Natsu looked like a country bumpkin seeing a grand city for the first time, shading his eyes with one hand as he stared around in every direction.
Mira was also taking in Drasil's prosperity with quiet amazement.
"It's just as lively as Crocus, but it looks completely different."
Even within Ishgar, crossing from one kingdom into another could bring entirely different scenery.
Raizel's group had crossed an entire continent this time, arriving in the northern lands that had very little contact with Ishgar.
Seeing how crowded and chaotic the streets were, Carla placed her paws on her hips and reminded Wendy,
"Don't get lost."
Wendy froze, blinked, and pointed at herself.
"Eh? Me?"
She was already old enough that no one needed to worry about that anymore.
Erza grabbed Lucy before she could run off to shop.
"All right. First things first, we need somewhere to stay. You can go shopping after we find a place."
Lucy's eyes lit up with excitement.
"Since we came all this way, let's stay somewhere big!"
Ultear waved the map and travel guide she had just bought.
"That won't be a problem. Come on."
Raizel and Ultear followed the same principle wherever they traveled: there was no reason to make themselves uncomfortable.
After comparing several places in the guidebook, they checked into a rather nice hotel in Drasil.
It had its own restaurant, so everyone decided to eat there as well.
During the meal, Erza, Lucy, and Wendy all expressed their desire to explore the city.
Raizel nodded.
"That's fine. Go wherever you like. We can gather information tomorrow."
"Then everyone should relax and enjoy today!"
"Yay!"
As they wandered through the streets, however, Ultear found the map increasingly strange the longer she studied it.
She handed it to Mira.
"Mira, don't you think Drasil's shape looks odd?"
Ultear deliberately did not explain what she had noticed, so her own thoughts would not influence Mira.
Mira frowned and examined the map for a long while before finally saying,
"Now that you mention it, it does look like..."
"Let me see."
Mira handed the map to Raizel.
The instant he took it, the ground suddenly began to shake.
Raizel stumbled and nearly fell, and the tremors only grew more violent.
"Everyone, get down!"
He reached out, trying to steady Mira and Ultear beside him.
He did not really need to warn the others. Kagura and Erza had already pulled Wendy down between them.
Happy and Carla were close enough to the ground that they had nothing to worry about.
Lucy nearly fell, but Mira and Ultear caught her.
Even while sitting, Wendy could feel the ground shaking and sense the changes overhead. She looked around in astonishment.
"Is the ground... rising?"
Natsu clutched both cheeks, his face twisted with panic.
"What's wrong with this town?!"
But as Ultear and the others crouched down, they noticed that the surrounding residents were sitting with complete calm.
Lucy could not help asking,
"Why is everyone in town acting like nothing's happening?"
She even saw one resident lying on his side and pretending to nap, while a mother and child sat on the ground hugging a pillar and chatting cheerfully.
A nearby woman overheard Lucy.
"Oh? You're tourists? Did you come to Drasil without hearing anything about this?"
Raizel answered in Lucy's place.
"That's right. We're here sightseeing, and this caught us off guard. Could you tell us what's happening?"
The woman sat neatly on her knees, her expression perfectly relaxed.
"This happens in Drasil at the same time every day. You can think of it as the town's way of telling time. It can be frightening the first time you experience it."
"The same time every day?"
Erza and Kagura exchanged looks.
The woman pressed her palms together and gazed reverently toward the sky.
"There's nothing to worry about. It will stop soon. You should sit properly for your own safety and quietly offer a prayer to the earth—no, to the great grove."
"A grove?"
"Pray to a giant grove?"
Hearing her words, Ultear and Mira, who had been thinking over the map, realized it at the same time.
"I understand! The shape of this town..."
"Everyone, come here."
Ultear beckoned them closer.
She spread the map out between them and lowered her voice.
"This town is shaped like a hand."
"A hand?!"
Natsu, Happy, Wendy, and Carla all cried out in surprise.
The woman was close enough to hear them and smiled as she explained,
"That's right. It is a hand—the town on Drasil's right hand. Or rather, a town built on the right hand of the Wood Dragon God, Aldoron."
This was not considered a secret in Drasil.
Because the secret could never leave the city.
Erza's pupils contracted sharply.
"Aldoron..."
Lucy's mouth fell open in disbelief.
"The town is built on top of his hand?!"
Even Kagura, who usually remained calm and expressionless no matter what happened, visibly reacted.
She pointed toward the sky.
"Look!"
Everyone followed her finger and raised their heads.
Aldoron's colossal body and head had appeared before them!
Even Natsu was left speechless.
"We heard he was big, but this is completely ridiculous!"
The corner of Raizel's mouth twitched uncontrollably.
Selene and Mercphobia had indeed said that the Wood Dragon God was the largest dragon in the world, with a size beyond imagination.
But this was far beyond anything he had imagined.
No wonder Selene had worn that amused expression when she mentioned him.
She had probably refused to explain anything just so she could enjoy the looks on Raizel, Erza, and the others' faces at this exact moment.
She was most likely watching them from somewhere right now.
A single district of Drasil was comparable in size to Crocus.
And that district occupied only a small portion of the back of Aldoron's right hand.
A small portion.
Not even the entire hand.
If Aldoron remained lying down like this, he could easily pass for a continent.
Compared to Aldoron's sheer size, all that talk about Acnologia's black wings blotting out the sky could go straight into the trash.
If Acnologia stood beside him, he would look like a tiny dragon.
No, more like an insect.
He might not even reach Aldoron's hand.
One of Drasil's cities was built directly on the back of the Wood Dragon God's right hand.
Erza, Lucy, and the others immediately lost all desire to continue shopping.
They were currently standing on the back of a potential enemy's hand.
After returning to their rooms, Kagura and Erza frowned in confusion.
"This doesn't make sense. How could a dragon this enormous have lost to Acnologia?"
They could already picture the battle.
'Acnologia uses his strongest roar and cleans some dust off Aldoron's arm... then Aldoron swats him once and sends him flying.'
Lucy pinched her chin thoughtfully.
"With a body that size, shouldn't he be able to swat Acnologia away with one hand?"
Once she had calmed down from the initial shock, Ultear raised two fingers.
"There are two possibilities. First, he may simply be enormous and extremely durable, while lacking enough offensive power."
"The second possibility is that he wasn't originally this large. Four hundred years have passed, after all."