The Rise of a Warrior: Fairy Tail

by The Legendary Dragon Reaper

Luke Drako, S-class wizard of the Fairy Tail guild, the true Lightning Dragon Slayer, student and son of the Lightning dragon Kaminari. This is his story. The story of a Dragon Slayer trying to find his place in the world, and make one hell of a strong team along the way. And with any luck, he just might win the heart of a certain brunette card mage. OC x Cana. Read and review.

55. Grand Magic Games XIII

I would like to thank everyone who reviewed, favorited or followed this story since I updated it, and for getting this story to over 100,000 views! What's more, you got this story up to over 400 favorites and 400 followers! These are both huge milestones, and it would never have been possible without all of your support, so thank you all.

Arkham Knight22: Really? Do tell, I'm interested to see what you have in mind.

Guest: Thanks, I'm glad to see you liked it. Natsu and Gray teaming up is something I thought would be cool to do again, and I thought Natsu and Gajeel teaming up was long overdue. Like I said, Future Natsu was suggested to me in a review, and I thought it was a really cool idea, so I figured why not? All in all, I'm glad to see you enjoyed it.

Justaboy01: Well for me it would be evening around the time you left your review. Anyway, I'm glad to see you enjoy my story so much, so thanks for that. I tried to change up a few things here and there to make the story more interesting, and give some consequences. Plus I wanted my story to stand out more in comparison to some of the others. I also agree with your thoughts on Cana, and how she needs A LOT more screentime. She's one of the few sane and rational people in the series, and those are pretty hard to come by in Fairy Tail. Overall, I'm glad you enjoyed it and I do appreciate you resolving to read it all the way through, so thank you.

Brandonmunoz499: Well, to each their own, but it's important. It's part of Luke's character arc, so it does have a purpose.

Valentin Dupont: Thanks, I'm glad to see you like it. As for the update, here it is.

Write Your Wrongs: I figured that little twist would get a lot of attention, but no need to fret over that just yet. Keep reading the story and you'll see what I mean.

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Where we last left off…

"It figures you're the one to try and stop me…" Salamander gripped the sword and tried to pull it out of his gut, and he gave a bitter smirk "I didn't doubt it for a second."

"Nor should you." Luke yanked the sword out and wiped off some of the blood along the blade, and his gaze hardened as his magic power soared "I made her a promise… I'm gonna protect the future and everyone in it… and the first step to doing that… is ripping you to shreds!"

"I think we'll see about that. I'm nowhere near as weak or impulsive as you remember me from this time."

"Believe me, I already know damn well that you're nothing like the Natsu that I know, which is another reason why I have no problems ripping you apart." Luke let out a snarl, then glanced back at the others "Run. All of you. Right now."

"What… What are you saying?" Wendy was the first one to find her voice.

"Take Lucy and the others and get out of here now, blast your way out of here if you have to, just meet up with Makarov and the others." he was met with a stunned silence from the rest of the group, and he was quick to snap "Do the fuck what I say before I lose what little sense of reason I have left!"

"...You heard the guy, let's do this." Bolt glanced over at the others as he drew Shatterstorm and gripped it tightly 'He looks like he's about to snap, not that I can blame him. It still makes a chill go down my spine at the thought of it. I haven't seen him this angry since the Tower of Heaven, and it might just be a coincidence that someone else died there too, but the fact that's Cana, or at least another version of her… this future version of Natsu just signed his death warrant.'

"Don't stand there and waste time staring at me, if this bastard gets his hands on Lucy then I don't think I have to remind any of you of what that's gonna mean."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying go without me, get out of here and meet up with others, and I'll join you whenever I get the chance to."

"But are you sure about that?" asked Lucy "I mean you've seen what this guy can do, there's no telling how strong he is or-" she was immediately cut off by the rage filled gaze in his eyes.

"Don't fucking talk back to me right now, just do what I say and get the hell out of here!"

"But-"

"It's alright, just do what he says. He's got this" Cana gripped her shoulder reassuringly, then glanced over and locked eyes with Luke "He's never let any of us down before, and he's not about to start now."

"I don't plan to. And take this." Luke suddenly placed his sword back in its sheath, ripped it off his back and threw it to Cana "Hold onto that for the time being. I'm gonna want it back after I clear up this piece of trash."

"Right." Cana gave him a simple nod, then turned to the others "Like I said, he's got this so we'd better get the hell out of here." so she grabbed the dumbstruck and shaken form of Lucy by the hand and started leading her away, with Bolt and the others following hot on her heels 'I can't remember the last time I saw Luke so angry, but I do know this. I know he's gonna find a way to beat this guy, and then he'll come back to us alive and well, just like he always does. And when he does… I'm gonna tell him how I feel.'

"There's gonna be a cold day in hell before I let you go anywhere!" Salamander charged forward and tried to launch another blast of flames, until…

"Lightning Dragon TALON!" Luke suddenly blitzed in front of Salamander in a flash and dealt him a swift yet brutal lightning-enhanced kick to the head that sent him crashing to the ground face first.

"Figures you'd be the first to-"

"Lightning Dragon SURGE!" Luke slammed a hand onto Salamander's face and unleashed a surge of electricity, sending him skidding backwards, sending him hurtling backwards.

"You gonna let me talk at some point?" Salamander let out a groan as he picked himself up and wiped the blood from his lip, but then he gave a smirk "I didn't doubt for a second that you were gonna get in my way tonight, but it doesn't mean a damn thing. Even if you manage to take me down, the dragons are still gonna come through the gate."

"I never pegged you to be a fucking murderer."

"Time can change a man, but for people like you time runs out, like it just did now! Fire Dragon IRON FIST!" Salamander burst forward and let a fist coated in flames fly forward.

"Lightning Dragon IRON FIST!" Luke coated his own fist in electricity and slammed it directly into Salamander's, sending him hurtling back as he pounced forward in his rage, and he started launching a series of attacks with his bare hands.

"Gotta admit though, I didn't think you'd be so reckless as to get rid of your sword before you and I fought."

"The same rule applies to you as it did with Sabertooth, the sword is a memento given to me by my father, and I'm not going to taint it or his memory by staining it with the blood of a murderous piece of trash like you. Frankly I'm glad I gave it to Cana, because what comes next, it's gonna be something I want to do with my bare hands!"

"That implies you're actually gonna hit me!" Salamander gave a smirk as he went on the evasive and started dodging his attacks, though he was quick to lose patience with this "Fire Dragon TALON!" he dealt Luke a fire-enhanced kick to the stomach that sent him skidding back, only for him to immediately charge at him again, only with more ferocity "Never thought I'd be the laid back one between the two of us now, but even when you're letting your anger screw with your head your attacks have as much power as they ever did! Fire Dragon GRIP STRIKE!" he ripped off his cloak, gripped his arm with one hand and grabbed Luke by the collar of his shirt with the other hand, and then unleashed a blast of flames at point blank range "Fire Dragon IRON FIST!" he then followed with a fire-enhanced uppercut to the jaw that sent him hurtling backwards at high speed, and then he charged towards him for a follow up attack, the two of them clashing faster than the eye could see and sending a series of powerful sparks throughout the hallway as they fought, blowing various holes through the walls in the process.

"Lightning Dragon TALON!" Luke dealt Salamander a brutal lightning-enhanced kick to the jaw that sent him crashing into the roof, and then he blitzed forward to land a follow up attack, only for it to be blocked 'He's strong and fast, and the fighting style is pretty effective. All the more reason to take him out here and now. He's gonna pay for what he did to her, and he's gonna pay ten fold!'

'Looks like he's as skilled as he ever was, even after 7 years I'm having more trouble with him than I was expecting. I guess he was holding back when we fought in the past, which pisses me off even after all this time. Still though, it's been a long time since I actually got the chance to fight against another person. Lucky me I know how to adapt pretty fast to a fight, but that's another train that comes with surviving the draconic apocalypse. That, and it turns out that not being some pathetic human weakling does have its advantages.' Salamander blocked another lightning-enhanced first from Luke and aimed a kick at his head.

"Lightning Dragon JAW!" Luke blocked the kick with both of his forearms, then leapt into the air and dealt Salamander a swift lightning-enhanced smash attack, sending him hurtling towards the ground.

"Fire Dragon SWORD HORN!" Salamander rebounded the second he hit the ground, then burst upwards with a fire-enhanced headbutt locked and loaded "Fire Dragon TALON!" he launched a fire-enhanced kick at Luke, hitting him square in the face and sending him flying, and then he burst towards him for a follow up attack "Fire Dragon IRON FIST!"

"Lightning Dragon IRON FIST!" Luke countered the attack with one of his own, their fists colliding in a burst of flames and electricity, and then they went from clashing fists to grappling with each other in a brief power struggle, though he quickly tightened his grip enough to the point where Salamander couldn't break free "Thunder Drive!" with a powerful surge of electricity, his Thunder Drive roared into life "You of all people should know that it takes a lot for me to lose my cool, but you just pushed me way beyond that: Thanks to you, I'm out for blood! Lightning Dragon TALON!" he broke off and rapidly dealt Salamander a swift lightning-enhanced kick to the face that sent him crashing through a series of walls.

Salamander was able to screech to a halt and rebound, and he gave a smirk once he wiped the blood from his face and glanced over at Luke "Looks like someone's finally ready to start backing up all his talk. Fine then, let's go for the second round."

