"So, just let nature take its course?"
Marco understood Mercphobia's idea, but he did not agree with it.
The main problem was the Dragon Eater guild
. If Aldoron's corpse stayed here for long, those people would absolutely come after it.
"Diabolos..." Elefseria frowned at the mention of the Dragon Eaters. "They are... extreme, and they have very few lines they won't cross. They once accepted this quest from me as well, but they leaked the contents of the request, so I ended our cooperation."
Elefseria clearly had plenty to say about the guild, and his impression of those dragon-eating madmen was very poor.
Those people had set their sights on the Five Dragon Gods entirely because they wanted more power.
Most of the other dragons in Guiltina had already been killed, so the Five Dragon Gods were the only prizes left.
"Looking at it objectively, Diabolos has actually contributed a lot to removing dragons from Guiltina," Marco said.
That was a fair statement.
Whatever Diabolos's motives were, they had killed many dragons.
That part could not be denied.
"But dragon slayers can become dragons themselves," Elefseria replied with a sigh. "Their method of devouring dragon flesh is far too crude. In the end, they will dragonify very quickly. In a few decades, maybe even less, they will turn into the very dragons they consumed. At that point, it becomes hard to say who truly devoured whom."
Elefseria was not someone who ignored both good and bad.
If Diabolos had truly done more good than harm, he would not have fallen out with them so completely.
But in his view, they were only taking dragon power for themselves for ten or twenty years before becoming new evil dragons.
That did not solve the problem at all.
Still, even he had to admit that their method did seal away some dragons for a decade or two.
Because of that, while he did not approve of them, he had not gone so far as to make them his enemies.
"And their Guild Master is very ambitious," Elefseria added. "Once the Five Dragon Gods are gone, I doubt he will stay quiet."
He had dealt with Diabolos before, so he understood that guild better than anyone present.
"Then we definitely can't leave Aldoron's body here."
Marco nodded, agreeing with Elefseria.
Mercphobia's idea was too simple.
A dragon corpse like this could not just be left unattended unless they planned to station a powerful guardian here forever.
Buzz!
Once they decided, Marco immediately used teleportation.
Light from his Cosmo wrapped around Aldoron's enormous body, and with his current Psychic Teleportation, he could move the entire Wood Dragon God at once.
Rumble!
Aldoron's massive corpse dropped into the sea.
Even after falling into the water, the body was so huge that it stood firmly against the seabed!
This was the area around Tenrou Island.
The magic here had already been unusually dense, and after Marco's battle with Acnologia, it had become almost ridiculous.
Thick magic filled the sea like physical mist, forming swirling currents that covered the whole area.
The waters around Tenrou Island were now even harder to enter than before.
In the past, people simply could not see the island.
Now they could see it, but even if they did, they still had to keep their distance.
Any ordinary ship caught in the surrounding magic currents would never get out. It would be trapped spinning inside the mist.
As for Aldoron's body, Marco had already thought of how to use it.
Elefseria and Mercphobia did not know how to deal with such a massive dragon corpse, but Marco knew someone who was perfect for the job.
No matter how big the body was, it could still be handled.
Buzz.
After dropping Aldoron's corpse into the sea, Marco teleported away again.
He went to find Gildarts.
When it came to "breaking things down," there was no one better than him.
And right now, Aldoron needed exactly that kind of person.
...
Before long, Marco brought Gildarts over.
Marco only said, "I need a favor," and Gildarts came without asking anything else.
"What... is this thing?"
Gildarts stared at the giant corpse in front of him, his mouth slightly open.
Beside Aldoron, even Tenrou Island looked small.
Of course, Tenrou Island was not especially large to begin with, and it certainly could not compare to Aldoron, whose body was big enough to hold several cities.
"It's like this, uncle."
Marco briefly explained what had happened and then told Gildarts why he had called him over.
"You want me to break this thing down completely?"
Gildarts looked at the massive body and flexed his hand.
For him, this was not difficult.
"Exactly. Let the remaining magic in his body spread into the area around Tenrou Island and strengthen the magic barrier here. Once his body is broken down, the nearby fish can also feed on it and evolve, turning into natural guards for the island."
Marco explained his plan.
This was true recycling!
Aldoron's remains would not cause too much trouble, and Tenrou Island would benefit from it.
