A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

A sense of dread flashed through the hearts of everyone in the One-Eyed Serpent's group: Who could launch such an attack?! Could it be one of their comrades?

Before they could figure it out, the sound of a huge object crashing down came from the ceiling, and the whole room shook. Several pieces of rubble fell from the cracks in the ceiling.

"What's going on?!"

"What happened up there?!"

"An enemy attack? Could it be people from the Council?"

Just as everyone was filled with doubt and uncertainty, a henchman-like figure came down the stone steps in a panic. He was trembling all over, pointing with a shaking finger at the stairs behind him, his mouth trembling incessantly: "No...it's bad...Boss!! There's...there's something outside..."

The arrogant man immediately stood up: "What's outside?!"

There's something outside—

Boom!!!

Before he could finish speaking, a loud crash came from the basement ceiling, clearly indicating that it had been subjected to unbearable gravity. With this loud bang, the ceiling immediately burst, collapsed, and fell, and the huge object that was pressing on it also fell at the same time, crashing straight into the basement.

The ceiling was gone, and the giant object took over the function of the original ceiling, covering it. Through the light that had saved their lives and the sunlight that fell through the cracks, everyone finally saw what the current "ceiling" was—it was the flesh of some kind of monster, with soft, white fur on it.

"Wh...what kind of monsters are attacking?"

"I've never heard of such a large magical beast around here!!"

"Quickly send a few men to take it out!"

Not only the members of the 'One-Eyed Serpent' were affected by this turmoil, but also Erza, Natsu, and a group of prisoners. Fortunately, the iron cell was six-sided and the top was made of steel. The falling ceiling rubble was in large pieces, which saved them from harm, leaving them covered in dust.

Upon seeing what was covering their heads, the group was immediately horrified: "This...this feeling, could it be...?"

"It's a dragon!!!"

A loud shout echoed throughout the basement, coming from the underling who had come down to report the situation: "It's that dragon from the newspaper that attacked the council chamber! It's fighting with the 'Diabolos' crew up there!!"

"What did you say??!!!"

"Why are dragons and 'Diabolos' here?!"

The "One-Eyed Serpent" men's expressions changed drastically. They instantly forgot all the flattery and the slave trade, their hearts filled only with fear and panic. Their first action was to complain, and their second was to flee. Regardless of the current situation, given their strength, staying here would be utterly futile.

"Run!"

The next moment, everyone felt two enormous magical forces coming from the ground. Those who were weaker, including the arrogant man, were directly pressed down by the magical forces and unable to move.

Erza immediately moved to the edge of the iron cage and looked up. The dragon turned over, roared to the sky, and its terrifying aura spread in all directions.

"It's definitely Kurnuki! This power... were it just playing around with Dispel before?"

Suddenly, two metallic sounds rang out. The group turned to look and saw that one side of the iron cage had been cleaved open by two sword marks, one above and one below, creating a large hole. Several iron pillars crashed to the ground with a clang. Then, two identical figures stepped in.

With his familiar red hair and dashing figure, he spoke in his usual nonchalant tone, as if he were watching a good show, "Oh~ there are quite a lot of people here... the other side is really capable..."

Everyone immediately beamed with joy: "Kira, Dispel, you've finally arrived."

"Don't worry, now that we're here, you... Pfft! What kind of bizarre way of binding us is this?! Hahaha..."

"Can you still walk like this? Get up and walk a few steps so I can see..."

Seeing that Kira and Dispel were not only not rescuing people immediately, but also laughing at their situation, Erza was furious. However, she couldn't show her anger in the current situation, so she could only pretend not to care: "I just heard that person say that Culnuki is fighting with people from 'Diabolos'. What's going on?"

"Well... it's just too much of a coincidence."

……

Ten minutes ago, Kira, Dispel, and Culnuki arrived near the 'One-Eyed Serpent' tavern. Kira originally planned to send a reconnaissance robot in to gather information, but suddenly sensed a peculiar magical force emanating from behind him.

"What's wrong?" Dispel asked when Kira stopped moving.

"Someone's coming!"

"A very special kind of magic..."

Dispel has no magic and cannot sense magic like Kira and Culnuki, so it wasn't until half a minute later that she heard the faint footsteps.

A minute later, a bearded man slowly emerged from the forest. He approached the three of them, his eyes suddenly sharpening: "You... are you mages from 'One-Eyed Serpent'?"

"No! It's just that our friend has been kidnapped, and we've come to rescue him."

Kira carefully examined the special magic power on the other party. He was very familiar with this magic power; it was Dragon Slayer Magic, and it was the unique magic power of the Fifth Generation Dragon Slayer Mage!

Who are you?

The bearded man looked at the three of them with great interest. His gaze first fell on Kira, revealing a slight surprise; then on Dispel, his eyes changed from surprise to doubt; and finally, he looked at Kurnuki, his eyes turning into delight.

"I am a mage from 'Diabolos,' here to exterminate the dark guild 'One-Eyed Serpent'!"

They really are from there!

Kira's heart tightened, and he silently reminded himself to prepare for battle at any moment.