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Meanwhile, with the She Devil…

Within the palace gardens, Mirajane succeeded in tracking down Yukino, only for her to claim that she didn't want to be around anyone anymore, given how misfortune always followed those that were associated with her. Tapping into those protective big sister instincts, Mira took it upon herself to try and comfort Yukino by pulling her into a hug and telling her that the people from Fairy Tail were never the type to blame people for accidents or things that were out of their control, and that every life had value. Yukino didn't hesitate to break down in tears, given how rare it was for her to be treated with kindness by anyone.

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Meanwhile, outside Mercerius…

"Hear me men!" Hisui turned to address the soldiers and knights before her "In preparation for the assault on Fiore by an army of dragons, we will begin the firing sequence for the activation of the Eclipse Cannon, now unlock!" and that prompted the men to start unlocking the gate.

'So the moment of the truth is at hand, and the gate is at last opening.' Arcadios looked on from his place with Darton and the others 'Whatever happens princess, I swear I will see your will through to the very end.'

"Tell me, have there been any updates from our lookouts?"

"The lookout in the Western division has reported in princess, but they claim that no dragons have been sighted." one of the knights told her "The same goes for the East."

"What about the evacuation?"

"The soldiers are rounding up the civilians as we speak."

"Excellent. As for the dragons, I would like to wipe all of them out with a single attack, if that is possible. If we miss this shot, then it will take years before we're able to amass as much magic power as we have right now."

What none of them noticed apparently, was that Bolt and the rest of the Rescue Team were watching the scene taking place from within the bushes "Well shit, they're about to open the gate from hell."

"But that means that they haven't opened it yet." Lily pointed out.

"Fair enough." Cana then glanced over at Lucy and noticed something "So what about you then?"

"What about me?" Lucy shot him a raised eyebrow.

"I know there's something else bothering you, so what is it?"

"It's that future version of Natsu. Aside from the fact that he just killed Cana's future self, it's what he said to me that's really been bothering me. He said that I was the one that closed the gate and stopped the Eclipse 2 from activating, and that it doomed most of humanity in his time."

"And?"

"Emerge and reveal yourselves." this was when Arcadios suddenly addressed the group "There's no longer any reason for you to hide from the princess and her forces."

"...Well shit."

"Someone had to say it." Bolt gave a shrug as he stepped out into the open, with Cana and the others following his lead "As much as I'd enjoy busting a few dozen heads, we're in Fairy Tail and it's pretty much what we do, we've got other things to worry about right now. And for that matter, why the hell are you dressed like a white knight out of a music video and standing side by side with the ones that threw us into a dungeon to begin with?"

"Because the situation has changed considerably." this was when Hisui stepped forward "All of you are from Fairy Tail are you not? Allow me to apologize for the way that you've been treated up until now, but I'm afraid that the current state of emergency means that an official apology is going to have to wait for the time being."

"See, she's not really that bad." Wendy shared a grin with a few of the others.

"Also, allow me to congratulate you and the rest of your guild for claiming the victory in the Grand Magic Games."

"You say that like it's surprising." Bolt gave a smirk "Tell me this though, who was it that took down the likes of Jura and Kagura?"

"Jura of Lamia Scale was defeated by Laxus, and Kagura was defeated by Erza, though the points were claimed by Minvera of Sabertooth, but Erza defeated her as well."

"That doesn't surprise me in the slightest, one thing you oughta remember in this life is that you never underestimate Fairy Tail unless you have a death wish."

"You will not receive any sort of objections from me, not anymore. I've learned throughout the games and as a result of your escape, your guild is a formidable force. We may need your power in preparation for a coming conflict."

"But that raises another question." this was when Lucy spoke up "Why are you opening the gate right now? The army of dragons hasn't even shown up yet."

"I see, so you know about the dragons as well."

"Yes, all of them have been informed of the situation. Speaking of which…" Arcadios glanced over at Cana "Where is the version of you from the future, and the Lightning Dragon Slayer of your guild for that matter?" he was met with a series of downcast looks.

"She was killed." Bolt told him flatly "And it was done by another person that claimed he was from the future, he killed her and that was enough to send Luke on the warpath. He's fighting him right now back inside the castle. Plus this bastard claims that Lucy stops the gate from opening and dooms everyone to being slaughtered by dragons."

"So this man attempted to kill her?" Hisui's gaze hardened "And there are no merits to this claim that he makes?"

"There aren't your highness, I said would never and I meant it." Lucy told her firmly "But it's like I said before, I don't see any dragons yet, so shouldn't we open the gate once all of them are within range?"

"Unfortunately, waiting isn't an option in this case. The fact is that the gate takes far too long to completely open, and if we wait for the dragons to appear then it won't be ready in time, so it has to be done now."

"Which raises another question." Cana took a step forward, gripping Luke's sword tightly in her arms "Are you absolutely sure it's going to take them down in a single shot?"

"To demonstrate absolute honesty, I'm not sure. But I can promise you, if the worst should come to pass, then the king will have a plan of action."

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Meanwhile, in one of the gardens of Crocus…

"Thank you all for coming." true to Hisui's word, her father Toma had called all of the wizard guilds together within one of the gardens of Crocus "I hate to spoil the mood after the splendid display of wizardry that we've seen throughout the Grand Magic Games, but I'm afraid that the heart of Fiore may soon end up in the claws of a horde of dragons."

"A horde of dragons?" Makarov's eyes widened, along with many others "I thought Acnologia was the only one of them left."

"In a matter of hours at most, we will face a horde of over 10,000 dragons." there was a tense silence that followed this, until…

"WE'RE GONNA FUCKING DIE!" Natsu screamed at the top of his lungs.

"They're gonna tear all of us to shreds!" Happy wasn't much better "Seriously, they're gonna tear us all apart and wear us like fur coats and slippers!"

"We ain't just sitting around and waiting for that to happen, we're gonna have to fight them and show them what we're made of!"

"Wait what?! You've gotta be kidding me, we can't take on that many dragons! And where did you get the helmet and the spears?!"

"I got them from off screen, and who cares if there's 10,000 or any number higher than that since I can't count that high! I'm a Dragon Slayer dammit, and killing one of these fuckers is what I was born to do! Time to show those assholes what we're made of when I stick my Fire Dragon Iron Fist so far up his-" he cut himself off when he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to the source of it, and his face went pale.

As it turns out, the source of it was Lisanna, her face one of a bright smile, but with a strong sense of malice emanating from it "Natsu, what did I say about using that kind of foul language in front of our son?"

"Uh…" Natsu didn't get to reply before he was suddenly dragged away, squealing in terror all the while.

"Okay, so that happened." Gray rolled his eyes at the exchange, then turned to the others "He's got a point though, I'm not lying down and dying like a dog for these things."

"That's easier said than done though." Evergreen pointed out "The last time we fought one of those things, we lost 7 years of our lives, and even if that turned out to be a special case, I have my doubts that we can take on an entire horde."

"This situation is not without hope however." Toma drew everyone's attention back to him "Even as we speak, a large scale counterattack is being prepared at the castle, in the form of the Eclipse Cannon. We intend to use it to wipe out the attacking dragons, all 10,000 of them, with a single attack."

"10,000 of them at once?" Gajeel let out a low whistle "I gotta ask how the hell they expect to pull that off."

"I can sense the concern that all of you share, but unfortunately, given the sheer number of the forces of the dragons, we expect that at the most, a few hundred will survive the attack. So I now implore all of you, the mighty guild wizards of our kingdom, please lend us your strength and courage and assist us in dealing with this crisis. You are the best and possibly only hope that we have for slaying any dragons that the Eclipse cannot." he bowed his head to them "I humbly beg all of you, do not allow this kingdom to fall into ruin." he was met with silence from the crowd in front of him, until…

"WILD!"

"You can count on us!"

"We're gonna be glad to help!"

"We won't allow ourselves to be defeated by mere reptiles."

"We're in!"

"This kingdom has always been good to us wizards, so it's our duty to protect it." and various claims like this followed from the remaining wizards and guilds.

With this in mind, Erza glanced over at one of the soldiers "Some of our comrades had recently been captured by the Royal Army, but we're going to need their help for this fight."

"No need to worry, they're all completely safe." the soldier told her "I was informed that most of them had recently joined Princess Hisui at the gate."

"I see, that does put me at ease somewhat, though I can't say it will mean much given the current situation."

"Still though, we're up against real dragons this time around." Gajeel gave a smirk "I say it's the perfect chance for us Dragon Slayers, at least for me anyway, to show them why I'm the best of the best."

"I appreciate the spirit Gajeel, but keep in mind that it's not just Dragon Slayers. We're all going to be working together for this one, all of us in Fairy Tail and all of the other guilds fighting for the same cause. It's not something you see happen very often, if ever. I'm sure the king feels the same way about this, if his current reaction is anything to go by."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"See for yourself."

"Thank you… I can't thank you all enough…" sure enough, Toma had tears streaming down his face "Thank you all… pumpkin…" and it was only then that he realized his mistake, earning a large number of jaw dropped looks from the others.

"What the flying name of everlasting fuck?!" Gajeel was quick to speak for everyone present at that moment.

"Um… Anyway, our fate is in your hands noble guild wizards!" and the cheers began anew with their spirits soaring.

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Meanwhile, with two certain council lapdogs…

"I don't believe it." not far away, Lahar and Doranbolt were watching the scene taking place from their place on the sidelines "You cannot be serious."

"What's the big deal?" Doranbolt shot him a smirk and a raised eyebrow "You so surprised that all of those wizards could agree to work together so readily after spending the last week beating the crap out of each other?"

