Chapter 398: Ridiculously Massive
Ren turned and walked away. His final words hung in the air, heavy with an undeniable, deadly seriousness that left no room for debate.
If he couldn't even handle the overwhelming might of the Five God Dragons, how could he ever hope to deal with the apocalyptic threat of Acnologia?
The Water God Dragon, Mercphobia, had proven to be incredibly powerful. Even in his severely weakened and heavily injured state, defeating him had required a genuine, concentrated effort.
Yet, Ren was acutely aware of the harsh reality of this world's power ceiling. There was still a massive, seemingly insurmountable gap between these ancient deities and the Black Dragon of the Apocalypse.
To eventually defeat Acnologia, he naturally had to conquer these beings first. He needed the experience, the strength, and the absolute assurance that he could stand at the pinnacle of this world.
Following the intricately drawn map he had acquired, Ren headed toward a nearby coastal settlement called Tekka. From there, he planned to secure a ticket for a long-distance magic train heading straight into the heart of Guiltina, specifically targeting the legendary city of Drasil.
The journey was long, taking him through towering mountain passes and dense, untamed magical forests. Along the way, Ren would occasionally slide open the train window to casually toss a few specialized Flying Thunder God Kunai into the passing wilderness.
These marked blades served as instantaneous return coordinates should he ever need to retreat or traverse the continent quickly. He knew Guiltina's harsh weather and natural magic would corrode the metal over time, meaning the coordinates wouldn't last forever.
However, they would more than suffice for the short term, giving him a tactical safety net as he ventured deeper into unknown territory.
While Ren rested aboard the rhythmic, clacking train...
Deep within the Northern Continent of Guiltina stood an imposing fortress carved from dark stone and beastly bones. This was the headquarters of the infamous Mage Guild, Diabolos.
"The mission failed?"
The Guild Master of Diabolos, Georg Reizen, furrowed his heavy brows. His deep, gravelly voice echoed through the dimly lit, cavernous guildhall, carrying a dangerous undertone.
He was a massively burly man with a physique resembling a mountain of pure muscle. His exposed skin was covered in a lattice of jagged, gruesome scars—each one a grim testament to the countless brutal battles he had survived against literal Dragons.
His face was exceptionally fierce, twisted into a permanent, intimidating scowl that demanded absolute submission from his subordinates.
"Yes. The Water God Dragon's power is truly extraordinary," Skullion Raider replied, leaning casually against a stone pillar.
"As expected of a Dragon bearing the title of a God. Even while he was heavily injured and mentally unstable, the three of us combined were simply no match for him."
Skullion spoke the absolute truth, completely unbothered by the admission of defeat. They were hunters, not suicidal fools; retreating from an unkillable target was just basic survival.
Georg grunted, tearing a massive chunk of meat from the roasted bone on his plate. "You said a fellow who could transform into a glowing, Nine-Tailed Demon Fox was the one who injured the Water God Dragon? Was it someone from the Dragon Clan using Morphing Magic?"
"Likely not," Skullion answered, adjusting the dark mask that covered the lower half of his face. "That fellow didn't possess the distinct, overwhelming scent of the Dragon Clan. He seemed to be an outsider Mage, completely unrelated to our continent."
"An outsider? Someone from across the sea?" Georg chewed loudly, a dark glint flashing in his predatory eyes. "To be able to injure a God Dragon... he's quite capable!"
"Guild Master, the Water God Dragon is severely injured right now. Should we take this rare, golden opportunity to mobilize the guild and finish him off?" Kiria interjected.
She licked her lips, a crazed, hungry look in her eyes. She was still obsessively dreaming about the taste of the Water God Dragon's flesh.
"No rush," Georg Reizen rumbled, casually waving off the suggestion. "The Water God Dragon always hides in the deep sea, which is his absolute domain. Dealing with him there is far too troublesome and puts us at a massive disadvantage."
He reached out and grabbed a massive, dripping piece of rare roasted beast meat. With a sickening squelch, he squeezed the meat hard in his massive fist, letting all the warm, bloody juices flow directly into his gaping mouth.
