The Dragon Flame Armor and Dragon King Form were explosive techniques Charles had developed by combining his own powers.
The difference between them lay in their source: the Dragon King Form was a technique forged by fully unleashing all of Charles's inherent strength.
The Dragon Flame Armor, on the other hand, was created by integrating all external powers he had acquired.
And since it relied on external energy, its usage inevitably imposed greater strain on the body. To minimize that burden, Charles had shaped it into armor form—hence the Dragon Flame Armor.
But aside from its armored mode, the Dragon Flame Armor had another form: one that fully merged all external power into his body, allowing it to erupt at full force without restraint.
Naturally, this came at the cost of tremendous physical stress and significantly limited the time he could remain in battle. Yet at this moment, Charles's mind had room for only one thought—to go all out against Ignia.
As the armor shattered, red runes crawled across Charles's skin, replacing it. His outer garments were instantly incinerated by flame, revealing a rune-covered torso.
His dragon-scale scarf billowed, its tips flickering with fire.
The broken dragon horn on his forehead regenerated—thicker and stronger than before.
Ignia was genuinely thrilled. He hadn't expected Charles to grow even stronger in his current state.
But that stronger Charles was still his opponent—and before Ignia could react, Charles had already appeared in front of him and chopped down with a knife-hand strike.
Crack!
Ignia had long forgotten what it sounded like to hear his own bones break. He had also forgotten what it felt like to experience such intense pain.
Yet instead of fear, the pain only further ignited his fighting spirit. He immediately countered with a punch aimed at Charles.
Charles met it head-on—taking a hit to the chest while landing a blow to Ignia's face.
Neither of them backed down. Instead, they pushed forward, unleashing a flurry of attacks.
Who knew how many blows they exchanged—punches, kicks, strikes. Finally, Ignia let out a hearty, primal roar, and despite his dislocated fingers, drove another punch into Charles's face.
Charles stumbled back just half a step. Then, aiming both hands at Ignia, he fired off a point-blank Radiant Flame of the Fire Dragon.
Braving Charles's scorching fire, Ignia pushed forward, his fist slamming into Charles's chest and caving it inward.
Right now, dragon force flowed through Charles's veins, granting him an extraordinary regeneration ability.
But this time, after all the damage he'd sustained, his healing was slow.
No wonder only Dragon Slayers could kill dragons—dragon magic could suppress other dragon magic.
In the original story, the five dragons of Guiltina were known as the Five Dragon Gods, but not because they were united. On the contrary, each harbored their own selfish ambitions.
They all wished the others dead so only they could reign supreme.
Their war hadn't erupted simply because injuries sustained in battle between dragons were difficult to heal. None of them wanted to fight only to be finished off by a third party.
Ignia swept away Charles's flames and looked at him. "Interesting flames. But maybe you're mistaken—true fire isn't like that."
"Talk too much," Charles growled, his breath heavy, and lowered his stance.
Ignia recognized the posture and replied, "Then allow me to show you."
They both crouched down and drew in breath. Fire-elemental magic surged madly around them.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!" ×2
White and deep crimson flames erupted simultaneously from their mouths, colliding with a thunderous crash.
Charles frowned. His flame was no less refined than Ignia's, and he had poured in just as much magic.
Yet his fire was starting to dissolve on contact with Ignia's.
Even when he channeled more power into it, it made no difference—the deep red flames overwhelmed his white blaze and engulfed him completely.
Grimacing in pain, Charles opened his mouth and began eating Ignia's flame.
If the opponent's fire was stronger, then he'd devour it and make it his own.
In theory, it was sound—but Ignia's fire was far too domineering.
Though Charles forced it down, the raging power burned him from within.
Veins bulged across his face. His dragon pupils turned blood red, and he struggled desperately to maintain a shred of clarity.
Seeing this, Ignia looked disappointed. "Losing your mind from my flames, huh?"
But Charles didn't respond with words—he lunged forward, launching a savage barrage.
As he unleashed the uncontrollable power raging inside him, he also tried to understand: what made Ignia's flames stronger?
He had a hunch—solving this riddle was the key to turning the tide.
And even if he failed his original objective, just discovering the answer would be a worthy reward.
But between the injuries he had taken since the start of the fight, the burden of Dragon Flame Armor's second form, and now the untamable energy of Ignia's flame within him—Charles's mind was on the brink.
His thoughts slowed. His consciousness blurred.
Then—
A memory surfaced.
…
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
Little Natsu's cheeks puffed red as he fired a fireball no larger than a fist.
"How's that, Charles? I learned the move!"
A tiny Charles sighed. "That's it?"
He inhaled deeply—and released a fire column over ten meters long.
Natsu's eyes sparkled. "So cool! I'll be able to do that too someday!"
Then a deep voice cut in. Igneel stretched out his head. "You call that a roar?
Watch closely. This is what a real roar looks like!"
Charles and Natsu then witnessed what a true Fire Dragon's Roar was.
A pillar of fire, thick as a man, burst from Igneel's mouth, blasting a distant mountain into rubble. The resulting winds nearly knocked the boys over.
"Whoa, amazing!"
Hearing Natsu's awe, Igneel roared with laughter.
Looking down at Charles, who seemed to be thinking, Igneel asked, "What's on your mind, Charles?"
Charles replied, "Strange… why does your fire feel different from mine?"
Igneel laughed. "Of course it does! You haven't yet understood what fire really is. Once you do, you'll have flames like mine."
Charles looked confused, glanced at Natsu beside him, and immediately turned away.
That clear, clueless look in Natsu's eyes meant he had no idea either. Trying to get inspiration from him? Charles gave up on the spot.
…
"What is fire?"
The question echoed in Charles's mind. Igneel's hint was there, but the answer remained elusive.
Outside, meanwhile, Charles fought like a beast, frantically assaulting Ignia.
His strength had increased—but the wild, erratic blows were no threat to Ignia.
The Flame Dragon God didn't even bother countering. Cold-faced, he effortlessly dodged every strike.
Then, slipping past Charles's claw, Ignia kicked him, sending him flying.
As Charles staggered back to his feet, Ignia said, "Can't absorb my flames? Of course you can't. My fire is hellfire—it burns everything.
But just as I was starting to enjoy myself, is this really how it ends? Boring."
He didn't know that his words had pierced through the fog in Charles's mind like sunlight breaking through heavy clouds.
Charles had realized during his research on Kyria: dragons wielded magic differently from humans. They were closer to the essence of magic. What they wielded were conceptual powers.
Kyria's Blade Dragon magic, for example, was the power of "severing" itself—a manifested concept.
Ignia's fire wasn't just hot—it burned all, reduced everything to ash. It was fire as a concept of annihilation.
Charles, by contrast, had only ever used fire in the literal sense. Even with his purification-infused Spirit Assimilation or boosted Dragon Slayer skills, his flames lacked that deeper nature.
So then—what was the concept behind his own fire?
…
Ignia watched as Charles slowly raised his head, and the crimson in his eyes began to fade.
"Oh? Looks like I get to enjoy this a little longer."
Charles smiled. "Don't worry. This time, I really am burning!"
At his core, a vivid orange glow flickered within his white-hot flame—it burned beautifully.
The two locked eyes once more, taking the same stance as before.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
From Charles's mouth burst a flame with an orange core and white incandescent outer blaze. It surged forth and held back Ignia's deep crimson fire.
The two forces clashed mid-air—neither yielding.
This was Charles's new flame—imbued with the concept of incandescence.
(End of Chapter)
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