Chapter 621 - 621: Gajeel: I'm Brave as Hell!

God Serena was hardly in good condition.

His clothes were torn, his body was covered in injuries, and he was still suffering from the devastating attack Laxus had unleashed earlier.

But that didn't change the fact that he possessed the power of the Spriggan 12.

With all eight Dragon Lacrima restored, his original potential had returned in full. If anything, his resurrected body had made him even stronger than before.

Even in his current condition, handling Gajeel and Juvia wasn't particularly difficult.

'This bastard really is my worst possible matchup…'

Gajeel was beginning to understand exactly how frustrating Laxus must have found fighting Serena.

The Iron Dragon's greatest advantage was the extraordinary hardness of its body. Gajeel could transform himself into steel, turning his limbs into weapons and shrugging off physical attacks that would cripple ordinary mages.

Unfortunately, Serena possessed the Diamond Dragon's power.

And diamond was even harder than steel.

Ordinary physical attacks were practically useless against him. Without enough strength to shatter diamond, there was little hope of breaking through his defenses.

Worse, the Diamond Dragon was essentially an advanced form of earth-based Dragon Slayer Magic. It could consume naturally occurring minerals such as gold, silver, copper, and iron.

That made it a natural superior to Gajeel's Iron Dragon Slayer Magic.

Unless Gajeel could somehow develop more ridiculous draconic attributes like the Metal Dragon or Plutonium Dragon powers his future daughter would possess, there wasn't much he could do about that elemental disadvantage.

So he decided to compensate with raw power instead.

"RAAAAH!"

Gajeel roared and began drawing the surrounding Magic Power into his body.

Gray-green dragon scales rapidly emerged across his skin. A pair of enormous draconic wings unfolded behind him, while sharp horns extended upward from his head.

His entire presence changed.

He was forcing out the explosive power of his dragon nature to overcome the difference between iron and diamond.

Serena narrowed his eyes as he examined the transformation.

"So that's the famous Dragon King Mode used by Fairy Tail's Dragon Slayers…"

He smiled with interest.

"Not bad."

Before his death, Serena had never properly fought one of Fairy Tail's Dragon Slayers while they were using Dragon King Mode.

Even Laxus had only activated Dragon Force during their previous battle.

It wasn't that Laxus had been incapable of going further. Rather, Dragon King Mode consumed an enormous amount of Magic Power, and he had still needed to endure an entire day of fighting afterward.

Serena's smile gradually turned malicious.

"Then I'll kill you first."

"Afterward, I'll take your corpse back and properly investigate this so-called Dragon King Mode."

"KEEP DREAMING!"

Gajeel charged without hesitation.

His scaled fist tore through the air, heading straight for Serena's face.

Serena immediately activated his Diamond Dragon power again and met the attack with a fully hardened fist.

BOOOOM!

This time, Gajeel's dragon-armored fist didn't shatter on contact.

The tremendous power supplied by his transformation temporarily made up for the difference in material hardness.

Their fists collided, neither immediately yielding, and a violent shock wave of Magic Power erupted between them.

"Water-Make—"

Juvia wasn't about to stand aside and observe some honorable one-on-one duel.

While Gajeel and Serena were locked in a contest of strength, she positioned herself behind them and began preparing a spell using the Water-Make Magic she had developed through her Second Origin.

"Lance!"

Gray frequently used the Ice-Make version of this technique as an opening attack, so naturally Juvia had learned to reproduce it with water.

Unlike Gray's ice lances, which relied on their rigid, sharpened points, Juvia's water spears depended on extreme velocity and concentrated pressure to inflict damage.

A dense formation of water lances appeared overhead.

There were so many that counting them by sight was nearly impossible.

Then they descended toward Serena in a devastating barrage.

Serena snorted.

With the practiced movements of a veteran, he abruptly withdrew his arms and slipped away from Gajeel's powerful punch.

Then he opened his mouth—

and began swallowing the incoming spears.

'Oh, no…'

Juvia's expression immediately changed.

She realized her mistake a moment too late.

Serena inhaled the entire barrage, absorbing its Water Magic directly into his body.

Then he grinned with satisfaction.

"Thanks for the meal!"

Gajeel and Juvia's faces darkened.

Serena spread both arms like an enormous bird preparing to take flight.

Twin cyclones erupted on either side of him.

"Gale Dragon's Tempest of Snow, Moon, and Flowers!"

Powerful white tornadoes surged through the narrow dungeon corridor, colliding with the surrounding walls and one another.

The resulting pressure was enormous.

Gajeel gritted his teeth and used his steel-reinforced body to withstand the storm, but Juvia wasn't nearly as fortunate.

Her body dissolved into water, only for the violent winds to scatter her liquid form and hurl her helplessly backward.

"Damn it! What a pain in the ass!"

Gajeel hurriedly positioned himself in front of Juvia, using his own body to absorb part of the storm and shield her from the worst of it.

At the same time, he couldn't help wondering how Laxus had managed to kill this bastard in the first place.

Eight different Dragon Slayer attributes.

That meant Serena possessed not only a terrifying variety of offensive options but also the ability to devour or counter an equally ridiculous number of elemental attacks.

Finding a magical attribute that could reliably injure him was practically impossible.

