"Tell me then. Is it related to dragons?"
Marco smiled too.
He had actually guessed part of it already.
Just from the state of this place, he could more or less figure some things out. This place had clearly been destroyed by dragons, and not just one.
In truth, Marco was a little surprised.
Hadn't they said that all dragons had been killed and wiped out by the Black Dragon Acnologia?
So after all that, he had only killed the local dragons on Ishgar? Dragons from outside, like those on the northern continent of Guiltina, did not count?
"That's right. It is indeed related to dragons. My request is... to seal the Five Dragon Gods! To completely remove the source of disaster on the continent of Guiltina!"
Since Marco had already guessed it, Elefseria no longer kept him in suspense and directly explained the contents of the 100 Years Quest.
"The Five Dragon Gods?" Marco frowned.
Why five again?
It was normal for Marco to think of that first.
Igneel and the others were also five dragons, and now, here on the northern continent of Guiltina, another so-called Five Dragon Gods had appeared.
That was a little too much of a coincidence.
"That's right. The Five Dragon Gods are Viernes, the Gold Dragon God; Aldoron, the Wood Dragon God; Mercphobia, the Water Dragon God; Ignia, the Fire Dragon God; and Selene, the Moon Dragon God. Originally, there was also Dogramag, the Earth Dragon God, but I already defeated him. After his death, his magic power turned into the Great Dogra Labyrinth."
Elefseria's voice carried deep gravity.
These Five Dragon Gods were the greatest threat to the entire northern continent of Guiltina.
As long as they remained, Guiltina would never know peace.
The people could only continue living under the shadow of the Five Dragon Gods.
"Since you could defeat the Earth Dragon God by yourself and turn the Six Dragon Gods into the Five, why do you still need outside help? What price did you pay? And did that Earth Dragon God really die completely?"
Marco sharply noticed several issues in Elefseria's words.
Besides, the whole "the Earth Dragon God turned into the Great Dogra Labyrinth after death" sounded anything but normal.
"I did indeed kill him, but I paid a terrible price. My human heart was left there to seal the Earth Dragon God. That was also what triggered my complete dragonification. I had no choice but to fully become a dragon and rely on a dragon's heart to stay alive."
Elefseria sighed and explained his current condition.
"You can do that????"
Marco opened his mouth.
What did he mean, "I used my human heart to seal the Earth Dragon God"?
And what did he mean, "now I can only live because of a dragon's heart"?
Could someone still have both a human set of organs and a dragon set of organs after dragonifying?
Or were the human form and dragon form not sharing the same organs?
Marco was a little confused for a moment.
But in his vision, Elefseria only had one set of organs inside his body.
"It was mostly luck. I was already prepared to die, but after I dragonified, I grew a dragon's heart."
Elefseria answered Marco's confusion.
So it was not that he had two sets of organs. It was simply good luck.
Although growing another heart after turning into a dragon was still pretty absurd.
"How strong are the Five Dragon Gods? What are they each good at?"
Marco nodded and began asking about the Five Dragon Gods.
Elefseria had dealt with these Five Dragon Gods for so many years, so he should know at least some information about them.
"They are very strong. As for what they specialize in, naturally, that is related to their respective magic attributes. I have not fought all of them myself."
Elefseria shook his head.
On this matter, he actually could not help much.
He did not have much information.
"The so-called Five Dragon Gods are actually a title people gave these five dragons. The Five Dragon Gods are not a group, nor are they an organization. There are even conflicts between them. Perhaps you can make use of that."
However, Elefseria had stayed on the northern continent of Guiltina for many years, so he still had some useful information.
"So they can be defeated one by one."
Marco nodded.
This information was indeed useful.
At first hearing, the Five Dragon Gods really did sound like an organization.
But in truth, they were not.
They might not even understand each other that well. That gave challengers a chance to deal with them separately.
"The Five Dragon Gods each have their own territory."
Elefseria raised his hand.
A silver-white light glowed at his fingertip and quickly drew a simple magical map of the northern continent of Guiltina in the air.
On the map, Guiltina was divided into five different colored regions.
"This is Ermina, the base of Mercphobia, the Water Dragon God. Starting from the Magia Dragon guild and heading southwest, you can reach it by passing through the southern Valeria region. It was originally a port town, but because of the Water Dragon God Mercphobia, it has now become something else entirely."
Elefseria highlighted a spot on the southwestern coast of the northern continent of Guiltina and introduced it.
"Water Dragon God... Mercphobia..."
Marco looked at that glowing point and observed it carefully.
He decided to start with this Water Dragon God, Mercphobia.
There was no special reason.
It was simply because Mercphobia was close. He might as well deal with them from nearest to farthest.
"No problem. Leave it to me."
Marco directly accepted the mission.
