'This is my final gift...'
Igneel's voice entered Raizel's mind.
A wisp of the Fire Dragon King's flame merged into Raizel's chest.
Raizel had fought shoulder to shoulder with the five dragons, and through him, the dragons had seen hope.
"Thank you. I'll make good use of this power."
Raizel placed a hand over his chest and gave a slight bow in Igneel's direction.
"The other reason we dragons hid inside the bodies of the Dragon Slayers..."
"...was so that we could find a chance to personally defeat the negative legacy we left behind: Acnologia."
Acnologia seemed immune to both physical attacks and Magic.
Leaving Magic aside, his physical immunity still had its limits.
But four hundred years ago, Magic Power was so scarce that the dragons simply could not break through his defenses.
Now, four hundred years later, in an era where Magic Power was abundant again, Igneel's techniques had become far more powerful.
Four hundred years had passed.
Acnologia was no longer at his peak either.
He was no longer the absolutely unbeatable monster from the Dragon King Festival.
Slaying the dragon had become possible.
Igneel used the last of his strength to flip Acnologia over, then stood up and let out a roar.
The sky would become Igneel's final battlefield.
Igneel and Acnologia opened the distance between them. Then, at the same time, they spread their wings, accelerated, and collided.
Igneel opened his massive jaws and bit off one of Acnologia's arms.
And Igneel...
Half of his body, along with one arm, was torn hollow by Acnologia.
Natsu froze where he stood, as if his whole body had turned rigid.
With half a wing gone and his body torn open, Igneel fell straight from the sky.
Acnologia spat out Igneel's arm, then flew off into the distance.
Natsu stood there in a daze, tears pouring from his eyes.
Memories of his childhood with Igneel surged up one after another.
BOOM—
Igneel crashed into the ground, shaking the earth.
"Natsu... I have always watched over your growth. You've finally grown up. The time I spent with you was the happiest time of my life."
"Igneel!!!"
The dragon battle that had lasted through the night finally came to an end.
...
Dawn was beginning to break as Grandeeney spoke as the dragons representative.
"It was everyone's courage, and Igneel, that drove Acnologia back."
Metalicana stared hard at Gajeel and said, "Your eyes are still as vicious as ever."
"Shut up!" Gajeel immediately snapped, clearly irritated by Metalicana's words.
"Weisslogia... I really did kill you back then, didn't I?"
"And I saw Skiadrum die right in front of me."
Sting and Rogue could hardly believe it.
"Human memories can be altered at any time."
"If Igneel hadn't strongly opposed it back then, we originally planned to give the Dragon Slayers the achievement and memory of having killed dragons."
"But saying we died isn't entirely wrong either."
Weisslogia and Skiadrum explained, one after another.
"The truth is, we had already died long ago."
Under Wendy, Gajeel, and the others' shocked gazes, Grandeeney slowly explained.
"In ancient times, all of us had our souls taken by Acnologia's Dragon Slayer Magic. Hiding inside your bodies was also a way for us to prolong our lives."
"Now that we have left your bodies, we can never return."
"This should be the last time you will ever see us."
"Please forgive us for being unable to appear before you all this time."
"Even Igneel could not defeat Acnologia. But that was also the final power Igneel displayed before his death."
Metalicana looked toward Igneel in the distance, who was still trying to sit upright with his chest lifted high despite his fatal wounds.
"Humans... I hope you will not harm the dignity that the Fire Dragon King deserves."
"There will never be another dragon like Igneel, so brave and so deeply loving toward humans."
Natsu knelt before Igneel's lifeless body, tears falling endlessly.
"I learned how to write... I got better and better at using Magic... I made so many friends too, and I worked really hard."
Natsu clenched his teeth, sobbing.
"I wanted to talk to you so badly, Igneel!"
"There are still many things we wish to say, but our time has come. We must say farewell."
"I don't want that..." Wendy could not accept such a cruel truth.
Grandeeney lowered her head and looked at Wendy gently, her voice soft.
"There will still be many hardships waiting for you in the future, but I believe you will be all right."
"I don't want it, Grandeeney! Don't go!"
Wendy hung her head and shook it desperately.
Gajeel placed his hand over Wendy's head.
"Lift your head and see them off proudly."
"Humans, the memories of conflict and hatred between us are already in the past. At this moment, we can finally stand together like this, hand in hand!"
"The age of dragons has reached its end."
"The future from now on must be created by human hands!"
"According to the pact between humans and dragons made four hundred years ago, under the laws of the Grand Charter..."
"We dragons will continue to protect humanity!"
"Forever!"
Grandeeney's voice echoed across the sky.
'Acnologia... is in your hands now.'
At the same time, four strands of soul power emerged from Grandeeney and the others, then merged into Raizel's chest.
"I love you very much, Wendy."
Grandeeney's eyes were filled with boundless affection.
"Your eyes are too vicious."
Metalicana's body gradually turned into light.
"Even at the very end, that's still what you say? Damn it..."
Gajeel's eyes were wet with tears, but there was a genuine smile on his face.
Igneel's body also began to turn into countless points of starlight, slowly fading away.
'Stop crying, Natsu! Do you remember? What are you supposed to do when you're sad? I taught you, didn't I?'
Natsu clenched his teeth, tears still streaming down his cheeks.
"I know."
'Then try standing up!'
Natsu pressed both hands against the ground and slowly forced himself to his feet.
There was a smile in Igneel's voice.
'I will always be by your side. I always have been, and I always will be. Let me see a little more of the way you grow, the way you live with all that fire in you.'
Natsu clenched both fists and shouted toward the sky.
"I'll live with even more fire than before! I'll become even stronger! I swear I'll defeat Acnologia with my own hands!"
'That's right. Think more about the future. That is the strength to keep living.'
From the bottom of Natsu's arm upward, a red dragon-shaped pattern slowly appeared.
This was the power Igneel had left him—the power of the departed.
It would help Natsu train more effectively and develop Fire Dragon King Mode.
Everyone silently gave Natsu some private space, even Happy and Lucy did not approach him recklessly.
And then came...the Magic Council's army, arriving late... as always.
Well, technically, they had arrived much earlier.
But after seeing that the battle involved Acnologia and real dragons, they had not dared to get close at all.
They had only dared to record everything from far away.