In fact, Kira had seen this bearded man before once. He was the final challenger in the 'Dessert Contest' that Erza participated in a few days ago, and Erza had held a grudge against him for a long time because of his amazing knife skills.

In just a moment, Kira understood many things. For example, the reason he could sculpt such lifelike dragon statues was because he had likely seen real dragons.

As for his purpose in appearing in that town, it should be the same as his reason for appearing here. Wasn't it in Sweet City that Natsu encountered the 'One-Eyed Serpent' mage, which led to a fierce fight and the burning of the town?

"These guys have several strongholds. I spent almost half a month traveling to several cities, and I was so tired that I didn't even have enough to eat, but in the end, I only found their branches. I never expected to run into their headquarters this time. What luck!"

The bearded man was extremely excited. As a Dragon Slayer Mage, his sense of smell was second to none. He had already seen through Culnuki's true nature. So what he wanted to say next was: But even more fortunate was that we encountered a dragon!

At this moment, he already foresaw the simultaneous look of fear and panic on the faces of the two identical-looking people after he uttered those words.

"But, even more fortunately..."

Before he could finish speaking, Kira said earnestly, "Oh, really?! Then you'd better treat yourself well later!"

These inexplicable words stunned the bearded man in front of him, who murmured, "Hmm? Ah... Of course... I have to treat myself!"

Then, he revealed a sinister smile: "Just use..."

Let's treat ourselves to this dragon's meat!

Before he could finish another sentence, Kira interrupted him, saying, "Why don't you treat us to a meal too?!"

"Huh??" The bearded man was completely dumbfounded.

Dispel chimed in, "I want a beef feast!"

"Wait! I..."

Kira shook his head, retorting with a serious expression, "No, I think a seafood feast would be better!"

"But a beef feast is even tastier!"

"The seafood feast is delicious, but the most important thing is that it's expensive!"

"I see, I've discovered another difference between us!"

Seeing that these two identical people were saying such outrageous things, the bearded man wanted to interrupt them. He took two steps forward and reached out to pull them apart: "No, to get to the bottom of this, why am I..."

"Actually, no matter what we choose, the uncle will make the final decision anyway, so let's just ask him!"

"That makes sense. Sorry, sir, we were rude! Would you prefer beef or seafood?"

This question completely baffled the bearded man, who unconsciously made a choice: "Uh... seafood...??"

Dispel angrily slammed his fist into the air: "Damn it! So close!!"

On the contrary, Kira was in high spirits: "Yosh! Let's go eat seafood then!!"

The three turned to leave, leaving behind a bewildered, bearded man standing there: What just happened? Where am I? What was I going to say?...

Chapter 424 The Man Who Ate the Sea Dragon King

"Wait a minute, everyone!!"

Just as Kira and his companions turned to leave, the bearded man finally realized what was happening. He stood in front of Kira, and his magic erupted instantly.

But this kind of thing is only useful when dealing with small fry. When used against Kira and his two companions, it not only failed to serve as a warning but also looked ridiculous.

"Uncle, what kind of magic are you suddenly unleashing?"

What?! This boy didn't react at all to my magical pressure?! No, not only him, but even the person who looked exactly like him wasn't surprised at all. Who are they?! I've never heard of anyone like Giltina before... Come to think of it, who would be with...

Those who walk with dragons are certainly not ordinary people...

"I never said I was going to treat you to any fancy meal!!!"

"Yes...yes...we understand! Let's go!" Kira and Dispel waved in unison, muttering to themselves as they turned to leave, "Tch! So stingy..."

? ? ! !

The bearded man was still completely bewildered: Who are these two people?! Did they accidentally escape from some hospital? Or are they just naturally shameless?!

Wait! Are they leaving?

"Stop!!" The bearded man shot forward with those words, blocking the three of them, and asked Kurnuji, "You, buddy, are a dragon, right?"

"No!" Kurnuki didn't even blink. It seemed that his time with certain people had taught him more sophisticated lying techniques.

The bearded man was stunned. He hadn't expected the other person to be so adept at lying through his teeth. Weren't dragons supposed to be very proud? How come this one he met was so different?

"Don't even think about denying it! No dragon can escape the nose of a dragon hunter!"

"Then why are you asking?"

"...Anyway, I've finally encountered a dragon, and I'm not going to let you leave so easily!"

"Should we fight?" Dispel glanced at Kurnuki.

Kurnuki scrutinized the bearded man's entire body and said, "There's nothing I can do. You see? This guy clearly won't let me leave easily."

"Then I'll prepare some sunflower seeds and soda before I watch the show."

"...Whatever you want."

Kurnuki said something indifferently, then took two steps forward and released his own enormous magical power, which rivaled the bearded man's aura. The eyes of the man and the dragon collided in the air, sparking intense flames.

The battle is about to begin!

With a muffled thud, the two figures vanished from their original positions and reappeared in mid-air between the two men, Kurnuki and the bearded man striking each other with their right arms.

*Crack!* *Thud!* *Bang!* ...