CHAPTER 746: THE THIRD GENERATION DRAGON SLAYER

While Sabertooth was downright irritating, its members at least had some backbone.

Even with their aces defeated, the others still showed no sign of surrender, though several of them trembled despite trying to look fierce.

"They’re the ones who provoked us," Rhodes said as he walked out, Mira linked to his arm, "yet somehow we’re the villains."

Mira raised her free hand, curling her fingers into a claw. "If they want to stop us, let them try. They’ll just have to deal with the consequences."

Her calm confidence made the others instinctively take a step back.

"W-wait a minute!" Sting hauled himself out of the crater, both arms hanging uselessly at his sides. "Take back what you said about insulting the guild!"

From the hole in the wall, Rogue leapt down, landing beside him.

"I get your desire to protect your guild’s pride," Rhodes said evenly. "And I even respect your courage to stand up again. But I’m not interested in bullying children."

If he counted backward, these two were probably about twelve seven years ago, Wendy’s age back then. Fighting them now felt like picking on kids.

"How dare you call us children!" Sting snapped.

"Don’t underestimate the mages of Sabertooth!" Rogue added fiercely.

Magic burst from both of them at once. White, flame-like light blazed around Sting, while inky-black shadows coiled around Rogue.

The air trembled. Stones on the floor skittered backward under the sheer pressure of their magic power.

When the light cleared, their hair stood on end, and their skin shimmered with scale-like markings, white on Sting, black on Rogue.

Their magic surged far beyond what any ordinary mage could muster.

"It’s Dragon Force!" someone gasped.

"That’s the power only Third Generation Dragon Slayers can awaken by will alone!"

"Sting and Rogue have never lost once they enter that state!"

"What’s ’Third Generation’?" someone newer asked.

Lector folded his tiny arms and explained proudly, "First Generation Dragon Slayers learned from real dragons. Second Generation had Dragon Slayer lacrimas implanted in them.

"But Sting and Rogue, our Sting and Rogue, had both! They were taught by dragons and implanted with lacrimas, making them the strongest Third Generation Dragon Slayers, stronger than either the First or Second Generation!"

"Frosch thinks so too," came the innocent echo.

Those standing near the door suddenly realized the danger. "Wait, then we should, uh, move!"

They bolted to safer ground without hesitation.

’Third Generation, stronger than the rest?’ Rhodes thought dryly. ’What nonsense.’

Even the two of them together wouldn’t last three moves against Laxus, and that was the Laxus from six years ago.

Sting glared at him, lightning crackling in his aura. "Even if you’re one of the Ten Wizard Saints, you’d better be careful, because..."

Rogue followed smoothly, his voice low, "this is magic meant to slay dragons. Power equal to a dragon’s own!"

Without waiting for a reply, the two charged together.

Sting’s body blazed with dazzling white light, while Rogue seemed to dissolve entirely into a mass of living shadow.

Their fists struck forward as one:

"Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Holy Nova!"

"Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Abyss Shadow Burial!"

A beam of white radiance shot from Sting’s hand, while from Rogue’s erupted a black torrent of shadow like a waterfall.

The twin forces collided in front of Rhodes, merging into a huge sphere of chaotic energy, half light, half darkness, swallowing both him and Mira whole.

Lector puffed up, ready to cheer, "That’s Sting for you, he’s the stron..." Then realization struck. "Ah, crap, if they use that kind of move here, the guild will..."

"Frosch thinks so too."

And sure enough, before the little Exceeds could even finish, the full power of the two Dragon Slayer Secret Arts detonated inside the Sabertooth guildhall.

The floor split apart with a deafening crack!

Tiles shattered and flew like shrapnel, windows exploded from the shockwave, and fractures webbed across the walls and pillars.

The twin Dragon Slayers’ combined attack didn’t just engulf the spot where Rhodes and Mira stood, it tore straight through it and beyond.

Sabertooth’s main doors were blasted off their hinges with a thunderous boom, the entire façade reduced to rubble. The building groaned as dust rained from above, and even the saber-toothed tiger statue on the roof wobbled precariously.

Outside, startled pedestrians froze as the massive iron doors came hurtling into the street. A blinding flash of white light poured from the guild’s entrance, forcing them to shield their eyes.

"What on earth is Sabertooth doing this time!?" someone cried.

But when they saw the mangled doorway and felt the heat rolling out from within, curiosity vanished, everyone scattered.

Inside, Sting grinned, convinced the fight was over.

"No one can take that attack head-on and walk away unscathed."

"Of course not," Rogue added coolly. "That power once killed real dragons. They’ll regret underestimating us."

But when the light and shadow faded, a soft breeze swept the dust aside, and a faint golden shimmer flickered out.

At the center of the devastation, a circular crater over a meter deep had been blasted into the floor. Yet perfectly in the middle of that crater stood a single untouched patch of stone, and on it, completely unharmed, stood Rhodes and Mira.

Rhodes threw back his head and laughed. "That power has killed dragons? Don’t make me laugh."

Sting’s eyes bulged. His jaw trembled. "H-how... how is this possible...?"

Rogue wasn’t any better off. "Our Dragon Slayer Secret Arts hit them dead on!"

The others gawked, speechless.

"They took that head-on?"

"Are they even human?"

"They must’ve used defense magic."

"But what kind of defense could withstand that!?"

Silence fell. Even if every mage in the guild had joined forces, none of them could have blocked it.

Mira looked around at the wreckage with a hint of amusement. "That was quite the exaggeration. The Council’s going to complain about this, aren’t they?"

"They wrecked their own guild," Rhodes replied dryly. "If anything, I should be the one filing charges for assaulting a Saint Ten." He paused, then smirked. "Still..."

He glanced around. The air was wide and open now...too open.

A slow smile curved his lips. "Alright then. You two said you’ve slain dragons before, didn’t you? In that case, why not kill one for me now?"

Sting and Rogue froze, blinking.

Rhodes lifted a hand. "It’s not one of the ones you’re bragging about, but this little whelp should do. Summon, Purgatory Dragon!"

A roaring blaze ignited behind him.

"ROOOAAR!"

A massive dragon, wreathed in crimson flames, erupted into the hall. The surge of heat rolled over everyone like a wave; his thunderous bellow rattled the remaining walls until they collapsed completely. The giant saber-tooth sculpture toppled from the roof, crashed onto the dragon’s back, shattered in two, and was instantly scorched black.

The entire guild went still.

"A dragon... that’s a real dragon!"

"Wait, is that... Summoning Magic!? He actually summoned a dragon!?"

"That aura... it’s unreal! Hearing about dragons in legends is one thing, but seeing one!"

Lector gulped, trembling. "So hot... so powerful. Did Sting really defeat a monster like this?"

Frosch peeked out from behind him, shaking. "F-Frosch... Frosch thinks so too..."