"Hah! As I thought," Georg laughed, wiping his chin with the back of his hand. "Meat is always best when the juices are forcefully squeezed out to drink. It captures the true essence of the kill!"
"..."
Skullion was somewhat speechless at his Guild Master's barbaric dining habits, but he quickly composed himself and asked, "If not the Water God Dragon, then who is the better target?"
Georg Reizen's fierce grin widened, revealing a row of sharp, predatory teeth. "The Wood God Dragon, Aldoron."
Ren took the magic train and, after several long, uneventful days of travel across the northern landscapes, finally arrived at his destination.
Drasil was a massive, sprawling metropolis. Its bustling streets, towering architecture, and vibrant magical economy made it easily comparable to Crocus, the blooming capital of Fiore.
The first thing Ren did upon arrival was, of course, find a place to eat and drink. Traveling always drained him, and he knew he could easily inquire about the Wood God Dragon after eating his fill and resting his weary bones.
He found a highly-rated, lively restaurant in the center of the city and immediately began to feast. Whether it was due to his immense, ever-expanding magic power or the constant, passive caloric drain of his Total Concentration Breathing Technique, his appetite was astonishingly large.
A casual meal for him was easily equivalent to what ten starving adult men could eat in a single sitting.
Inside the bustling restaurant, the empty wooden plates beside Ren kept stacking up, quickly forming a perilously high tower. The waitstaff and other patrons watched him with wide, shocked expressions.
Whispers broke out across the dining room as people wondered if this handsome young man was some kind of disguised, humanoid monster. Otherwise, how could a normal stomach possibly hold so much food without bursting?
Suddenly, a deafening rumble echoed through the air!
The earth shook violently, rattling the foundation of the massive city. The towering stack of plates on Ren's table teetered dangerously, threatening to shatter across the hardwood floor.
Ren's reflexes flared instantly. He reached out with blinding speed, his hands a blur as he expertly steadied the plates, preventing them from crashing down.
"An earthquake?" Ren muttered, his eyes narrowing as he scanned his surroundings.
He was slightly stunned. To be completely honest, this was the first time he had encountered a natural, geological earthquake in a very long time; the previous tremors he had experienced had almost always been deliberately triggered by his own cataclysmic abilities or explosive battles.
Ren glanced around the dining room and saw something bizarre. The patrons and waitstaff virtually ignored the earthquake, casually holding their drinks steady as if they were completely accustomed to the violent tremors.
"Sir, here is your next course. Freshly roasted wyvern steak."
The cheerful waiter effortlessly balanced a massive silver platter, completely unfazed by the shaking floor as he placed the steaming food directly in front of Ren.
Ren raised an eyebrow and asked casually, "Are massive earthquakes like this a frequent occurrence around here?"
"Earthquake?"
The waiter paused for a moment, tilting his head before a bright, understanding smile spread across his face. "Ah, you must be a traveler from outside the continent, right? Did you really come all the way to Drasil without hearing anything about our city?"
Ren blinked, pulling a piece of tender meat from the bone. "Why? Is there something special about Drasil that I missed?"
"Well, it's like this every single day at the exact same time; we just treat it as a giant, city-wide time signal," the waiter explained cheerfully.
"It can be quite frightening for tourists experiencing it for the first time, but I promise you, it's perfectly fine. The shaking will stop soon. More importantly, when the tremor hits, you can offer a silent prayer of gratitude to the great Wood God."
"Wood God?"
Hearing that specific title, Ren immediately stopped chewing. His mind instantly connected the dots to his target: the Wood God Dragon.
It seemed this massive, bustling town was fundamentally similar to Elmina. The local residents clearly worshipped the God Dragon as a benevolent, protective deity, completely unaware of the apocalyptic threat he truly posed.
Just as Ren was about to lean in and ask for more specific details...
Suddenly, the bright, sunny sky turned pitch black, as if a localized eclipse had completely blotted out the sun.
Ren's attention was immediately drawn to the phenomenon. He shifted in his seat and looked out the massive glass window of the restaurant, his relaxed expression quickly turning deadly solemn.
A supermassive, unfathomably colossal creature slowly came into view through the parting clouds.
