The people of Edolas were not like the citizens of Fiore, nor did they resemble the people of any other country in Earth Land.
Maybe they had once been kept in the dark.
But Gajeel had clearly said that his counterpart in Edolas had taken advantage of the morning chaos to spread the truth, that magic crystals were once human beings.
With such explosive information, and with many citizens having seen those same crystals transform back into Mira and Elfman right before their eyes, Rhodes couldn't believe that these people were still completely unaware.
And yet, here they were, charging forward with weapons raised.
They weren't innocent anymore.
They had chosen to stand with those who hunted and imprisoned their comrades. They had made themselves accomplices of the enemy.
Rhodes had no intention of wasting his breath on them.
Faust had shouted that if they lost this battle, they would lose everything?
Then let him lose it all.
"Summon: Purgatory Dragon!"
A thunderous roar echoed across the capital.
A massive, crimson beast burst into existence, its fiery body landing squarely on the already-ruined gates of the Royal Palace, causing rubble to scatter in all directions.
The temperature spiked instantly.
But thanks to Rhodes' earlier command, the Purgatory Dragon didn't erupt in a full blaze the moment it appeared. Instead, it stood still, looming, allowing its terrifying presence to do the work.
Even so, the soldiers who had just been bracing themselves for a final stand were hit by a wave of heat from behind. A heavy silence fell over them as a resonant growl rolled through the air.
They turned, slowly, rigidly.
At first, they could only see claws. Then scales. Then a fiery mane that glowed like molten metal. They had to crane their necks back to even glimpse its horns.
A colossal crimson dragon towered behind them, its obsidian claws gleaming with menace. Each exhale from its maw sent flames licking the air, radiating heat like an open furnace.
It was a living nightmare.
The courage that had just surged within them was now rapidly draining away. Their duty as soldiers told them to raise their weapons.
But their bodies refused to listen.
They trembled.
"W-what... what is that thing?" someone whispered.
Not just the soldiers, civilians who had angrily rushed toward the battlefield a moment ago now froze mid-step.
Dragons weren't supposed to exist. They were supposed to be myths, bedtime stories.
Then what was this monster standing right in front of them?
It was real. Alive. And terrifying.
Mira and Erza had seen the Purgatory Dragon before. They weren't shaken. Instead, they took a single, practiced step back.
Erza casually raised her blade to guard Rhodes' right flank, while Mira, without hesitation, gently linked her arm through Rhodes' left.
She gave him a calm, reassuring smile.
If anyone dared try to bring him down, they'd have to go through them first.
Even so, Mira had originally been preparing to step in only if Rhodes started to falter.
As for Gildarts, the moment the Purgatory Dragon appeared, his entire body instinctively tensed. His fists clenched, his muscles coiled, and his eyes locked on the monstrous flame-cloaked creature with a fierce, ready glare.
It wasn't until he recognized the familiar magical signature that he let out a slow breath.
Even so, Gildarts didn't lower his guard. He turned his gaze toward Rhodes, his expression heavy with respect and unease. That dragon... it wasn't something even he could ignore.
The Purgatory Dragon, however, paid no attention to the fear or awe of those below. Its burning eyes swept lazily across the battlefield. It paused on Gildarts for a moment and then turned toward Rhodes.
With a voice like molten rock grinding against steel, the dragon spoke.
"Little brother, who do we burn?"
Rhodes raised his right hand and gave a simple command.
"Anyone in this city who refuses to submit."
A twisted grin split across the Purgatory Dragon's face.
"Heh—very well."
With that, the surrounding temperature surged again. The palace walls on either side began to blister and melt. The ground cracked open, vomiting flames as rivers of fire spread out beneath the dragon's wings.
The soldiers could no longer endure it. Screaming, they scattered in all directions, abandoning their weapons as they fled the inferno.
Even the civilians nearby, frozen in shock, stumbled back as the searing heat sucked the strength from their legs. Many found they couldn't even move.
But the Purgatory Dragon didn't even glance at them.
With a single powerful flap of its wings, it launched itself into the air, flames trailing in its wake like the tail of a comet. The sky itself seemed to ignite.
At that moment, everyone in the capital saw it, a streak of red flame arcing high into the clouds. And when they looked closer... they saw the nightmare made real.
A dragon. A real dragon.
Its crimson scales shimmered like molten metal. Fire bled from its maw with every breath. It soared above the city as if it owned the heavens.
And then, destruction.
The Purgatory Dragon opened its mouth and exhaled.
