CHAPTER 614: MOUNTAIN DRAGON VS. ACNOLOGIA

There was no warning. No reason. No explanation.

The Black Dragon had come simply because it chose to come.

Its massive body, patterned with streaks of glowing blue, loomed like a calamity born from nature itself. It appeared without sound, only to descend upon Tenrou Island like judgment.

No one knew its thoughts. No one could guess its purpose.

All they felt was the hurricane force of its wings as the monster dropped from the sky. In the blink of an eye, the dragon’s immense shadow crashed to the earth before them.

The impact split the ground open. Wind howled like a storm, tearing sand and debris into the air. The luggage Fairy Tail had just finished packing was scattered instantly. The force of its landing alone was enough to strip breath from their lungs.

"Run!!"

It wasn’t the Guild Master. It wasn’t Erza. It wasn’t Makarov.

It was Gildarts, their strongest mage, who shouted the order.

And his voice cracked with panic.

The sight stunned them all. Gildarts, the immovable pillar of strength, was afraid. Afraid enough to not even think of fighting. Afraid enough to command retreat.

But Acnologia gave them no time.

The dragon lowered its titanic head, its chin slamming against the earth with a sound like the island itself cracking apart. Then its jaws opened wide.

What came was not a spell. Not Dragon Slayer Magic.

It was just a roar.

A primal, ear-splitting bellow that ripped through the air and into their very bones.

The sound tore at their ears, rattled their skulls, threatened to tear the world itself apart.

Lucy, Levy, Lisanna, Carla, and Happy, closest to the beast, clutched their ears desperately. But even before the sound ended, the gale-force winds that followed sent them tumbling away like leaves.

"Lucy!!" "Levy!!"

Their friends rushed to pull them up, but their cries were lost in the endless thunder of the dragon’s voice.

Trees bent nearly sideways, stones blasted into the air. The earth itself shuddered beneath their feet.

And this... this wasn’t even Acnologia using magic.

It was just the sound of its roar.

When silence fell at last, hearts still pounded. Then, with a sweep of its colossal wings, the dragon launched itself upward, circling in the sky.

Its shadow smothered the starlight, its hollow gaze looking down on them all.

Gildarts’ teeth clenched. To him, the dragon’s look wasn’t hatred or anger. It was... curiosity.

Like a child who had just discovered a cluster of ants.

Would it leave them alone? Or crush them in boredom?

Whispers ran through the ranks:

"Rhode’s dragons could talk, why won’t this one?"

"Maybe it’s just like people. Some are kind, and some are monsters."

Gajeel steadied Levy and glared at the sky. "This guy ain’t like the dragons we know. Not at all."

Natsu’s fists trembled, his voice uncharacteristically grim. "Igneel loved humans."

Grandeeney, Metalicana too!"

Wendy clutched her chest. "This one... this one feels different. It feels wrong."

"Enough!" Makarov barked, forcing calm into his voice. "Quiet! Don’t draw its attention! Into the forest! Hurry!"

If they were lucky, maybe it had only landed here out of idle whim. Maybe if they hid, it would fly away.

But luck was not with them.

The Black Dragon’s wings folded, its massive body twisting in the air.

It wasn’t flying away.

It was diving, straight for them.

And with its size, its speed, its sheer weight, in one second, every single one of them would be reduced to dust.

There was no time to run.

"Mountain Dragon!" Rhodes roared, thrusting his pendant forward.

With a thunderous cry, a colossal dragon of stone and earth burst into existence above the group, its body towering, scales like rugged cliffs. The Mountain Dragon opened its maw and bellowed, its roar crashing head-on with the dark dragon descending from the sky.

At the same moment, the ground beneath everyone surged upward. A massive hill rose from the soil, lifting the Fairy Tail members off their feet and hurling them into the safety of the woods.

The black dragon faltered for only a heartbeat before slamming straight into the Mountain Dragon.

The hillside tumbled apart, and the Fairy Tail mages rolled helplessly through branches and roots until they thudded against tree trunks, clothes torn and covered in dirt.

No one complained. There was no time.

Because the very next instant, Acnologia crushed the Mountain Dragon back against the rising peak. The mountain shook violently, splitting open, rocks cascading down in an avalanche of dust and rubble.

The two giants roared, claw against claw, fang against scale.

The Mountain Dragon raked its talons against Acnologia’s shoulders and clamped its jaws on the black dragon’s neck. Shards of scale scattered, streaks of blood glistened in the dawn light.

But to Acnologia, it was nothing. A scratch. A nuisance.

With a guttural growl, Acnologia’s claws dug into the Mountain Dragon’s stone shoulders, cracking the rock-like armor. Then its massive jaws closed around the back of the Mountain Dragon’s neck.

The sickening crunch echoed across Tenrou Island. Stone scales shattered, boulders tumbled down the hillside, and chunks of bleeding stone-flesh broke free under the force of its bite.

The newborn mountain began to collapse, its ridges breaking apart under the sheer weight of two dragons grappling.

The Fairy Tail mages watched in frozen shock. No spells. No magic. Just brute strength, and already mountains were falling, the island itself crying out beneath them.

Rhode’s face was pale. Never since he first learned to summon the Mountain Dragon had he seen it driven into such a dire position.

Even Hades, with his overwhelming dark magic, had only survived because of unique abilities.

But against Acnologia, the Mountain Dragon was losing. Badly.

