"We did it! Run for it, now!!"
The battle plan worked. If they didn't escape now, were they just going to stay and die?
Kira knew full well that Acnologia had been toying with them earlier. Their attacks had been ineffective, and even the few hits he and Natsu managed to land didn't do much. But that last move was different—it humiliated the dragon.
By human standards… no, Kira was sure Acnologia wasn't as forgiving as he was. That dragon was pissed now!
The ice prison wouldn't hold it for long. Even without cheating or being on equal footing, God-Slaying Magic might edge out Dragon-Slaying Magic slightly, but this was Acnologia they were dealing with!
Drawing on his remaining magic, Kira sprouted massive wings from his back, grabbed Gray and Wendy, and flew toward the Prototype Fairy Airship, quickly catching up to Natsu, Happy, and Erza.
Thud, thud, thud. The group landed on the airship, where the others were already waiting. Seeing Kira and the rest arrive safely, they slammed the takeoff button.
Engines roared! Full speed ahead!!
"We made it out alive!"
Kira collapsed on the airship's deck, completely ungraceful. The others weren't much better—battered, exhausted, or both. Magic was tied to stamina, and since they'd poured everything into powering up Natsu, it'd take a while to recover. They were running on sheer willpower now.
Natsu, having unleashed Dragon Force, had gone all out and was still reeling from the aftereffects. He was drained, and to make matters worse, this airship lacked the balance magic to prevent his motion sickness.
Erza was in even worse shape. After giving her magic to Natsu, she'd kept pushing to assist him, likely awakening her second magic origin and burning through it entirely.
As for Gildarts, he was still heavily injured. Kira had no magic left to keep healing him, only enough to stabilize his life-threatening wounds. Full recovery would require serious rest.
Against the Ice Demon King earlier, Kira had already used about half his magic. Before he could replenish it, Acnologia showed up. Then came a barrage of buffs and healing spells like they were free, plus borrowing magic three times.
That final triple combo spell? Almost entirely his magic. To be safe, he'd layered dozens of binding spells on Acnologia, which drained nearly every drop he had left.
The Prototype Airship wasn't as advanced as his second model, but its top speed was just as good. At full throttle, three minutes was enough to get them out of the Zonia Mountains.
As they fled, faint explosions echoed behind them. Everyone knew—it was Acnologia breaking free.
"It broke through that magic so fast?! While dizzy, no less?!"
"That's a dragon? It's terrifying!"
"Was Natsu really raised by something like that?"
"No way!" Natsu, fighting nausea and dizziness, grabbed Gray and shouted, "Igneel was kind! He's not—ugh—not some evil monster like that!"
Gray held Natsu down. "Alright, alright, I get it! Why're you so mad?"
"Probably because he's ashamed he couldn't beat the dragon," Kira quipped.
"Kira?!"
The group glanced at Kira, then at the silent Natsu. He'd hit the nail on the head, but… was this really the time to rub it in?
Natsu had always believed dragons were gentle creatures and told the guild as much. Now, after years, the first dragon he meets is a vicious beast that nearly wiped them all out. How could he be happy about that?
Natsu slammed his fist on the airship, tears in his eyes, his voice heavy with frustration. "Damn it! Damn it!! DAMN IT!!! That thing…"
"Enough, Natsu! This is the prototype model—it can't take your pounding!" Kira stopped him, then softened his tone. "Besides, Acnologia isn't something we can handle right now. You don't need to feel bad about not beating it."
Gildarts, panting, chimed in. "Kira's right. We escaped because of a solid plan and because it wasn't taking us seriously. If it had, we'd all be gone in a second!"
"But didn't Kira find its weakness?" Kana asked while tending to Gildarts, then paused as she recalled the explosion. "Wait, are dragons like Dragon Slayers? Do they get motion sickness too?"
"Motion sickness won't hold it for long," Kira said, glancing at her. "Also, Acnologia was human once. He was a Dragon Slayer."
"What?!"
"You're saying it was human?!"
"That's insane!"
"How do you even know that?"
Everyone was floored, but no one doubted Kira's info. His intel was always spot-on.
Especially since he said it with such confidence, and it was so bizarre!
Lucy, ever the bookworm, zeroed in on the name. "Acnologia… I remember reading about it in the Book of Apocalypse. A dragon that destroyed an entire nation ages ago. That was that dragon? It's still alive?"
Kira nodded. "Yup. Dragons are long-lived. After turning into one, Acnologia's been around for nearly 400 years."
"Four hundred years?!"
"Wait, why did he turn into a dragon?"
Heh heh… perfect chance to mess with them.
Kira hid a sly grin, then put on a serious, conflicted expression before dropping the bombshell. "It's the price of Dragon Slayer Magic. Its essence is infusing a human with a dragon's power, so every Dragon Slayer has a dragon seed inside them."
"When their Dragon Slayer Magic gets strong enough, they'll all end up like Acnologia!"
By "like Acnologia," Kira meant dragon form, but to the others, it sounded like "evil, dark, tyrannical, mindless, destruction-obsessed dragon."
"WHAT?!" ×N
Everyone stared at Natsu in horror. "So Natsu's gonna…?"
Natsu's mind was a mess. "I… I'll turn into a dragon?"
"Hey, Kira, this isn't a joke!" Gray protested.
"I'm not lying," Kira said. "You saw Natsu's state earlier, right? That was Dragon Force, a combat mode Dragon Slayers awaken when their magic reaches a certain level. In that state, their power and magic undergo a qualitative leap."
"That's the first sign of turning into a dragon!"
"Will Natsu… become like that?" Happy wailed, clinging to Natsu. "No way! I don't want that!"
His voice was adorably pitiful.
"Relax," Kira reassured them. "Even if a Dragon Slayer turns into a dragon, there's a way to revert to human form and switch between the two. Acnologia can do it too—we're just not worth him facing as a human. Oh, and by the way, he can hear us right now."
That lifted their spirits slightly, but Kira's next words sent them crashing back down.
"However!" His tone shifted. "Even if they revert to human form, they're still a dragon at their core. They lose human senses—like food tasting like nothing, or being unable to sleep. Imagine enduring that for years. Pretty pathetic, right?"
Gray yanked Kira up from the deck. "How can you say that so casually, Kira?! Aren't we friends? If you knew this, why didn't you tell us sooner?"
Hmph! You jerk, always acting like you and Natsu don't get along. Now you're exposed—you care about him! But weird, I thought Erza would be the first to jump on me… Where is she?
Kira turned and saw Erza staring at him with a dark, intense look. "You're saying all this because you already have a solution, don't you?"