For reasons unknown, Ignia chose to suppress his full power and fight Charles in his human form.
But even in this state, Charles had no choice but to go all out.
Ignia had claimed he had surpassed Acnologia. Charles couldn't be sure if that was true—but the confidence behind those words was not baseless.
As Igneel's biological son, Ignia's talent was undoubtedly among the finest in the entire dragon race.
Even though he had fled in disgrace from Acnologia four hundred years ago, he had trained tirelessly ever since, with the singular goal of defeating him.
And four hundred years is a long time, even for a dragon—long enough to accumulate power beyond imagination.
Even with all his cheats and advantages, Charles couldn't ignore the difference in lifeform and sheer time invested. Claiming to have already surpassed Ignia would be delusional.
So from the very first moment, Charles activated both his Dragon King Form and Dragon Flame Armor, with the skill Dragon Slayer fully in effect. Cloaked in raging power, he charged at Ignia.
Ignia sneered, "Tricks of a desperate little man."
Few could face Charles at full power with such disdain—but Ignia had the power to back it up.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
They used the same move. The moment their fists collided, the world around them seemed to fall silent.
In the next second, every surrounding volcano erupted. The impact and magic released from their clash detonated the volcanoes.
Molten lava rained down like a storm, but as it neared the two combatants, it was instantly incinerated by the flames surrounding their bodies.
Neither used high-powered spells—they fought with raw, physical strikes, each punch landing solid, testing the limits of physical strength and magical power.
This was how dragons fought. As the strongest magical beings, dragons possessed powers beyond human comprehension.
Their scales had extremely high magical resistance—aside from Dragon Slayer magic, ordinary spells couldn't even scratch them.
Even when dragons fought each other, it was mostly through brutal, close-range combat.
Ignia threw a punch—Charles caught it. Charles returned a punch—Ignia blocked it.
Their four fists locked together in a test of strength. The ground beneath them couldn't handle the pressure and began to crack. Lava seeped through the widening fissures.
The ground continued to fracture, forcing the two apart. But in the next instant, they clashed again.
"Fire Dragon's Claw!"
Charles landed a kick on Ignia's forearm, flipped in midair, and slashed forward with both clawed hands.
"Fire Dragon's Crushing Fang!"
Meeting Charles's attack head-on, Ignia took a step forward. Charles's claws scraped against Ignia's chest, throwing sparks.
Then Ignia slammed a fist into Charles's face, sending him reeling.
Landing on the searing lava, Charles licked the blood from his loosened teeth, his eyes now burning with manic excitement.
His development ability [Warrior] activated—his flames grew even more intense.
Ignia returned the same wild-eyed look and grinned, "Not bad. You're still getting stronger? Good—give me a fight worth burning for!"
Charles didn't reply. In a flash, he closed the distance and punched.
While Charles didn't have the centuries of training Ignia did, he wielded power forged from multiple worlds—something even Ignia couldn't ignore.
This time, Charles's punch struck Ignia square in the abdomen. The impact sent out a wave of energy that flattened the terrain behind him.
Even Ignia had to bend forward slightly, burn marks forming on his stomach. But there was joy in his eyes.
As Ignia had said—what he sought was a fight that set his blood on fire. An enemy who couldn't even wound him could never provide that.
And now, Charles had proven worthy of igniting his battle spirit.
Taking the punch head-on, Ignia returned a heavy blow to Charles's chest.
Charles's Dragon Flame Armor, composed entirely of magical energy, let out a pained cry as a visible crack split across its surface.
Charles was shaken—ever since he'd created this armor, no one had managed to break it.
Ignia was just as surprised. He had used his full strength in that punch, yet it hadn't completely shattered Charles's defense.
Charles steadied himself. Flames burned white-hot around his fists as he drove another punch toward Ignia.
Seeing Charles's flames, Ignia's eyes lit up. His own fists burst into dark crimson fire, and he struck back without hesitation.
Two fists. Two flames. As they collided, the energy exploded into a blazing sea of red and white fire.
Charles gritted his teeth. It had been a long time since he'd been burned—back when he was still weak. Yet even now, he couldn't fully withstand Ignia's fire.
But the burns didn't slow Charles down—and Ignia wasn't immune to the searing heat of Charles's white-hot Dragon Slayer flames either.
Charles leaned back to dodge a sweeping kick from Ignia—his counterattack also missed.
Ignia leapt into the air and brought a leg crashing down.
Charles crossed his arms to block. His left leg bent under the pressure, nearly collapsing to the ground. The remaining force poured into the ground, causing lava to surge like waves.
Grabbing Ignia's leg, Charles swung him overhead and slammed him into the ground.
He didn't let up—he raised a foot to stomp down. But Ignia kicked back mid-bounce, launching Charles far away.
Charles slammed into the side of a volcano, shattering it into rubble.
His vision went dark for a moment, and his breath caught—but as soon as the color returned to his eyes, he saw Ignia closing in, fist raised high.
"What's wrong, huh?! Is that all you've got?!"
Each punch that rained down caused the earth to quake. Volcanos spewed magma with every strike. Still, nothing could drown out Ignia's wild, furious voice.
But just as another bloodstained fist came down, it was stopped by a hand.
"That's enough. Don't you think it's my turn now?"
A pillar of white-hot flame erupted, blasting Ignia away—Charles had leapt from the crater.
His condition wasn't good. Most of his Dragon Flame Armor had been destroyed, and one of his dragon horns had been snapped. But his fighting spirit burned as fiercely as ever.
He launched an uppercut into Ignia's chin, sending him flying even higher. Then, unleashing a burst of energy, Charles followed and struck from above, hammering Ignia back down to the ground.
Landing beside him, Charles's red crystalline armor shattered into fragments of glowing magical light.
Dragon Flame Armor – Second Form: Activated!
(End of Chapter)
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