Rhodes had already summoned the Sentinel and the Brambleback, layering every enhancement he could muster. It barely made a difference.

His hand tightened on his pendant. Should he summon the Purgatory Dragon? One dragon drained him heavily. Two might tear him apart.

Before he could decide, two hands slammed onto his shoulders.

"Let us go!"

Natsu and Gajeel stood on either side of him, fire burning in their eyes.

"If it’s a dragon," Natsu growled, "then this is our fight."

Even bandaged and bruised, with his waist still wrapped tight, Natsu’s spirit was unshaken. Beside him, Gajeel’s face was swollen and cut, yet his smirk carried the same steel.

Rhode’s throat tightened. They couldn’t even scratch the Mountain Dragon in training, and now they wanted to charge at the Black Dragon?

Laxus stepped forward. Wendy too. "If it’s dragonslaying..."

A shattering roar split the sky.

The Mountain Dragon’s cry was full of pain. Blood spilled down its neck, its rocky armor crushed beneath Acnologia’s bite.

It clawed back desperately, tearing free a chunk of flesh from its foe, then lashed out with its hind legs to kick Acnologia skyward. With a defiant roar, the Mountain Dragon launched itself into the air, meeting the black shadow head-on once more.

But its voice reached Rhode’s mind, heavy with warning:

"Call the Cloud Dragon. Run."

Even the Mountain Dragon was telling them to flee.

There was no time to hesitate.

"Everyone, to me! Hurry!" Rhodes shouted.

Wendy was the first to obey, dashing to his side.

Makarov hauled Laxus back, while Gildarts grabbed Natsu and Gajeel like children, dragging them in with brute force.

The others scrambled close, panic tightening their steps.

Even Ultear and Meredy, after a heartbeat of hesitation, ran into the circle.

The black dragon loomed above, its crimson eyes burning like molten fire. It no longer looked like an indifferent force of nature. This time, it spoke, its voice a low rumble, filled with rage and mockery.

"There are still dragons alive. There are still dragons who dare to fight me."

Acnologia. The Black Dragon of the Apocalypse. The destroyer of eras.

Rhodes wasted no time. He slammed his pendant forward.

"Summon, Cloud Dragon!"

With a deafening roar, a massive dragon of whirling winds and pale-blue scales emerged beneath them. Everyone scrambled onto its back as Rhodes barked:

"Take us away!"

"Hold tight!" the Cloud Dragon rumbled. Without hesitation, its colossal wings unfurled and it surged into the sky.

Behind them, the Mountain Dragon unleashed its breath. A sandstorm of stone and dust roared forth like an avalanche, blotting out the sun, giant boulders spinning in the storm like meteors.

Acnologia opened its maw in reply.

A beam of searing white light erupted forth, not fire, not lightning, not any attribute known to Magic. It was raw, absolute power. Like Etherion compressed into a single point. Like destruction given form.

The storm was torn apart. Rocks exploded into fragments. The Mountain Dragon’s mighty breath was split down the center and swallowed whole by that beam.

"Mountain—!"

The explosion lit up the island. The Mountain Dragon’s body tumbled from the sky, a horrific wound carved into its chest.

The Cloud Dragon shrieked in alarm.

"I won’t die," the Mountain Dragon growled, blood spilling from its jaws. "Go... quickly!"

The Cloud Dragon obeyed. Wind gathered around its body like blades, slicing treetops as it shot upward, wings beating furiously. Everyone clung to its scales as the gale nearly tore them away. Wendy, Happy, Carla, and Meredy almost slipped off, but their friends grabbed hold in time.

But Acnologia’s gaze was already on them. Its wings thundered, a storm in their own right, and it surged forward, faster than the wind itself.

The Mountain Dragon roared and lunged desperately, clamping its jaws onto Acnologia’s tail.

A fatal mistake.

Acnologia’s eyes narrowed, and it twisted its body, maw opening wide. Another beam of annihilation ripped free, engulfing the Mountain Dragon’s side.

The dragon’s scream shook the earth. Its body cracked apart like stone splitting under a hammer. Yet still it bit down harder....harder, until with a sickening crunch, Acnologia’s tail snapped. A section of it was torn away.

Twin roars shook Tenrou Island, one of agony, one of fury.

The Mountain Dragon fell, broken, vanishing into the forest below.

Acnologia, now wild with rage, hurtled after the Cloud Dragon.

Lucy’s scream cut through the roar of the wind.

"It’s catching up!"

"Bania!" Wendy shouted, pouring every ounce of her strength into her enchantments. The Dragon surged forward, the wind itself carrying them faster.

But Acnologia was faster still. The distance shrank with every heartbeat. Energy gathered in its throat again, light so blinding it turned the world white.

Makarov, Gildarts, and the others braced themselves, shields of Magic springing up like fragile glass against a tidal wave.

Rhodes clenched his pendant, his teeth grinding.

"Purgatory Dragon!"

With a roar that scorched the heavens, a blazing red dragon appeared behind them, its body dripping molten fire.

It didn’t hesitate. It rammed headfirst into Acnologia, an explosion of flame lighting up the skies like a meteor burst. Lava scattered like rain, sizzling as it hit the sea.

The Purgatory Dragon opened its mouth wide, spewing a torrent of blistering fire.

But Acnologia didn’t dodge. It plunged straight through the inferno, scales blackened but unyielding. Its jaws opened wide, teeth sinking for the Hellfire Dragon’s throat.