Fairy Tail: Collapsing Stars

Chapter 373: Dragon? Very Strong? We’re All Dragons!

"They've arrived!"

Animus sat atop the high throne when he suddenly frowned and softly spoke to Zash beside him.

"They've arrived? What arrived?"

Zash was stunned after hearing that, seemingly not understanding what exactly Animus was talking about.

Within his perception, there was nothing special approaching the palace…

"Boom!!!"

Just as Zash was confused, accompanied by a burst of roaring noise, the entire palace ceiling instantly collapsed…

"What?!"

Zash froze for a moment before immediately raising a magic shield…

"Boom!"

The instant Zash raised the shield, countless chunks of rubble engulfed him.

After a moment, once everything quieted down, Zash struggled with all his might to crawl out from the ruins…

And the moment Zash's body emerged from the rubble, what entered his sight was the vanished palace ceiling, the clear blue sky, white clouds, and a gigantic pitch-black super floating magic battleship!

It was precisely the magic battleship kindly donated to the guild by Fairy Tail's second guild master Precht!

The artillery fire that had just engulfed the entire palace was none other than…

The magic converging cannon built into the battleship, the magic converging cannon capable of shattering mountains and rivers, which instantly blasted away the ceiling of the royal palace of the Kingdom of Stella!

Yes, Makarov had completely overthought things. How could the good children he raised possibly do something so vile as attacking a country? At most they would attack someone else's palace…

"What kind of joke is this? Why would something like that appear here?"

As a former general of the Kingdom of Fiore, Zash naturally understood the significance of a super magic battleship.

That was something even the royal family of the Kingdom of Fiore could not manufacture. All magic battleships, including their manufacturing technology, were controlled by civilian mage guilds and powerful mages. Every single magic battleship possessed strategic-level value…

"Could it be that battleship attacked us just now? But why? Could it be that Dark Guild mages are using a battleship to launch an assault on our kingdom? Now that the two strongest Dark Mage Guilds on the Ishgar Continent, Grimoire Heart and Tartaros, have been defeated, what other Dark Guild on this continent could possess a magic battleship of this level?!"

Zash's eyes were filled with confusion. There had to be a reason for a super magic battleship suddenly attacking them, but exactly what reason could cause a battleship to attack them was something Zash could not comprehend.

However, Zash clearly understood that even Dark Guilds would never attack a nation's royal capital without reason, much less wage war against a kingdom's ruler. Such behavior was extremely unwise, and if these mages chose to do something so unwise, there must definitely be a deeper reason behind it…

"Damn it, I can't understand it at all. Forget it, I'll just destroy them all…"

Zash narrowed his eyes slightly. After briefly thinking and realizing he could not figure it out, he gave up thinking altogether.

The corners of his mouth rose slightly. Rather than trying to understand why this suddenly appearing magic battleship had come here, it would be better to simply destroy it directly. After all, as long as King Animus was by his side, there was no enemy to fear!

"King Animus, please quickly shoot down that thing in the sky!"

"The existence of that thing is an absolute threat to us!"

Zash spoke softly toward Animus in a far from respectful tone.

In truth, Zash had long known Animus was not human. The reason he assisted Animus was because he was plotting to obtain Animus' inhuman power…

In Zash's view, as long as he could obtain Animus' tremendous power, he would definitely be able to crush the Kingdom of Fiore and instantly become its king!

At that time, all his former colleagues would become his subordinates!

Especially White Tiger, that woman who always interfered with his affairs. He would turn White Tiger into his plaything…

"Hmm?!"

However, Animus could not care less about Zash's thoughts. After hearing Zash's words, his brows tightly furrowed as endless disdain and anger filled his eyes.

"There is no need for you to tell me that. Of course I know that thing is a threat to our kingdom."

Animus did not immediately attack the battleship in the sky. Instead, he looked at Zash with incomparable coldness as he spoke.

"Uh…"

As Animus' words fell, Zash's expression changed. He knew in his heart that he had overstepped. Because of the sudden appearance of the magic battleship, his emotions had become too agitated and he momentarily forgot his status. He had not yet completed that plan. Right now, he was still merely King Animus' subordinate.

