Watching the dark shape in the distant sky grow steadily larger, Ankh frowned and murmured thoughtfully,
"A divine inheritor… So that's how it is."
"It's Ignia, the Fire Dragon God!"
Rein had collapsed onto the deck beside him. He looked ready to cry, though terror had apparently dried up every last tear.
"Legend says he commands the infernal flames of the underworld—the dragon worshipped as the god of all fire…"
"Ignia?"
Ankh glanced at him in surprise.
"Igneel's son?"
Atlas Flame had previously mentioned that Igneel's son had fled to the northern continent.
Apparently, the guy had done rather well for himself in Guiltina.
As Ignia's enormous body drew closer, Ankh finally saw him clearly.
His general appearance was remarkably similar to Igneel's, but the scales around his shoulders and limbs were sharper and far more menacing.
A mane grew behind his head, while a single horn rose from his forehead.
A burning black pattern shaped like flames covered his chest, adding a distinctly sinister edge to his appearance.
"A dragon who inherited divine power. I suppose the title 'Fire Dragon God' is deserved."
Ankh nodded as he calmly evaluated the dragon diving toward them.
Rein immediately turned and ran.
He did not care what happened to anyone else.
In his mind, Ankh could remain this calm only because he had never witnessed the Fire Dragon God's true terror.
Once that arrogant fool was roasted by Ignia's infernal flames, he would finally understand fear!
Fwoosh—!
Towering flames suddenly engulfed the ship's deck.
Rein stood blankly in the middle of the inferno.
His skin began to cook, even giving off a faintly appetizing smell, yet there was no pain on his face.
Ankh sighed at the commander's vacant expression and flicked him out of the flames with an invisible force.
"An illusion made from fire. Interesting."
He turned toward the stern and released a faint pulse of Magic Power.
Scorching flames abruptly appeared within his vision, only to be suppressed and extinguished an instant later.
"You actually saw through my Flame Illusion. Not bad."
At some point, the entire ship had seemingly caught fire.
A man with hair resembling an oversized feather duster stood before Ankh.
A bizarre smile stretched across his face, as though he were physically incapable of stopping.
He stared at Ankh in obvious fascination.
"My Flame Illusion traps people inside a false reality. Anyone who fails to break free believes they're burning—and eventually dies for real."
"You're pretty impressive."
Ankh drew the Dragon God's Arsenal and pointed its blade toward him.
"Who are you? And what's your relationship with Ignia?"
"Hmph!"
The man proudly pointed at himself.
"My name is Raj, a member of the famous dark guild Fire and Flame!"
"By order of our guild master, we execute anyone who shows disrespect toward the Fire Dragon God—"
Raj's declaration abruptly stopped.
He slowly lowered his head.
At some point, a bloody hole had appeared in his chest, piercing straight through his heart.
"You… bastard…"
Raj stared in disbelief at Ankh, who was already calmly sheathing his sword.
His vision blurred, and he collapsed weakly onto the deck.
Ankh put away his weapon and narrowed his eyes at the dragon looming over the sea like an emperor surveying his domain.
Ignia had even brought subordinates with him.
Clearly, the Fire Dragon God had not come merely to watch the excitement.
Ignia's sudden appearance threw the battle—which had been nearing its conclusion—back into chaos.
Countless pillars of flame burst through the frozen sea. The evaporating water and shattered ice formed a thick curtain of steam.
Above them stretched a crimson sky stained by heat and fire. Below, the frozen ocean boiled and melted.
The entire world seemed to have been dragged into an infernal realm.
"THE FIRE DRAGON GOD!"
Those four words appeared to possess magic of their own.
The moment Guiltina's soldiers spotted the colossal figure among the red clouds, what little remained of their morale instantly vanished.
Their army collapsed into complete disorder. Screams and wails erupted from every corner of the battlefield.
Ishgar's soldiers were equally shocked.
Unlike the northern continent, where stories of dragons remained relatively common, Ishgar had long dismissed dragons as creatures of myth.
Only the highest-ranking officials knew that beings such as Acnologia still existed.
Even the battle against dragons in Fiore's royal capital had never become widely known.
Yet today, countless ordinary soldiers were witnessing a living dragon with their own eyes.
Panic spread through Ishgar's ranks as well, though not nearly as severely as among Guiltina's forces.
They were terrified, but they also knew nearly every elite mage on the continent had gathered here.
Perhaps today, they might even witness the death of a dragon.
Ignia looked down at Ishgar's army, which had maintained a surprising degree of order, and curled his lips arrogantly.
Unlike his father Igneel, he felt little affection for humanity.
His attitude toward humans was closer to Acnologia's.
He would not normally go out of his way to slaughter them, but if the mood struck him—or if he accidentally wiped out an entire city—he would feel no particular guilt afterward.
Half of Gray's body had turned black with demonic power as he stared solemnly at the figure overhead.
"Looks like this one isn't anything like Igneel."
"The Fire Dragon God…"
Across from him, Skullion watched Ignia with barely concealed excitement.
"If I devour that dragon, my strength will evolve again!"
Gray gave him a contemptuous look.
"You can't even beat me, and you're already talking about eating a dragon?"
Gray had personally fought a genuine dragon before.
He had no choice but to admit that the strength of a true dragon was beyond what any ordinary mage could oppose.
Skullion's gaze darkened, but he remained silent.
The Ice Mage really was formidable.
Whenever Skullion turned his ice into ash, Gray simply entered that black demonic state and fought him through brute force instead. It had made the battle far more difficult than Skullion had expected.
"You know nothing about the strength of the Dragon Eater guild!" he finally snapped, unwilling to remain silent.
Before Gray could answer, blazing flames suddenly descended from the sky.
"Fire-Make: Hammer!"
A massive hammer formed from high-temperature flames crashed down.
The frozen ground shattered beneath Gray and Skullion, dropping both men into the sea.
They immediately looked toward the newcomer.
"A member of the dark guild Fire and Flame… Lecka?"
Skullion recognized him first, his expression becoming wary.
Gray, however, focused more on the magic the man had just used.
Fire-Make Magic.
And judging from that spell, his mastery of it was exceptionally high.
The man called Lecka stood atop a piece of floating ice, looking down at them with a mocking grin.
"How about you two brats from the legal guilds come entertain me instead?"