"That's a pretty good idea. If I break him down thoroughly, it'll be easier for the fish to eat. We might get quite a few dragon fish out of this."
Gildarts's eyes lit up.
His first thought was that he might be able to come to Tenrou Island to fish in the future.
Gildarts really did like fishing!
"You're sure about this, right? Once I break it down completely, there's no putting it back together."
Gildarts looked at Marco.
He was already eager to start, but he still had to give a proper warning. Once he began, there would be no undoing it.
"Go ahead."
Marco nodded without hesitation.
He could not think of a better use for such a valuable dragon body, and wasting it would be a shame.
"Then let's get started."
Gildarts said no more.
He landed on Aldoron's body and got to work.
The Wood Dragon God's corpse was truly massive, so even Gildarts could not break it all down in one go.
He would probably have to spend several days here working hard.
"What are you two doing?"
Mavis watched curiously from the side.
She could keep Gildarts company while he worked, so he would not have to bury himself in the task alone.
Of course, it went both ways. Mavis also had her own work to do.
"Adding another layer of security to your home."
Marco smiled.
Tenrou Island had truly gained something from disaster this time. The island itself was unharmed, and now it had become even safer, with even richer magic than before.
Fairy Tail members would probably receive stronger support from the island in the future too, because the Tenrou Tree would have more magic to draw from.
"This one feels evil."
Mavis wrinkled her nose, clearly disliking Aldoron's aura.
She could tell at once that the Wood Dragon God had carried countless lives on his back.
"He was an evil dragon. Otherwise, I wouldn't have killed him."
Marco nodded.
He did not hate dragons as a race.
If the Five Dragon Gods had not committed evil or stood against humans, he would not have gone for the kill.
Dragons were basically endangered at this point, so leaving a few alive to continue the species was not a bad thing.
But a dragon like Aldoron had to die, even if killing him meant pushing the race closer to extinction. Sparing someone like that would make Marco feel sick.
When it came to life and death, Marco was already fairly lenient.
If someone had a reason, if they were forced, controlled, misled, or truly willing to repent, he would usually leave them a way out.
They might escape death, but they would still have to pay for what they had done.
For people who felt guilt, living was part of atonement. Death could be too easy.
But for those who refused to turn back, Marco would simply crush them. If they were never going to regret anything, keeping them alive had no meaning.
Aldoron belonged firmly in that second group.
"You two keep working. I'll continue the mission."
After saying goodbye to Mavis, Marco vanished again in a flicker of space, leaving Mavis and Gildarts behind.
"Work, work, and work again... i hate this!"
Mavis puffed out her cheeks and went back to the bitter task of undoing Fairy Sphere, while Gildarts focused on his job as the dismantler.
..
Buzz.
Marco reappeared on the northern continent of Guiltina.
"All right, Aldoron's body has been dealt with. Let's move on. Gold Dragon God or Moon Dragon God?"
The moment he returned, Marco was already ready to continue.
"The two of them..."
Elefseria and Mercphobia quickly got back into the mood, but when it came to the remaining two Dragon Gods, they both hesitated.
Neither target was simple.
"I've never even truly met Viernes, the Gold Dragon God," Mercphobia said with a sigh.
Before Marco arrived, he had never gone out of his way to investigate the Gold Dragon God.
Among the Five Dragon Gods, Viernes was the only one he had never seen in person.
"Then let's go to Filan City first."
Elefseria spoke, though his expression was complicated.
In Filan City, there was a guild closely connected to the Gold Dragon God, and that guild also had some connection to him.
The Guild Master of Gold Owl, Duke Barbaroa, had once been Elefseria's student and had trained under him for a time.
Gold Owl was the top alchemist guild on the northern continent of Guiltina, located in Filan City in the southeast of the continent.
Buzz.
Marco brought the group straight to Filan City.
The moment they arrived, everyone saw the gorgeous guild headquarters of Gold Owl.
It looked less like a normal guildhall and more like a magical castle, with elegant towers rising around it.
The roofs of the towers were shaped like glassy teardrops, shining with rich, beautiful colors.
"The top alchemist guild, not a wizard guild. Interesting."
Marco looked at Gold Owl's castle, golden light flickering in his eyes as he immediately saw through its true nature.