Erza's eyes were wide with shock, but even more than that, they burned with understanding and pride. She stared up at the black-haired figure high in the sky and quietly explained, "That gravity magic Roger layered on his fist just now? It basically packed the weight of an entire mountain into a single point."
"Add that to his own body, which has been strengthened by multiple kinds of magic… and yeah, sending a giant dragon flying isn't actually impossible."
"You guys get out of here—get off Tenrou Island now!" Roger's voice boomed down from above.
"The shockwaves from the rest of this fight are gonna be massive. I don't want any of you getting hurt by stray hits!"
With that, he spread his wings, gave one powerful flap, and shot straight up toward Acnologia, who had only just regained its balance.
Roger blinked in behind the black dragon, ready to press the attack, when a terrifying wall of wind pressure came screaming in along with a swipe of those massive claws.
He flickered out of the way like it was nothing.
Then he twisted mid-air, slipped into the tiny opening left after the claw swipe, and drove another terrifying punch straight into the dragon's relatively softer underbelly.
BOOM!!
This time Acnologia was ready. Its colossal body only shuddered violently a few times instead of getting launched again.
But the very real pain that shot through it made those cold, vertical pupils flare with clear rage for the first time.
Claws! Tail! It even tried to blast everything around it with a roar loaded with annihilation energy!
Yet that human flitted through the storm of attacks like the world's most annoying mosquito, moving so fast the dragon couldn't land a single hit, not even grazing his clothes.
Every part of its body kept sending sharp, unmistakable jolts of pain. Nothing fatal, but like needles stabbing its nerves over and over.
And its own proud, overwhelming power? It kept missing. Completely.
The frustration built up inside the dragon that had once slaughtered its own kind and razed entire nations until it finally snapped.
"ROOAAAAARRR—!!!"
Acnologia threw its head back and unleashed an ear-splitting bellow.
A ring of pitch-black annihilation energy exploded outward in every direction, expanding like a shockwave of pure doom.
Roger's eyes narrowed. He thrust both hands forward.
A golden magic circle instantly formed in front of him. At its center was a bottomless void that sucked in the incoming black wave, broke it down, and scattered it as harmless magic particles.
Down below, the leftover energy skimmed the ocean's surface and kicked up waves over a hundred meters tall—like moving mountains—crashing straight toward Tenrou Island's shoreline.
"W-WAIT, WHAT THE—?!" Lucy's hair stood straight up as she stared at the wall of water about to swallow everything. "What IS this?!"
"Are you kidding me?! That attack is straight-up broken!"
"Everyone, defensive positions, NOW!" Erza shouted again, charging forward to meet the wave head-on.
Every Fairy Tail member on the island scrambled, throwing up whatever barriers or counters they had just to survive the fallout of a fight they weren't even part of.
When the waves finally broke and scattered, Lucy was bent over, hands on her knees, gasping for air.
"I'm… exhausted…"
She looked up at the two figures still clashing in the sky and wailed, "Just blocking the shockwaves is taking everything we've got! There's no way we're evacuating like this!!"
High above, Roger noticed the ultra-compressed energy gathering in Acnologia's mouth and squinted.
"Here comes the roar, huh?"
His eyes flashed. After thinking for a fraction of a second, he pulled a regular-looking onion out of his system storage, ripped off the two tender green leaves at the top, shoved them in his mouth, chewed with a completely straight face, and swallowed.
Then he wound up, muscles bulging, and hurled the onion at the dragon's head with all his strength.
At the same time, he raised his right hand. A purple magic circle flashed in front of him.
True Illusion · Phantom Greatsword · Heaven Demon Lost Fall
Magic rushed into the circle like crazy, condensing and shaping in the blink of an eye.
In less than a second, an ancient-looking, broad-bladed greatsword the color of dull tungsten steel floated in front of him. At the end of the hilt, a pigeon-egg-sized blue gem glowed faintly.
Whoosh!
At Roger's mental command, the sword shot forward, overtaking the onion and slicing it cleanly in half with a crisp crack. The tip kept going and—ding!—buried itself shallowly into the scales just below Acnologia's eye.
Roger blinked in surprise. "Huh? A dragon-slaying greatsword I specifically reinforced with True Illusion's 'realism' actually pierced its defenses?!"
"It barely went in—doesn't even count as a light wound—but it definitely cut the scale!"
The instant the onion split open, pfffft—a faint greenish gas burst out and, like it had a mind of its own, shot straight into Acnologia's enormous nostrils.
The black dragon, right in the middle of charging its breath, suddenly froze.
Memories it had either forgotten or deliberately buried centuries ago flooded back uncontrollably.
A peaceful afternoon long, long ago—when it was still human—laughing with family and friends.
Then dragons descending, homes burning, loved ones reduced to ash in dragon fire.
It had thrown away those useless emotions. All that was left was hatred for magic and dragons, and the desire to destroy everything.
Yet for some reason its nose stung, and an overwhelming, inexplicable sadness crashed over it like a dam breaking.
The annihilation energy in its mouth began leaking away, out of control.
Its merciless vertical pupils turned red. Tears—actual tears—welled up and spilled over.
