"Dragons really are nothing but trouble."
Marco shook his head.
Mercphobia was the only one among the Five Dragon Gods who had managed to turn himself around.
Every other one of them had been a disaster in their own way.
Ignia was perhaps the least complicated. From a dragon's perspective, there was nothing inherently strange about wanting to restore dragon rule.
His conflict with humanity came down largely to which side he stood on.
His real problem was that he had completely failed to understand the age he lived in.
The era of dragons ruling the world was long over, yet he continued treating modern humanity as though they were still powerless animals waiting to be conquered.
Buzz.
Marco stepped onto the ground covered by the twisted magical organism, and the surrounding magic immediately surged toward him.
The creature was not fully formed, but it was already deeply hostile to all other life.
The lifeless land surrounding it made that obvious.
Its influence was still spreading, and if nothing stopped it, all of Elentear would eventually become the same barren wasteland—devoid of life and drowned beneath endless magic.
"That's enough."
The Cancer Gold Cloth wrapped itself around Marco.
He pressed one palm against the ground and released Sekishiki Meikai Ha.
Boom!
The force of Accumulated Corpse Qi spread across the land and struck the distorted creature directly.
Its movements stopped at once as its soul was torn out of its body.
The soul was every bit as malformed as the body it had left behind. It was difficult to even call the thing a natural life-form.
It had begun as a vast accumulation of magic, somehow developed a form of life, and was then twisted further by Selene until it became this grotesque existence.
"Hello there. Can you speak?"
Marco raised a hand in greeting toward the shapeless soul, which barely possessed a stable outline.
"I am... Face..."
Countless mouths spoke at once, their voices overlapping in a way that made Marco's head ache.
"Face..."
He paused.
Earth-land had something with the same name.
Face, also known as the Magic Pulse Bomb, was one of the Magic Council's most terrifying weapons.
Once activated, it could erase all magic throughout its effective range.
That was one reason the Alvarez Empire in the west had never casually invaded Ishgar.
The Magic Council possessed several last-resort weapons capable of dragging an entire continent down with them.
Etherion and Face were threats even the strongest mages could not ignore. No matter how powerful a mage became, their strength still depended on magic.
Once that magic vanished, they were not much better off than ordinary people.
Edolas was the perfect example. In a world without magic, even powerful mages from Earth-land would quickly find themselves helpless.
Buzz.
Marco saw no reason to continue the conversation.
Accumulated Corpse Qi swept through the distorted soul, which lasted only a short time before breaking apart completely.
Its magic had been immense, but its soul was surprisingly fragile. That made sense. It had never been born naturally.
Given countless years, it might eventually have developed into a genuine living being with a stable soul, but Selene's interference had made that impossible.
"I'll take this thing with me."
After destroying Face's soul, Marco opened Another Dimension and banished the enormous mass of magic into the chaotic space beyond the world.
He was not worried about losing it. After unlocking the Ophiuchus Gold Cloth, his ability to travel through space had become far more advanced.
Even inside the unstable depths of Another Dimension, he could now come and go whenever he pleased.
With Face removed, Elentear no longer felt as though it might explode at any moment.
The world still contained far too much magic, of course. The energy accumulated over generations would need time to disperse and return to a healthy balance.
Buzz.
Marco disappeared and reappeared above Whiteout Village.
"Selene, the Moon Dragon God, is dead. I have also stopped the magical disaster she caused. The trouble brought to your world from Earth-land has been dealt with, and you no longer need to fear her."
His voice carried throughout the entire village, ensuring that every White Mage heard him clearly.
The White Mages of Whiteout Village formed one of Elentear's most important organizations.
Their duty was to regulate the world's magic, and without them, Elentear would have fallen apart long ago.
Once Marco delivered the message, he did not stay to receive thanks or praise. He tore open space and returned to Earth-land.
He had only come to clean up the disaster Selene had left behind. He had no interest in replacing her as Elentear's ruler.
After he left, Whiteout Village erupted into confusion.
White Mages rushed from their homes and gathered together, their faces filled with shock and disbelief.
The voice that had echoed through the village had made a claim so incredible that many of them wondered whether they had imagined it.
Once they gathered and confirmed that everyone had heard the same message, the entire village fell into stunned silence.
"Great White Priestess, what... what was that?"
The White Mages crowded around their leader.
The Great White Priestess came from the line responsible for regulating Elentear's magic, a duty her people had carried for generations.
"Send someone to Black Moon Mountain," she ordered, remaining calmer than those around her.
"There is no need to approach too closely. We only need confirmation that Selene is no longer there."
"And if she is?" someone asked.
If Selene still remained on the mountain, approaching her territory would be dangerous. She had spent years pressuring the White Mages to surrender and serve her.
"Then protect yourselves above all else. Pretend to submit if necessary."
The Great White Priestess answered without hesitation.
In her heart, however, she already believed the mysterious voice might have spoken the truth.
She had sensed a violent battle near Black Moon Mountain earlier. Something powerful had undoubtedly happened there.
