Acnologia—the Black Dragon Marco had once considered the final boss of this world—was finally gone.
"Good. That's one major problem dealt with."
Marco dusted off his hands, completely calm.
The fight had ended so easily that he could not even feel particularly excited about it.
At this point, Acnologia could no longer be called a serious threat to him.
[Ding! Hidden Mission Completed: Black Dragon Crisis.]
[Mission Progress: Defeat the Black Dragon — Complete.]
[Mission Reward: Gold Cloth of Your Choice.]
[Claim reward now?]
The system appeared at just the right moment.
Thinking back, it was a little strange.
Marco had already fought Acnologia once, yet no mission had triggered at the time. The closest thing had been the quest involving the Five Dragon Gods.
He had wondered why the Black Dragon himself had never received a separate mission.
Apparently, it had been hidden all along.
"A Gold Cloth of my choice?"
Marco stared at the reward in surprise.
This was the first time the system had offered him a choice. Every previous Gold Cloth reward had either been random or assigned in advance.
This time, he could select whichever one he wanted.
"Claim the reward." Marco accepted without hesitation.
The description also stated that he did not need to choose immediately. He could store the reward and make his selection whenever he wished.
Buzz.
A miniature Gold Cloth box appeared in his palm, small enough to resemble a collectible figure.
Unlike the others, however, there was no constellation symbol engraved on its surface.
"There aren't many regular Gold Cloths left. Taurus, Virgo, and Scorpio... Which one would be best?"
Marco considered the options, but then a much more interesting thought struck him.
The reward did not say he had to choose from the twelve standard Gold Cloths.
And those were not the only Gold Cloths he had yet to unlock.
"Could Ophiuchus be an option too?"
His mind immediately went to the special Gold Cloth that had once been removed from the Zodiac—the Ophiuchus Gold Cloth.
Marco looked down at the small box, his excitement rising far more quickly than it had after killing Acnologia.
The abilities connected to Ophiuchus were simply too extraordinary.
If the system truly allowed him to choose it, he might gain powers capable of bringing the dead back to life and restoring even the most ruined body.
For the moment, he forced himself to calm down. He would open the reward once he had dealt with the remaining cleanup.
"Take the dragon's body and use everything. I'm definitely not leaving Acnologia's corpse lying around for someone to eat."
Marco collected Acnologia's Dragon Lacrima, then teleported the remains back to Tenrou Island.
Ever since learning that Diabolos gained power by eating dragons, he had become much more careful about every corpse.
He would not leave behind even a severed limb.
Who knew? Someone might eat a single arm and somehow inherit the Black Dragon's power.
Buzz.
Marco appeared on Tenrou Island once again, leaving Gildarts staring at him in confusion.
The older man looked him over, then paused.
Maybe it was his imagination, but Marco felt completely different from the last time they had spoken.
Only a few hours had passed, yet he carried himself as though he had been remade from the inside out.
"Why are you back again?" Gildarts asked.
"I killed the Black Dragon too."
Marco delivered the news without ceremony, then dropped Acnologia's corpse nearby.
Gildarts froze.
For several seconds, he could not move or speak.
"Am I still asleep?"
He finally scratched his head, staring at the body as though it might disappear if he blinked.
The whole thing felt too absurd to be real!
"What?! You killed Acnologia too?!"
Mavis suddenly appeared beside them, shouting in disbelief.
Both of them had faced Acnologia personally, so they understood exactly what kind of monster he had been.
Gildarts had almost been killed in a single encounter.
Mavis had been frightened badly enough to activate Fairy Sphere, and she was still working to undo it even now.
Seeing Acnologia tossed aside like the carcass of some dead animal was naturally difficult to process.
They had always trusted Marco's strength.
Both had even believed this day might come eventually. But now that it had actually happened, they still needed time to accept it.
"What exactly happened?" Gildarts asked, still looking completely lost.
"My strength improved, I found Acnologia, and then I killed him." Marco tilted his head slightly.
"That's about it."
His explanation was so brief that Gildarts and Mavis could only look at each other.
Both of them were magical geniuses in their own right.
They had become overwhelmingly powerful while still young, yet standing beside Marco made them feel like beginners.
The man was simply ridiculous.
"All right, then."
Gildarts gave a helpless laugh and accepted it surprisingly quickly. He had watched Marco grow up, after all.
Of everyone here, he was probably the most used to Marco's impossible talent and terrifying rate of growth.
Marco had always trained harder than anyone else and dragged the rest of them along with him.
The younger generation of Fairy Tail had grown unusually strong, and much of that was thanks to Marco constantly pushing them.
"It's unbelievable, but the Black Dragon being dead is obviously a good thing."
Mavis placed her hands on her hips and put on a deliberately serious expression.
"You did well, kid."
The little ghost floated up and patted Marco on the shoulder.
It was a good thing she was a spirit, otherwise, at her height, she would have needed to jump just to reach his knee.
"I still have something to take care of. I'll leave this side to you."
Marco resisted the urge to comment on Mavis's performance.
After a quick farewell, he teleported back to the forest east of Magnolia.
His mind was already completely occupied by the reward box.
More specifically, by the possibility of unlocking the Ophiuchus Gold Cloth.
Buzz.
Back at the spot he had long since chosen for unlocking new Gold Cloths, Marco took out the miniature box without hesitation.
"Use it."
[Ding! Please select a Gold Cloth.]
[Available Choices:]
[Option One: Taurus Gold Cloth.]
[Option Two: Virgo Gold Cloth.]
[Option Three: Scorpio Gold Cloth.]
[Option Four: Ophiuchus Gold Cloth.]
The moment Marco saw the final option, the tension inside him vanished.
It was there.
The thirteenth Zodiac constellation had truly been included!
"Choose the Ophiuchus Gold Cloth."
He made his decision immediately.