X791, July 7th
The moment the clock struck midnight, the originally bright and clear full moon in the sky was shrouded in a layer of blood-red.
At the same time, the massive Eclipse Gate was slowly opening under Princess Hisui's command.
Boom-
Accompanied by a rumbling sound, the pair of enormous doors opened, and extremely dazzling light emanated from within.
Princess Hisui and the Royal Soldiers looked at the opened gate, their faces filled with joy.
After all, they all thought that once the Eclipse Gate opened, the 10,000 dragons invading the Fiore Kingdom would be destroyed.
And their country would be saved.
But soon, something unexpected happened.
A huge black shadow, as tall as a mountain, slowly walked out from the dazzling white light.
The moment the huge black shadow fully emerged from the Eclipse Gate, the smiles on Princess Hisui and the Royal Soldiers' faces instantly vanished, replaced by terror and despair.
Because they saw a dragon.
A giant dragon with a white body covered in marble-like patterns.
The dragon was so immense that before this dragon, Princess Hisui and the Royal Soldiers were as tiny as ants.
"How could this be..."
"Why is a dragon coming out of the gate?"
"This shouldn't be happening?!"
Arcadios looked at the giant dragon, his eyes flickering, his face changing colors, his mind racing.
According to Princess Hisui, the Eclipse Gate was supposed to be a weapon to help them destroy the 10,000 dragons.
But now, a dragon capable of destroying the entire world was emerging from the Eclipse Gate.
No matter how calm Arcadios was, his mind was buzzing at this moment.
He instinctively glanced at Princess Hisui in front of him.
At this time, Princess Hisui was already pale with fear, her petite body trembling uncontrollably.
Her mind was completely blank.
"Roar-"
Soon, the giant dragon that emerged from the Eclipse Gate let out a skyward roar.
Perhaps for the dragon, this roar was just a greeting to this world.
But the moment this roar sounded, a soul-shaking sonic wave, mixed with a violent shockwave, spread out from the Eclipse Gate like a wifi signal.
Bzzzt-
Under the impact of this terrifying shockwave, the bluestone pavement in front of the Eclipse Gate was completely torn up.
And the surrounding Royal Soldiers, along with the stones, were also swept away.
Only Arcadios, who was slightly stronger, desperately shielded Princess Hisui, ensuring she wasn't harmed by the terrifying shockwave.
"What's going on? That sound?"
At this moment, the mages gathered in the center of the capital, like Makarov and Jura, all had grave expressions upon hearing the terrifying roar.
Perhaps ordinary mages didn't recognize what made the roar, but Dragon Slayers like Sting, Rogue, and Gajeel, who were raised by dragons, knew instantly upon hearing the roar that it came from a dragon.
"Dragon!"
Sting, Rogue, and Gajeel said simultaneously with serious tones.
And Fairy Tail's members like Makarov and Levy, who had seen Acnologia on Tenrou Island, also guessed that the roar came from a dragon.
"Finally appeared, huh?"
The old king also knew about the impending invasion of 10,000 dragons into the Fiore Kingdom.
Hearing the roar, he knew the Dragon King Festival had begun.
He first glanced towards the Eclipse Gate, then walked onto the high platform in the square and loudly addressed the mages gathered below, including Makarov and Jura: "Mages of the Fiore Kingdom! I am the King of Fiore!"
"Now, I must tell you all..."
Then, the old king informed Makarov and the others about the 10,000 dragons invading the Fiore Kingdom.
Due to the dragon's roar just now, mages like Makarov and Jura had no doubt about the king's words.
When the old king asked if they were willing to help the Fiore Kingdom through this crisis, all the mages unanimously answered yes.
After all, they were all citizens of the Fiore Kingdom.
Furthermore, 10,000 dragons would probably destroy the entire world.
Even if they wanted to escape, there was nowhere to go.
Subsequently, mages like Makarov, Jura, and Laxus, organized by their guilds, marched in a mighty stream towards the Eclipse Gate.
…
While guilds like Fairy Tail, Sabertooth, and Lamia Scale were heading towards the Eclipse Gate, dragons continued to emerge from the gate one after another.
In the original work, Lucy dared to try and close the Eclipse Gate.
But now Lucy wasn't here, and Princess Hisui and the Royal Army were already terrified out of their wits, let alone attempt anything else.
They could only watch helplessly as the dragons emerged from the Eclipse Gate.
One!
Two!
In just half a minute, over a dozen dragons had already emerged from the Eclipse Gate.
The first dragons to emerge had already begun trampling the earth.
Perhaps for these dragons, they were just walking casually.
But with every step they took, the earth shook.
And when their massive bodies touched buildings, those structures collapsed.
Among them was a Hellfire Dragon covered in crimson flames, walking through the palace.
The temperature of the surrounding air skyrocketed, and everything touched by the crimson flames turned to ashes.
"Good, very good!"
"More, just a few more! Soon I will rule the entire world!"
Just as Princess Hisui and the Royal Army were in despair, Future Rogue, who had moved over as a shadow, was overjoyed seeing the dragons emerging one after another from the Eclipse Gate.
"That person... that person told me the Eclipse Gate could destroy the dragon horde!"
Seeing Future Rogue approach, the despairing Princess Hisui spoke with a mix of hopelessness and regret.
"Well, well, foolish Princess. I should thank you for helping me open the Eclipse Gate. Otherwise, these dragons wouldn't be freed, and my plan wouldn't be realized!"
Future Rogue looked at Princess Hisui, a mocking curve lifting the corner of his mouth.
"It was you! You deceived the Princess!"
Hearing Arcadios's words, Princess Hisui turned even paler, while Arcadios was furious.
He raised his longsword and charged at Future Rogue.
But before Arcadios could get close to Future Rogue, the dragons walking in the palace and those circling in the sky all flew towards Future Rogue's location.
Eventually, the dragons all gathered behind Future Rogue.
And Future Rogue shouted with wild joy: "My era has come!"