"No not that, evidently that's how they connect with each other. I'm talking about the Eclipse, the mere existence of that gate violates no less than 30 different laws. This is more serious than either of us could've anticipated. We need to inform Council HQ of the situation."

"Don't get ahead of yourselves just yet you two. Your names are Lahar and Doranbolt if I'm not mistaken?"

Lahar and Doranbolt both whipped around to find two figures standing before them, and their gazes hardened "Jellal and… God Serena?!"

Sure enough, God Serena stood before the two of them, with Jellal by his side, and he quickly struck a pose "Indeed, now I have… ARRIVED!"

"But… what would one of the Four Emperors of Ishgar be doing here?"

"Ah, so you desire exposition." he struck another pose and pointed at the two of them "You know that normally I don't involve myself in certain situations unless circumstances are dire, but given the current situation, I believe that meets the criteria. I'm here to fight as needed, as is this one here and his companions, but in the meantime, we have a request."

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Meanwhile, with a battle between Dragon Slayers…

Salamander was able to screech to a halt and rebound, and he gave a smirk once he wiped the blood from his face and glanced over at Luke "Looks like someone's finally ready to start backing up all his talk. Fine then, let's go for the second round."

"This round isn't gonna last long." Luke let out a low snarl "I'm not wasting any time screwing around with you."

"I didn't think you would, now show me the power that made you such a hot shot!" he blitzed across the scene and tried to strike Luke from being "Fire Dragon-"

"Lightning Dragon SURGE!" Luke gripped Salamander's fist without turning around and unleashed a powerful surge of electricity, sending him hurtling back across the hallway.

"Fire Dragon SWORD HORN!" Salamander recovered from the attack and hurtled back towards Luke with a fire-enhanced headbutt locked and loaded.

"Lightning Dragon TALON!" Luke swerved around Salamander's attack and dealt him a swift lightning-enhanced kick to the face, sending him crashing through a wall and into another one from the impact "Lightning Dragon ROAR!" he then blitzed in front of Salamander and dealt him a lightning-enhanced roar.

"Fire Dragon ROAR!" Salamander unleashed a roar of his own in an attempt to cancel out the initial roar, but it was quickly overpowered and he was forced to move out of the way, then tried to land a counterattack in the form of another fire blast.

"Lightning Dragon JAW!" Luke swatted the fire blast aside and dealt Salamander a brutal smash attack to the face, sending him hurtling backwards.

"Fire Dragon TALON!" Salamander rebounded and tried to land another fire-enhanced kick aimed at Luke's head.

"Lightning Dragon SURGE!" Luke grabbed Salamander by the face and unleashed another surge of electricity, and then he followed up with a fist to the face "You're gonna pay for what you've done, I'm gonna make sure of it!"

"Actions speak a hell of lot louder than words! Fire Dragon ROAR!" Salamander breathed out a fire-enhanced roar that forced Luke to block it and sent him hurtling backwards into the walls of the castle hallway, and then he followed up with another fire-enhanced fist.

Luke was forced to block the strike, though he received a few small burns along his arms in the process 'Dammit, it's like he's adapting to my fighting style as the battle goes on!'

"Go ahead and show me what you've got, I'm dying to see how much stronger than you I am right now!" Salamander continued forcing Luke through a series of walls within the castle, which soon led to the two of them trading even blows via fists "Fire Dragon ROAR!" their brief clash of fists came to an end when he decided to break out another fire-enhanced roar.

"Lightning Dragon JAW!" Luke was able to gracefully maneuver his way around the roar, then blitzed towards Salamander and dealt him a lightning-enhanced smash attack to the head, sending him crashing to the ground, and then he retreated to gain some distance as blue energy began to surge around his body, eventually mixing in with the golden electricity that was already surging within his magic aura.

Salamander rebounded and was about to launch another follow up attack, only to stop in his tracks when this new energy appeared before him "So that's how you wanna play it huh?" he suddenly gave a wide smirk "About time you decided to break out the good stuff."

"The way you're treating this like some sick game makes me wanna puke, but it does prove to me something pretty important. You didn't really come back to our time to save it. I've learned a lot of stuff over the years, not just about fighting or growth as a person, but I think it's just as important as those, maybe even moreso. It's to trust my instincts, and they're telling me that everything about you is rotten to the core." Luke dropped into a stance as his body surged with electricity, only to falter slightly when he noticed a loud rumbling taking place, along with the room shaking "What the hell is that?"

"They're doing it, they're finally opening the gate!" Salamander gave a dark grin "Even if I didn't manage to kill Lucy yet, time's gonna keep moving forward! Destiny's gonna keep moving on and all we can do is bask in it! Fire Dragon ROAR!" he breathed out a large stream of flames.

"Lightning Dragon TALON!" Luke blitzed through the flames and dealt Salamander a swift lightning-enhanced kick, sending him hurtling backwards but doing little to shut him up.

"Either way she's gonna go and fuck things up for me without a doubt, she's gonna close the gate, it's her destiny and it can't be changed!"

"The Natsu that I know would never let something like destiny take him over, he'd take fate and turn it into a pile of ashes! And I know Lucy, she would never destroy our future, she never has and she never will!"

"I've seen it and I won't let it repeat itself, her destiny has already been set in stone! Fire Dragon ERUPTION!" Salamander slammed a hand into the ground, causing a column of flames to burst up from the ground and engulf Luke in an instant "I figured you'd get in my way, so I resolved myself to kill you and anyone else that trys to stop me!"

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Meanwhile, with a certain Wizard Saint/Dragon Slayer…

'So this is it…' God Serena looked out from his place on the sidelines, then glanced down at the various wizards and others gathered in the garden below him 'The moment of truth apparently, the day that people come to realize that dragons aren't truly extinct. Supposedly at least. Whatever the case, it seems like everything will changed today, July 7th of the year X791… it could be an absurd coincidence, or it could mean something else entirely."

"You seem to be aware of something that the rest of us don't know." Jellal walked up next to him and shot a raised eyebrow at God Serena "Would you care to elaborate?"

"More musing over the coming conflict than anything else. The thought that dragons apparently disappeared on July 7th, and then 10,000 of them are supposed to show up all at once on the same day 14 years later. Sounds like more than just an unlikely coincidence."

"Do you have another theory in mind then?"

"Not at the moment, more entertaining a hunch than anything else. How are the various guilds being arranged?"

"Fairy Tail is going to be guarding the center plaza, and the other guilds are going to be placed on standby in other parts of the city."

"And what about those that took part in the Grand Magic Games? They used a considerable amount of magic power and suffered a fair amount of damage."

"They did, but thanks to the royal healers and Sherria, the little girl that uses the Sky God Slayer magic, they're confident they'll be able to hold their own."

"Good. Granted I probably could aid some of the Dragon Slayers in recovering, but I'd rather not make my presence known just yet. Granted I do like to make an entrance, but I only do it when it's absolutely necessary. I have my priorities in order." God Serena then glanced up at the moon, only for his gaze to harden further "Though I will say that the red moon up there doesn't sound very promising. In fact…"

"In fact?"

"It seems like… an omen!" he did a dramatic pose.

'...Suddenly I'm beginning to understand why Luke and Noah find him rather irritating. Still though, I can't deny the absurd amount of magic power he possesses.'

"I will say this though." God Serena did another pose and pointed at the moon "To call such a gate something like the Eclipse, it appears to be a rather fitting name."

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Meanwhile, outside Mercurius…

'So this is it…' Lucy and the others watched as the seals on the Eclipse Gate were all completely removed, and the doorway itself slowly began to open, releasing a thick wave of mist as a light began to shine from the other side of the door 'But something isn't right, something doesn't feel right about this. That magic power…'

"Shit, anyone else getting that vibe?" Bolt spared a quick glance back at the others "I'm already sensing so much magic power from this thing it's making my skin crawl."

"It does inspire confidence in this plan of theirs." Carla pointed out "After all, with that much magic power gathered in a single location, it actually may be possible for them to wipe out all of the dragons in a single shot."

"But keeping that much power in a place like that raises some concerns in of itself."

"Maybe, but there's the whole thing about the army of dragons to consider fist." Cana glanced over at them "With this much power to wipe those things out, I think that means we already saved our future."

"Which works out for the future you… now she'll be able to rest in peace, and finally see the other members of her version of Fairy Tail again."

"Yeah… that does sound ideal given what she must have gone through. Hey Lucy, what do you think about that?"

"I guess, given…" Lucy cut herself short as she gazed at the Eclipse Gate in front of them, but then her eyes suddenly widened and her expression turned vacant, and she began to slowly step forward towards the gate "No… we can't do this."

"Wait what?"

"We have to close it… We can't let the gate open… We have to stop it… We have to close the gate, and we have to do it now."

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Meanwhile, with a battle between Dragon Slayers…

"I've seen it and I won't let it repeat itself, her destiny has already been set in stone! Fire Dragon ERUPTION!" Salamander slammed a hand into the ground, causing a column of flames to burst up from the ground and engulf Luke in an instant "I figured you'd get in my way, so I resolved myself to kill you and anyone else that trys to stop me!"

"Like hell you will! Lightning Dragon SURGE!" Luke coated his arms with electricity and slammed a hand into the ground, the lightning cancelling out the flames and sending both of them skidding backwards "You're about to go down hard, whatever ambitions you have will never become a reality. You've already taken the life of one person I hold dear, I'm not just gonna stand around and do nothing while you take another until you're satisfied."

"I didn't think you would. That just means you're gonna have to die first."