"Send another person to inspect the seal as well."
One group would investigate Black Moon Mountain, while another checked the site where Elentear's excess magic had been sealed.
If both threats had truly disappeared, then their world had finally been saved.
Several White Mages volunteered at once.
The danger did not matter to them.
They had spent too long living beneath these threats and desperately needed to know the truth.
Before long, the two scouts returned.
Disbelief was written across both their faces, but so was overwhelming joy.
"Great White Priestess! Selene's presence is completely gone from Black Moon Mountain. We couldn't sense even a trace of her power!"
The White Mage who had investigated the mountain could barely keep her voice steady.
She had searched the area thoroughly.
Selene was nowhere to be found, and even her hot-spring estate had vanished.
The destruction across the mountain made it clear that an incredibly powerful battle had taken place there.
The second White Mage hurried forward with equally astonishing news.
"The magical organism at the sealing site has disappeared as well! The creature that covered the land is completely gone. The area is empty, and there isn't even any residual magic left behind!"
She raised her voice so everyone nearby could hear.
For several seconds, no one spoke.
Then the entire village erupted into cheers.
What they had barely dared to hope for had actually happened.
The Great White Priestess remained frozen for a long moment before finally releasing a deep breath.
"So the mysterious man was telling the truth..."
She looked around at the White Mages celebrating together, and years of tension seemed to leave her expression.
"He either killed Selene or drove her away, and then destroyed the creature born from the magic she corrupted. The two threats that have tormented Elentear for years were both removed in a matter of moments..."
It felt like a dream.
Two mountains that had weighed upon her shoulders for so long had vanished in a single day.
"Who was he?" one White Mage asked. "Why would someone so powerful help us?"
They were overjoyed, but curiosity about their mysterious savior quickly spread through the crowd.
"I don't know," the Great White Priestess admitted. "But his strength is far beyond anything we can understand. And judging from his words, he most likely came from Earth-land."
She looked into the distance as though she could see across the barrier between worlds toward that mysterious and frightening place.
"Earth-land..."
The White Mages exchanged uncertain glances.
Selene had come from Earth-land as well, and the stranger had said that Earth-land no longer owed Elentear anything.
His tone certainly suggested that he considered himself responsible for cleaning up a problem caused by his own world.
"Whatever his reasons, Elentear is finally free from Selene's shadow," the Great White Priestess continued.
"Our people no longer have to live in constant fear of becoming prey for that dragon. We can return to our true duty and focus on regulating the world's magic before another imbalance threatens to destroy it."
She set aside her remaining concerns.
No matter what the mysterious man wanted, the result had saved Whiteout Village and all of Elentear.
"Spread the news."
The White Mages were responsible for matters involving the world's magic.
Now that such an incredible change had occurred, they needed to inform all of Elentear.
"Yes!"
Cheers rang throughout Whiteout Village as the people celebrated their unexpected salvation.
...
Marco left Elentear and returned to northern Guiltina, appearing directly in Ignia's former territory.
There he found Igneel and Natsu together with Mercphobia, Elefseria, and Gray.
"Good news, Elefseria. The quest is finished."
The moment Marco appeared, he delivered the announcement, leaving everyone around him staring in confusion.
"What?"
Elefseria's mouth opened slightly.
For a moment, he wondered whether he had misheard.
Did Marco mean Selene had already been dealt with too?
"That's right. Selene is dead. She was causing trouble in another world, so I killed her and cleaned up the disaster she left behind while I was there."
Marco gave them a brief summary, and the others slowly began to understand what he was saying.
"So the 100 Years Quest... is really over?"
Natsu and Gray looked at each other in disbelief.
This was the legendary 100 Years Quest, one of the most famous and impossible missions in the entire magical world.
Yet Marco had completed it as though it were an ordinary job!
Then again, once they remembered that it was Marco, it stopped feeling quite so impossible.
It might have been called the 100 Years Quest, but a genius like Marco might not appear even once in a thousand years.
"Oh, and I found Acnologia too," Marco added once everyone had begun accepting that the Five Dragon Gods were gone.
"So.. i killed him."
"What?"
They had barely processed one impossible announcement before Marco dropped an even greater one on them.
"The Black Dragon?!"
The destruction of the Five Dragon Gods had been shocking, but everyone had already assumed it was only a matter of time.
None of them had truly believed Selene could defeat Marco.
She had effectively been dead the moment he found her.
Acnologia was different.
He was the world-ending Black Dragon. The Five Dragon Gods could not even be compared with him.
Every one of them had once lost to Acnologia and fled to northern Guiltina like defeated strays, too afraid to return to Ishgar.
The two threats did not belong in the same category.
Igneel felt his thoughts grind to a halt.
He and the others had sacrificed everything and searched desperately for a way to destroy Acnologia.
And now the Black Dragon was simply... dead?
"That's wonderful..."
The Fire Dragon King's voice trembled with emotion.
He felt no disappointment that all their plans and preparation were no longer needed.
There was only relief and overwhelming joy.
The Black Dragon was finally gone!