Chapter 609 - 609: Georg, the Four Beasts Dragon Slayer

The slap Selene had sent Georg into the wall with hadn't actually injured him very badly.

His pride, however, had taken a direct hit.

Especially after hearing Selene's mocking remark.

Georg's eyes turned bloodshot as he roared,

"You damned human traitors! The evil Five Dragon Gods are working with Ishgar, and now you expect Diabolos to join you too?!"

Hyberion's expression immediately cooled.

"Get one thing straight, Guild Master Georg. You came here asking Ishgar for help."

"We didn't force you to come."

With that, Hyberion turned toward Suzaku and the others.

"If your Guild Master intends to maintain this attitude, then I see no reason for these negotiations to continue."

Suzaku clenched his fist.

He walked over to Georg and spoke quietly.

"Guild Master, Ishgar is different from us."

"The people here have received kindness from dragons before. If we intend to survive on this continent, then please set aside our old grievances for now."

"The Alvarez Empire is the enemy we should be fighting."

Georg stared at Suzaku with increasingly unhinged eyes.

Silence stretched between them.

Then Georg abruptly raised one hand and slapped Suzaku across the face.

Suzaku didn't dodge.

The side of his face instantly turned red, yet his expression remained calm.

Misaki's face darkened.

Kiria clenched her teeth and glared at Georg.

Kirin and the others looked equally troubled.

Georg didn't care.

He pointed at Suzaku and thundered,

"Dragons are nothing but sources of power!"

"The reason Diabolos exists is to devour those damned Five Dragon Gods!"

"Peace talks?"

Georg laughed harshly.

"What kind of joke is that?!"

He brushed the dust from his clothes, making no attempt to conceal the greed in his eyes as he stared at Selene.

"Don't think I agreed to come to Ishgar because I accepted your pathetic plan."

"I only came because I heard the Moon Dragon God was here."

His grin widened.

"I'm going to eat her."

Georg's Magic Power began gathering around him.

"And don't forget—"

"I am the Guild Master of Diabolos!"

Four savage phantoms gradually appeared behind him.

A tiger.

A leopard.

A massive bear.

And an eagle.

Georg's Dragon Slayer Magic came from the Four Beasts Dragon, a dragon whose body possessed the traits of four of nature's fiercest predators.

Its power enhanced strength, speed, durability, reflexes, and physical capability across the board.

Unlike Dragon Slayer Magic that specialized heavily in one particular attribute, the Four Beasts Dragon's power provided comprehensive physical enhancement.

The drawback was that it also amplified the user's bestial instincts and aggression.

For someone like Georg, that almost seemed less like a drawback and more like a perfect match.

It was also the greatest reason he had been capable of confronting dragons while still possessing a human body.

Judging purely from the amount of Magic Power Georg was releasing, however, he didn't seem dramatically stronger than Suzaku and the others.

But at their current level, raw Magic Power had long since stopped being a reliable measure of combat strength.

The Four Gods of Ishgar represented roughly the upper limit an ordinary human mage could reach through conventional training alone.

To go beyond that threshold, most people needed something unusual—

a special constitution, divine power, draconic power, demonic power, or some other force capable of pushing the body past its normal limits.

And even among mages with comparable Magic Power, actual combat ability could differ enormously depending on the quality of their magic and how well they used it.

Put in simpler terms, having enormous reserves meant very little if the techniques powered by them were mediocre.

Brandish was a perfect example.

Her total Magic Power wasn't necessarily that far beyond Hyberion's.

But Command T was so overwhelmingly effective in actual combat that she could turn what looked like an even matchup on paper into a completely one-sided fight.

That alone showed how absurdly arrogant Georg Reizen had to be to start a fight in Magnolia, of all places—

a city currently overflowing with some of Ishgar's strongest mages.

When Georg suddenly lunged toward Selene with several Council members watching, Suzaku's expression changed.

He moved instantly.

His sheathed sword intercepted Georg's fist.

"Stop, Guild Master!"

Suzaku gritted his teeth against the impact.