He did not even care what the quest reward was, because the Saint System had already popped up with a mission.
He was not here for the reward from the 100 Years Quest.
The Saint System's reward was what he wanted!
[Ding! Mission triggered!]
[Mission Name: 100 Years Quest]
[Mission Details:]
[The northern continent of Guiltina is shrouded under the shadow of the Five Dragon Gods. The centuries-long entanglement and conflict between dragons and humans still continues on this land. Elefseria, Guild Master of Magia Dragon, has issued the 100 Years Quest in the hope that someone can defeat the Five Dragon Gods and completely end the conflict between humans and dragons on the northern continent of Guiltina.]
[Mission Progress:]
[Mission One: Defeat the Five Dragon Gods — Incomplete.]
[Mission Two: Resolve the conflict between humans and dragons — Incomplete.]
[Mission Rewards:]
[Mission One: Random Gold Cloth.]
[Mission Two: Blood of God.]
Looking at the mission that appeared from the Saint System, Marco frowned slightly.
The first one was easy to understand, he just had to defeat the Five Dragon Gods.
But what did Mission Two mean?
"Resolve the conflict between humans and dragons."
This mission requirement did not limit the scope to the northern continent of Guiltina.
In other words, Mission Two counted other dragons as well.
He would have to eliminate every dragon hostile to humans.
'Whatever. I'll do Mission One first.'
Marco immediately made his decision.
Mission Two could be set aside for now.
After all, to complete Mission Two, he would at least have to deal with the Black Dragon Acnologia too.
And whether there were any other hidden dragons in this world was still unknown.
Marco no longer believed the claim that "the Black Dragon killed all dragons."
After all, he had seen far too many dragons slip through the net!
"You... are really going alone? Are you a Dragon Slayer?"
Seeing that Marco was about to set off so casually, Elefseria called out to stop him.
Although he had seen plenty of death already, his original intention was not to send people to Guiltina just to die.
For those whom Elefseria could tell at a glance were unreliable and would only be throwing their lives away, he would still try to persuade them.
Of course, kind words could not stop someone determined to die.
Which of the people who came to accept the 100 Years Quest was not talented?
Which one was not a dragon among men?
It would be strange if they were willing to run back home with their tails between their legs.
"Do you know the Black Dragon Acnologia?"
Facing Elefseria's doubt toward his strength, Marco remained calm and brought up Acnologia again.
"The Black Dragon... Acnologia. Of course I know him. The dragons of the northern continent of Guiltina came here to avoid being hunted by the Black Dragon Acnologia. What does that have to do with this?"
Elefseria had lived a long time and dealt with dragons for many years, so he naturally knew a lot.
That made it easier for Marco to communicate with him.
"Not long ago, I heavily injured that guy. Right now, he's off somewhere licking his wounds. Our people are searching the continent for him. Oh, and if you have any information about the Black Dragon, remember to contact me. Eliminating the Black Dragon is everyone's responsibility!"
Marco smiled as he said something that nearly made Elefseria's jaw drop.
"Impossible! That's Acnologia you're talking about!"
Elefseria was so shocked that his figure became unstable.
He could no longer maintain that enlightened elder appearance and directly revealed his dragon form.
Elefseria's dragon form had a very long and thick beard.
There was a gemstone on the center of his dragon head, and his horns resembled deer antlers.
His overall form looked majestic and quite classic for a dragon, at least far more dragon-like than the Iron Dragon.
"Whether it's possible or not, you'll know once I deal with the Five Dragon Gods."
Marco smiled and did not bother explaining further.
The truth would be shown through action.
"Even if what you said is true, don't become arrogant! Although the Five Dragon Gods fled here to avoid the Black Dragon, so many years have passed and their strength has grown a great deal. I'm afraid each of them may be no weaker than the Black Dragon!"
Seeing Marco's confident look, Elefseria no longer stopped him, but he still kindly warned him.
"..."
Marco looked speechless.
He stared at Elefseria with an expression that clearly said, "Are you joking?"
He really found it hard to understand how Elefseria had reached that conclusion.
A group of defeated strays had fled to this far northern land to avoid being hunted by the Black Dragon.
And now Elefseria was saying that each of those dragons might have strength no weaker than the Black Dragon?
Wasn't that just pure joke?
If they really had that kind of strength, why would they be hiding away on the northern continent of Guiltina?
"Fine. I'll see what level they're at myself."
Marco shook his head and did not say anything more to Elefseria.
His figure flickered, and he directly left Magia Dragon.
These Five Dragon Gods sounded impressive enough, but whether they were mules or horses, he had to bring them out and test them first.
Whether they truly had the Black Dragon's strength or not, Marco would definitely be able to judge.
"Still, what's the deal with this Fire Dragon God Ignia? That name... he wouldn't happen to be related to Igneel, would he?"