“G-give it to ?”
Future Lucy was utterly dumbfounded.
“What is the aning of this, human?” the blue dragon demanded.
She lay prone on the ground, struggling desperately to break free of the Dragon Taming Magic. The pitch-black chains encircled her neck, not only restraining her physically, but also binding her spirit and will.
Nate gently tugged on Lucy’s hand and leaped down from the dragon’s head.
“Sit.”
At the command of her so-called “master,” the blue dragon found herself unable to resist. Instinctively, she complied.
“Lower your head.”
The dragon silently cursed, but still lowered her head obediently.
Nate patted her nose, grinning. “Good dragon. Oh, you’re female.”
W-what is this, training a pet? Future Lucy couldn’t help but laugh, quickly covering her mouth.
“What’s your na?” Nate asked.
“I am the Sea King Dragon, Lasteigeeney,” the blue dragon replied, her tone filled with anger and helplessness. What kind of magic is this, capable of controlling ?
“Lasteigeeney? Do you know Grandeeney?”
“The Sky Dragon? Hmph, no, I don’t,” Lasteigeeney snapped, though her tone suggested she might be lying. They clearly weren’t on good terms.
Nate didn’t press further. In a world of ten thousand dragons, it was only natural that so might be connected to dragons like Igneel and Grandeeney.
“From now on,” he said, “she’s your master. You’ll obey her commands.”
As he spoke, Nate imprinted a Flying Thunder God Seal onto Lasteigeeney’s body. Then, using celestial magic, he created a black key imbued with the sa seal.
“This key is for you. By channeling your magic into it, you can summon Lasteigeeney to fight for you,” he explained, handing the black key to Future Lucy. “Think of it as a unique form of Celestial Spirit Magic.”
Future Lucy stared blankly at the key in her hand. “Nate, why are you so kind to ?”
“Because you’re Lucy,” Nate replied with a gentle smile. Although from a different tiline, she was still Lucy—still his girlfriend. Being kind to his future girlfriend felt only natural.
Future Lucy clutched the black key tightly, her face flushing at his words. Just hearing “you’re Lucy” stirred her emotions. Thinking back, Nate had done so much for her: he restored her arm and even captured a dragon on her behalf. Though she wasn’t the Lucy from his tiline—wasn’t truly his girlfriend—he continued to shower her with care and affection. It was no wonder that “this world’s Lucy” had fallen for him.
If this continued, she herself might fall for him too. No, no, no! Future Lucy shook off the inappropriate thoughts swirling in her mind.
“Will she really listen to ? Do I need to form a contract?” she asked.
“Try it,” Nate encouraged.
“A-a handshake?” Future Lucy ventured tentatively.
Lasteigeeney: “…”
Am I a dog? Damn humans! Despite her inner complaints, the dragon complied. Lasteigeeney raised her paw and lightly touched Future Lucy’s small hand.
“She’s actually listening to !” Future Lucy exclaid in surprise. She then politely introduced herself: “Hello, Lasteigeeney, I’m Lucy. Please take care of .”
She hesitated, then asked softly, “Do the chains around your neck hurt?”
“I don’t feel anything…” Lasteigeeney sighed. “But I’d prefer if they were removed.”
“Can they be removed?” Future Lucy turned to Nate hopefully.
“They can,” Nate answered, nodding. “But then she’d probably eat you.”
“T-then forget it!” Future Lucy wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead. “Sorry, Lasteigeeney, I can’t remove them just yet.”
Nate looked up at the night sky. Where dozens of dragons had once soared, not a single one remained. Dragons weren’t simple beasts; they were highly intelligent. After seeing Lasteigeeney subdued so easily, the others had fled.
Closing his eyes, Nate focused on sensing the coordinates of another dinsion. As expected, the black dragon was also in this world. That confird it—this world had two Acnologias.
“I need to accelerate the ga’s progress,” Nate muttered to himself. Otherwise, these ten thousand dragons might all be slaughtered by the two black dragons. Wait, what if the two black dragons fought each other? A grin tugged at the corner of his lips. “Which one would win?”
Shaking off the amusing thought, Nate turned to Future Lucy. “Lucy, I’ll send you back for now.”
“You’re not coming with ?”
“I have so important tasks to handle first. Don’t worry; I’ll be fine.”
He took her hand and activated the Flying Thunder God technique, transporting her back to her original world.
Once she was safely returned, Nate addressed Lasteigeeney. “Let’s go. To the palace.”
Mounting the dragon, Nate soared into the sky toward rcurius. From above, he gazed down at what remained of the once-magnificent structure—now in ruins and littered with the corpses of soldiers.
Activating his Six Eyes, Nate scanned the entire area, but found no trace of life.
“Did you kill everyone here?”
“I don’t know,” Lasteigeeney replied flatly. “It was already like this when I ca through the gate.”
The ten thousand dragons had not all erged at once. Lasteigeeney had been among the last. By the ti she arrived, the kingdom was already in ruins.
“The gate—where is it?”
Lasteigeeney descended toward a platform within the palace. Nate dismounted and spotted the Eclipse Gate. The massive structure stood wide open, though no new dragons were erging at the mont.
“Let’s fix that.”
Nate activated his Arc of Embodint, summoning a towering giant. With imnse strength, it pushed the Eclipse Gate shut. As the gate slamd closed, Nate noticed sothing on the ground—twelve golden Zodiac Keys.
“These must belong to Future Lucy,” he said, pocketing the keys to return them later.
Turning to Lasteigeeney, he commanded, “Guard this gate.”
“Yes… Master.” Lasteigeeney’s face was a mix of resignation and frustration. Of all the dragons, why had she been the unlucky one?
Nate didn’t bother consoling her. He vanished in a flash of golden light to explore the ruined capital. Searching through the desolate city, he found no survivors—not even the bodies of Fairy Tail’s mbers.
“This is brutal.” Standing amidst the wreckage, Nate shook his head. “This is all because of that princess and her father. What were they thinking, opening this gate?”
Of all days, they had chosen July 7, 756—the day of the Red Moon. The abnormal magic energy of the Red Moon disrupted spaceti, linking this era to the dragon-infested period 400 years ago. A regular activation of the gate wouldn’t have led to this catastrophe.
“This world is beyond saving. The only way to fix it would be through divine intervention—rewinding ti itself,” Nate mused. He doubted even the gods could do that, and it was certainly beyond his current abilities.
“Let’s start by setting the player spawn point.”
Nate extended a finger, carving a massive Flying Thunder God circle into the air. The glowing runes descended, imprinting themselves into the ground below, creating a vast magic circle that would serve as the ga’s starting area.
“Next, the ga map…” he said quietly, raising his right hand palm-up.
“Satellite Magic: Celestial Observation!”
With a thunderous roar, milky-white magic energy shot into the sky. High above, about 100 kiloters over the capital, intricate, multicolored magic circles expanded, eventually forming a massive construct over a kiloter in diater.
A translucent interface appeared before Nate, displaying a bird’s-eye view of the entire continent of Ishgar. In the bottom-left corner, a small red dot blinked—his current location.
“Show the dragons.”
More red dots appeared across the map, spreading out like swarms of ants. They covered the continent, moving ceaselessly.
“…Like maggots,”
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