"Go ahead and try it, the only way this is going to end is if and when one of us is left as nothing more than a pile of bloody smoking ashes lying on the ground. Change Mode: Lightning Sea King Dragon!" on that note, Luke gritted his teeth as blue and golden-colored energy began surging wildly around his body as he swiftly unleashed a barrage of punches and kicks, the force of which sending Salmander hurtling backwards and crashing through the wall behind him.

"Fire Dragon SWORD HORN! FIRE DRAGON WING ATTACK!" Salamander was quick to rebound from the assault as he launched himself towards Luke using a fire-enhanced headbutt, and then he switched to unleashing two simultaneous bursts of flames from each hand.

Luke was quick to snuff these flames out by grabbing Salamander by the wrists using nothing but his bare hands, leaving burns along his forearms, but it nothing to quell the rage surging in his eyes "My turn. Lightning… Sea King… Dragon… ROAR!" he let out a primar roar and subsequently released an enormous blast of blue and gold energy, hitting Salamander with it at point-blank range and sending him flying backwards at full speed, crashing through a series of walls until he finally hit one in particular and hit the ground with a loud crash. As a brief silence began to hang over the battlefield, Luke breathed a small sigh 'Call it a hunch, but I have a feeling that he definitely isn't gonna want to stay down after that. As much as I hate to admit it, he's got Natsu's determination and grit in him after all. But at the same time, that's all they have in common. Natsu might be reckless, thoughtless and way too impulsive for his own good, especially since he rarely thinks about the consequences of his actions, but he always steps up when it really counts. This bastard on the other hand… what he's planning to do, what he's already done… He's gonna pay for it. All of it. Alright enough is enough, quit lying around and get the hell up. I think we both know that wasn't anywhere near enough to finish you off."

Sure enough, there was an intense surge of crimson and gold energy, and Salamander burst out from within the rubble, covered in relatively noticeable burns and wounds and his clothes having been shredder, flames and electricity surging around his body intense enough to push Luke back a sizable distance "So this is what happens when you break out your trump card, now I know how Hades and the Twin Dragon Slayers felt when they got on your shit list. Well since you showed me yours, I guess it's only fair that I go ahead and show you mine, like I'm doing right now. Change Mode: Lightning Flame Dragon. Yeah, you forgot that I picked this up during the fight with Hades back on Tenrou Island didn't you?"

"I haven't forgotten a single thing about my Natsu. The only thing I need to know about you is that you're a cold-blooded murderer, and I'm putting you down like the sick dog you've already made yourself out to be. Of course that's easier said than done. Pure rage aside, he's definitely a lot more powerful than I figured he was gonna be. I guess surviving the draconic apocalypse for 7 years will do that to you.'

"Now then, I think it's my turn again. Lightning Flame Dragon… ROAR!" Salamander let out a primal roar, and with it came an enormous wave of flames and electricity that he sent hurtling forward at blinding speeds.

Luke was barely able to avoid being struck by the blast and watched as it detonated a moderately large section of the castle, sweat visibly dripping down his face as a result 'Dammit that was way too close, if that thing had hit me dead on then there's no telling what it would've done. What makes it suck even more is that I can't eat any of his lightning while he's using it at the same time as his fire. Lightning Sea King Dragon STORM HAMMER!" so he blitzed forward at full speed, his arm being coated in a mix of both blue and gold energy, and he slammed it directly into Salamander's jaw, sending him skidding backwards, but only by a few feet 'Shit, he's more durable now too.'

"My turn again. Lightning Flame Dragon TALON!" Salamander coated his leg in a mix of flames and electricity and promptly dealt Luke a solid roundhouse kick to the face, sending him flying backwards, and then he went on to chase after him, using his own flames to propel himself forward, resulting in the two of them trading a series of even blows "Well now, looks to me like somebody is finally getting serious."

"I told you before, there's no way in hell I'm stopping until you're nothing but a bloody pile of ashes lying on the ground."

"Or until that happens to you first, just like right now! Advanced Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Flame Lotus: EXPLODING LIGHTNING BLADE!" with flames in one hand and electricity in the other, he summoned an enormous spiralling torrent of both fire and lightning that he sent hurtling forward at blinding speeds, sending Luke hurtling backwards and engulfing him in the massive explosion that followed.

When the blast subsided and the smoke began to clear, Luke was left sprawled out on the ground, his body covered in significant burns, and he tried to pick himself up, only to fall back to the ground and cough up a fair amount of blood "D-Dammit… I didn't think that… you would be so powerful…"

"You wanna know the craziest part about that?" Salamander gave a smirk as his Dual Element mode subsided "I actually got Laxus to thank for that. He gave me some of his lightning during the fight with Hades back on Tenrou Island all those years ago. I met up with him again after the dragons attacked in my time, and I took a fair bit more to make my Lightning Flame Dragon Mode that much stronger… and then I killed him. Of course it's not like I wanted to do it, but it had to be done. If I'm gonna be totally honest, that's the sort of thing I should've done a hell of a lot sooner than I did."

"And that right there just proves it…" Luke slowly pulled himself onto his knees as he spat out some more blood "You're not Natsu… you're nothing like Natsu… the Natsu that I know would never be so callous about life… and killing his own guild mates for shits and giggles…"

"Yeah well, funny thing about that. I've done a lot of stuff that I never thought I would ever want to do or have to do in the seven years. One more isn't gonna make much of a different, not to me at least. Call that a little something you can take to the grave."

"Why don't you… go ahead and try it…" Luke staggered back to his feet as he tried to shake off the disorientation he was feeling, though this was quick to fail 'Dammit, my body feels like it's on fire all over, and my vision is getting blurry…'

"Fine, but only because you asked so nicely." Salamander gave a wicked smirk as he coated both of his arms in flames "Fire Dragon-"

"Mountain Dragon Molten Spears!" a barrage of earth spears suddenly burst upwards from the ground and began hurtling towards Salamander, quickly forcing him to break off his attack and go on the evasive.

'Shit, these are those exploding rock spikes I heard about, which means…' Salamander cast a quick glance over and saw Noah standing at the end of the hallway (what was left of the hallway that is), with Ultear and Meldy by his side 'I guess I'm gonna have to deal with him later. Oh well, back to the main plan it is.' and so he disappeared in a crimson flash, leaving Luke to fall back to the ground.

"So much for that."

"Dammit." Meldy took a few quick glances around the area "I can't sense him, to think he could get away so easily."

"Forget about him for now, we need to focus on Thunderclap." Noah was quick to dissipate his spell and rushed over to Luke's side along with the others "Thunderclap come on, seriously you need to get your shit together. Meldy you still got that medicine from earlier?"

"Yeah I have it right here." Meldy pulled out a small vial from within her shirt, only to glance over and notice the body of Future Cana lying a short distance away "Noah."

"Yeah I noticed, when you think about that it's not hard to see why he went on the warpath like he did. Anyway we don't have time to stand around, let's get to work. They're gonna need him now more than ever."

"Right."

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Meanwhile, outside the palace…

Upon making her sudden realization, Lucy was quick to approach Princess Hisui in front of the Eclipse Gate and told her that the Eclipse Cannon didn't actually have any sort of function as a weapon, something she had been told about by her spirit Crux. It was then that, to the horror of everyone present, dragons from the distant past suddenly began to emerge from the gate, which had been sabotoged so that it would remain open during the Lunar eclipse. It was around this time that Yukino and Mira arrived on the scene, and the former combined her powers with Lucy in order to summon all 12 of the Zodiac spirits simultaneously, who used all of their powers to close the Eclipse Gate, though this did still leave 7 dragons in the present.

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Meanwhile, inside the palace…

"Do you guys feel that?" Meldy glanced up at the sound of the rumbling as the room began to shake violently "All of this crazy rumbling, has the gate already been opened?"

"All the more reason for us to hurry." Ultear pulled Luke onto his feet and tried to shake him awake, with little success "Dammit, come on…"

"Let me give this a shot. You just have to know how to be sweet, sensitive and caring to the ones that really need it." Noah then proceeded to grab Luke by the shirt and promptly smacked him across the face "Okay listen Thunderclap, you need to get a fucking grip already. I get it alright, she died right in front of you. I can't imagine what it is you must be feeling right now, but don't forget that this is the future version. There's a version from this time that's still alive, and she needs you right now. They all need you."

"I… I know…" Luke slowly and shakily pulled himself to his feet as he spat out a small amount of blood "I'm sorry… I gotta get moving…"

"Yeah I figured as much, so here." Noah pulled a golden-colored orb out of his shirt and handed it to Luke "Your mentor with the grating personality told me to give that lightning lacrima to you when I saw you, it's not much but it should at least give you a partial recharge before you go in for your rematch."

"It's gonna have to do." Luke promptly downed the lacrima in a single gulp, followed by a large surge of electricity forming around his body "That'll work."

"And just for the road, let me offer you one last piece of advice. That version of Salamander is strong as fuck yeah, but that's not the biggest reason why you got your ass handed to you. It's the same reason our version-"

"That's not the same version." Luke's tone was laced with venom "The Natsu that I know would never turn into someone like that."

"Right. Anyway it's the same reason why your Salamander keeps getting his ass handed to him a good chunk of the time. You lost your cool, you let your rage cloud your judgement and focus, and that blinded you. Keep your cool this time and stay focused, and that's gonna be all you need to rip him apart. Oh yeah, and be sure to hit him dead on with Dragon Force."

"...I'll keep that in mind. I gotta go now, but thanks, really." so on that note, Luke promptly took off running through the wreckage of the castle in the direction of the outside, his mind racing 'I made a promise to her… Whatever it takes, I'm gonna protect everyone, and I'm going to save the future! Cana, everyone, please just hold on until I get there!'