"My apologies, my king! I became too emotional. But that thing in the sky truly poses a massive threat to us. If we do not destroy it quickly, it may create enormous danger for our plans…"

Zash immediately bowed toward Animus in apology while guiltily explaining his actions.

"If I hear commanding words directed toward me from your mouth again, you may permanently disappear from this world, human!"

Animus coldly snorted and looked at Zash with absolute indifference. His tone was hostile. Toward humans planning to use him, Animus never needed to show a pleasant face.

"I-I understand…"

Zash trembled after hearing that and immediately nodded forcefully.

However, beneath Zash's seemingly respectful eyes was endless hatred.

"Just wait! You foolish creature. Once I completely control you, I will use your power to utterly destroy this country and turn the cities you spent hundreds of years building into ruins. At that point, let's see if you still dare speak arrogantly to me and say things about making me disappear?!"

Zash lowered his head, endless killing intent contained within his eyes as he viciously cursed Animus in his heart.

"Hmph…"

Animus looked at Zash with disdain. Naturally, he knew about Zash's little schemes, and he also knew Zash was absolutely unconvinced by him in his heart.

He simply did not care. In Animus' eyes, the human Zash was merely a tiny insect. He had no need to care about the little actions of insects, because no matter how many tricks insects played, they could never threaten a giant dragon soaring freely through the skies…

As for the current situation, clearly the gigantic battleship in the sky posed a far greater threat to Animus than Zash did!

This was not because Animus understood the battleship's performance, nor because he reached this conclusion after sensing the power of the main cannon…

Rather, it was because Animus instinctively feared the battleship before him.

Animus could feel the threat radiating from the battleship! The terrifying chill released from within the battleship caused goosebumps to continuously rise all over his body…

Yes, the truly threatening thing was not the battleship itself, but certain existences inside the battleship.

As for the reason why Animus felt such trembling, dread, and coldness throughout his body…

Even Animus himself was unwilling to think deeply about it!

"Buzz!"

Just as Animus prepared to launch an attack toward the battleship in the sky, the battleship took the initiative and began gathering magic power!

The magic cannon shining with dazzling light and releasing powerful might was none other than…

Naturally, it was the super magic converging cannon Jupiter! A strategic-level magic converging cannon capable of blasting through mountains and rivers!

Jupiter's power was absolutely terrifying. Among magic converging cannons, its might ranked at the very top. Against ordinary S-Class mages from civilian mage guilds, a single shot was enough to completely annihilate them!

"Haa~"

Animus looked at the magic converging cannon radiating magical light and no longer hesitated. He suddenly inhaled deeply, immediately gathering magic power into his mouth. At this moment, Animus looked exactly like a Dragon Slayer preparing to unleash a roar.

"Boom!!"

The next moment, Animus and the main cannon launched their attacks simultaneously, and the terrifying might released by both instantly collided together…

"Ugh…"

The instant Animus' roar collided with the magical energy released by Jupiter.

Endless wind pressure spread outward from the center where Animus' roar and the magical light released by the main cannon clashed. Even someone as powerful as Zash, possessing strength comparable to an S-Class mage from civilian guilds, still felt extremely uncomfortable beneath the waves of magical brilliance. Clenching his teeth, he raised his head toward the sky, staring at the roaring magical radiance with widened eyes.

"That cannon! Could it be the super magic converging cannon Jupiter? Such a powerful thing was actually installed onto a battleship. It seems the value of this battleship far exceeds my imagination! That magic battleship is practically a super weapon for conquering cities and territories. If some war-loving nations obtained it, they would definitely continuously ignite wars across the continent."

"But it's still not enough. At this level, it absolutely cannot be a match for that guy Animus. After all, that bastard Animus is a dragon, the legendary creature that ruled the entire world four hundred years ago!"

Although Zash marveled at the power of the magic battleship's main cannon Jupiter, compared to the power of the main cannon, he still thought more highly of Animus. After all, Animus was a legendary creature, the ruler of every continent in the world of Earth-land during the ancient era, known as dragons.

"Roar!!"

Just as Zash was thinking this in his heart, the power of the roaring breath released from Animus' mouth suddenly increased immensely.

Just as Zash expected, Animus had merely been testing the power of the magic converging cannon earlier and had not used the true strength of his roar. Only now did he reveal the mighty power of a great dragon.

