Chapter 78

[Black Natsu nodded.]

["However, this is normal, I've been doing this for almost a month."]

["At that time, in order to increase a large amount of magic power in a short time, I had to choose to eat the Lightning Dragon's lightning."]

["But the side effects of such an action are also very obvious. Not to mention the rejection problem, the magic power swallowed that day was simply too much."]

["Such powerful magic power was something my body couldn't bear, so I poured out a part of it through fighting."]

["And the remaining part gradually took root and sprouted in my body, and this power would instinctively want to destroy the original magic source in my body and replace it."]

["So, what you were doing was clearing out these rebellious forces?"]

[Irene seemed to understand something.]

["It's not like that, you can understand it as assimilation," Natsu said.]

["Completely assimilating this power that didn't belong to me into my own power. Of course, this also involves the steps of removing the dross, so the absorbed power is gradually decreasing."]

["There isn't much left, so I said the power is much smaller than it was then, but it's also several times stronger than before I ate the lightning, and..."]

[Speaking of this, Black Natsu raised his arm, and crimson-black lightning began to flicker wildly!]

[Irene's pupils shrank sharply!]

["You really turned this power into your own?"]

[Black Natsu smiled, then put away the crimson-black lightning.]

[Then his expression became serious, and he continued.]

["However, during this process, I discovered another problem."]

[Looking at Irene's somewhat confused eyes, Black Natsu said in a deep voice.]

["Dragonization! Excessive use of Dragon Slayer Magic will lead to a gradual increase in one's own dragonization."]

["You... have you already realized it?"]

[Irene's expression also became heavy, this is not only a problem that troubles Natsu, but also a problem that troubles Irene herself.]

[Yes, she had told Igneel before that she had already started to dragonize, and it was precisely because of this that she had a lifespan comparable to a dragon.]

[Hundreds of years, thousands of years are not a problem.]

[It sounds like a good thing, but in fact, it is exactly the opposite.]

[In the process of dragonization, your humanity will also be gradually annihilated, until finally you completely become a monster that only knows how to kill.]

[This was something Irene only discovered recently, but because the consequences were a bit serious, Irene didn't tell Black Natsu.]

[I just didn't expect that he himself realized the changes in his body.]

[Looking at Irene's appearance, Black Natsu also understood that she knew very well the consequences of dragonization.]

["This is a troublesome problem."]

["However, it's not that there is no solution."]

["Eh?!!"] [Hearing Black Natsu's words, Irene was startled!]

[Her gaze stared fixedly at Black Natsu in front of her.]

Even Irene outside the celestial screen had an expression of disbelief on her face.

"There's a way? Are you kidding me? If there really was a way... then I wouldn't have been troubled for more than four hundred years, and only recovered to normal today with the help of the celestial screen, okay?"

Irene couldn't imagine in her dreams what could solve the problem of Dragon Slayer Mages dragonizing.

So, she stared fixedly at the celestial screen image.

["Actually, this is just my guess."]

[Facing Irene's burning gaze, Black Natsu twitched his mouth and then spoke.]

["The root of dragonization is that the seed of Dragon Slayer Magic takes root and sprouts in the body, let's temporarily call it the Dragon Seed."]

["Once the Dragon Seed starts to sprout, it proves that you have already started to dragonize."]

["This degree will grow into the limbs and bones with the gradual use of Dragon Slayer Magic."]

[Speaking of this, Black Natsu paused slightly.]

[Then he looked at Irene: "Of course, this is just my metaphor, you just understand it, the actual operation will be thousands of times more complex than this."]

["The growth of the branches can be understood as the spread of dragon power. When dragon power erodes the whole body, the person will also completely turn into a dragon."]

["I think that Acnologia, who exists in legend, is in this situation, the dragon power, or the branches of the Dragon Seed, have already occupied half of the body."]

["So, how exactly should we avoid this situation?" Irene asked somewhat puzzled.]

["This might just be my hypothesis, it hasn't been truly tested."]

[Natsu patted his full stomach, then said his guess.]

["Perhaps, we can refer to the source of power hidden in the dragon's body, the existence of the Dragon Slayer Lacrima."]

["Create a space similar to a Dragon Slayer Lacrima, or rather, a space for the Dragon Seed to grow. In this way, no matter how the dragon power develops, it will not affect the essence of being human."]

["In other words, when you need to use it, open that space, just like a dragon mobilizing the power within the Dragon Slayer Lacrima."]

["I think this can achieve a near-perfect evolutionary direction."]

["Of course, all of this is conjecture, and more research and overcoming more difficulties are needed to realize it."]

[Black Natsu talked eloquently.]

[And at this moment, Irene on the other side was already stunned in place!]

[Yes, Dragon Slayer Magic is essentially magic that converts humans into dragons, but humans are not dragons, and they don't have things like Dragon Slayer Lacrima to supply the growth of dragon power.]

[It is precisely because of this that people who often use dragon power will gradually be dragonized, and their personalities will be eroded.]

[Simply put, it is a pollution source that can release power. A completely harmless method is to isolate it with something, and only open it when you need to use it. This will undoubtedly minimize the side effects.]

[But how have they, the Dragon Slayer Mages, been using it all along?]

[That is purely physical contact with the pollutant. It would be a ghost if they weren't infected by this method of use.]

[After Black Natsu's reminder, countless ideas suddenly popped into Irene's mind.]

[In her excitement, Irene even hugged Black Natsu's head and gave him a fierce kiss on his forehead.]

[Then, holding the completely confused Black Natsu, she said in surprise!]

["Listen, Natsu, you are truly a genius, definitely the most terrifying genius I have ever seen!!!"]