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Meanwhile, outside the palace…

"I… I think it's over…" Lucy took a breath as she and Yukino powered down and their spirits all disappeared, and they looked over to see the Eclipse Gate completely closed "Yeah… that means we did it…" she glanced over at Yukino and the two shared a smile and a sigh of relief amidst a series of cheers from the other mages and soldiers present.

"I hate to be that guy, but it's still too soon to start celebrating." Bolt glanced over at Cana "You do know how many dragons made it through right?"

"First of all, you get off on being that guy in these situations." Cana pointed out dryly.

"It's part of my charm."

"Whatever you need to tell yourself. And second of all, I counted a total of seven dragons that made it through the gate. And what's worse, we've got company."

Sure enough, it was this moment that Salamander stepped onto the scene and was quick to gather the attention of the others "Isn't that just fucking typical, you had to go and screw my plans over hard didn't you? Ah well it's not like it would've been that much of a problem. Seven dragons are gonna be more than enough for me anyway."

"Enough for what exactly, and what the hell did you do to Luke?"

"Tone it down already, knowing him there's a pretty good chance he's gonna pop up looking for a rematch any minute now. If I'm gonna be totally honest though, 10,000 dragons would've been a bitch to have to deal with. Not that I wouldn't have tried, but still."

"You gonna elaborate on what the hell that means?" Cana's glare hardened with fury, but then she glanced back when she noticed the stricken look on Hisui's face "You okay princess?"

"This is him…" Hisui muttered quietly "This is the traitor, the one that lied to me about the Eclipse Cannon in the first place…"

"Uh huh."

"So this scoundrel is the time traveler that fooled you?" Arcadios promptly levelled a glare in the direction of Salamander.

"Yes that's him, there's no mistaking it."

"That sure as hell puts a lot of things into perspective right about now." Cana levelled her own glare on Salamander "Is that why you were so against Lucy closing the gate?"

"Right I forgot, you were actually one of the smart ones." Salamander gave a smirk that only grew wider "Alright subjects, time you shut up and listen for once. Tonight is the night that marks the end of the reign of humans over the world! Now I'm gonna usher in a new reign, the era of the Dragon King has finally begun!" he was immediately joined by the seven dragons all gathering above him, much to the horror of those present, and so he glanced up at them "Alright listen and listen good, because I'm only gonna say this once. I want you find every person in this city and slaughter them, don't leave even a single person alive." and that was enough to send the dragons on their way.

"Okay, this just got bad."

"For you guys at least, for me this is a fucking field day."

"What shocks me more is that those things are actually listening to him." Bolt was quick to summon Shatterstorm in its axe form as he flashed into his human form "You mentioned something about being able to control them. You gonna elaborate on what the fuck that means or do I have to shove this thing down your throat first?"

"Go ahead and try it, I'll burn your eyes out of your skull before you get the chance. I'm talking about the secret art used for controlling dragons, a little something people call Dragon Tamer Magic. I don't expect you to know what that is, I only figured it out myself after doing a little bit of research." Salamander promptly leapt onto the open claw of the largest dragon "First off, let me introduce Motherglare here, and I gotta be honest, she's probably my favorite out of all of these bad boys. Or girls. Either one is fine for me, I say gender equality all around. Well anyway I think that's enough awkward small talk, time to get to work." he spared a quick glance over at a certain green-colored dragon next to him "Alright then, I think I'm gonna leave the tiny meat sacks for you to deal with… Zirconis."

Sure enough, Zirconis was hovering next to Motherglare and Salamander, and he glanced down at the people in front of him with a look of hunger in his eyes "Well now, I never thought I would get to feast on so many tasty-looking humans."

"Wait a second, isn't that…" Cana shared a quick glance with the others "Feel free to tell me that I'm wrong, partly because I'm praying to the love of god that I am, but isn't that the dragon whose spirit we saw in the graveyard underneath the palace?"

"Yep." Bolt let out a sigh as he tightened his grip on Shatterstorm "So I guess that means the rest of you are pretty much fucked."

"What do you mean the rest of us, what about you?"

"Well we know that he hates humans and basically wants to snack on their bones like a goddamn dog, but we've also established that he actually likes cats, so I think I'm in the clear."

"You do realize that you're in your human form right?"

"...Oh fuck."

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Meanwhile, with the rest of the main guild…

"Oh you've gotta be shitting me…" the rest of the Fairy Tail guild, with Max being at the front of the group, stood outside the palace being confronted by the towering form of a dragon whose body was made entirely of flames "That's a real dragon, and it's actually made of fire… No come on Max, you gotta think this through. What would Bolt say in this situation? You trained with him for years, you gotta get something from him."

"Dude what are you doing?" Warren shot a raised eyebrow at him.

"You can read my mind, you know what I'm doing. Okay, knowing Bolt he would probably just point out the most obvious thing about the enemy… He's a dragon and his entire body is covered in fire, and… we have a Dragon Slayer that eats fire. That's it!" Max suddenly gave a wide grin as he glanced back through the crowd "Hey Natsu get up here, I get the feeling that you're gonna wanna get in on this!"

"Oh fuck yes, this is the fight I was born for!" Natsu suddenly burst through the crowd at comical speeds with a feral grin spreading across his face, then latched onto Atlas Flame's leg and started munching on the flames "Yes, this is fucking awesome!"

"Who in the hell are you supposed to be?" Atlas Flame let out a low growl.

"You can call me Natsu Dragneel, and I'm the dude that's about to eat you!"

"You actually intend to eat me? Don't make me laugh you foolish brat, now get the hell off of me!" Atlas Flame unleashed a burst of flames, which Natsu subsequently swallowed, but then a single sweep of one of its claws also sent Natsu flying off into the distance "I will say that was a rather… interesting tactic, and the sensation feels vaguely familiar to me. But it matters little, for it will not change your fates."

"Don't listen to what it says, just take it down!" Makarov was quick to lead the charge, with the rest of the Fairy Tail mages following close behind him "Just follow my lead and remember to go for its feet, and be sure to stick to the plan! Natsu weakened it by absorbing some of its flames, so we can use that to our advantage!"

"Is that what you believe? Foolish lowly humans. I am the dragon known as Atlas Flame, and now you will be given the honor of being incinerated by my own flames of hell! Hellfire Dragon… ROAR!" on that note, Atlas Flame unleashed a crimson-colored beam of fire that he shot at the ground, creating an enormous eruption of flames that sent the Fairy Tail wizards hurtling backwards from the force of the explosion.

As the blast continued to circulate in front of them, Makarov was the only one that managed to stand his ground "Stay strong my children, remember what it is we fight for!"

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As the Fairy Tail guild began their battle against Atlas Flame, the other guilds began to face off against the other dragons scattered throughout Crocus, such as Blue Pegasus confronting the Rock Dragon, Sabertooth doing battle with Scissor Runner, or Lamia Scale and Mermaid Heel combining their efforts to do battle with the dragon known as Levia. Unfortunately, all of them found themselves to be completely overwhelmed by the sheer power the dragons displayed, and were unable to harm them with their magic.

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Meanwhile, with the mastermind behind it all…

'Looks like things are going pretty well so far.' Salamander gave a smirk as he watched the various battles unfolding throughout the city, though his expression faltered slightly as he felt his stomach growling 'Dammit, maybe I should've gone with Atlas Flame instead of Motherglare. I could really use some fire in my belly right about now. Yep, going evil and that still has one hell of a badass ring to it. Well I do have teleportation magic, maybe I can just flash over to wherever it is that Atlas Flame is fighting and just snag a few flames off of him, a little pick me up before I have to go into a fight.' but then his nose caught a whiff of a certain scent that ended up directing his attention elsewhere 'Dammit, so much for getting a snack first. Well it's about fucking time you decided to show up already Luke."

Sure enough, Luke stood atop one of the tallest rooftops in the city, his arms, legs and face being covered in golden-colored dragon scales, his entire body surging wildly with electricity and his eyes blazing with anger "Did you really think that I was going to go down as easily as that?"

"Truth be told I'd be disappointed as all hell if you did. At least now I got the chance to try this out. Motherglare, sick this fucker!" and that was enough to send Motherglare hurtling forwards with a raging snarl, sending her crashing into the building at full speed.

"Lightning Dragon JAW!" Luke maneuvered his way around Motherglare's assault, then promptly blitzed forward and attempted to deal Salamander a lightning-enhanced smash attack to the skull.

"Fire Dragon TALON!" with a mix of golden and crimson flames coating his body, Salamander blitzed across the back of Motherglare to avoid the attack, and then he attempted to strike Luke with a fire-enhanced kick aimed at his head. Attempted being the key word.

"Lightning Dragon ROAR!" a split second before Salamander's attack struck, Luke suddenly whipped around and opened his mouth to unleash an enormous wave of lightning magic, hitting Salamander at point-blank range and engulfing him in an explosion, with Luke being sent skidding backwards a short distance by the blast.

When the smoke cleared, Salamander stood a short distance away, sporting some minor burns and his clothes being further singed, though he gave a smirk despite this "Looks like somebody finally decided to get serious and broke out Dragon Force. Good, it's not like I wanted this to be too easy. Plus I get a chance to test this out for myself too."

"So what, I'm assuming that means you can use Dragon Force at will too? Let me guess, you're trying to turn this into some "Anything you can do I can do better" sort of thing."