If it weren't for his insufferable personality and habit of underestimating opponents, God Serena would have been an almost unbeatable monster on an ordinary battlefield.

But Gajeel still had one option left.

'There's one more thing I can try.'

He clenched his jaw.

Then he began rapidly circulating the enormous draconic power inside his body.

His already imposing frame started swelling further.

The scales thickened.

His aura became increasingly violent, carrying the unmistakable presence of something no longer entirely human.

Serena's eyes brightened.

"Oho? Going for a full dragon transformation?"

He watched Gajeel with obvious interest.

Since his resurrection, Serena had heard rumors that Fairy Tail's Dragon Slayers possessed a combat technique that allowed them to transform themselves into actual dragons.

He hadn't witnessed it personally, however.

Still, he remained confident he could deal with it.

Even full dragonification had to have some sort of time limit.

And as long as he survived until that limit was reached, victory would be his.

"Let's see what you've got, Iron Dragon!"

But just as Gajeel was preparing to reveal his final trump card, a weak voice came from nearby.

"Run…"

Serena frowned.

Sai, who had been lying unconscious on the ground, had finally awakened.

He looked terrible. His body was battered, his voice was weak, and even lifting his head seemed to require considerable effort.

Nevertheless, there was unmistakable urgency in his expression.

"Serena, buddy… We need to get out of here…"

He struggled to catch his breath.

"I can sense it."

"That monster woman is coming this way…"

Serena's previously dismissive expression instantly tightened.

He glanced toward the corridor behind them, then back at Gajeel, whose transformation was approaching its peak.

"Tch!"

He clicked his tongue in frustration.

'That crazy woman again…'

Ever since entering the ruins, Dimaria had been causing them trouble almost without interruption.

And now she had obtained several Divine Rings, making her already terrifying combat power even more dangerous.

If Serena were uninjured, he wouldn't necessarily have been afraid to confront her.

But right now, both he and Sai were badly wounded.

Fighting her under these circumstances would be asking for trouble.

'Forget it. Let the Signario Sisters deal with her.'

Serena made his decision.

He brought both palms together with a sharp clap, then separated them in an exaggerated gesture as though opening an invisible pair of doors.

"TAKE THIS!"

"Luminance Dragon's Augite Heavens!"

Gajeel froze.

Then an overwhelming burst of white light exploded in front of him.

"WHOA—!"

The brilliance was so intense that he instinctively raised both arms to protect his eyes.

A strange, almost purifying radiance spread through the corridor, swallowing everything in sight.

Even Juvia was forced to look away.

But when the blinding light finally faded, the two of them stared at the empty space ahead in disbelief.

Serena was gone.

And he'd taken Sai with him.

"...Huh?"

Gajeel looked around.

Then blinked again.

"THE BASTARD RAN AWAY?!"

He had been expecting another devastating attack.

Considering the situation moments earlier, Serena hadn't looked desperate enough to retreat.

So why had he suddenly fled?

"Quite a quick escape."

A woman's voice answered from the shadows.

Gajeel and Juvia immediately turned.

A blonde woman emerged from the darkness, carrying a broad-bladed sword.

Her posture radiated confidence, and her sharp gaze made the atmosphere around her feel distinctly more dangerous.

The two Fairy Tail mages had both studied the Magic Council's intelligence reports.

They recognized her instantly.

"Dimaria…"

Juvia's heart began pounding.

One of the Spriggan 12.

The War Princess, a woman notorious for her extraordinary combat ability.

And more importantly—

there were three Divine Rings on her fingers.

Three.

Laxus had used only the Pig Ring, yet its power had enabled him to knock God Serena down in an instant.

There was no telling what three different rings could accomplish in the hands of a mage who was already powerful enough to belong to the Spriggan 12.

Dimaria swept her gaze across the devastated battlefield.

Then she noticed the Fairy Tail guild marks on Gajeel and Juvia.

Her expression immediately darkened.

"Fairy Tail…"

A disturbing smile spread across her face.

"What a coincidence."

Her grip tightened around the broad sword.

Excitement and murderous intent mingled in her eyes, creating an increasingly unstable expression.

She raised her voice.

"WHERE IS HE?!"

Her gaze locked onto the two mages.

"WHERE IS ANKH, THE FAIRY GOD OF DEATH?!"

Juvia's body went rigid.

Every instinct she possessed was screaming at her to be careful.

This woman was clearly not in a reasonable state of mind.

Unfortunately, the man standing beside her had apparently never possessed a functioning sense of self-preservation.

"You're not worthy of knowing!"

Gajeel stepped forward without the slightest hesitation.

His voice rang through the corridor.

"COME ON, YOU CRAZY BITCH!"

He cracked his knuckles.

"IF YOU WANT ANKH, YOU'LL HAVE TO GET THROUGH ME FIRST!"

Dimaria's eyes widened.

The unstable murderous excitement already swirling inside them grew even more intense.

Juvia stared at Gajeel in utter disbelief.

Her expression slowly collapsed.

'ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!'

She wanted to grab him by the shoulders and shake some sense into him.

'IF YOU'RE GOING TO ACT TOUGH, COULD YOU AT LEAST LOOK AT WHO YOU'RE PROVOKING?!'

The woman standing in front of them was already one step away from losing her mind!

And Gajeel had apparently decided that the best possible strategy was to push her the rest of the way.