"It's… actually crying?" Roger's lips twitched into a tiny smirk.
"Sorrow Onion. The item description never said anything about usage restrictions. It just says that when cut, everyone within ten meters feels intense sadness and bursts into tears."
"Acnologia used to be a Dragon Slayer—still fundamentally human on the inside."
"Even though it's fully dragonized now, there might still be a shred of humanity left in its soul. I figured I'd test it… and holy crap, it actually worked."
He watched the dragon closely and analyzed, "Though the effect seems reduced. It's not sobbing uncontrollably—just tearing up and its attack got interrupted. Probably because its power and spirit are so overwhelming the item could only do so much."
While Acnologia was briefly trapped in "sadness mode," Roger pulled a faintly glowing card from his storage.
On the card was a woman with long purple hair.
He slowly poured magic into it. The woman's hair began glowing from the tips inward.
"I can hurt it with raw power and tricks, but dealing serious damage is still way too hard…"
Roger judged from the earlier attacks. "It's like fighting a boss with forced HP deduction. Each hit only knocks off maybe 500 to 1000 HP."
"At my current attack speed, grinding it down would take three straight days of non-stop fighting."
"And everyone else can't even leave because of the shockwaves… Guess it's time to play a trump card."
Purple lightning began crackling and jumping off the edges of the floating card with an ominous crackle.
When the power inside hit critical mass, Roger flung the card high into the sky.
Dream of Non-Temporal Hours · Eternal World Stove
The card shattered with a loud snap, turning into countless sparkling lights.
Then the sky above his head was torn open—a massive rift lined with purple lightning.
It looked like the eye of some ancient sleeping god suddenly opening, revealing a star-filled void inside.
Countless blue and purple motes of light drifted like distant stars, while thick purple lightning serpents slithered silently through the space.
Slowly, an enormous arm covered in archaic purple armor reached out from the depths of the rift.
In its grip was a bizarre, massive odachi that radiated pure destruction. The space around it warped just from existing.
Down on the beach, every single person stared in stunned silence, bodies trembling uncontrollably.
The rampant ions in the air made everyone's hair stand on end—they all instantly rocked insane explosion afros.
Lisanna's pupils shook. She opened and closed her mouth several times before finally swallowing hard and whispering in a trembling voice, "W-what… is that thing?"
"Just looking at that sword feels like a thousand tiny blades are scraping my skin… I can barely breathe…"
Gildarts stared dead at the purple blade, face grim. "That presence… it's even more terrifying than Acnologia."
"If Acnologia feels like a lion that only knows brute force and roaring… then that sword feels like a fully mature alpha lion at the height of its power, ruling the entire savanna!"
Up in the sky, Acnologia had just shaken off the inexplicable sadness and was about to vent its rage at being toyed with when an ice-cold aura of death locked onto it like unbreakable chains.
Its pupils shrank to pinpricks. It stared at the human and actually spoke, "This power… it is neither magic nor curse power!"
"Where exactly did you come from?!"
Roger was gritting his teeth so hard the veins on his forehead bulged. He couldn't spare a word.
Every muscle and nerve felt like it was being torn apart while purple lightning ran wild through his body.
(It hurts! Like red-hot needles stabbing everywhere while I'm being electrocuted at max voltage!)
(Even with Lightning Dragon Slayer resistance and all my body reinforcements… I still can't fully block this power's backlash?!)
He forcibly focused through the inhuman pain, trying to sync with that beyond-reason force.
A few breaths later he barely managed to seize a sliver of control and started guiding the purple giant arm in the sky.
Mindless Single Slash · Cut
The massive hand swung the odachi downward in a motion that looked almost casual.
Wherever the blade passed, space itself was sliced open like paper, revealing the same starry void as the rift above.
The edge pointed straight at the locked-on Acnologia.
The dragon's eyes widened in horror.
It desperately tried to break free and dodge, but its body felt trapped in the thickest swamp—every ounce of strength only moved it a few pitiful inches.
Shhhhing!
There was no loud clash of metal—just the soft sound of a hot knife sliding through butter.
The blade carved through Acnologia's body without the slightest resistance, cleanly severing the entire right shoulder and forelimb at the root.
The cut was instantly cauterized, glowing red-hot.
The purple odachi kept going, plunging into the ocean below.
BOOOOOOM!!!!
Like Moses parting the Red Sea on steroids, the ocean was split open all the way to the seafloor.
The lingering sword pressure carved a canyon several kilometers long and hundreds of meters deep into the seabed before finally fading.
The sea rushed back in to fill the chasm. The water level of the entire ocean seemed to drop slightly. Purple lightning danced across the surface while countless charred fish floated up belly-first.
The severed dragon forelimb flew off in the direction Acnologia had barely managed to twist, crashing down with a thunderous BOOM right next to the sacred Tenrou Tree in the center of the island.
Residual purple lightning crawled over the limb like living things. Seconds later—PSSSHHH!—the whole arm exploded in a shower of purple-red dragon blood that splattered across the Tenrou Tree's trunk.
Instead of dripping down, the blood was rapidly absorbed into the bark.
