Boom!
Boom!!
Boom!!!
Explosions erupted beyond the limits of human vision, shattering the void and igniting firelight.
The roar echoed like a torrential downpour, shaking the entire world.
Two figures clashed in midair, colliding and scattering in an instant.
Facing the horned youth, the fully dragonized Natsu roared with madness. The power of the Dragon God had already fused into his body. His scarlet eyes burned with pure destructive will, refusing to let go of Paipai.
"Where did you get this power?" Paipai was genuinely shocked.
Was the hot-blooded shounen trope of sudden power-ups really this terrifying—completely ignoring the gap in strength?!
Just moments ago, Natsu had been knocked out in a single blow, and now he could exchange strikes with him.
Perhaps it was worth studying the principle behind it. Once he reclaimed his true ability, he might even test it on himself.
"I'll defeat you! I swear I'll defeat you!!"
The beast-like torrent of fury crushed what little reason remained.
With only one thought in his mind, dragonized Natsu lunged at Paipai. The surging Dragon Flames ignited even the very fabric of magic itself, spreading into an ocean of fire for thousands of miles, heat waves rolling sky-high.
He soared into the sky, his mouth brewing dragon breath. Black dragonfire, carrying the aura of annihilation, cracked space and time itself.
In the next instant, the jet-black beam of destruction erupted, piercing through the world, ripping through dimensions. Endless fissures spread wherever the Dragon's Breath touched.
"Just a mindless beast," Paipai muttered calmly, watching with faint curiosity.
This power… it should already surpass Acnologia, who devoured all of time's magic in the original timeline.
But… so what?
Everyone knows: humans are far scarier than beasts. Rational thought surpasses any fang or claw.
Between his two horns, a planetary model emerged—a hidden backdoor of Paipai's control over the world's magic.
In an instant, the Sea of Magic trembled. A ceaseless surge of magic poured forth—not to block the Dragon's Breath, but to stretch the distance between Paipai and the attack.
The Dragon's Breath was far too vast. Anything drawn near—matter or energy—was consumed within it. A direct clash with overwhelming magic would only feed the flames.
But by altering himself, by simply stretching the space-time scale between them, Paipai weakened the Dragon's Breath into nothing but an unreachable illusion.
"You're too arrogant."
Suddenly, a voice sounded from behind him.
The beast-like Natsu's eyes flickered with humanity. He seized the opening, his fist slamming into Paipai.
At once, streaks of light erupted across Paipai's body.
From the light emerged countless figures—manifestations of his fractured self. Paipai's aura plummeted, his control over the world's magic collapsing sharply.
"You… fused…" His power was leaking like water through a gaping wound. He raised his head, staring at Natsu, who had reverted to human form.
Though traces of dragonization remained—small patches of scales at his temples—his eyes were calm, steady.
As though everything earlier had been an act.
And then Paipai realized—the mark he had left on Dorachion now appeared on Natsu.
In that moment, the two figures overlapped as one.
"…So it's the work of those strange trinkets of yours, huh?"
Hundreds—thousands—of Paipais took shape from the light, all wearing the same expression as they gazed at the fused being of Natsu and Dorachion.
"My Magical Weapon: Unification… it was my brother's masterpiece. It can unify all forms of power—or apply to living beings, fusing or dividing them. Even across these four hundred years, it has never ceased to evolve. I just never imagined… the first time I'd use it would be against you."
The fused Natsu spoke with calm clarity.
He was Natsu, he was Dorachion—one who had admired Edjerlf, yet still bore respect for Paipai.
"Heh… you really do keep surprising me!"
Immediately, several of Paipai's duplicates killed themselves, and the survivors absorbed their strength.
The ruthlessness of the act made even the fused Natsu wince.
"Fall!!"
He raised his fist to the heavens. Surging magic swirled like a vast whirlpool, dragged into him. Only now, when Paipai's control over magic was at its weakest, could such a feat be possible.
In the sky, a colossal golden funnel formed.
At its base, the pink-haired boy's body was riddled with cracks. Magic as vast as an ocean bled from within, his whole form glowing like shattered porcelain.
"Dragon Slayer Magic – Secret Art: Purification of the World!"
From the very first particle, magic collapsed. Magic clashed against magic, releasing blinding radiance.
That terrifying force surged toward Paipai—yet much of it was also directed elsewhere: erasing the world's corrupted magic.
"Again and again… Natsu, I admit—my arrogance was indeed a mistake. You've given me a vivid lesson, one I'll remember."
Paipai's numbers dwindled, but his aura was steadily rising again.
"But… if you think this will make me withdraw, you're far too naive!!!"
The remaining duplicates leapt together, merging into one.
Though weaker than before, his aura was still terrifying. In his hand, light condensed into the embryonic form of the world of Edolas.
At once, the world's magic retreated like a tide, separating pure and tainted energy.
The unpolluted magic surged into Paipai's colossal form. His body swelled visibly, becoming a ten-thousand-zhang giant, towering through the heavens.
A god-like figure, echoing an ancient era of deities and demons.
His body was woven from endless magic. For a fleeting instant, he almost felt the return of his Reality-Warping Will.
It was only an illusion born of power's inflation, but Paipai's face was grim as he roared:
"Now… DO NOT INTERFERE!!!"
The colossal divine body struck against the tide of Natsu's unleashed magic.
Two utterly different powers collided, annihilating like matter and antimatter—exploding into boundless light and heat.
At the center of the clash, both sides burned themselves dry, pushing their power forward.
"Even with power, you can't just do whatever you want, you bastard old man!!!"
"AHHHH!!"
Yet compared to Paipai, who had the world's magic as his supply lines, the fused Natsu's foundation was far too shallow. He soon began to falter.
Burning even his very life away, Natsu roared defiantly.
But Paipai only sneered, as though hearing a joke:
"Ha! Natsu—what about yourself?"
"Do you remember how many homes you've destroyed? How many ports did you wreck? How many disasters have you caused? Maybe on one of those ships you burned, the cargo was medicine, food, or clothes.
Maybe in some hospital, a dying patient was waiting for that medicine. Maybe in some charity, refugees stood in line for that food. Maybe in a broken-down shack, a family was waiting for warm clothes to survive the winter."
"Thousands of ordinary people have suffered because of you. But you never cared. Your guild elders always cleaned up your mess. The Magic Council always favored mages. You always have to laugh, enjoying the thrill of chase and escape."
"Natsu… do you even have the right to lecture me? I was never a saint. Otherwise… do you think I'd have let you live long enough to stand here?"
With a mighty push, Paipai's colossal fist shattered the tide of magic and pressed forward toward Natsu.
"I'll change! I'll change—I'll use my strength to change this world, to create a better world!!"
Natsu roared without hesitation, veins bulging on his forehead.
To prove his resolve, he planted himself firmly in the path of Paipai's fist, refusing to budge.
"Now… you bastard… step aside!!!"
His body, drained of all strength, even burning the core of his life, suddenly erupted with infinite power.
The world itself turned black and white, like it had regressed into a crude sketch.
At the clash's center, the balance suddenly tilted.
In Paipai's disbelieving gaze, Natsu forced the collision point back toward him, overwhelming the giant's fist.
Light consumed his shoulders.
And in the haze of eternity, Natsu saw countless versions of himself across endless timelines—past and future.
And not only himself, members of Fairy Tail stood with him too, each lending their strength.
Among the crowd… was even another Paipai.
Noticing Natsu's gaze, Paipai only smiled faintly at him.
"How… how is this possible…"
BOOM.
All dissolved into light.
All dissolved into silence.