Elefseria fell silent.
For a moment, he looked as though his entire view of the world had just been shaken.
"The Water Dragon God... became an ally?"
That vicious dragon whose hands were stained with the blood of countless humans had repented and agreed to work with them?
To Elefseria, that was even more absurd than hearing Mercphobia had been killed.
The way he looked at Marco changed.
There was awe in his eyes now, the kind that came from seeing someone do something he had never even imagined possible.
"Of course, that doesn't mean Mercphobia gets to wash away everything he did. Once this matter is over, he'll exile himself to the desert and live there, planting trees."
Marco explained that part because he did not want Elefseria to feel uncomfortable about it.
"It's all right. You don't need to take my feelings into account. As long as the problem of northern Guiltina can be solved, my personal grudges do not matter."
Elefseria shook his head. He understood Marco's kindness, but he had already thrown away his personal feelings a long time ago.
In a way, Elefseria and Igneel were somewhat similar.
Both had abandoned almost everything for the sake of solving a problem.
The only difference was the target. One fought for the end of the Black Dragon. The other fought for the end of the Five Dragon Gods.
"As for Ignia, the Fire Dragon God, his situation is a little special."
Seeing that Elefseria's emotions were stable, Marco continued, though his tone turned a little subtle.
"He's the biological son of the Fire Dragon King Igneel. And Igneel happens to be a good friend of our guild."
"???"
Elefseria's mouth fell open again as another wave of shock hit him.
The Fire Dragon God Ignia was the son of a Dragon King?
And Fairy Tail had ties to the Fire Dragon King?
"The Fire Dragon King is still alive?!" Elefseria blurted out.
He had lived a long time, but not four or five hundred years.
He knew many secrets, but this was completely outside his knowledge.
"Yes. The Fire Dragon King is currently on Ishgar, searching for the Black Dragon with us. And it isn't just him. There are several other dragons as well."
Marco's answer confirmed it, and suddenly everything he had said earlier fit together.
They truly were preparing to destroy Acnologia!
"..."
Elefseria opened his mouth, but no words came out.
At this point, he had no choice but to believe it.
"The Fire Dragon King personally disciplined Ignia and told me I could handle him however I saw fit. In the end, out of consideration for Igneel's feelings, I didn't execute Ignia. I sealed him away instead."
Marco explained what had happened to Ignia, hoping Elefseria could understand.
Elefseria remained quiet, listening to all of this as if he were hearing a myth from some faraway age.
He had spent over a hundred years sacrificing, struggling, and even losing his human body just to barely seal away Dogramag, the Earth Dragon God.
Yet the young man standing before him had spent only half a day doing the impossible.
He had convinced the Water Dragon God to join them and completely subdued the infamous Fire Dragon God.
The gap between them was like heaven and earth.
"Incredible... Master Marco, your strength and the way you handle things are far beyond anything I imagined. I apologize for doubting you earlier."
Elefseria let out a long sigh.
This time, he was truly convinced, and his tone had grown openly respectful.
The way he looked at Marco had changed completely.
At first, there had been caution and concern in his eyes. Now, there was only the awe and trust one would show a true legendary powerhouse.
He believed Marco was not lying, because there was no point in lying.
The Five Dragon Gods were real.
If Elefseria went to check for himself, any lie would be exposed immediately.
And he did intend to check, because for the first time, he could truly see the possibility of Guiltina's dragon problem being solved.
The end of the so-called 100 Years Quest no longer felt like a distant dream.
"Then..."
Elefseria steadied himself.
Hope burned in his eyes, and his tone turned unusually serious.
"For the remaining Gold Dragon God, Wood Dragon God, and Moon Dragon God... how do you plan to begin? Is there anything I can help with?"
At this moment, Elefseria was no longer a hopeless watcher. He had become a collaborator who had seen the first light of victory.
Things had reached this point. If he still did nothing now, what was he waiting for? This might be the only chance he would ever have in his life.
"You're going to help too? Good."