"Nah that's been done to death, pretty sure it was mostly by Disney or some other crap on that level. But in all seriousness, I had to survive dragons ruining the entire fucking planet for about 7 years before I came back here. You tend to do a lot of shit if you wanna survive, so you gotta get stronger. That's what I did, and I did it in any way I had to. I've still got plenty to burn for the fight ahead, literally. You're basically running on fumes as it is, don't think I didn't notice. You can barely keep up your Dragon Force right about now. Go ahead and struggle as much as you want, you don't stand a chance in hell of beating me."

"You're forgetting that I'm a Third Generation Dragon Slayer, that means I have a Dragon Slayer lacrima implanted in my body that replenishes my magic power. Even without that, if you think I'm going down without a fight after all of the things you've done, the people you've killed, then you're living in a fucking fantasy!"

"I sure as hell ain't expecting anything less from you. Hey Motherglare, you know that plan we had to shake off any pains in the ass that tried to be a hero? Put that on hold for now, I'm gonna take my time and enjoy this one."

"You're not going to be enjoying anything when I'm done with you."

"Big talk, about time you started backing it up."

"I've had enough of your small talk, now let's do this already." and so the two of them burst towards each other and their fists collided, flames meeting electricity, the collision sending out a powerful shockwave, followed by several more as the two of them began trading a series of even blows atop the back of Motherglare.

"Fire Dragon TALON!" their brief clash came to an end with Salamander coated his leg in flames and dealt Luke a powerful kick that sent him hurtling outwards into the skies above the city.

"Lightning Dragon Heavenward Halbert! Breakdown Fist! Iron Hammer!" Luke was able to stop himself in mid-air with a burst of concentrated electricity from his feet, then unleashed a rapid barrage of his most powerful spells, starting with a large trident made of lightning, quickly followed by a large blast of lightning in the shape of a fist, and then finishing his combination as he blitzed in front of Salamander, gathered a large amount of electricity into his fist and slammed it down onto the back of Motherglare, causing it to howl in pain as it was engulfed in a torrent of lightning, sending Salamander hurtling high into the air.

"Fire Dragon Sword Horn! Iron Fist! BRILLIANT FLAME!" Salamander stopped himself with a burst of flames from his feet, then launched himself towards Luke and attempted to land a fire-enhanced headbutt. When that failed to make contact, he followed up with an attempted fire-enhanced uppercut, before finishing his assault with a massive ball of flames being fired from both hands, hitting Luke dead on and sending him hurtling out into the night sky, high above the city.

'Shit!' Luke managed to stop himself in mid-air with another burst of electricity, then spiked the magic power coming from his Dragon Force and launched himself forward.

"Fire Dragon SWORD HORN!" Salamander unleashed a fire-enhanced headbutt, only for this to miss, leading to the two of them trading a series of even blows, lightning against fire, as they blitzed across the skies above Crocus, though Salamander was quick to bring that to an end "Fire Dragon Iron Fist! BRILLIANT FLAME!" he coated a fist in flames and dealt Luke a swift uppercut to the jaw, followed by blitizing above him and landing a two-handed ball of flames that hit Luke square in the back, sending him crashing into a nearby rooftop "If you liked that one, then you're sure as hell gonna love this! Fire Dragon SWORD HORN!" he hurtled toward the rooftop with another fire-enhanced headbutt locked and loaded.

"Lightning Dragon TALON!" Luke managed to rebound in time to meet Salamander's charge with a lightning-enhanced uppercut kick to the jaw, sending him hurtling up into the air for a moment and giving Luke a chance to breath a quick sigh as he dropped into a combat stance "So much for all that talk you keep spewing out."

"You know what? Fuck this!" Salamander let out a roar as he unleashed a burst of flames to stop himself in mid-air, golden flames radiating off his body with even greater intensity "And here I thought the two of us were gonna get to beat the crap out of each other and have some fun before I really got down to business, but no, you had to go and ruin it for me. So guess what, now I'm gonna go right ahead and burn a hole through your fucking skull for that! This is what you get for ruining a guy's good time! Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Hidden Fire Form…"

'Looks like he's finally getting serious, even in Dragon Force there's no guarantee I'd be able to stop something from that distance and that speed. Then again, there is that one spell I've been wanting to try out. No time like the present I guess. On the other hand, there's no guarantee it won't end with me getting a hole burned through my skull. Then again, it wouldn't be the first time I've faced odds like that, and it sure as hell isn't going to be the last.' so Luke took a breath and dropped into a stance as he began generating a circular flow of golden-colored energy in front of him 'So far so good… Just need to wait until…'

"Flame Lotus: PHOENIX SWORD!" Salamander's body radiated an even greater quantity of golden flames as he propelled himself down towards Luke, leaving behind a long trail of flames in his wake as he prepared to strike Luke with an absolutely devastating headbutt, when…

"Lightning Dragon Thunder Paralysis!" Luke managed to stick out his hands a split second before Salamander, hitting him square in the chest and stopping him in his tracks as the flames evaporated, replaced by a powerful surge of electricity "Okay good, it worked."

"What the…" Salamander tried to free himself of the newfound hold, with little success, his rage and the raw power being put out by both of them sending out a series of shockwaves that created numerous cracks and fractures in the surrounding buildings and structures "What the fuck did you do to me?! What the fuck is this?!"

"A new spell that I created with a fair amount of help before the Grand Magic Games. I never got the chance to use it in a real fight before this, so in all honesty I had no idea if it was actually going to work. Looks like my gamble paid off."

"Why the fuck would you even have a spell like this?!"

"God Serena might be a nutcase and a glory hound, but nobody can deny how powerful he is, being the top ranked Wizard Saint. I can also confirm for a fact that he's an insanely effective teacher. One thing he said to me back when I first started training under him was something that always stuck with me. He said that having all of the power in the world isn't enough to win every fight, you have to have the necessary creativity to put it to good use."

"Dammit… Not like it's gonna do you that much good right about now." Salamander gave a smirk as he glanced down at where the dragons were rampaging through the city and taking part in battles with the various guilds "Just take a look at what those bad boys are doing to the city down there. Once they're done, all that's gonna be left is nothing but a pile of smoking ash. And probably a fuckton of blood."

"So you keep saying, but if you think the other guilds are going down without one hell of a fight, Fairy Tail especially, then you're living in some sick twisted little fantasy. Now I think it's about time I started asking a few questions of my own." Luke took a few steps towards Salamander as his gaze hardened "What exactly are you trying to accomplish with all of this?"

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Meanwhile, outside the city…

"Well how about it?" God Serena glanced over at Doranbolt and Lahar as they watched the battle unfolding from outside the city "Are you going to do it or not?"

"We've already made the preparations." Lahar glanced over at God Serena "We've arranged for the release of Prisoner 100977, and Doranbolt is en route with him as we speak. As much as I hate to admit it, he would more than likely prove to be useful at this time, given the current circumstances. But with all due respect, are you absolutely certain we would be able to trust the words of a criminal such as Jellal? I have my doubts."

"First of all, he's only a criminal becuase those blowhards on the council labelled him as one, which in itself is a discussion for another day. Second of all, you yourself admitted that he made quite the convincing argument. Third of all, even if you can't trust his word, you can trust the word of a Wizard Saint can you not?"

"Hm… as you wish. But with all due respect, given the tarnished history behind him and his actions, I still believe we must proceed with caution. I can't help but wonder if this is little more than another scheme."

"Think what you will about him, but I think you know as well as the rest of us that we can't exactly be too selective about our allies at a time like this. This isn't about obeying the law or adhering to traditions, this is about the fate of the entire human race. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go. My people need me." so God Serena did another dramatic pose, and then he vanished in a flash via teleportation magic."

'...Why must he always insist on those hideous poses and being so overly dramatic even in the time of a crisis?'

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Meanwhile, with the Fairy Tail guild…

As the war throughout Crocus raged on, the Fairy Tail mages continued their struggle against Atlas Flame. Recognizing him to be a fire dragon, Gray and Juvia combined their respective ice and water magic to launch an enormous attack, but they quickly found that even their combined power was insufficient to do any damage. As Atlas Flame attacked in return, Fried erected a rune barrier to block the incoming blast, but the raw power proved to be too overwhelming and nearly immediately rendered it ineffective. Makarov then took the chance to move in and used his Giant Magic to grow and deliver a physical blow to Atlas Flame, only for the dragon to laugh it off and claim that no humans could ever measure up to dragons, and then it launched its own attack on the group.

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Meanwhile, with the other guilds…

"Everyone get back!" Xian blitzed to the front of the crowd as he dealt a swift palm strike to the face of the Rock Dragon, only to be sent hurtling backwards by the force of his own attack, leaving him to hit the ground next to the others with a loud crash "Somehow, I had imagined that going differently."

"I can imagine that many of the others said something similar." Lyon took a step forward "That is why I suggested that strange cat girl fall back for now, seeing as a girl like them and the others would only get hurt."

"You do realize how incredibly sexist that sounds do you not?"

"That isn't my intention, it's just stating a fact. You've seen what that cat girl is capable of, and to put it bluntly it's useless against this creature."

"And I take it you believe you'll fair better then? Considering how we both faired during the Grand Magic Games?"

"Keep in mind that such a thing was mostly for the sake of entertainment, so of course I had been holding back, whereas this battle is life or death. Ice Make: Snow Dragon!" Lyon slammed both of his hands together and summoned a large dragon made of ice "I think they'll find that we aren't without our own dragons."