"Your recklessness is only dragging Diabolos deeper into disaster!"

"Get out of my way!"

Georg's arms swelled as muscles rose beneath the skin like steel cables.

"Diabolos exists to be the fangs that devour dragons!"

"It isn't some place for you to whine about friendship!"

"If you're afraid to die, then leave the guild yourself and run to Ishgar like a coward!"

With a violent surge of strength, Georg threw Suzaku away.

Suzaku twisted in midair.

"My family…"

He landed one foot on Georg's shoulder and forced him downward.

"My family was killed by dragons too."

His voice remained steady.

"And it was thanks to you that I gained the power of a dragon."

"But Selene-dono is not an enemy we should kill."

"She fought beside us."

"Guiltina still needs to be saved."

"Our guildmates are still in danger."

Suzaku's eyes sharpened.

"Compared with revenge, I'm far more afraid of losing the companions I still have."

"Bullshit!"

Georg knocked Suzaku away with another palm strike.

"Once you have the power of dragons, you can find as many new companions as you want!"

This time, Suzaku's expression changed.

The hesitation vanished completely.

His sword left its sheath.

The flash of steel forced Georg backward.

"If that is truly what you believe…"

Suzaku slowly resheathed the blade and lowered his stance.

The posture of Underworld Style: Sword Drawing Art.

"Then forgive me."

"I can no longer obey you."

Kirin silently watched the exchange.

Then he lifted the coffin he carried and walked over to Suzaku's side.

Haku looked at Georg for a moment before following him as well.

Misaki stepped forward, her expression cold.

"I'm sorry, Guild Master."

"But for the sake of Diabolos…"

"You'll need to step down for a while."

Georg stared at them.

Then he laughed.

"Hahahaha…"

His eyes turned crimson.

"The Dark Dragon Slayer Knights…"

"The unit I personally built…"

His body suddenly expanded as the combined power of one dragon and four beasts erupted through him.

"And now you're rebelling against me?!"

Georg roared.

"THEN DIE!"

"With Dragon Slayer power, I can replace subordinates like you whenever I want!"

His knees bent.

His entire body lowered.

Then Georg exploded forward like a leopard released from a cage, moving so quickly that only afterimages remained behind him.

The Dark Dragon Slayer Knights moved at the same time.

Four Fifth-Generation Dragon Slayers surrounded the man they had once respected more than anyone, attempting to subdue their own Guild Master.

"...They're actually fighting?"

Even the Council members, who had been watching from the side, looked stunned.

This was supposed to be a meeting about peacefully relocating Guiltina's strongest guild into Ishgar.

Somehow, it had turned into Diabolos staging an internal coup right in front of them.

Laxus stared at the chaotic battle with a thoroughly unimpressed expression.

"Seriously…"

"They hadn't even settled things inside their own guild before dragging us into this?"

Ankh, on the other hand, studied the five Dragon Slayers fighting in front of him with interest.

Dragon power really was one of the strongest advantages available in the current era.

Every mage who possessed it seemed almost genetically predisposed toward solving problems with violence.

Selene showed no concern whatsoever about being the person who had triggered the entire situation.

Instead, she happily leaned toward Ankh and began providing commentary.

"The dragons Suzaku and Haku ate were both young."

"Their draconic power itself isn't particularly exceptional. Those two are strong mostly because their own talent is outstanding."

She pointed toward Kirin and Georg.

"Kirin ate a Lightning Dragon King, while Georg consumed the Four Beasts Dragon, which was famous even among dragons for its physical strength."

Selene smiled faintly.

"Those two should have suffered fairly severe backlash from what they ate."

Ankh nodded.

One glance at Kirin's permanent dark circles and Georg's apparently malfunctioning brain was enough to suggest what kind of side effects Fifth-Generation Dragon Slayers could develop.

Then Selene's attention shifted.

"The impressive one is that girl."

She looked toward Misaki with clear appreciation.

Ankh followed her gaze and nodded in agreement.

Though inwardly, he added something else.

'It's not only Dragon Power.'

'Divine Power is just as broken in this era.'