In the end, Kirin and the others managed to save their butts.
It was mainly because Hope suddenly remembered that this world didn't have a specialized proctology department, so he let them off. It definitely wasn't because he saw Erza's disapproving gaze...
Since Laxus was fine now, everyone happily went to the Underwater Park to play, but Hope took Kirin and the others to see Melkobia.
"Dragon Eaters..."
After learning the identities of Kirin and the others, Melkobia sighed. His feelings toward humans who ate his own kind were complicated.
It was a bit uncomfortable, but it couldn't be called hatred.
After all, incidents of dragons eating dragons had occurred within the dragon race as well.
Besides, if evil dragons can eat humans, why can't humans eat dragons in return? Ultimately, it was because the evil dragons of the past had committed too many sins, not only giving rise to the monster known as the Black Dragon but also bringing retribution upon the surviving dragons.
Moreover... among the dragons that came to Giltina, very few were good.
It was best for the grudges that had lasted over 400 years to end here.
Seeing that the Water God Dragon actually expressed that he wouldn't hold him and his companions accountable for their actions and previous arrogant talk, Kirin was greatly surprised. "You're really not going to kill us?"
"Let all the past grudges fade away." Melkobia shook his head. "I only want to coexist peacefully with humans now. Let them go."
Coexist...
Hearing those two words, Kirin was slightly stunned.
He thought of what he had seen and heard since entering the town of Ermina. The respect the residents there had for the Water God Dragon didn't seem fake; it all came from the heart.
But... can dragons and humans really coexist?
"Of course they can." Seeing Kirin's puzzled expression, Hope told him about the war between humans and dragons that took place on the continent of Ishgar over 400 years ago.
There were evil dragons who viewed humans as food and playthings, but there were also dragons willing to give their lives to protect humans.
"Nothing is absolute; everything has two sides."
Hope smiled. "Just like how someone might like young girls, but that doesn't stop him from appreciating married women..."
Kirin: "What kind of messy analogy is that..."
Melkobia also chimed in, "The person you're talking about... wouldn't happen to be yourself, would it?"
Hope took a deep breath. He had accidentally blurted out his inner thoughts. To maintain his grand and upright image, maybe he should just silence the witnesses—human or dragon.
Melkobia and Kirin complained in unison, "Do you even have a good image to begin with?!"
After some banter, the relationship between the Dragon Eaters and the dragon eased considerably. Hope took this opportunity to ask for information about the Dragon Devourer Guild.
Diabolos had been established for over thirty years. Most of its members were orphans raised from childhood by the Guild Master, Jorg Leissen. Only a few joined voluntarily for power or because of Diabolos's reputation as Giltina's number one guild.
The reason Jorg Leissen had previously attacked the Sword Saint Dragon Kurnugi was that he had found a promising talent, and Kurnugi's abilities happened to be a perfect match for that child.
But because of Jorg Leissen's brutal personality and terrifying strength, all guild members were extremely respectful to him, not even daring to speak loudly in his presence.
Although Kirin was raised by Jorg Leissen since childhood, and Jorg had personally killed the Thunder Dragon King and given Kirin its flesh, Kirin had to admit that Diabolos was a dark guild.
In the end, the orphans they raised were merely tools cultivated by Jorg Leissen to hunt more dragon meat for his consumption.
As for feelings for the guild, they existed, but not much.
So, upon learning that Guild Master Jorg Leissen had been beaten by Hope and the others and his fate was unknown, Kirin and the other three Diabolos members didn't have much of an emotional reaction.
"With the boss gone, is there anyone else in charge of your guild?" Hope suddenly had the idea of poaching members.
Regardless of Jorg Leissen's personality, he had a good eye for people; the children he adopted would never lack talent.
It would be better to take this chance to dismantle Diabolos and bring the talented and decent-natured people into his own guild...
Fairy Tail was top-notch at assimilating people. Even Hope had to admit he'd been influenced and had developed a bit of a mischievous streak.
Otherwise, could it be that Magnetic Field Power was amplifying his true nature?
Kirin didn't know he was being targeted. "Actually, the person responsible for the daily operations and handling affairs in our guild isn't the Guild Master, but Uncle Reis."
According to Kirin's introduction, Reis joined the Dragon Devourer Guild in its second year of establishment, supposedly to recover his lost memories.
Reis's code name is 'spirit dragon,' and he masters the Dragon Slayer Magic 'Dragon Soul.' Although he is only a spiritual body, he is quite tricky to deal with. He was the one who sealed the Thunder Dragon King's soul for Kirin.
Hope frowned. It seemed this guy named Reis was likely Jorg Leissen's confidant. With him controlling Diabolos, wouldn't his poaching plan be troublesome?
I see he has already found his way to death.
Wait, a spiritual body? Lost memories?
Isn't that just a ghost? Could that guy already be dead... would desecrating a corpse be a bit immoral...
"Um, actually, I've been wanting to say this."
Kirin interrupted Hope's musing and pointed to the Guild Emblem on his left forearm. "Uncle Reis looked after me when I was little. Once, when he was bathing with me, I saw a tattoo on his back that looked almost exactly like your emblem."
"But for some reason, that pattern gradually disappeared later. When I asked Uncle Reis, he couldn't remember what it represented either."
"Until today, when I saw the same pattern on Laxus and you..."
At those words, Hope's eyes widened.
Without a doubt, Reis was definitely related to Fairy Tail, and most likely, he was a member of the guild when he was alive.
You should know that Guild Emblems are extremely difficult to fake, and every guild's emblem is unique. It's almost impossible for highly similar emblems to appear.
So... the current manager of the Dragon Devourer Guild, Diabolos, is one of our own?!
Wait... how is it that there's someone of our own everywhere we go?
Hope couldn't help but facepalm. He thought having Natsu's non-biological dragon brother in the Northern Continent was the limit, but he didn't expect there to be another expert.
Is this right?
This is absolutely right.
As long as he finds a way to help Reis recover his memories, wouldn't Diabolos become the Giltina branch of Fairy Tail?
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