u/Equivalent-Owl3880

There’s no way Anchor and Earth Build are completely out of the picture yet. First of all, they’re not dead. And in Anchor’s case, it’s not like Juvia used Anchor’s own water, which Gray then froze and turned against him. What Gray froze was Juvia herself, and he used that to attack Anchor. So I really don’t see why that should be enough to take Anchor down for good. The attack wasn’t Dragon Slayer magic, nor was it dragon magic, and those are usually the kinds of things you need if you want to seriously defeat a dragon. On top of that, neither Anchor nor Earth Build has even used a full dragon form yet, which should be stronger than their human forms. That alone makes me think we definitely haven’t seen the last of them.

This fight felt like it was setting up something really important for Lucy. She openly says that Natsu has always been the one protecting her, and that this time, it’s her turn to protect him. That line made the whole scene feel like it was building toward Lucy getting her own moment against Earth Build. So I really hope Earth Build isn’t actually down yet. If Natsu is the one who ends up defeating him, it would kind of go against what the fight seemed to be setting up. Lucy’s declaration would lose a lot of its weight if the story immediately goes back to Natsu protecting her again. On top of that, Earth Build still doesn’t feel like he has gone all out yet. We haven’t even seen him use his dragon form, which should logically be stronger than his human form. What I’d love to see next chapter is Earth Build getting back up, only for Lucy to tell Natsu not to waste any more energy on him. Natsu needs to go after Ignia, while Lucy stays behind and handles Earth Build herself. That would bring the fight back to what it originally felt like it was supposed to be: Lucy’s battle.

What if Igneel helping against Earth Build was not a one-time thing, but the start of a pattern where other dragons also appear to help against the remaining Calamity Bloods? If that happens, these are the matchups I could see the most: Mercphobia vs Anchor If Earth Build is defeated, Lucy could still be useful elsewhere, maybe by helping Gray and Juvia against Anchor. Since Anchor bragged about being stronger than Mercphobia, it would be interesting to see them share at least one scene. At best, they could even fight so we can see whether Anchor’s claim was actually true or not. Selene vs Motherglare They are both among the last female dragons, so the matchup already makes sense thematically. On top of that, Erza’s new Seven Stars Armor is based on the stars, which is basically Selene’s specialty. I could see Selene boosting that armor somehow and helping Erza against Motherglare. Elexion vs Levia Since eating Igneel’s magic was enough for Igneel to manifest through Natsu, maybe Laxus could experience something similar. He did not just eat Elexion’s magic, he devoured his soul during the fight against Kirin. So maybe the Lightning Dragon King could appear through him too. Elexion looked weak because Georg killed him, and Georg later got one-shot by a weakened Selene. But maybe Georg was stronger back then and got weaker over time. Elexion might be stronger than we think, and he could help Laxus against Levia. Viernes vs Scissor Runner Mira and Sorano are not dragons or Dragon Slayers, so I doubt they can defeat a dragon like Scissor Runner without help. The only available Dragon Slayers nearby seem to be Erik and Gajeel. Erik just came out of a fight where he got stabbed, so Gajeel seems like the better option. And if Gajeel gets involved, Viernes could fit well. He is the only dragon still alive who is not tied to Ignia, and his gold magic matches well with Gajeel’s iron/steel theme. The real question is whether Gajeel would have to fight Viernes to force a power-up, or whether Viernes would willingly help him if it means getting revenge on Ignia.