"Boom!!"

Accompanied by a tremendous roar, endless blinding light caused Zash to instinctively close his eyes.

When Zash opened his eyes again, Animus' roar was already pushing against the brilliance released by the magic converging cannon as it blasted toward the gigantic battleship in the sky…

Instantly, accompanied by exploding flames, endless smoke enveloped the battleship in the sky…

"It's over~"

Seeing the scene before him, the corners of Zash's mouth rose slightly. He clearly understood in his heart that the battleship would absolutely vanish beneath Animus' roar!

No creature in this world could resist the power of dragons…

"Clap clap clap clap…"

"As expected of King Animus. Your power shakes the past and present. The entire world will tremble before you…"

The corners of Zash's mouth rose slightly as he applauded Animus and smiled while flattering the king before him.

"..."

However, Animus had no intention of responding to Zash. His eyes stared fixedly at the sky, carrying a trace of tension.

"Hm?"

Noticing this, Zash's eyes narrowed as a bad premonition suddenly arose in his heart.

"Boom!!"

Before Zash could think further, accompanied by another thunderous boom, a violent gust suddenly swept forth and instantly blew away all the surrounding smoke and dust!

Then the battleship once again revealed its figure!

The battleship remained exactly as it had been upon its arrival, black and magnificent, radiating waves of powerful invisible pressure that inspired awe…

"How is this possible?! That was a roar, the power of a dragon. After receiving such power, this battleship, this battleship…"

Zash stared at the battleship before him with widened eyes, his eyes filled with incomprehension.

"How could it be completely unharmed?"

Zash's body trembled slightly. He could not understand it. A trace of inexplicable fear arose in his heart as he loudly questioned everything, seemingly trying to hide his inner terror through his voice.

"..."

After hearing Zash's words, Animus tightly furrowed his brows, but he said nothing.

However, the confusion within his eyes showed that, just like Zash, he felt incomparably puzzled by the situation before them.

Although Animus had not believed his roar could directly destroy the battleship, no matter how weak his roar's power was, it should not have failed to even scratch a tiny bit of paint off the battleship, right?

"That was dragon magic…"

"The power of dragons is invincible. Why couldn't it destroy a mere battleship?"

Zash's eyes were filled with disbelief as he could not comprehend the scene before him.

One had to know that he had bet everything on Animus. He had offended everyone he should and should not have offended, all for the sake of eventually obtaining Animus' power and reversing everything.

But if he were now told that the power of dragons was not invincible, then he was basically finished! The history books did not describe dragons like this?!

"The power of dragons is indeed invincible, but…"

Animus was far calmer than Zash because he had already sensed something from that earlier roar.

"Boom!!"

Just as Animus was about to say something, accompanied by thunderous rumbling, a bolt of lightning descended from the sky and landed beside Animus and Zash…

It was a man, a man with short golden hair, lightning crackling across his body, and an ashen expression.

"This is…"

Zash frowned as he looked at the man who had suddenly descended from the sky.

"A Lightning Dragon Slayer Mage!"

Animus softly spoke while looking at Zash. As a dragon, he sensed the power of dragons within the crackling lightning surrounding the man.

"Huff, huff…"

The man Animus referred to as the Lightning Dragon Slayer Mage was naturally Laxus. At this moment, he was breathing heavily while continuously gasping for air, looking utterly exhausted.

"Finally revived…"

The Lightning Dragon Slayer Mage was naturally Laxus. Standing upon the ground, his complexion gradually recovered. Heaven knew how horrifying the ordeal of riding such a long airship journey was for someone who suffered motion sickness toward transportation!

"..."

Zash stared fixedly at Laxus. He had naturally heard of Dragon Slayer Mages before. They were ancient mages from the distant past, humans modified so they could use dragon magic in order to gain the power to fight dragons and damage them. It was a Lost Magic that had already vanished in the modern era.

"Could it be that someone discovered Animus is a dragon and sent Dragon Slayer Mages to subjugate him?"

Thinking this, Zash's expression drastically changed as he inwardly cursed.

He absolutely could not allow Animus to die here. Animus was his hope for turning everything around!

"Boom!!"

