"Next is the content of the request we wish to issue."
Karulum's expression turned serious.
"Slay the dragon—Kurnugi, the Sword Saint Dragon!"
"Nani?!!!"
Even though Karulum had laid so much groundwork, and Lucy had already vaguely expected it, she still could not stop herself from crying out when she heard that the request was to slay a dragon.
Karulum did not mind.
He continued speaking.
"He has been appearing in Guiltina for some time now. He calls himself Kurnugi, the Sword Saint Dragon, and he has been traveling all across the continent, searching for powerful humans to challenge."
'Sword Saint Dragon? What a strange name.'
Raizel rubbed his chin in thought.
'If we're talking about attribute... Sword Saint?'
Raizel was not especially concerned about the whole attribute thing.
Dragon attributes could be rather strange anyway.
For example, Irene's Dragon Slayer Magic attribute was "Sage," which was an extremely abstract concept.
If one had to explain it, it could probably be summarized as high intelligence.
Irene had been able to develop high-level Enchantment Magic, and through Enchantment, attach Dragon Slayer Magic to the human body.
That would have been impossible without the help of the Sage Dragon Belserion.
Belserion himself had been an extremely intelligent dragon.
As for the Law Dragon's attribute, it was "Law."
That meant Elefseria, the Law Dragon, was without question the living being with the greatest store of knowledge.
Karulum continued explaining Kurnugi's information, as well as the damage he had caused.
The Sword Saint Dragon Kurnugi had attacked the Council, and he had gone around challenging powerful humans everywhere.
Challenging them was one thing, but Kurunugi also mocked his opponents afterward.
In short, Kurnugi's existence had made the Magic Council MNP lose a great deal of face, and Diabolos could not be persuaded to act.
With a bitter look on his face, Karulum said, "We deployed magical assault boats equipped with our newest Magic Convergent Cannon: Uranus, but even that could do nothing to Kurnugi..."
"Uranus? What's that?"
Karulum answered, "An improved and strengthened version of the Magic Convergent Cannon: Jupiter. Its power is far greater than Jupiter's."
"Even that had no effect on the Sword Saint Dragon?" Erza was a little surprised.
Jupiter's power was already nothing to underestimate.
If Uranus was an improved version and still could not do anything to the Sword Saint Dragon...
"Unfortunately, it was useless," Karulum said. "After all, Uranus does not contain Dragon Slayer Magic Power."
Ultear, Mira, Erza, and the others exchanged glances.
This seemed like a very difficult and dangerous request.
Afraid that Ultear and the others might retreat, Karulum hurriedly explained, "But the danger level is not actually that high. Kurnugi is arrogant, yes, but he does not attack the weak. He has always challenged strong opponents, and even after defeating them, he does not kill them."
"Kurnugi keeps shouting things like, 'There is no place for the weak in the eyes of the strong!' and 'Lord Kurnugi does not lower himself to attacking weaklings! Begone, weaklings!' and so on..."
"..."
Ultear, Erza, and the others looked at each other wordlessly.
All they could think was that Kurnugi was seriously full of himself.
Karulum pointed his palm toward Wendy.
"The most important thing is that he is very young. I have seen his human form before. He is probably only a little older than this little girl."
'So he can turn into a human?'
Raizel understood.
'Got it, a Chuunibyou dragon then.'
Mira and the others had already formed their first impression of Kurunugi.
'Mm. Wendy is still cuter.'
They confirmed another truth everyone already knew.
Raizel raised an eyebrow in slight surprise. "So in human terms, around fifteen years old?"
"That's about my estimate." Karulum nodded firmly.
If Karulum was not lying, then Kurnugi should be a dragon who had only recently stepped into the wider world.
A bit chuunibyou.
A bit arrogant.
And fond of strong opponents.
Raizel glanced at Ultear, Wendy, and the others.
Seeing them nod, he turned back to Karulum and nodded as well.
"All right. We'll accept it."
They were not so timid that they would retreat just because their opponent was a dragon.
Besides, Raizel was with them.
What was there to fear?
Karulum stood up excitedly. "That's wonderful! When can we depart? Also, the reward, converted into Ishgar's common currency, is roughly twenty-four million Jewel."
"Twenty-four million Jewel?!"
Lucy's eyes instantly turned into the shape of money!
Her desire for money defeated her fear of dragons.
Lucy, who had still been slightly hesitant before, now chose to go along without hesitation.
Karulum furrowed his thick brows. "But there is one problem. Kurnugi only accepts one-on-one duels, and you have quite a few people..."
"That's fine. We'll judge his strength when the time comes. Also, they are very strong."
"The stronger, the better! The stronger, the better!"
Karulum's brows relaxed, and he laughed happily.
...
The group boarded the magical assault boat Karulum had arrived in.
Under Karulum's command, the ship advanced at full speed, racing toward Guiltina.
Even so, reaching the continent of Guiltina would still take several days.
The magical assault boat flew very steadily.
Wendy, who had mastered a Dragon Slayer Secret Art and developed Dragon Force, could stand on it without getting dizzy.
During the flight, Raizel, Ultear, and the others continued talking with Karulum, trying to gather as much information as possible about the continent of Guiltina, its dragons, and the Five Dragon Gods.
Perhaps they would not need it now, but if they took on the Hundred Years Quest later, this information would be extremely valuable.
Raizel's group also gained a better understanding of the Dragon Eater guild, Diabolos.
Whether Georg Reizen had killed a dragon himself or simply picked up a lucky opportunity was unknown.
Either way, by chance, he had pioneered the act of eating dragons.
He was essentially the first person to eat the crab.
After eating dragon flesh, he obtained Dragon Slayer Magic of the corresponding attribute.
From that point on, Georg Reizen became obsessed with it.
After all, that power was far too tempting.
Today, he was known as the Four Beast Dragon, and his strength was indeed extremely formidable.
After all, he was the one who killed the Thunder Dragon King, Elexion—the same dragon whose Dragon Slayer Lacrima had been implanted into Laxus.
Of course, Elexion's actual combat strength at the time was unknown.
He might have been badly injured, or perhaps old and weakened, allowing Georg Reizen to take advantage.
Georg Reizen spent a great deal of time killing and eating most of the dragons outside the Five Dragon Gods.
He became known as a Dragon Eater.
Over time, a large number of followers gathered under him, and the Dragon Eater guild Diabolos was born.
One of his guild members, Kirin, had eaten Elexion's flesh and was likewise a Lightning-attribute Dragon Slayer.
"There are many powerful Dragon Slayers in Diabolos," Karulum said. "But of course, the strongest is still Georg Reizen."
"For some reason, after devouring dragon flesh, the others did not gain the same overwhelmingly transcendent power as Georg Reizen."
Raizel did not answer Karulum.
Instead, he thought silently to himself.
'If it isn't because of a difference in dragon quality, then it must be a difference in individual constitution. God Serena is an example. That guy may be a traitor, but when it comes to his talent for implanting Dragon Slayer Lacrima, he truly deserves to be called a child of dragons.'
'Besides, being able to find eight Dragon Slayer Lacrima may also be a sign that heaven favored him.'
'Of course, times have changed and the child of destiny has long since been replaced.'
'Serena... you're out.'