Fairy Tail {Lost Dragon Slayer}

Chapter 39 {Farwell... Dragons...}

With Mard Geer now beaten, Gray says that he has to destroy E.N.D.'s book, which Natsu quickly reveals he has a problem with, as Igneel told him to steal it and do nothing else. Their conflict is put aside very quickly as Face bombs across the continent slowly begin to detonate, removing Magic from various areas. At this point, Igneel descends from the sky with a wounded Acnologia and tells humans not to give up hope. Elsewhere, Blue Pegasus attempts to destroy a Face bomb to no avail with their Christina airship. Before they can do much more, a telepathic voice tells them to steer out of the way Grandeeney bursts through multiple Face bombs in an instant, leaving Blue Pegasus questioning what she was. Concurrently, Metalicana and the thought-to-be-dead Weisslogia and Skiadrum also destroy many Face bombs one after the other as Igneel announces that the Dragons are here to save them, much to everyone's joy.

Revealing that all the Face bombs have been destroyed, Igneel states that E.N.D. can no longer be revived. Natsu then demands to know why Igneel and the other Dragons were hiding inside the Slayers, which he reveals is due to them not wanting to turn into Dragons like Acnologia. Before he can reveal the second reason, Acnologia rises to fight again Igneel tells Natsu to grab the book as the two Dragons fly into the sky. Igneel tells Acnologia to leave the humans alone and that E.N.D.'s threat is no more, but Acnologia merely states that he only wants everything to be destroyed and attacks Igneel. Meanwhile, Gray and Natsu begin to fight once more about the fate of E.N.D.'s book, however the book disappears and is revealed to be in the hands of Zeref, who walks towards the two Mages and the fallen Mard Geer, saying that the book is very important to him.

Ignoring the bewilderment of those present, Zeref praises Mard Geer for his efforts but quickly tells the Underworld King that he will never be able to kill him before returning the Demon to his book form and setting it on fire. He then says that he came to settle things with Natsu, but that Acnologia interrupted his plans; before disappearing, Zeref tells Natsu that if he can survive, he will make his despair grow. Concurrently, Igneel is overwhelmed by Acnologia and tells Natsu of the second reason the Dragons hid inside their children: to wait until the time was right to defeat the Black Dragon. Igneel then tries to stop Natsu from joining the battle but fails and instead rises to confront Acnologia one more time; he tears off Acnologia's left arm, however in one strike, half of Igneel's body is destroyed by Acnologia. As he falls from the sky, Igneel thanks a tearful, onlooking Natsu for giving him the best days of his life and the strength to love others as he is shot by Acnologia's Dragon's Roar, leaving Natsu distraught.

As Acnologia retreats due to his injury the Dragon slayers then reunite with their Dragon parents... All except for 1 as Shiro has already said his farwells with Frost... within his heart... they then learn  several truths...

Sting and Rogue had their memories manipulated by their foster parents regarding their deaths, as well as that the Dragons have not died, but are rather already dead as a result they attribute to Acnologia stealing their souls with his Dragon Slayer Magic. They explain that they were left half-dead because of it, and that they hid inside their childrens' bodies to prevent them from Dragonifying, to wait until the time was right to kill Acnologia, and to prolong their severely shortened lives, and add that they cannot return once they've left. As Natsu sobs over Igneel's fallen body, the Dragons' life force fades completely and they begin to disappear, but not before saying goodbye to their foster children and promising to adhere to the Magna Carta established between their two races four hundred years ago, which states that they must watch over and protect humanity. Igneel, before dying, offers words of encouragement to Natsu, who screams that he will get stronger and avenge Igneel, before saying that he is proud of Natsu and his new will to live.