Before Zash could react, another disturbance appeared in the sky, followed immediately by a spatial gate appearing within the palace ruins…

The next second, a young man with short brownish-red hair appeared before Zash…

Behind the young man stood two incomparably beautiful women. Although the two women possessed completely different temperaments, they were equally stunning.

One beauty possessed flame-like scarlet long hair, a voluptuous and fiery figure, and long legs that made people drool with desire. As for her appearance, it left Zash utterly amazed. He felt that the phrase "capable of toppling nations" had probably been invented specifically for a woman like her.

The other beauty possessed platinum-blonde long hair resembling gentle moonlight, along with a seductive fox-like face full of alluring charm! The moment Zash saw this beauty, the words "calamity beauty" surfaced in his mind. The phrase "beauty that brings disaster" probably referred exactly to this flirtatious woman who resembled a fox spirit.

Behind those two peerless beauties stood a girl with scarlet hair as well.

This girl resembled the scarlet-haired beauty by ninety percent and looked like her younger sister. She was also clearly a beauty in the making. Unfortunately, whether in appearance or figure, she could not compare to her older sister. The feeling she gave was probably just that of a very pretty little brat…

Behind the beautiful scarlet-haired girl were three little brats whose expressions looked more smug than the last, causing Zash immense disgust. So after sweeping his gaze over those three brats, his eyes landed upon the blue-haired young girl at the very back. He had to admit, the little girl was still quite cute.

"N-no, that's not right…"

"Now isn't the time to focus on these things."

Zash lightly shook his head. He had been bewitched by the beauties before him. Now was not the time to immerse himself in beauty. He needed to figure out why these people had come here.

However, this was from Zash's perspective…

From Animus' perspective at this moment, things were completely different…

"What exactly is going on?"

"You've got to be kidding. That guy is unquestionably at the level of a Dragon King…"

"Even four hundred years ago, he would have been an absolute king among dragons!"

Animus looked at Ewan before him with faint terror in his eyes. He could sense the heaven-shaking power within Ewan's body. Forget now—even four hundred years ago during the peak era of dragons, that power would have unquestionably been monstrous!

However, as Animus' gaze continued downward, his eyes first landed upon Selene…

"Has the world gone mad? The power within that person is even more terrifying than some Dragon Kings. She even reminds me of the Black Dragon King Acnologia who single-handedly slaughtered all the dragons of the Ishgar Continent four hundred years ago. What a horrifying existence…"

Animus' body trembled slightly. He could not believe Selene contained such terrifying energy within her.

Then, while Animus was still being intimidated by Selene's aura, his eyes shifted toward Irene. Animus could feel that Irene possessed an aura no weaker than Selene's and perhaps even more unfathomable…

"I…"

"This is the third one. This is the third monster with Dragon King-level power I've encountered today? What is going on? Is this not the era of humans but the era of dragons? Even four hundred years ago, it would have been impossible for three Dragon King-level dragons to appear gathered together like this!"

Animus' body trembled slightly as terror filled his face.

Then his eyes moved onto Kurnugi, Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy…

"That's a young dragon comparable to an adult dragon, along with three Dragon Slayer Mages…"

"N-no, something's wrong. Within these three Dragon Slayer Mages sleep dragons like me! Soul Dragon Magic!"

"No, the three dragons sleeping inside those humans are far stronger than me. They can choose to actively emerge from those children's bodies at any moment! Especially the dragon sleeping within that pink-haired brat. I can sense terrifying power within that pink-haired brat that absolutely rivals a Dragon King, and that power feels incredibly familiar to me…"

"In other words, gathered here are four Dragon King-level beings, three adult dragons, one young dragon, and several Dragon Slayer Mages possessing dragonification potential…"

At this point, Animus staggered and nearly collapsed to the ground. He almost wanted to completely give up control of this body and return it to Sonya, the girl whose body he had possessed…

"Kurnugi, hurry and look! There's a dragon even more pathetic than you here."

"He actually got the gender of the possessed body wrong and can now only appear in the form of an illusion…"

The brownish-red-haired youth, Ewan.

After seeing Animus, the corners of his mouth rose slightly as he lightly leaped before Animus.

Then after sizing Animus up from top to bottom and instantly seeing through his true form, Ewan burst out laughing.

