Ultear and Mira formed one team, Kagura and Erza another, Natsu and Lucy another, while Raizel paired with Wendy.
The group split into four directions to gather information.
Raizel and Wendy swam openly through the streets, asking around as they went. They actually did manage to pick up a few useful pieces of information.
Apparently, people had been coming to Ermina recently to ask about the Water Dragon God.
When Raizel and the others regrouped to share what they had found, the surrounding sea suddenly looked as if it had been sliced open by a sword.
A blue sphere of water appeared before them, and within it, a vague figure could be seen.
"The sea was cut open?" Erza murmured in confusion.
The water sphere landed and burst apart with a loud splash.
Everyone had already returned to human form by then, and they all stared at the man standing before them.
He had long, wavy blue hair and a pair of horns on his head.
The startled cries of the nearby fish told Raizel's group exactly who he was.
Lord Water God.
Water Dragon God Mercphobia.
"Dragon Slayer Mages?"
Mercphobia looked over Natsu and Wendy.
Then his gaze shifted to Raizel, Ultear, and the others.
"Have you come to destroy me?"
Natsu answered the question.
"No. Not exactly."
Coincidentally, that was Raizel's answer as well.
But Natsu, being Natsu, immediately spilled everything about where they had come from.
He crossed his arms and looked Mercphobia up and down, his expression calm as he said,
"Someone hired us to seal the Five Dragon Gods. Looks like you're one of them. The thing is, I'm getting this feeling like... what am I supposed to do if you're actually a good guy?"
Sweat formed on Lucy's forehead.
"You really are being incredibly direct..."
Still, what was said was said.
Sincerity was a finishing move all on its own.
Mercphobia showed no anger or irritation. Instead, he closed his eyes, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.
"I see. So Elefseria still has not given up."
"???"
Raizel could have sworn he heard a hint of relief in the Water Dragon God's tone.
Happy asked curiously, "You know Elefseria?"
Mercphobia smiled and nodded.
"Because for the past hundred years, he has been tirelessly sending assassins after me."
Natsu went straight for another fastball.
"Then let me ask you. Are you a good guy, or a bad guy?"
"Another direct question..." Ultear, Lucy, and the others covered their faces helplessly.
But as it turned out, Mercphobia seemed to respond well to this approach.
After thinking for a moment, he answered,
"Hmm... I suppose I am neither good nor evil. At the very least, I bear no ill will toward you. For now."
"Oh no! Did the 100 Years Quest fail just like that?"
Natsu grabbed at his hair in frustration.
Lucy suddenly grew excited.
"Wait! If he has no hostility toward humans, then he isn't a disaster, right?"
'No ill will toward us...'
Ultear, Erza, and the others began thinking carefully about Mercphobia's wording.
Raizel shook his head.
"No. He said he has no hostility toward us, and only for now."
Even Raizel could not quite tell what Mercphobia was trying to do at the moment.
Mercphobia lowered his head slightly, his brows drawing together, and his voice turned somber.
"No. The mission will not fail. You should seal me. Rather, I should say you must seal me."
"You seem rather different from the assassins who came before. Those people tried to kill me without asking any questions. They never once listened to what I had to say."
Raizel looked straight into Mercphobia's eyes and spoke seriously.
"We've met dragons who are friendly toward humans. Besides, we don't judge whether someone is good or bad based only on their species."
The reasoning was simple.
In a large forest, all kinds of birds existed. Humans had good people and bad people. From a human perspective, dragons naturally had good ones and bad ones too.
Mercphobia gave a soft laugh, then turned to the fish residents around them.
"From now on, these people are my guests."
"Yes, Lord Water God!"
"?"
A question mark slowly appeared above everyone's heads.
"Please come with me. I will show you around my temple."
After saying that, Mercphobia turned and left first without looking back.
Everyone immediately turned to Raizel, waiting for his opinion.
Thinking of Selene's evaluation of the Water Dragon God, Raizel nodded.
"Let's go. We'll see what happens."
Everyone followed Mercphobia to a temple with a winding, serpent-like dragon statue coiled across the top.
Along the way, the group also introduced themselves to Mercphobia as Mages from Ishgar.
"It's amazing!"
"There's actually air inside!"
"It's incredible that a place like this exists under the sea," Happy, Natsu, and Lucy said as they looked around in surprise.
Raizel glanced over the temple interior. The stone pillars and carvings inside were rather strange. Every statue was facing the stone walls.
Tap, tap, tap!
The urgent sound of high heels echoed through the temple, clearly showing how unsettled their owner was.
"Lord Water Dragon!"
Karameel, wearing glasses and a fitted black skirt, placed one hand on her hip. Her complaining tone was not hidden in the slightest.
"Why would you bring these people into such a sacred temple?"
Although she called him "Lord," the way the two spoke did not look like a normal master-servant relationship to Raizel.
Mercphobia introduced her to everyone.
"This is Karameel. She handles many of my affairs on my behalf."
Then he introduced everyone to Karameel.
"These are Mages from Ishgar."
"Hello."
"We're Mages from the Fairy Tail guild."
Karameel raised a hand and adjusted her glasses, cutting them off.
"No need. In any case, Elefseria paid you to come here, didn't he?"
Raizel shrugged.
"If you insist on putting it that way, you're not wrong, though he hasn't paid us yet."
Wendy tugged on Raizel's clothes, signaling for him to lower himself, then whispered into his ear,
"She's human."
Raizel nodded.
"I know."
Naturally, Natsu had noticed too.
Karameel's whole expression screamed that she wanted to keep them as far away as possible.
"If you wish to challenge Lord Water Dragon, go ahead. You will never be his match anyway."
Mercphobia waved a hand.
"Ah, wait, Karameel. I think I may be able to talk with them. Could you let us speak?"
Mercphobia looked at Karameel, and both his tone and expression carried a hint of asking for permission.
This so-called master-servant relationship truly left Raizel, Ultear, and the others unsure what to make of it.
Karameel's tone was far from friendly.
"Suit yourself!"
Mercphobia looked a little awkward.
"What I mean is, could you step outside for a moment?"
"..."
Karameel huffed, turned, and left. Before leaving, she did not forget to remind him,
"Please make sure you deal with those people properly!"
"Deal with us..."
Happy began sweating heavily.
Mercphobia smiled and explained to Raizel and the others,
"Please don't misunderstand. She is a human girl. I rescued her when she was in danger at sea, and she has lived with me ever since. She is not a bad child. Hahaha!"
"..."