A torrent of blazing flames and molten lava crashed down onto the heart of the Royal Palace. The once-grand, majestic center of Edolas was instantly reduced to a roaring sea of fire.
Screams rang out across the city. Soldiers stationed in the palace turned and ran for their lives, while others fumbled with magic tools, trying desperately to douse the flames.
But it was hopeless.
The inferno had already consumed everything.
Dozens of enchanted water cannons were no match. They sprayed wildly, but the fire only laughed.
The Purgatory Dragon, its mission not yet complete, beat its wings and soared further into the city. It left behind a burning line across the capital, as if a volcano had been turned on its side and dragged across the sky.
Wherever the flame touched, terror followed.
Battle cries turned to sobs. Bold hearts shattered. Determination evaporated.
Weapons were thrown down. Helmets rolled in the dirt. And people, thousands of them, began to flee in blind panic, pushing toward the city gates as chaos exploded through every street.
Panic spread faster than the flames themselves.
Gildarts stared at the burning skyline, the massive dragon carving a path of destruction through the heavens, and slowly exhaled.
"Let's move. It's time we found the one responsible for this."
The others nodded quietly.
None of them had wanted things to come to this.
But after what the King of Edolas had done, after what he'd tried to take from their world, from their guild, from their family...
There was no mercy left to offer.
The four of them turned toward the heart of the ruined capital, their eyes set on the Royal Palace ruins.
They were going to find King Faust.
The royal palace was ablaze. Flames engulfed entire buildings, and from time to time, a collapsing structure would crash to the ground, blocking their path and stirring up waves of smoke and ash.
But Gildarts wasn't concerned. With a sweep of his arm, his Crush Magic shattered anything in their way, burning walls, fallen debris, and even the flames themselves. Fire was sliced into clean, harmless blocks before vanishing entirely, reduced to nothing.
"This... is the capital?"
High above, Mystogan stood atop his massive, white-feathered Owl, hovering momentarily at the entrance of the ruined city.
His memories painted a very different picture, tall walls, bustling streets, majestic buildings reaching toward the sky. Edolas's capital had always been a symbol of prosperity.
But what lay before him now was a wasteland.
Less than half the outer wall remained. From the main gate to the heart of the city, it looked like a battlefield. Entire districts had been leveled. The royal palace in the distance was consumed by towering flames.
Scorch marks split the city like veins of fire, forming deep, glowing cracks in the earth. The pattern almost resembled a burnt pizza, divided, broken, and blackened across more than half its surface.
If Mystogan hadn't memorized the city's layout so well, he might have thought he'd arrived in the wrong place.
"Did I... come too late?"
He had known, of course. The guild master had warned him, Rhodes, Mira, Erza, and Gildarts had launched an attack on the capital.
Still, the actual devastation far exceeded anything he had imagined.
He took a sharp breath, then urged his Owl to continue flying along the remnants of the outer wall. As they circled the city, his sharp eyes spotted a gathering of citizens below.
He lowered altitude and prepared to land.
"It's the prince!"
"Prince Jellal!"
"He's back! Save us!"
The crowd erupted the moment they saw him.
Though he went by Mystogan, his true name was Jellal, Prince of the Kingdom of Edolas. He had long since left Edolas to secretly cross into Earth Land, the other world, with the goal of putting an end to the Anima Project.
But the people didn't know any of that.
To them, their prince had merely been traveling in secret, learning from the outside world, watching over them from afar.
Mystogan stood tall on his Owl and spoke in a calm but commanding voice.
"Tell me. What happened here?"
Panic spilled out from the people below:
"A dragon! A giant dragon breathing fire!"
"It was Fairy Tail!"
"It's all over! Everything's burning!"
"His Majesty is still in the city, fighting!"
Amidst the flood of terrified shouts, Mystogan pieced together what had happened. He gave his mount a quiet order, and the Owl beat its wings, soaring toward the palace.
Meanwhile, near the palace ruins, the battlefield lay in chaos.
Fairy Tail members, Edolas's version, were scattered across the ground, injured or exhausted. And sitting atop the shoulder of a massive sentinel, Rhodes was quietly meditating, gathering his magic power.
In front of the palace, Mira, Erza, and Gildarts stood together, facing off against a towering mechanical beast, a massive steel dinosaur bristling with weapons and power.
From within the cockpit of the machine, King Faust's voice echoed, filled with maniacal laughter:
"Hahahahaha! Be crushed, rebels!"
"No one can defeat Doroma Anim! The power of the King is absolute!"
...
Bonus @1200
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