Though Kira's magic was derived from Natsu's, there was a key difference. Natsu's magic was all about burning, but Kira's creation hinged on extreme heat.
Under everyone's stunned gazes, the flames effortlessly pierced through the impenetrable dragon scales that had stumped them all, searing Acnologia's flesh and releasing a faint aroma of charred meat.
"ROOOOARRRR!!!"
The Black Dragon let out a deafening bellow, its shockwave disorienting the weaker members like Lucy and Cana, leaving them dazed.
"It worked?!"
"Is that Dragon Slayer Magic?!"
"When did Kira learn that?!"
Not just the Fairy Tail crew, but even Acnologia was baffled. It could sense that Kira didn't have a Dragon Seed within him, yet the attack that struck was undeniably Dragon Slayer Magic! It reminded the dragon of its old rival, Igneel!
The temperature's close to that guy's flames, but it's stickier, Acnologia assessed internally. With a thunderous boom, it shook off the flames clinging to its body.
This human might not be a Dragon Slayer, but… anyone who could wield Dragon Slayer Magic had to die!
I'm not afraid of you hitting me—I'm afraid of you not hitting me. Since they'd already crossed paths with this beast, Kira knew he had to go all out to survive, so he'd deliberately drawn its attention.
And he'd succeeded. He could see the Black Dragon had now locked onto him as its target.
ROAR!
A beam of light shot from the dragon's maw. It wasn't a full-blown roar, but it was still plenty powerful—too dangerous to touch.
"Watch out!" Gildarts shouted, charging forward. His Crush Magic slammed into the beam, a high-level spell capable of shattering even magic itself.
But Gildarts' magic only managed to cancel out part of the attack. The rest barreled toward Kira. Acnologia's breath wasn't something that could be so easily neutralized.
Luckily, Kira was ready. His right hand swiped through the air, and a ripple formed in front of him. Invisible magic warped the space, creating a twisted trajectory.
"Distort!"
In an instant, the dragon's breath hit the warped path and veered off, blasting into a nearby mountainside, sending rocks flying.
"Nice one!" Gildarts cheered, gathering his magic for a big move, planning to cover their escape.
But then, disaster struck!
Sensing that Gildarts was the strongest among them, Acnologia switched targets again, charging straight at him with terrifying speed for its massive size.
"Cough—!"
Blood spurted from Gildarts' throat as his organs took the hit. He hadn't even had time to react before the impact sent him flying dozens of meters.
There was no time to think or counter. The sheer force spun him through the air before he crashed into the ground, carving out a massive crater.
Damn it, my left arm, left leg, and organs… Gildarts thought, grimacing.
"Gildarts!!" the group cried out in unison.
No one had seen this coming—not even Kira. Gildarts couldn't dodge that hit after all…
This power was insane. Facing it head-on felt far more hopeless than it had seemed in the manga!
Kira couldn't fathom how Gildarts had survived this in the original story. Did Acnologia just assume he was dead after one hit and leave?
No time to dwell on it. Kira dropped the mostly-recovered Natsu and rushed to Gildarts' side. This wasn't like the original timeline—who knew if Gildarts would survive without immediate treatment?
I'm supposed to be a mage, so why do I keep ending up as the support in these fights?
The Black Dragon opened its maw, gathering magic.
The group froze, recognizing the move from Natsu's magic.
Is that a roar?
Kira noticed Acnologia's attack and panicked. Glancing to the side, he saw the others still running toward him. "Don't come closer! Spread out!" he shouted.
My god, why are you all rushing over here? Waiting to get wiped out in one shot? This thing's got 400 years of power behind it—who can tank that?
Gildarts, too injured to speak, could only glare at Kira. What are you doing here? Run!
Kira ignored him, dropping Natsu and placing a hand on Gildarts. "Lending me your magic for a sec!"
In theory, Word Magic could replicate spells like Gildarts' Crush Magic—[Crush], [Disintegrate], [Scatter], and so on. But that required proficiency, and the more skilled the caster, the better the effect.
However, [Borrowing Another's Magic] bypassed that requirement, letting Kira wield magic close to or even stronger than the original caster's, even if he didn't know it himself. That's how he'd pulled off Dragon Slayer Magic earlier.
"Analyze… Transfer… Convert… Reconstruct…"
As Acnologia unleashed its Dragon Roar, Kira thrust out his hand. "Crush!!"
The others weren't idle either. Despite Kira's warning, they weren't about to listen.
Seeing Kira and the dragon clash with magic, they rushed to help. Their seven magics varied, and some were useless in this situation, but Erza, ever clear-headed, took charge.
"Everyone, channel your magic to Natsu! Natsu, use Dragon Slayer Magic!"
"OH YEAH!!" Natsu's willpower surged as he staggered to his feet, charging forward. "Leave it to me!!!"
Channeling the magic of seven people? They'd never done anything like this before. Could they even pull it off? And if they did, could Natsu handle it?
In that split second, they shoved the doubts aside. They had to make it work!
In times like these, you trust in your comrades' strength!
Without hesitation, red, blue, gold, purple, green, and white streams of magic surged toward Natsu.
The power of bonds is incredible—strong enough to unlock potential even the caster didn't know they had!
Natsu's magic went into overdrive, absorbing the group's power. His hands erupted into twin flames capable of incinerating the heavens, determined to burn the Dragon Roar to ash.
For a fleeting moment, a crimson dragon's silhouette seemed to flicker around him, faint scales appearing on his face.
Dragon Force!
It had been triggered by Kira borrowing the Dragon Seed's power earlier, amplified by the influx of the others' magic.
"Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Crimson Lotus Exploding Flame Blade!"
Sure, the old saying goes that the left side always loses in a beam clash, but with no camera angle to judge, Kira convinced himself he was on the right.
The three magics collided, erupting in a massive explosion. Snow waves and shattered rocks flew, followed by avalanches and landslides. The shockwave blasted everyone backward.
Kira saw it clearly: his Crush Magic canceled out part of the roar, then Natsu's Dragon Slayer Magic followed up for a second clash. Even so, they couldn't fully stop the attack!
As the roar closed in, Kira reached into his pocket and flung out a card.
The card hit the ground, transforming into his trusty magic tool—a shield made of energy-absorbing stone, capable of neutralizing most magical attacks.
It wasn't large, but it was enough to protect Kira and Gildarts behind him.
Even with Kira's full effort, the roar pushed him back over a hundred meters. Gildarts, already gravely injured and unable to move, was dragged across the ground just as far.
Good thing they were on snow!
"Erza, Natsu, great job!" Kira panted, collapsing onto the snow.
If not for Natsu's move, he might not have made it. But the energy-absorbing shield was toast now. Another roar, and he wasn't sure he could block it.
"Is this what a dragon's combat power is like?"
"No way humans can fight that!"
Cana and Elfman gaped in awe. A direct hit from that would've left nothing but ash.
Despair was written on everyone's faces. Kira considered mentioning that Acnologia might not have even used its full strength but held back to avoid crushing their spirits further.
"With even Gildarts down, how are we supposed to…"
Right, Gildarts! Kira hurriedly dug him out from the snow and cast a healing spell.
Above, the Black Dragon's wings still loomed. No chance it was leaving after one hit.
Though its expression was unreadable, Kira had a gut feeling Acnologia was intrigued by his ability to block its attack. That was not a good sign.
This wasn't working. He had to rally the team!
"Don't give up!" Kira shouted from the ground. "You guys still owe me money! No way you're getting out of paying me back! You're all gonna live and settle your debts!!!"