Before that towering, sky-piercing giant, human beings seemed infinitely smaller than microscopic ants. Even massive, continent-spanning mountain ranges wouldn't count as minor stumbling blocks before this terrifying entity.
"This is..." Ren muttered, his breath hitching slightly at the sheer, impossible scale of the beast.
"It's the Wood God Dragon, Aldoron," the waiter said proudly, clasping his hands together in reverence. "Our beautiful city, Drasil, is actually a town situated directly upon the right hand of the great Wood God."
Hearing this, Ren's mouth hung wide open in genuine, unfiltered shock.
He had heard Mercphobia state that the Wood God Dragon was physically the largest of the God Dragons, but Ren had assumed there had to be a logical, biological limit to how large a living creature could grow.
This size completely defied reality. A sprawling, highly populated metropolis comparable to the grand capital of Fiore was resting on the back of the Wood God Dragon's hand?
The dragon was ridiculously, unfathomably massive. He was less of a creature and more of a living, breathing continent.
The waiter, eager to share the local lore with a foreigner, proceeded to explain the history of the Wood God Dragon, entirely oblivious to the apocalyptic war Ren was planning to bring to their deity.
After eating and drinking his fill, Ren paid his massive bill and left a generous tip. He had successfully gathered most of the crucial information about the Wood God Dragon without ever having to interrogate a single mage.
The dragon was literally right there in plain sight, serving as the very foundation of the earth they walked on. There was absolutely no need to spend effort tracking him down.
"Now, this is a bit troublesome."
Ren muttered to himself later that evening. He sat by the open window of his luxurious hotel room, looking out at the sprawling city and the colossal, wooden skyline of the Wood God Dragon's body rising into the clouds. He could already feel a massive headache coming on.
It wasn't just because the Wood God Dragon's physical body was too big to conventionally destroy in a single strike. The real issue was a catastrophic moral dilemma.
There were four other towns just as massive and densely populated as Drasil situated across the Wood God Dragon's colossal body. Each distinct town had a civilian population of over 100,000 people.
Together, the five towns sitting on Aldoron's limbs and back housed nearly one million innocent people.
If he recklessly initiated an attack against the Wood God Dragon, the sheer kinetic force of the battle would instantly shatter these cities. These towns would surely be destroyed in the crossfire, forcing a million people to lose their homes—or worse, their lives.
Putting himself in their shoes and carrying the fundamental heroic morals of Fairy Tail in his heart, he definitely didn't want to cause a massacre just to complete a quest.
"What an absolute hassle," Ren sighed, rubbing his temples as he stared out at the twinkling city lights.
He finally understood why the 100-Year Quest was universally considered an impossibly difficult task. If it were just about raw power, Gildarts Clive wouldn't have spent three whole years desperately fighting, only to end up returning in a maimed, absolute defeat.
All things considered, Ren had only been out on this legendary mission for half a month and had already essentially completed one-fifth of the task by dealing with Mercphobia. This progress was incredibly fast, breaking every historical record the Magia Dragon Guild had.
But he was truly stuck here with the Wood God Dragon. The sheer collateral damage made a straightforward, destructive assault completely impossible.
However, it wasn't exactly a dead end. Ren's mind worked at lightning speed, analyzing the tactical board.
He had already thought of a viable way around the issue. Thanks to the lifetime of combat experience he had absorbed from so many powerful, legendary experts via his System, his strategic thinking was unparalleled, allowing him to quickly find tactical solutions to seemingly impossible problems.
The solution to completing this phase of the mission without mass casualties was actually quite simple in theory.
Before taking any aggressive action against Aldoron, he just had to figure out a way to safely move one million people from all five cities away from the battlefield.
[Akarin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me!
Want to read ahead on our official home, or unlock 50 advanced chapters (plus an Ad-Free experience) to feed your addiction? Help keep this shameless translator alive here:
(P.S. Replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
🌐 Official Website: elysianreads[.]com
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters & Ad-Free): patreon[.]com/AkarinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/AkarinTL
🔗 All My Links: linktr[.]ee/AkarinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]