"Or our own capabilities and techniques that we can put to good use." Xian dropped into a stance as green energy began circulating around his body "A true master of using their chi will strike with the strength of a lion, and yet with the grace of a hummingbird. Also if I recall correctly, you used something similar to this during your battle with Kagura."

"I actually combined three of my ice beasts into a single attack, but as I'm sure you remember it wasn't enough to actually win the match. I was lucky to be able to fight her to a draw."

"I can tell you for a fact how strong her spirit truly is, but at least this way, with the two of us combining our power we'll be able to outnumber it."

"And we shall help as well." this was when Jura appeared on the scene and leapt onto the back of the snow dragon, with Kagura stepping up to the plate beside him "Now let us combine our efforts and bring down this creature."

"On that we can agree Jura, we have a better chance of defeating this dragon if all of us work together. Now let's go!" Xian's green energy surged even harder as he and the others charged towards the dragon "Whatever may come of this charge, I'll never stop fighting, and I'll never turn my back on the people I hold dear. Not again. Never again." he glanced back at Kagura as he spoke of the last part, and then the four of them charged into the fray 'Whether it be for our name as Wizard Saint, for the sake of the legacy of our master, or to stand by those that we hold dear, we won't give up! Not now and not ever!' and so they made contact with the Rock Dragon, only for their attacks to be negated and for them to be sent flying backwards, followed by the Rock Dragon destroying Lyon's ice dragon with a mere sweep of its tail, during which Xian took a moment to catch his breath "Well then… who else has suggestions for the next course of action we take?"

"I already have it in mind." Kagura dropped into a stance with her sword in hand "We continue fighting against this creature, we can't afford to give up any ground. Especially when we have people depending on us."

"Now that I'm entirely in agreement with." Xian gripped Kagura's hand in his gently, and the two of them shared a small smile, before they readied themselves again "Now let's prepare for what comes next."

"What that entails is all of you standing back for your own sake."

Xian and the rest looked ahead to see God Serena flash onto the scene, doing his typical overly dramatic pose "Um, correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you-"

"God Serena sir." Jura was left particularly stunned by his presence "The highest ranked of all of the 10 Wizard Saints, and the leader of the Four Emperorrs of Ishgar."

"Oh. So then…"

"What am I doing here you ask?" God Serena did another pose "The answer is simply really: I came here to help. I do have to commend all of you for your fighting spirit, but leave this to the one who bears the proper title for such a job."

"Which would be?"

"A Dragon Slayer, and one that finally gets a chance to give it all that he's got." God Serena took a few steps forward, prompting everyone else to take a sizable number of steps backwards, as his entire body began to surge with magic power, his cloak being burned off by the sheer force of the energy he was putting out, his arms being covered in dragon scales and large fangs protruding from his mouth "So this is it, me taking on the final form of a human with the powers of your kind: Dragon Force. You wanna make the first move or can I?"

The Rock Dragon let out a snarl as it sent a barrage of earth spears hurtling towards him.

"Asked and answered." God Serena gave a smirk as he started blitzing around the area to avoid the earth spears, though he soon found himself backed into a corner "Well if you can't use any defense, go for offense. Or better yet, just take it for your own." he stuck his hands out towards the earth spears, and in a sudden flash they were gone, God Serena's body now glowing "Eight different types of Dragon Slayer magic, that means eight elements I can absorb and make into my own power. Now to put the energy to good use. Vapor Dragon SOLID FOG!" he took in a deep breath, then exhaled, and with it came a sizable cloud of steam that engulfed the Rock Dragon, causing some of its scales to melt off, earning a roar of pain "That right there is the power of the vapor dragon, with properties akin to acid. It can melt through just about anything, including the scales of a majestic creature such as yourself. Don't think I'm done with just that either, I've got seven more elements at my disposal, not that I'll need to use all of them in this battle. As for the next one, let's see here… Oh I've got it. Purgatory Dragon BLAZING INFERNO!" he leapt high into the air and subsequently unleashed a burst of crimson flames from both hands, sending it hurtling onto the Rock Dragon and earning another roar of pain, but he wasn't done yet "Just wait, this one is gonna be my coup de gras! Tempest Dragon SPIRAL CYCLONE!" he summoned a spiralling ball of wind in his hand and hurled it forward, the wind increasing the potency of the flames, causing the Rock Dragon to let out yet another pained roar as it flew back to gain some distance from the group "Yeah, I bet it didn't see that coming. There are some of us out there that can dance on their level." with that in mind, he turned to where the others were looking incredibly stunned "No time for gawking right now, that thing is going to be back and out for blood even worse than before. Stay sharp, the fate of the human race is at stake for this one. Now come…" he did another overly dramatic pose "We have an army of dragons to vanquish!"

"...Right." Kagura shared a glance with Xian and the others, and then they all promptled turned towards Jura "Just for the sake of being clear, is he always-"

"Yes." was Jura's blunt and almost immediate answer.

"Just making sure with absolute certainty."

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Meanwhile, with the other remaining guild…

In the town itself, Orga and Rufus confronted a dragon together using a combination of their Lightning God Slayer magic and Memory Make magic respectively, leaving everyone impressed by the teamwork they put on display. However, this too failed and the dragon ended up coming out of the whole ordeal without so much as a scratch. This led to the others asking Sting and Rogue about how exactly they had managed to kill their dragons when they were kids, which led to them confessing that their stories were only partially true. In truth, Weisslogia had actually wanted Sting to kill him in order for him to earn the title of Dragon Slayer. In Rogue's case on the other hand, Skiadrum was dying of an illness and asked Rogue to kill him, as an act of mercy for him. Even though they had never engaged in a serious fight with a dragon, the two of them both made the decision to fight for the sake of their friends and those they held dear.

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Meanwhile, with the main support group…

"Well damn, the lot of them are really going at it aren't they?" Zirconis glanced over to see the carnage taking place all over the city "I gotta give you humans credit, if nothing else you lot have always been entertaining."

"Well it takes one to know one." Bolt glanced over at the others "So just to recap, this guy is the one whose ghost we met in the dragon graveyard underneath the castle right?"

"Yeah, but that's not exactly a good thing." Lucy muttered "That means he's just as much of a loud mouth in the flesh as he was as a ghost."

"I don't think that's a bad thing."

"And you shouldn't be that surprised by it either." Zirconis looked down at the group in front of him and gave a smirk "It's not like all dragons are the type to mindlessly blow stuff up or destroy everything in my path, unlike some of these other morons. I like to think of myself as a great conversationalist. Not to brag too much about it, but I've always been a lot more intellectual and sophisticated than a good chunk of the rest of my brethren. But all of you are trembling and completely frozen with fear. I do strike terror into the hearts of all of you don't I? If you wanna run away screaming in terror then I reckon now's your chance, but I reckon that means I have to chase you down to eat you."

"Yeah actually, here's the thing big guy." this was when Bolt stepped forward as he retracted his Shatterstorm "I got something I wanna confirm with you."

"And what do we have here? A brave little human that wants to have a chat with me up close and personal?"

"First off, I wanna get this out there. I'm not a human." in a flash, Bolt turned back into his normal Exceed form, complete with wings "I'm a talking cat with wings."

"Well now, that is interesting. I get the feeling I'm going to like you. So what did you want to talk about?"

"Well before anything else, you might wanna brace yourself."

"For what?"

"FIRE DRAGON BRILLIANT FLAME!" this was when Natsu suddenly came flying onto the scene and struck Zirconis square in the skull with an enormous ball of flames… only for them to quickly be snuffed out and for him to be plucked off Zirconis' head, and then thrown to the ground in front of the others in a comical fashion.

"...You meant that?"

"Yep." Bolt rolled his eyes as he yanked Natsu to his feet "Unfortunately."

"He one of yours?"

"Yep. He's an idiot, but he's our idiot. One of them anyway."

"I know the feeling, they're always at least one in the pack."

"Oh trust me dude, there is way more than one. But he alone makes up the stupidity of at least 10 idiots, and I'm not kidding when I say that the stronger he gets, the dumber he gets."

"I believe you. So you wanted to talk about something?"

"Pretty much yeah. Why are you guys trying to kill us like this, what exactly do you have to gain from all of the shit that's going down? You yourself said you're smarter than the ones that just want to destroy and devour for shits and giggles, so what are you gaining from all of this?"

"You really wanna know?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Wait hold on a second…" Natsu paused as he looked around, then looked up at Zirconis, then looked over at the others "Didn't we see this guy like a ghost or something yesterday?"

"You're seriously only realizing this now?"

"Don't forget that he wasn't here for all of the time travel stuff." Cana pointed out.

"Oh yeah, good point. You wanna deal with him?"

"I'll give him the short and edited version." so Cana grabbed Natsu by the arm and pulled him away from the rest of the group in order to explain everything that had happened throughout the night.

"Okay so back to the question, why the hell are you doing this?"

"You really wanna know why Kitty Bird?"

"Don't call me that you lizard wannabe."

"Don't call me that."

"Then don't call me Kitty Bird. Deal?"

"Deal. Anyway, you really wanna know why?"

"Yeah, I really do."

"Well if I'm gonna be totally honest with you, if you really wanna know why then that's the guy you should be asking." he pointed a giant finger to where two figures were visible on a rooftop out in the distance "You see that one guy with the cloak on that rooftop?"

"Yeah?"

"Well that guy over there is the one calling all of the shots on this thing."

"Well how about that." Bolt glanced over out into the distance, and his gaze hardened at the sight of Salamander on that rooftop "In case anybody is wondering, that guy up there is the asshole future version of-" he was cut off by Cana slapping a hand over his mouth, which he promptly yanked off "What?"

