Chapter 688 - 688: The Seven Luminaries—Sun Dragon God

Mira lowered her head and deliberately put on a slightly aggrieved expression.

"I was even trying to be extra quiet when I got up earlier. I got dressed as carefully as I could, and somehow I still woke you up."

"All right, stop hugging me. You're getting in the way of breakfast."

She raised a hand and pushed Raizel's face away when he leaned in as though he intended to kiss her.

"And go brush your teeth."

"Don't want to..."

A smile tugged at Mira's lips.

Still standing within his embrace, she turned around, rose slightly onto her toes, and wrapped both arms around his neck before placing a light kiss on his lips.

"There. Now go."

Raizel looked helplessly at the ever-diligent Mira.

"You don't have to prepare anything elaborate, and you definitely don't need to work so hard all the time. Let yourself relax once in a while. We can always go into Magnolia and buy breakfast later."

Mira shook her head with a smile in her eyes.

"But I like cooking."

Under Mira's persistent shooing, Raizel finally left the kitchen with obvious reluctance.

...

A rhythmic electric hum filled the bathroom as several magical toothbrushes buzzed away at once.

Raizel and Kagura stood side by side in front of the mirror, each holding an automatic magical toothbrush with their mouths full of white foam.

They caught sight of one another in the reflection.

Both started laughing at the same time.

Kagura tilted her head and lightly bumped Raizel's shoulder with her own.

Raizel lifted an arm and wrapped it around her shoulders, drawing her closer as the two leaned comfortably against one another.

...

By breakfast, everyone had gathered around the large new square dining table.

Mira suddenly remembered something.

"By the way, the First told me last night that she wants all of us at the guild by two this afternoon. Apparently she has something important to announce."

Erza, the last person to wake up, had only just finished washing up. Still visibly sleepy, she carried a bowl of noodle soup out of the kitchen and looked puzzled.

"Something important?"

Ultear took a sip of broth.

"Probably the same thing she mentioned a few days ago. She never followed up on it, so I assumed she'd forgotten."

Erza took a bite of her noodles, immediately brightened, and raised a thumb toward Mira.

"Mmm! Mira, this tastes even better than yesterday!"

Mira smiled.

"I'm glad."

After breakfast, Mira reached for the dishes.

Raizel stopped her.

"Leave the bowls. I'll wash them."

Then he looked toward Ultear and Kagura, who had also begun to move.

"You two aren't touching anything either. Train, read, rest—whatever you feel like doing."

Mira put her hands on her hips and gave him a helpless look.

"Yes, yes. 'Division of labor is the foundation of life.' That's your personal creed, isn't it?"

She had heard Raizel repeat that philosophy so many times that she could practically recite it herself.

"In that case, I'll head to the guild first?"

Since returning to Magnolia, Mira had resumed working as Fairy Tail's barmaid.

Calling it work was almost misleading, though.

She genuinely enjoyed doing it.

Before Mira could leave, crimson light suddenly flashed across the living room.

Selene and Irene appeared without warning.

"Wait," Selene said. "Don't go yet."

"???"

Mira, who was already sitting on the entryway step preparing to put on her shoes, looked back in confusion.

Selene's expression was unusually serious.

"I think I may have figured out Ignia's plan."

She paused.

"I'm not certain, though."

Raizel immediately gestured toward the sofas.

"Sit down and explain."

Mira returned to the living room as well.

Once everyone had taken a seat, Selene got straight to the point.

"Ignia's objective may be to awaken Helios, the Sun Dragon God."

Ultear and Mira reacted almost instantly.

"The Seven Luminaries!"

"Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Sun, and Moon!"

Selene nodded.

"Exactly."

"I was never certain whether Helios truly existed. Over the past several days, however, I went through a number of old draconic records, and I found enough references to convince me that he very likely did."

She folded her fan and rested it lightly against her palm.

"So let me make a bold assumption."

"A hundred years ago, Dogramag and Ignia devised a plan involving Elefseria's heart. They attempted to seize it, but underestimated just how powerful the Law Dragon would be."

"Even so, they ultimately succeeded in obtaining his heart."

"And afterward, they may have used the power contained within Elefseria's heart to begin searching for Helios."

Selene's gaze sharpened.

"I also suspect that Helios is probably not in Guiltina at all. Where he actually is, however, I don't know."

"Ignia's disappearance may be because he's searching for Helios's whereabouts."

Raizel rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Helios, the Sun Dragon God... Why have we never heard of him before?"

Selene continued.

"I looked further into the old dragon records."

"In his era, Helios was considered an exceptional rising dragon with the potential to rival—or even surpass—Igneel, the Fire Dragon King."

"At the time, Igneel was unquestionably regarded as the strongest dragon alive, so that comparison alone should tell you how highly Helios was regarded."

"However, Helios suffered severe injuries in a battle and then suddenly disappeared."

"He never showed himself in Guiltina afterward, which is why even I didn't think of him until recently."

Selene leaned back slightly.

"Fire Dragons have always been among the most powerful and combat-oriented dragon species."

"Atlas Flame, Ignia, and Igneel were all monsters in their own right."

"So if Helios survived until the present day, then I doubt he would be any weaker than Ignia."

"And if two dragons of that level joined forces, especially with whatever other preparations Ignia has made... turning Guiltina into a literal purgatory would be entirely possible."

Atlas Flame himself was a good example.

Had he belonged to almost any other dragon lineage, he might have been recognized as a Dragon King in his own right.

Even after death, his flames had become the Eternal Flame and continued burning without end—something only a dragon of that caliber could accomplish.

Unfortunately for him, Fire Dragons already had the overwhelming shadow of Igneel hanging over the entire species.

Atlas Flame had also ultimately died at Acnologia's hands.

Whatever else could be said, he had died fighting rather than fleeing like a coward.

Irene spoke next.

"Do you remember the enormous tremor that shook Guiltina when Dogramag died?"

Selene's research and speculation had been something the two of them worked through together.

Raizel nodded.

"I remember. The collapse of the Dogramag Labyrinth shouldn't have been remotely enough to cause something on that scale."

Even Aldoron had been rooted directly into the earth across an enormous area.

Yet when the Wood Dragon God died, his sheer size still had not produced the kind of continent-wide disturbance caused by Dogramag's death.

Ultear's expression turned serious.

She lightly tapped one finger against the armrest.

"I have an even more extreme theory."

"What if Dogramag dying a second time was something Ignia expected from the beginning?"

Selene nodded.

"We considered that too."

"Otherwise, there really was no reason for Ignia to let Dogramag force a battle against us before he had even recovered to his peak."

Erza suddenly narrowed her eyes as another detail clicked into place.

"And if that's true, there's something else strange."

"Aldoron and Viernes were both hostile toward humanity. Logically, they could easily have become Ignia's allies."

"But Ignia never came to help either of them."

Selene slowly unfolded her fan again.

"Exactly."

"So let's take the speculation one step further."

"Elefseria's heart."

"Dogramag."

"The deaths of Aldoron and Viernes."

"Perhaps even Mercphobia, who remains alive, and myself..."

She looked around at everyone.

"All of us may have been pieces in Ignia's plan."

Irene and Selene spoke at the same time.

"All for the purpose of locating—or awakening—the Sun Dragon God, Helios."