Dragons had no concept of family. During breeding season, young dragons were raised by the mother and would often never even meet their father.
So Charles didn't know whether Igneel had ever even seen his own son.
But as far as Charles knew, Ignia was different from his father—he was a more "typical" dragon.
Igneel possessed the mightiest power, capable of leveling mountains and evaporating lakes with ease. Yet despite his overwhelming strength, he had never lost his gentle heart.
He respected life more than anyone—be it human or dragon. That's why Charles admired him deeply.
Ignia, however, was not the same. He sought strength, yearned for destruction and combat. While he didn't view weak humans merely as food or playthings like some other dragons, his cold indifference was still enough to raise alarm.
Charles didn't want to believe that the son of Igneel, heir to his blood, could be so cold-hearted. But the information he had left him no choice but to approach Ignia with the utmost caution.
So this time, Charles had firmly refused to let anyone accompany him and set out alone to find Ignia.
Truth be told, Charles didn't understand some of the events in the Hundred-Year Quest arc.
Like Gildarts, for example—he had taken on the Hundred-Year Quest before, but why had he gone to the Sacred Peak Tōnia?
All Five Dragon Gods were in Guiltina, and the only clue to the Water Dragon God's whereabouts was in Elmina, a port city in Guiltina.
Even if Gildarts were a bit scatterbrained… no, with that old man, maybe it was possible.
Anyway, back to Elefseria. For someone so obsessed with the Five Dragon Gods, he had remarkably little information about them. It made one wonder what he'd been doing for the past hundred years.
If he couldn't seal them, could he at least gather some intelligence?
Granted, the Gold Dragon God, being the embodiment of a concept, and the Moon Dragon God, who could traverse dimensions, were exceptions—but at the very least, the other three shouldn't have been so hard to locate.
The Wood Dragon God was enormous, and due to its sealed state, only ever extended a limb or two. For Elefseria to miss something like that, he'd have to be as blind as Acnologia.
What, the plot can't move unless the protagonist shows up?
And then there was the Flame Dragon God. Charles didn't know what Elefseria had been thinking, but he already had a strategy to find him.
Dragons were living beings. They had preferences when it came to their environment. Igneel, for example, had created a volcano-like space inside Natsu's body as his residence.
So it stood to reason that Ignia, also a fire-elemental dragon, would choose to dwell in an area rich in fire-elemental energy.
Charles didn't rely on a map. He used his own magical sense to search for any suspicious locations.
There weren't many areas that fit the criteria.
A place with a high concentration of fire-elemental energy and enough natural magical power to mask the aura of a massive dragon—that kind of location was rare.
Which is why Charles quickly found a likely target. As he stood before a volcanic mountain range, he began to understand why there was so little information circulating about the Flame Dragon God.
This hellish place wasn't somewhere people visited. If Ignia was hiding here, it would be strange if anyone had ever seen him.
Charles recalled Zhongming and walked into the unnamed volcanic range.
Breathing in the scorching air laced with the stench of sulfur, Charles could feel his own magic becoming more active. That confirmed it—Ignia was definitely deeper inside.
Sure enough, the further he went, the more clearly Charles felt that overwhelming pressure—a presence of tremendous magical power.
Dragon Slayers were said to be mages who fought dragons, but when it came to physical strength or magical power, they were nowhere near a true dragon's level.
Especially not one with a divine title.
Charles could already sense the dragon's power—and he smelled a familiar scent. But that also meant the dragon had sensed him too.
Charles stopped walking. No doubt about it—the scent was exactly the same as Igneel's.
BOOM!
Just as Charles was recalling his time living with Igneel, a distant volcano suddenly erupted.
Molten lava shot into the sky, burning through the layers of volcanic ash and cloud that had blanketed the skies. The lava rained down, painting the mountain dark red.
What caught Charles's attention, however, was a dark silhouette dancing through the eruption, soaring into the sky.
Even as just a shadow, its posture in flight radiated authority and power—undeniably the figure of a dragon.
The shadow rapidly expanded in Charles's field of view, growing clearer with each passing moment.
For a moment, Charles thought he saw Igneel. But as the dragon drew closer, the differences became apparent.
Igneel hadn't been born the Flame Dragon King. His battle-hardened body was covered in scars.
The dragon before Charles had no such wounds, and his scales bore distinctive black markings that Igneel lacked.
The massive dragon flew directly toward Charles, stirring up winds so strong they blew away the sulfur stench in the air.
Hovering above Charles, the dragon wore a smile on his face—a face that closely resembled Igneel's.
"That magic… that scent… you're one of the two children raised by Igneel, aren't you?"
Charles stared straight up at Ignia and answered, "So you recognized me. I guess you've been keeping tabs on Igneel all this time."
Ignia let out a thunderous laugh and looked down. "Of course I have. Igneel was the Flame Dragon King—the strongest dragon I know. He's my benchmark for power. Of course I've kept track of him."
Charles curled his lip and said, "I thought maybe it was because he's your father—that you couldn't let him go."
Ignia scoffed, "Emotions are for weak, sentimental humans. Dragons don't carry such burdens.
To surpass Igneel—that's all he means to me."
Then, giving Charles another look, he added, "Maybe there's one more thing. I'd like to find out who's stronger—Igneel's biological son, or the child he raised."
Charles shook his head. "Looks like we can't talk this out. Since we're both Igneel's children, let's speak in a more direct way."
Ignia burst out laughing again, his expression turning cold. "Well said! I accept you! You've inherited Igneel's power—you're worthy to be my brother!"
As Ignia spoke, Charles suddenly appeared in front of him and drove a full-powered Fire Dragon Iron Fist into his face.
The impact was so powerful, Ignia's massive body was knocked backward.
Charles exhaled a puff of white breath and said coldly, "Don't joke with me. You are not my brother."
Ignia straightened his head, which had been knocked aside, and grinned. "Not bad. As expected of Igneel's child! But you've got a long way to go. Alright then…"
As he spoke, Ignia's massive body began to shimmer and morph, gradually shrinking until it transformed into a human form.
Ignia's human appearance was that of a young man. His upper body was bare, and his face and torso were covered in black markings.
Charles frowned. For dragons, their true forms were what allowed them to fully exert their magical power. Taking on a human shape only limited that power.
By choosing to fight in human form, Ignia was showing obvious disdain.
It was irritating—but Charles had to admit that the pressure from Ignia's dragon form had been overwhelming.
At least now that he had taken on human form, Charles didn't feel like the outcome was a foregone conclusion.
(End of Chapter)
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