that little cat," the Purgatory Dragon called back as he departed, clearly unwilling to waste another second.
"Happy?" Wendy lifted Happy up and asked.
Rhodes first told Wendy to turn away, then finished dealing with the Jade Dragon. As he worked, he listened to Happy's explanation.
Happy said, "That Fire Dragon seems to be a friend of Natsu's father, Igneel. I heard him say so."
It turned out that after Natsu devoured several mouthfuls of Atlas Flame's Hellfire, the Fire Dragon immediately questioned him about his relationship with Igneel.
Naturally, Natsu fired back by asking how Atlas Flame even knew Igneel.
Atlas Flame replied that Igneel was his friend. As a fire-attribute dragon, how could he not know the Fire Dragon King?
At that point, Natsu became too embarrassed to keep eating. Scratching his head, he grinned and admitted that Igneel was his dad.
Atlas Flame did not immediately believe him. However, very few beings could consume his flames so casually.
More importantly, Natsu's presence genuinely reminded him of Igneel.
As for why, the explanation was simple.
They had fought once.
Atlas Flame lost.
Igneel's title as Fire Dragon King was neither self-proclaimed nor granted by vote. It was earned through absolute strength.
Among the fire dragons of that era, anyone who had not been defeated by him was either too young or too timid to challenge him.
Since Natsu was the child of an old acquaintance, even if only an adopted human child, Atlas Flame chose to lend a hand.
That was why he carried Natsu off to deal with other dragons.
Wendy asked, puzzled, "But didn't they say the dragons were being controlled by Dragon Control Magic?"
Happy replied, "About that, he said something was interfering with his mind, but it didn't matter as long as he chose to resist."
Rhodes nearly failed to keep a straight face.
So all of Future Rogue's boasting amounted to nothing more than dragon-specific telepathic interference?
When the gate opened, it was probably something like, 'Welcome to the Dragon Chat Group.'
For Atlas Flame, it became, 'This user has blocked your messages.'
And for Motherglare, it was likely closer to, 'This user slapped you really hard.'
Rhodes shook off the absurd thoughts and asked, "Where are Laxus and Gajeel?"
Happy answered, "They went to check on the guild first, then decide where to help next. They told me to stay here and wait for your instructions."
After a brief pause, Happy added softly, "I want to go see Natsu."
"It's fine," Rhodes said. "We'll support him right away."
As he spoke, Rhodes completed the final magic circle. Golden light enveloped the Jade Dragon's heart.
The massive organ rapidly shrank within the glow.
Rhodes extended his hand, and an emerald-green magic crystal settled into his palm.
"Alright, let's go." Rhodes put away the magic crystal, picked up Happy with his left hand, tucked Wendy under his right arm, spread his wings, and flew into the air. "All battles must be resolved before dawn, or else I'll…"
Wendy asked nervously, "Or else what will happen?"
Rhodes answered solemnly, "I'll be extremely tired."
Among the Council's forces, a scout rushed back to report, "Captain, the enemy numbers are decreasing. There are no signs of reinforcements. However, those strange bugs are still continuously approaching from a distance."
Doranbalt looked up at the sky. The egg-laying dragon was gone. He speculated, "It's likely because the mother was dealt with."
"That's good news." Lahar raised his saber. "Everyone prepare. Coordinate with the friendly monsters and wipe out the remaining enemies!"
The Enforcement Unit's morale surged. Some lightly wounded members, after receiving basic treatment, insisted on returning to the fight.
The number of small dragons dwindled rapidly. Observing the situation, Lahar decided to advance toward the royal palace.
With such a massive incident unfolding, he needed to personally confirm the safety of the royal family.
At that moment, the Purgatory Dragon, the Chemtech Dragon, and the Life Imprisonment Dragon clashed in the nearby sky, chasing and battling one another.
The thunderous noise and the sheer scale of the destruction forced Lahar to halt his advance and order his troops to take cover.
It would be far too cruel to endure this long only to be caught in the aftermath of a dragon battle.
Unfortunately, their luck ran out.
In the midst of the fierce exchange, all three dragons unleashed their breath attacks.
The Purgatory Dragon's breath collided with the Life Imprisonment Dragon's, detonating midair, while the Chemtech Dragon's breath struck directly at the base of the Life Imprisonment Dragon's wing.
The fish-like dragon was engulfed by the green, poisonous mist and immediately lost balance.
The Purgatory Dragon seized the opening and smashed head-on into him, slamming the massive body down onto a nearby street.
First came the shockwave from the breath explosion, then the violent tremor of a dragon crashing to the ground. The tall building beside the Council's troops could no longer endure the devastation and collapsed toward them with a deafening roar.
"Get out of the way!" Lahar shouted, his face draining of color.
At such close range, faced with a collapsing structure of that size, escape was nearly impossible. Even Doranbalt's spatial magic would not be fast enough to save everyone.
As the team braced for impact, something unbelievable happened.
The crumbling building suddenly froze in mid-collapse.
Amid the chaos, someone heard a faint but familiar voice.
"Arc of Time, Rewind!"
The shattered structure stopped falling and slowly began to rise. Stone by stone, beam by beam, everything returned to its original position.
It was as if time itself had been reversed.
"W-We're… saved?" Some of the newer members scrambled to safety, staring in stunned disbelief.
The veterans, however, grew thoughtful. This kind of magic felt hauntingly familiar.
Lahar and Doranbalt locked their gaze on the black-haired woman who had appeared without warning.
"Ultear…"
...
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