Marco was a little surprised at first, but he quickly understood.
Elefseria had seen hope.
Of course he would no longer stand by and watch. He truly wanted to solve northern Guiltina's problem.
"I don't want to wait any longer."
Elefseria made his stance clear. He no longer had any doubts about Marco.
"All right. Then we'll go together."
Marco nodded.
At this stage, there was no need to worry about the formalities of the 100 Years Quest.
Besides, the request had never said the client was not allowed to help.
Gray stood at the side, listening to Marco's firm words and watching Elefseria's almost shaken reaction.
A strong sense of pride rose in him.
Marco had already told Gray who Elefseria was. Gray knew this old man was a legendary hero in his own right.
And yet even someone like Elefseria now treated Marco with respect and even reverence.
That was the Guild Master of Fairy Tail!
Buzz.
Marco activated his teleportation and took Elefseria and Gray away from Magia Dragon.
Elefseria was also skilled in spatial teleportation, but he did not insist on showing it off.
Instead, he respectfully allowed Marco to take the lead.
The next moment, the three of them appeared in Ermina.
The tide had receded, and the city had risen above the sea once again.
Under the sunlight, the buildings were still wet, as if seawater clung to every wall and roof.
"Ermina..."
Looking at the city and at the human residents who still had not returned to human form, Elefseria's expression grew complicated.
Before today, if anyone had told him that Mercphobia would one day stand on the same side as him and fight the other Dragon Gods, he would never have believed it.
But now the truth was right in front of him.
Whether he believed it or not no longer mattered.
Marco had brought him to Ermina.
How could this be fake?
Buzz.
Mercphobia soon appeared in human form.
"Elefseria. It's been a long time."
The moment he arrived, Mercphobia's gaze locked onto Elefseria.
To be honest, this meeting was awkward.
Before this, the two of them had truly been enemies who would not stop until one side died.
Even now, they were still enemies in a sense. They were only standing together because Marco had pulled them onto the same side.
"Water Dragon God... I never thought there would be a day when we stood together and fought side by side."
Elefseria sighed.
There was no mockery in his words. He only regretted that Mercphobia had woken up far too late.
"..."
Mercphobia also sighed and said nothing more.
"All right, next target. The Gold Dragon God, the Wood Dragon God, or the Moon Dragon God. Which one?"
Marco did not let the awkward silence continue and took the initiative to move on.
Now that he had both Mercphobia and Elefseria as sources of information, things would be much easier.
"I suggest we go after the Wood Dragon God first," Mercphobia said.
"I agree," Elefseria added. "The Gold Dragon God is too mysterious. There has been no news of him for a long time. As for the Moon Dragon God, she is not easy to find either."
The reason was simple.
They should start with Aldoron because he was the easiest one to locate.
"I know the Gold Dragon God should be near Filan City. Viernes... I don't know what that guy is planning. As for Selene, she really is extremely mysterious. Whether she is even in this world right now is hard to say." Mercphobia spoke.
The Five Dragon Gods were not exactly close with one another, so he only knew the general situation.
"You know more than I expected."
Elefseria looked at Mercphobia in surprise.
In his impression, Mercphobia had always stayed around Ermina and rarely went anywhere.
He had not expected him to know anything about the other Dragon Gods.
"We've been fighting each other for so many years, after all."
Mercphobia gave a helpless explanation. What he knew was limited, but it was still more than nothing.
"All right. Then we'll go find the Wood Dragon God."
Since Mercphobia and Elefseria gave the same suggestion, Marco made the decision.
He did not really mind either way. Dealing with them was only a matter of order.
"By the way, Ignia has been sealed by me. Does he still have any remaining forces in his territory?"
Before setting off to find Aldoron, the Wood Dragon God, Marco suddenly thought of Ignia's side.
"Yes. Fire and Flame, a wizard guild loyal to Ignia. They manage his territory for him."
Mercphobia answered right away.
Among all the Dragon Gods, the one he understood best was obviously Ignia.