Chapter 296: George VS Flame God Dragon
The Flame God Dragon Ignia—he was George's first target.
Because when he first heard that name, he immediately thought of Natsu's adoptive father, Igneel, who was also a fire dragon. The names were so similar, it was hard not to make the connection.
He had previously helped Natsu use a tracking spell on Igneel, but it had no effect.
He suspected there might be some familial relationship between Ignia and Igneel. If that were the case, perhaps extracting some dragon power from the Flame God Dragon would be much easier.
One day later, George arrived at the northernmost part of the Northern Continent, an area covered in volcanoes.
"There's actually a city here."
Following the tracking spell, he discovered a towering city within the volcanic region.
Though the city wasn't large, he didn't sense much human presence.
"Looks like the Flame God Dragon is hiding here."
Retracting his wings, George quietly descended.
But just as he touched down, a figure appeared behind him.
"Who are you, and why have you come to my Flame God City?"
George swiftly turned around to find a young man standing before him, a sun tattoo on his chest and a terrifying magical aura radiating from his body.
"This guy... is the Flame God Dragon!"
With such an overwhelming fire-based magical power, he couldn't think of anyone else it could be.
According to Elefseria, powerful dragons could transform into human form to move around, although their strength would not be as great as in dragon form.
Even so, George's instincts told him he couldn't win against the person in front of him.
"Excuse me, are you Mr. Ignia?"
George asked politely.
Hearing this, the young man's face immediately lit up with interest.
"I didn't expect you to know my name. Seems like you came here specifically for me. Don't tell me you're another mage sent by Farion to die?"
"Ahem, I just wanted to ask—do you know Igneel?"
George immediately changed the subject.
If he admitted he was here on a Hundred-Year Quest, that would surely lead to a fight.
"You actually know Igneel—know my father? Who are you?"
Ignia's expression changed dramatically at George's words.
He knew Farion very well, since it was he who deliberately let the Earth God Dragon lose to Farion, building the underground labyrinth to suppress the Five Dragon Gods' power, as part of his plan to restart the Dragon King Festival and transform all the humans on the Northern Continent into dragons.
He was certain that Farion didn't have much intelligence on the Five Dragon Gods, let alone knowledge of his relationship with Igneel.
"Holy crap, they're father and son? Then this guy might be Natsu's brother! Looks like there's a chance here!"
In contrast, George's eyes lit up when he heard that Igneel was Ignia's father.
"Actually, your father has an adopted son named Natsu, and I'm a good friend of his."
"Hmph, you mean that little human brat from four hundred years ago? I can't believe he's still alive."
Ignia's expression instantly darkened.
"Don't think just because you're connected to Igneel that you can form any bond with me.
Don't you know? We dragons are solitary creatures. Even fathers and sons have no emotional ties.
Besides, I detest that little human brat. If he's still alive, I wouldn't mind burning him to ashes.
Or maybe I should burn his friend—you—into ashes first!"
"Huh?"
Hearing Ignia's words, George immediately sensed danger and felt a bit puzzled.
He hadn't expected dragon family relationships to be this bad, and he also didn't understand what Ignia meant by calling Natsu a child from four hundred years ago. Could Natsu really be over four hundred years old?
Just then, he suddenly remembered how Natsu couldn't pass through the magic barrier during the guild's internal battle.
Maybe... it really was possible.
But now wasn't the time to think about that, because Ignia had already raised his hand, unleashing a torrent of flame at him.
"Well, let's give it a try then."
Given the situation, the best option would've been to use Apparition and escape.
But since he was already here, he figured he might as well test the strength of the Five Dragon Gods. That way, he'd have a better idea of what he was up against.
"Armor Protection."
George drew his wand and cast a Shield Charm in front of him.
"It actually melted!"
However, the magical shield formed by the Shield Charm lasted less than three seconds before being melted by Ignia's flames.
This was the first time he had encountered such a situation.
The Shield Charm was known for its high defensive power in the Harry Potter world—aside from the Killing Curse, it could block almost any magic.
With his current magical strength and the power boost from this world's wand, its defense had increased tenfold.
Even Laxus's Thunder Dragon Halberd hadn't been able to damage his Shield Charm.
Yet now, Ignia's basic flame attack had melted it.
And this was while Ignia was still in human form, which was supposed to be significantly weaker than his dragon form. That was terrifying.
Electric currents surged through George's body as he rapidly retreated to dodge the flames. With a swipe of his claw—
"Plasma Electromagnetic Cannon!"
A plasma beam capable of slicing through small mountains blasted toward Ignia, knocking him backward.
"You're quite an interesting cat."
Flames surged from Ignia's body, and he completely neutralized the plasma beam before it could touch him.
A mere cat could launch such an attack?
Though it couldn't hurt him, such power among human mages placed this one among the strong, with great potential for growth.
"I also keep a pet flame cat. If you're willing to become my pet, I might consider sparing your life."
"Looks like I have no choice but to try this move."
Seeing Ignia walking toward him through the plasma beam, George realized that normal magic attacks couldn't break through Ignia's defenses.
So he decided to use the super magic he had recently mastered.
"Super Magic: Fairy Law!"
Clasping his hands, a dazzling white light burst from George's body, and a massive magic circle appeared over the Flame God City.
Fairy Law wasn't that hard to learn. In the past month, while studying Dragon Slayer Magic, he had already mastered it.
Boom!
A massive beam of light engulfed Ignia.
Three seconds later, the light faded. Ignia stood in place, blood gushing from his mouth, veins bulging on his face—gone was his previously calm demeanor.
"You're impressive. This is the first time I've been injured in over a hundred years. I'll burn you to ashes!"
Terrifying flames erupted from Ignia as he vanished and charged toward George.
"That cost me a third of my life force, and it only caused minor injuries? This guy's a monster. I'm out!"
George pulled out a mirror enchanted with mirage magic, leapt into it, and used Apparition to vanish instantly.
(End of Chapter)