After a brief encounter with Sting and Rogue, Raizel didn't even greet them, merely watching from the side as they left.
They weren't particularly arrogant or high-handed right now, the shadow of Gajeel's strength probably still haunted Rogue, and Sting, being a massive fanboy of Natsu, would likely keep his pride in check.
"You bought so much stuff?" Lucy looked at the numerous bags carried by Raizel and Erza.
Sting and Rogue didn't leave much of an impression on the core members, as they were still too young.
They didn't even know these two were Dragon Slayer Mages yet, but they would likely find out soon.
Levy and Mira were in charge of gathering intelligence for this Grand Magic Games, infiltrating the various guild hangouts, and were expected to obtain all sorts of information very quickly.
The two had been researching all day without feeling tired, even feeling like they could keep going for several more days.
They visited several taverns and gathered quite a bit of juicy gossip, almost overwhelming themselves with all the rumors they uncovered.
"Mostly food. Let's share it when we get back to the inn," Erza said, hoisting the bags in her hands a little higher.
...
Back at the Honey Bone Inn, everyone gathered together in a large room.
Mira and Levy ate while explaining their findings. "We've gathered most of the intel. Master Jura is indeed participating in this Grand Magic Games, so Lamia Scale is considered a top contender for the championship."
"There's also Sabertooth, a guild that has risen surprisingly fast. Since the end of last year, after suddenly gaining five extremely powerful Mages, their mission completion rate has been incredibly high."
"And..." Mira paused for dramatic effect.
"And what?"
"Sabertooth has two Dragon Slayer Mages: Sting and Rogue."
As Mira explained, Levy pushed photos of Sting and Rogue to the center of the table.
"Dragon Slayer Mages?!!!" came the exclamations from Natsu and Wendy.
"Eh!!!" Lucy couldn't hold back her surprise.
"So it was them," Erza and Kagura raised their eyebrows.
Natsu and Wendy's shocked reactions weren't surprising, as they were also Dragon Slayers.
Mira didn't pay it much mind.
Seeing the expressions on Erza and Kagura's faces, Mira understood. "Looks like you've met them?"
Ultear nodded. "Yes, we saw them when they seemed to be in a conflict with another guild in the street. We only saw them briefly, but we didn't know they were Dragon Slayer Mages."
"That just makes it more interesting! I'm all fired up now!" Natsu rubbed his fists together eagerly.
"So there are two more Dragon Slayers. I wonder if they're like Natsu or like Laxus."
"No, no, no," Mira held up a finger with a mysterious smile.
"What do you mean?"
"Let me explain," Levy said, pulling out several documents with detailed interviews of Sting and Rogue from Sorcerer Weekly.
"They call themselves the Third Generation of Dragon Slayer Mages."
Ultear furrowed her brow slightly. "The Third Generation? So there's a First and Second Generation? Possibly even a Fourth or Fifth?"
"Exactly. The First Generation refers to those raised directly by dragons, like Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy." Levy explained. "The Second Generation refers to Laxus, who had a Dragon Lacrima implanted in his body, and Cobra from the Oración Seis."
"As for the Third Generation..." Levy gulped. "They say they were raised by dragons, but ultimately killed the dragons that raised them and implanted the Dragon Lacrimas from their bodies into their own. They are the Third Generation Dragon Slayer Mages..."
"Killing the dragons that raised them..." Natsu clenched his fists, veins bulging on his arms and forehead, his rage impossible to conceal.
"How could that be?!" Wendy gasped, covering her mouth in horror.
Not just them—other members hearing this for the first time couldn't help but be shocked.
If it were true, they would be facing opponents capable of actively slaying dragons, truly formidable enemies.
"Calm down," Raizel firmly held back Natsu, who was about to charge out the door.
"Let me ask you, was Igneel strong?"
"Wendy, do you think Grandeeney was strong?" Raizel looked at Natsu and Wendy as he asked.
"Of course!"
"Very strong!" Natsu and Wendy recalled their experiences with Igneel and Grandeeney and nodded firmly.
Natsu still vividly remembered Igneel casually obliterating a distant mountain peak with a single roar.
Just a roar from far away.
Last time, Natsu had to borrow Laxus's magic power and activate his Lightning Flame Dragon Mode just to barely withstand a fraction of that power—activating the mode with his own power alone wasn't enough.
"I haven't seen a dragon with my own eyes, but I've heard from Zeref that dragons aren't beings that can be easily defeated, even by Dragon Slayer Mages. So, this information is highly questionable." Raizel reasoned. "Think about it—do Sting and Rogue really seem like they could kill full-grown dragons?"
"As for the truth, we might have to beat it out of Sting and Rogue themselves." Erza and Ultear recalled Sting and Rogue's appearances.
Were they strong? Quite strong.
Exceptionally strong? Not really.
They were fighting, and their magical power was exposed, yet they felt no sense of overwhelming pressure.
Unlike August, whom they had encountered before. Outwardly, he appeared to be a frail old man on the verge of death, but in reality... he was terrifyingly powerful.
Even after all these years, the vast, boundless magical power of August still left a deep impression on Erza and Ultear.
Erza and Ultear were no longer the same as they were back then, but to this day, neither believed they could defeat August.
If the magic power of Jose, the former guild master of Phantom Lord and one of the Ten Wizard Saints, was like a small lake, and the second master Precht's was like an endlessly replenished, interconnected river system, then August gave them the feeling of a boundless, vast ocean.
Hearing Raizel's words, Lucy and Cana quietly breathed sighs of relief.
No one wanted to face a real dragon, especially Cana, since Gildarts's severe injuries couldn't be hidden from her.
Cana had learned about the Black Dragon from Gildarts.
Even someone as impossibly strong as Gildarts could only flee in disarray. Gildarts had told her that in the face of the Black Dragon, human Mages were like ants—Gildarts was just a slightly stronger ant.
Even if the dragons Sting and Rogue supposedly killed were no match for the Black Dragon Acnologia, they were still massive dragons.
Cana didn't believe she could defeat opponents capable of killing real dragons, even though she had been learning Fairy Glitter from the First Master for some time.
After all, she knew her limits well.
As for Lucy, she mainly just didn't want to die young.
Ultear voiced her speculation. "One possibility is that the dragons who raised them died naturally, and they took the credit. Another is that the so-called 'dragon' wasn't a real dragon, just a beast. There's also the possibility that their memories or perceptions were tampered with."
Ultear's theory gained agreement from many people, though most tended to support the first viewpoint, especially since Sting and Rogue's Dragon Slayer Magic had been verified by numerous witnesses.