"Mercphobia?! You're still alive?!"
Georg Reizen jumped when the Water Dragon God finally spoke and allowed his presence to show.
He stared at Mercphobia in disbelief.
To be fair, Georg's attention had first been drawn entirely to Igneel, then immediately shifted to Marco.
He had barely noticed the quiet man standing off to one side, especially since Mercphobia was still in human form.
Mercphobia gave him a flat look and decided he was not worth answering.
Marco could handle this headache!
"Oh, I see how it is!" Georg snapped. "You claim to have defeated the Five Dragon Gods, but really, you've just sided with them! Evil dragons like these should all be wiped out!"
He was either remarkably brave or completely obsessed.
Even after personally experiencing Marco's power, he still had the nerve to say it. At least no one could accuse him of abandoning his beliefs.
Magic surged around Georg as he prepared to attack, ignoring every warning Marco had just given him.
"Live peacefully with dragons?" he shouted as he charged at Mercphobia. "I'll never accept that!"
Marco frowned.
People this stubborn were always the most exhausting to deal with.
Reason would not reach them, threats would not frighten them, and they behaved as though dying for their beliefs would somehow prove them right.
"Leave this to me, Lord Marco," Mercphobia said calmly. "If he refuses to accept peace, then I'll settle the matter with him directly."
The Water Dragon God transformed before Georg could reach him.
His enormous true form rose above the entrance to the labyrinth, and a violent roar burst from his jaws.
Georg met the attack head-on and the outcome was immediate.
He was blasted backward and crashed facedown into the ground, where he lay completely still.
His magic had collapsed, and judging from the lack of movement, he had been knocked unconscious!
"He's strong enough to hunt ordinary dragons," Mercphobia said after returning to human form, "but challenging one of us is still far beyond him. This is probably as strong as he'll ever become."
He spoke as though Georg had barely been worth the effort.
That did not mean Georg was weak.
Mercphobia had not held back much with that attack, yet Georg had taken it without suffering any life-threatening injuries.
Against an ordinary dragon, the same roar would almost certainly have killed or crippled it.
The members of Diabolos stared at their fallen Guild Master in stunned silence.
None of them could defeat Georg alone.
If even he had been overwhelmed by Mercphobia in a single exchange, then challenging the Water Dragon God one at a time would amount to suicide.
Together, things might have been different.
Even Mercphobia would struggle against an entire guild of Dragon Slayers attacking at once.
Marco had no intention of allowing the situation to reach that point.
"Take him and leave," he said. "And remember what I told you. From now on, humans and dragons will learn to coexist. I'll deal with any dragon that harms innocent people, so there's no need for you to continue hunting them."
His gaze passed over every member of Diabolos.
"The same rule applies to you. If any of you complete your dragonification and begin hurting people, I'll deal with you too."
The Dragon Eaters were potential threats, but potential was not enough reason to punish them.
They had not committed any crime that justified Marco attacking them, so for now, a warning would have to do.
If they listened, all the better.
If they refused and caused trouble later, Marco would not show them the same patience twice.
"Yes... understood!"
With Georg unconscious at their feet, none of them dared argue. They quickly lifted their Guild Master and prepared to leave.
"You stay."
Just as the group began moving away, Marco singled out one of them.
Everyone stopped.
The person Marco had addressed looked just as surprised as the others.
"Me?"
Wraith had remained silent throughout the entire confrontation, so he could not understand why this terrifying mage had suddenly taken an interest in him.
"Was that Wraith speaking?"
Only after hearing his voice did several members of Diabolos realize who Marco had stopped.
Wraith was mysterious even within their own guild.
Most people could not see him at all, because he was not truly alive.
He was a ghost.
"I know you," Marco said.
Wraith's eyes lit up instantly.
"You do? You really know me?" His voice rose with sudden excitement. "Then do you know who I am?!"
Something was clearly wrong with his memories.
Wraith did not know where he had come from or even who he had been before his death.
He only knew that he had died unnaturally, and he had spent years trying to discover who had killed him.
"The rest of you can go."
Marco still did not answer.
He simply dismissed everyone who had nothing to do with the matter.
The Diabolos mages exchanged uncertain looks, but no one tried to interfere.
After what they had just witnessed, they knew better than to test Marco's patience. Carrying Georg with them, they left the Great Dogra Labyrinth behind.
Once they were gone, Marco turned back to the ghost.
He truly did know him.
"Wraith-senpai... I never imagined your soul had wandered all the way to northern Guiltina."
Marco sighed.
The ghost before him had once been a member of Fairy Tail, from the same generation as Makarov, Goldmine, and Bob.
He had died decades ago.
"You were badly wounded by a monster while carrying out a job. By the time you made it back to the guild, it was already too late. Even Porlyusica couldn't save you."
Wraith listened with a blank expression.
None of Marco's words seemed to awaken anything. Those memories remained buried too deeply for him to reach.
Buzz.
Marco sighed again and struck Wraith with Genro Mao Ken.
He was not trying to control his old guildmate. Instead, he used the technique to pull every buried memory back to the surface.
At the same time, Marco gave him everything he had learned from Makarov, Goldmine, Bob, and the others, filling in the parts Wraith had lost.
In Wraith's memories, Bob was still a handsome young man.
He had not yet become anything like the man everyone knew today!