Buzzzz…
The leaves of the Tenrou Tree rustled without wind, glowing with vibrant life as if it had just received an insane dose of nutrients.
Meanwhile, both combatants were panting heavily.
Roger from the insane backlash and difficulty controlling the power; Acnologia from the agony of losing a limb and the massive drain.
They locked eyes, both racing to recover even a little strength.
(I missed the head… This power is way too hard to control precisely. It's like a kid swinging a giant two-handed sword meant for a grown man. I aimed for the neck, it dodged a bit, and I only took an arm.)
Roger quickly pulled a healing potion from his storage, chugged it in one go, and felt the warmth spread through his body, easing the pain and exhaustion.
"In hundreds of years… this is the first time I have suffered such a grievous wound!" Acnologia bared its forest of fangs. The pain fueled the madness blazing in its eyes.
Its remaining wing spread wide.
"Interesting… truly interesting!!"
"A strange power I cannot devour—neither magic nor curse power… something closer to the power of a god that stands above both!"
"I don't know how a human like you can wield it… but that only makes destroying you all the more worthwhile!!!"
It opened its jaws and began frantically devouring everything—air, light, every form of energy and magic in the area.
Visible torrents of power spiraled into its mouth like a vortex.
This time was different from the playful attacks earlier. The pitch-black sphere forming in its throat radiated annihilation so intense even Roger, far away, felt his heart skip.
"This guy really is a complete psycho who only knows destruction!"
No hesitation. Roger pulled out his next trump card.
This card showed a brown-haired, serious-looking man.
As magic poured in, the man's hair rapidly shifted from the tips inward, turning brilliant gold.
This time there was almost no pain, and the magic flowed smoothly.
When the hair finished turning pure gold, Roger flung the card skyward.
Heaven-Shaking Star Emerges · All Things Return to Silence
The card shattered!
In an instant, the sky for a full kilometer around Tenrou Island turned pure gold.
A massive golden orb like a real sun blazed into existence high above.
Imperial Golden Authority · Heaven-Shaking Myriad Phenomena
At the center of that "sun," an irregular, earthy-yellow polyhedron slowly materialized.
It carried the weight of the entire earth itself, radiating a terrifying pressure that forced all things toward silence and stillness. Like an ancient meteor, it fell straight toward Acnologia.
The moment the polyhedron appeared, the madness in Acnologia's eyes turned to pure fear.
This power was heavier, vaster, and more absolute than even the purple blade from before.
It felt like an entire planet was bearing down on it!
(I'll die!)
The thought stabbed into its mind like ice.
If that thing hits me dead-on, I'm dead!
Survival instinct overrode everything.
It whipped its head upward and fired the fully charged annihilation breath it had meant for Roger straight at the falling golden polyhedron.
Roar of the Emperor Dragon—!!!
A beam of pure black, so dense it swallowed light itself, slammed into the bottom of the polyhedron.
BOOOOOOM!!!!
The deafening clash rang out!
What happened next made Acnologia's blood run cold.
Its full-power roar only managed to pause the polyhedron's descent for a fraction of a second.
The very next moment, the golden mass carrying the weight of a star kept falling, crushing everything in its path.
(No way… it didn't destroy it—not even slowing it down?!)
Acnologia frantically poured every last drop of power into its roar. The black beam thickened dramatically!
The descent slowed by a hair… but it was still coming down, unstoppable.
By the time Acnologia realized running was its only option, it was far too late.
The earthen "star" was already right in front of its face.
It collided with the dragon's massive body.
First came an eerie silence.
Then—
KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A cataclysmic explosion that sounded like the birth of the universe itself tore through the sky.
Blinding golden-white light swallowed everything.
Immediately after, a golden tidal wave of annihilation energy rushed outward in all directions.
"Are you kidding me?!" Roger's face went pale mid-air. He threw up a giant golden defensive circle in front of himself.
The shockwave slammed into it so hard his whole body shook and cold sweat poured down his face.
"The aftershock is THIS strong?! Even the caster isn't safe?!"
"I know this is reality, but this is ridiculous!"
"In games you're supposed to be immune to your own attacks!!"
The barrier cracked and shattered after barely two or three seconds.
The leftover force sent Roger flying like a kite with its string cut, hurtling straight down toward the island.
Just before his back smashed into the Tenrou Tree—
Buzzzz!
A gentle golden glow burst from the tree's trunk, rapidly expanding into a translucent golden dome that enveloped the entire island and softly caught Roger as he fell.
High above, at the epicenter of that destructive light, Acnologia's body—from its feet upward—rapidly turned gray-white, petrifying into stone.
The petrification spread irreversibly: legs, torso, wings, and finally its head frozen in an expression of shock and unwillingness.
When the blinding light finally faded, all that remained in the sky was a lifelike stone statue of the Emperor Dragon locked in its final struggle.
All life and buoyancy gone, the statue plummeted straight down.
KABOOOM!!!!
A dull, mournful sound like a funeral bell rang out as the colossal stone dragon crashed into the now-calm sea, sending up a towering splash before slowly sinking beneath the waves, never to rise again.