After leaving the White Dragon to the humans, the Fire Dragon King Igneel and the other Five Dragons sought out Acnologia once more to ask about Dragonification.
If Dragonification was the inevitable fate of a Dragon Slayer Mage, would Natsu and the others also turn into dragons?
"They will!"
Acnologia gave an affirmative answer.
The Fire Dragon King Igneel and the Five Dragons fell into a long silence. Had they harmed The Five Children by teaching them Dragon Slaying Magic?
Acnologia continued, "Actually, there is a way to prevent Dragonification."
Grandeeney asked urgently, "What way?"
"The Dragon Soul Technique!"
Acnologia recalled, "The Black Mage Zeref should know this magic. Essentially, a dragon's soul enters the body of a Dragon Slayer Mage to create a Dragon Seed, which prevents Dragonification."
The Fire Dragon King Igneel asked curiously, "What about the physical body?"
Acnologia took it for granted and said, "How should I know? I don't know that magic."
In the plot, the Five Dragons were all supposedly killed and then entered the protagonist's body. As for whether the physical body could be brought along, perhaps only the Black Mage Zeref knew.
However, judging by Igneel's combat power in the anime, he seemed to have his physical body.
Acnologia said, "Isn't Zeref your friend? You can go and ask him."
Remembering the Black Mage Zeref's vast knowledge, the Fire Dragon King Igneel nodded. "That is all we can do."
He was a magical genius; in some aspects, even Acnologia was far inferior to him.
Of course, both had their own strengths.
If Zeref was a genius of pioneering and innovation, then Acnologia was a genius at learning, possessing a monstrous talent for mastering magic to its limits in a short time.
Putting the matter aside, Acnologia sniffed out the location of the Evil Dragons, chose a direction, and flew off in dragon form... This was a damp, dark cave where the air was thick with a suffocating sense of oppression, a heavy smell of sulfur and rot that caused waves of nausea and discomfort.
Occasionally, a few faint rays of light filtered through the cracks, barely illuminating the surroundings.
Several Evil Dragons were perched in the depths of the cave, their scales shimmering with a cold luster and their terrifying eyes flashing with a vicious light.
Beneath their feet were countless human corpses; some had even been half-eaten and tossed aside, left to watch others struggle in agony until death.
A little girl looked terrified, shrinking back. She had seen with her own eyes humans like herself being cruelly devoured by the giant dragons.
Those heart-wrenching cries, filled with despair and fear, were deeply etched into her mind.
She felt a strong sense of dizziness, as if the whole world was spinning. She didn't understand why these giant dragons treated them so cruelly.
A blue dragon with a back covered in crystals lowered its head, its eyes showing mockery: "Lesser humans are only fit to be our food."
He lay on the ground and extended a massive dragon claw, pinning the little girl down and watching her struggle in pain.
"Hahahaha!"
A white dragon let out a terrifying laugh: "Acnologia, you really have a twisted sense of humor. Let me eat her."
The crystal blue dragon's giant claw gripped the little girl. His body was too massive to stand upright in the cave. He sneered, "This is my prey. Don't even think about it."
Bam!
A giant tail whipped against his wrist, sending the little girl flying. She slammed hard against the wall and fell unconscious.
"Taro, what are you doing?"
Acnologia was instantly enraged. He slammed the white dragon's head against the wall, the massive force causing the cave to shake.
The white dragon laughed indifferently, "Hahaha, Acnologia, it was just a joke."
In his eyes, humans were nothing more than food and toys. His actions just now were indeed a joke.
Acnologia looked down at the little girl, whose fate was unknown, and remained silent. For some reason, a flicker of pity arose in his heart, which felt rather inexplicable.
But he didn't care much. If she was dead, she was dead.
"I heard that King of Red Dragons, Osta, was heavily injured, with a hole blasted in his abdomen. Did you guys know about this? It was apparently this big."
A black evil dragon gestured at its chest and said excitedly, "I wonder if the Red Dragon King can even survive."
They belonged to the faction of Evil Dragons, but they hadn't joined the war yet. They planned to wait until the humans and dragons had mostly killed each other off before reaping the fruits of victory.
"It was done by that monster Acnologia. A mere human who has killed thousands of dragons. I didn't expect even the King of Red Dragons to fall this time."
At the mention of Acnologia, many giant dragons felt a surge of fear. This name had already become a synonym for death within the dragon race. If a dragon died suddenly, there was an eighty percent chance it was by his hand.
Acnologia growled in a low voice and let out a grim sneer: "I think King of Red Dragons, Osta, is also a waste. Leading a thousand dragons only to be repelled by the human race. As for Acnologia, he's just a human who stole Dragon Power. If I meet him, I'll kill him with my own hands!"
"Hahahaha!"
"Well said, Acnologia! King of Red Dragons, Osta, and Acnologia are all just people with empty reputations. They don't deserve the title of Dragon King."
"When I arrive on the battlefield, I will surely make the world echo with the name of Taro, the White Dragon King!"
Thinking about how all living beings would tremble at the mention of his name, he couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Only he was the true King of the World!
Suddenly, he noticed a man in black standing beneath him at some unknown time. His eyes showed confusion: "A human?"
Acnologia frowned slightly. "When did he appear?"
The black-clad man had blue hair and a mocking smile on his face: "Right while you were bragging!"
One of the Evil Dragons recognized him and cried out in panic, "It's you, Acnologia!"
"How pathetic, Evil Dragons. You don't even dare to step out of your cave, yet you boast about ruling the world."
Acnologia's laughter echoed through the dark cave: "Please, don't make me laugh. I'm afraid I'll die of laughter."
"A mere human!"
Acnologia was furious. A massive dragon claw slammed down, instantly covering Acnologia. The erupting force shattered the ground.
Before he could react, the giant dragon claw exploded into a rain of flesh and blood. Acnologia was unharmed.
He looked at the terrified, retreating Acnologia with a cold smile: "What's this? So this is the power that's going to rule the world?"
With that, he leapt up and instantly charged at Acnologia. With a strike of the Black Dragon's Claw, he pierced through the dragon's head, leaving him to collapse powerlessly to the ground.
Then, he transformed into the Black Dragon of the Apocalypse, pinned the white dragon to the ground with one claw, bit into its neck, and activated Devouring Magic.
"The soul!"
Acnologia's eyes flashed. He found it!
As the Devouring Magic activated, the white dragon's eyes lost their light, and it slumped limply to the ground.
"I can't devour it directly!"
He sensed that the white dragon's soul carried a vast amount of memories. Devouring it directly would lead to mental confusion. So, he wrapped the white dragon's soul in magic power and kept it inside his body, planning to try again after stripping away the memories.
"And you guys!"
He whipped his head around, his cruel gaze sweeping over the remaining five panicked dragons, and lunged at them with savage violence.