"Ugh."

Ewan's actions caused Animus' body to tremble slightly. He felt incomparably terrified but did not dare speak, afraid of angering Ewan and being eliminated by him. No one understood the brutality of dragons better than Animus, who himself was a dragon.

"I finally met a dragon even more useless than me. This really wasn't easy…"

After hearing that, Kurnugi revealed an emotional expression. Before today, he had always believed he was the most useless dragon on the continent, but after seeing Animus before him, he finally understood the meaning of there always being greater heavens beyond heavens and greater dragons beyond dragons. There was no such thing as the most useless, only even more useless.

"Big brother, after others use Soul Dragon Magic, they can still come out!"

"After you used a magic similar to Soul Dragon Magic, why can't you come out anymore?"

Kurnugi spoke in a mocking tone while acting obnoxiously in front of Animus. At this moment, Kurnugi truly lived up to the title of the 'Cheap Dragon Saint.'

"..."

Animus wanted to say something, but after glancing at Ewan, Irene beside him, and Selene, he restrained himself.

"King Animus, please quickly use your invincible dragon power to eliminate these intruders!"

Just as Animus fell silent, Zash approached him. Kneeling on one knee, he respectfully spoke toward Animus.

"..."

In response, Animus' face turned ashen while saying absolutely nothing.

Eliminate the humans before him? Stop joking. He, Animus, could barely protect himself right now, and he was supposed to eliminate these humans?

Also, Zash, which eye of yours sees any humans here?

Aside from you, Zash, there isn't a single human here~

Only several Dragon King-level monsters and a bunch of little dragon brats…

At this moment, Animus' face was completely pale, and sweat continuously dripped from his forehead.

As Zash's words fell, the entire atmosphere became silent. Whether it was Animus or Irene and the others nearby, all of them coldly stared at Zash.

"..."

Zash froze momentarily. He did not know what exactly had happened. He frowned, stood from the ground, and looked toward Ewan and the others, seemingly thinking of something.

"Ewan Belserion, you're that Ewan Belserion ranked first among the Ten Wizard Saints!"

"My king, he is the man who stole your Dragon's Cry! Quickly use your invincible dragon power to eliminate him! At that point, you will obtain invincible power…"

After staring at Ewan's face for a while, Zash suddenly froze. He finally recognized Ewan's identity! Originally, because Irene, Selene, and the others behind Ewan were too stunning, he had ignored Ewan. But after taking another careful look at Ewan, he finally recognized him.

This made Zash incomparably excited. As long as they obtained the Dragon's Cry from Ewan, then Animus would be able to break free from his body and obtain liberation, transforming into an invincible dragon. At that point, Zash could use Animus' power to obtain everything he desired…

"..."

In response, Animus fell silent.

"Zash, you truly deserve death! You actually want me to rob a Dragon King. Why don't you go die a hundred times yourself?! Can't you understand the atmosphere right now? I'm the one at a disadvantage here!"

Animus looked at Zash with fury flashing in his eyes.

He could sense the Dragon King-level power within Ewan's body. If Ewan and the others were not here, he would have already slapped the endlessly chattering Zash to death!

"Eh…"

Just as Zash failed to understand what Animus was doing, Kurnugi suddenly walked before Zash.

"What are you trying to do, brat?"

Zash frowned while looking at Kurnugi and asked.

"Dragons? Are they very strong?"

Kurnugi looked at Zash and asked aloud.

"Hehe, foolish brat, you actually ask me whether dragons are strong? What a stupid question…" After hearing that, Zash could not help but laugh lightly before proudly saying: "Dragons are the strongest creatures in this world. The power of dragons is supreme!"

"Is that so? Dragons are strong huh?! Then let me tell you some good news. We're all dragons~"

After hearing Zash's words, Kurnugi laughed. Kurnugi suddenly found himself liking this Zash a little.

"Hmm?!"

Instantly, as Kurnugi's words fell, Zash's entire complexion turned pale. Looking toward Kurnugi, Ewan, Irene, and the others, his eyes filled with terror.

"You've got to be kidding…"

Zash's body trembled slightly. He finally understood why the usually arrogant Animus could no longer act arrogant. Turns out they were surrounded by a group of dragons?!