"Cool it with using the bastard's name, because in case you forgot…" she jerked a thumb over to where Natsu was standing a few feet away, clueless as to what they were talking about "How the hell would you feel if you found out your future self was a murderous psychopath trying to kill everyone you cared about?"

"I already have a pretty good idea of that, I've seen that Danny Phantom special the Ultimate Enemy at least a hundred times. But I get the thought process." Bolt breathed a sigh as he looked back up at Zirconis "So you're seriously willing to let that fucker order you around like some kind of slave?"

"Not a chance in hell." Zirconis let out a scoff "I told you before, unlike most of my kind, I'm not so simple minded that I'd let myself be controlled or used like a puppet."

"And yet you're still doing what he says."

"Not for those reasons. Don't get me wrong, there's no chance I'm gonna let some pathetic human order me around like that, but this seemed like a pretty fun idea so I figured I'd go along with it, see if I get a kick out of it. If I didn't, I'd go and eat him myself. Worse came to worse, I'd get a decent snack either way."

"You're a real piece of work you know that?" Cana rolled her eyes at Zirconis, then looked over to see Lucy frowning in thought "What's the matter?"

"Something about this doesn't make sense." Lucy's frown deepend "Why would he want to use these dragons to destroy the world like this? I mean if they really do have the power to pull that off, then that means he isn't going to have anywhere to call home either."

"He's a megalomaniacal sociopath bent on world domination, how much of what those guys do does actually make sense?" Cana gave a shrug, but then she frowned "I do get the point you're making though. What's his real plan?"

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Meanwhile, back with the main battle…

"So you keep saying, but if you think the other guilds are going down without one hell of a fight, Fairy Tail especially, then you're living in some sick twisted little fantasy. Now I think it's about time I started asking a few questions of my own." Luke took a few steps towards Salamander as his gaze hardened "What exactly are you trying to accomplish with all of this?"

"...You really wanna know? Fine, if you're gonna whine about it that much." Salamander gritted his teeth as his expression hardened with fury "The first time I met you guys back in the castle, I told you that in about 7 years, dragons would've taken over the world and obliterated everything they came across, and less than 1/10 of the human race is still alive. But it's not gonna be the ones that you guys are seeing now that rule."

"So it's not these dragons that are in charge, it's some other dragon?"

"You got that right, but it's not just gonna be some dragon. 7 years from now there's gonna be one dragon that stands at the top all the others, and the two of us have met him before."

"A dragon that we've met before?" Luke's scowl deepened, but then the realization slowly came to him "You don't mean…"

"Yep that's the one, the Black Dragon himself, Acnologia. There were a lot of wizards and other people that tried to take him out, your mentor God Serena being one of them, but they all got ripped apart one after another, and there aren't any sort of guilds still around in my time. All of them got blown to hell. It took a lot of trial and error but I managed to create a spell that I could use to control dragons, but it didn't have any effect on Acnologia. I should know, I tried it on him at least a dozen times, and all it got me was this." he pulled opened his black jacket, or what was left of it, and revealed a massive scar running down his chest "After that I realized that there was only one real way to take him down, an ultimate team of dragons led by yours truly."

"And that's the reason why you brought all of these dragons to this time in the first place?"

"You always were one of the smarter ones in our guild. I travelled 7 years into the past to make that happen. The main plan I had was to convince the princess to open the Eclipse Gate in order to summon an army of dragons through the portal. I only managed to get a few dragons through to the present before those pains in the ass got in my way, but I've still got all of this skill in using my Dragon Tamer Magic, and through it I have total control over every dragon that came through. With all of these bad boys at my beck and call, there's no way in hell Acnologa is gonna be able to beat me, and once I finally manage to rip that bastard a new one, I'm gonna take his title and become the true Dragon King! But before any of that, there's one thing I'm gonna have to do. Kill the person who stands in my way. That's you by the way, just making that point nice and clear. Fire Dragon IRON FIST!" Salamander suddenly let out a primal roar as he flashed back into Dragon Force, the golden flames being enough to negate the Thunder Paralysis, and then he dealt Luke a blazing fist to the face faster than he was able to react, sending him hurtling towards the ground, while Salamander himself unleashed a burst of flames that propelled himself all the way back onto the back of Motherglare "That's the kind of power that I've spent all these years dreaming of, ever since the… unfortunate circumstances that led to the awakening of my true self, the version of me that stands before you now."

"Well that sounds incredibly ominous." Luke blitzed back onto the scene in a flash and appeared directly in front of Salamander "You know on my way back up here, I was only picking up the scent of 7 dragons."

"7 dragons are all that I'm gonna need, because I'm gonna rule this world. I know for a fact that it's my destiny. I got my big brother to thank for that."

"Again with the bullshit levels of overconfidence. I can tell you for a fact that you're nowhere near as lucky as you like to let yourself believe."

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. Those people down there might be rowdy in a lot of ways, but they definitely aren't stupid. I'm willing to bet that by now they've figured out your weakness: The only way to really put down a dragon is with a Dragon Slayer. And if they need a little extra push to figure it out, then I'm more than happy to oblige. Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Indra's Wrath: ROARING THUNDER!" with his Dragon Force surging wildly, Luke let out a primal roar and unleashed a massive burst of electricity from one hand… and hurtled it downwards, causing it to strike Motherglare in the side, which caused to howl in pain, and once the blast subsided, it was revealed the one of its arms had been burned off by the blast.

"What in the fuck are you doing you idiot?!"

"What does it look like? I'm playing my part in saving the future!" with that in mind, Luke was quick to look down at everyone else in the city below "I know you guys can hear me, so listen and listen good! The time for playing games with these things is over. We need to hit them and hit them hard, and we need to do it using Dragon Slayer Magic. This guy has a total of seven dragons under his control, and we have a total of ten Dragon Slayers with us. We've got what it takes to do this. This is the fight we were born for! Everything we've been training and preparing for has led to this moment, now it's time for us to live up to our names and slay these dragons, and protect the future!"

"I've had enough of you running you mouth, now why don't you just shut your fucking hole and die already! Fire Dragon BRILLIANT FLAME!" Salamander launched himself forward and unleashed an enormous ball of flames.

"Lightning Dragon ROAR!" Luke countered the ball of flames with a lightning-enhanced roar, the two attacks cancelling each other out and sending both of them skidding backwards "You're not gonna win this fight. We're gonna stop you and save the future, whatever it takes."

"How can you do that if you can't even count? Even with all of the Dragon Slayers that were in the Grand Magic Games and your fucking lunatic of a teacher, that's only nine. Eight really, I can tell you for a fact that Noah isn't even here right now!"

"Aftershock knows what he's doing, he's bringing in the last one as we speak. I've got faith in him, he's never let people down before and he's not gonna start now. Just like I'm not going to fail the people depending on me, and I'll do right by them by defeating you!" and so the two of them charged into the fray once again.

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Meanwhile, outside the city…

"Looks like things are getting pretty serious out there."

Lahar glanced over to see Noah flash onto the scene "And I can see that unlike the others, you're not out there fighting at the moment."

"Somebody had to be there to subdue the pissed off snake guy that's about to show up. Speaking of which, what's the progress on that at the moment?"

"Doranbolt should be arriving with him any minute now." Lahar shot a scowl at Noah as he pushed up his glasses "And I would just like to go on record and say-"

"You don't trust me, you don't trust anyone in Crime Sorciere, we're criminals that broke the law and all that good shit. Did I forget anything?"

"Your attitude is increasingly grating."

"Try being around God Serena for more than 20 minutes." Noah shot him a dry look "So when are they gonna get here?"

"As I said, any moment now."

"Oh god… oh god…" this was when Doranbolt finally appeared on the scene, practically gasping for breath "I can feel my lungs trying to kill me…"

"A bit excessive don't you think?" Lahar was met with a pissed off look "As I said though, I do appreciate you going through all of the trouble like this. So is he here?"

"Yep, he's right behind us."

"In that case…"

"Relax, I've got this." Noah stepped towards the figure behind them, a male with spikey maroon hair, pointed ears and a scar running down one eye "I don't think I need to give you any details about what's going on right now Cobra."

Sure enough, before them stood Cobra of the Oracion Seis, the Poison Dragon Slayer, and he shot a quick smirk in the direction of Noah "No need, I heard everything. A horde of dragons are attacking the city, and everyone else is getting their asses handed to them."

"Then you also know that I have a dog whistle rolling around in my pocket. You try and screw us on this one, and we'll just have to see how that plays out with your super hearing. Not gonna lie, I really wanna see what happens."

"Cool it with the drama, I already heard Luke up there loud and clear. Let's go kick some dragon ass already."

"Good enough for me, now let's move." so Noah grabbed Cobra by the arm, and the two of them disappeared in a flash via teleportation magic.

The real battle was about to begin.

A/N:

The games might be over, but a new battle is just beginning, one that may very well decide the fate of not just the kingdom, but the entire world. Sorry this chapter took as long as it did, I know it's ridiculously overdue, but I can assure you guys that I have no intention of abandoning this story. I started this and I swear to you that I'm going to finish it, one way or another.

Oh and yeah, God Serena is here, and he's going to be taking part in the battle with the dragons as well. Counting him and the others, that brings the total number of Dragon Slayers in the battle up to 10. What's more is that he did a lot better against one of the dragons than the rest of the Dragon Slayers did, except for Luke. He's got 8 different elements at his disposal, and not only did I get a chance to show off at least a few of them, I was able to show him consuming at least one of those elements and making their power into his own.