Eisenwald, Part Four

Poor Lullaby got a good beating, and his whole body was leaking.

Erza's sword slashed a deep gash across its throat, exposing the bone.

Gray's ice spear pierced his right leg, leaving more than a dozen holes, and every movement produced a "whooshing" sound.

His chest was blasted open by Natsu's fire fist, leaving a large, charred hole with wisps of black smoke rising from its edges.

The entire demon looked like a rag doll that had been trampled by a naughty child; its majestic entrance was completely gone.

Tired of being beaten by the three men, Lullaby's three eyes simultaneously turned bloodshot, and he roared angrily to the sky.

"Enough!!"

Its sound shook the leaves, causing them to fall and the surrounding air to tremble.

It began to gather power, and a huge dark purple magic circle appeared beneath its feet, with complex runes spinning wildly in the darkness.

The magic circle spread out, and the surrounding plants began to wither at a visible speed. The grass turned yellow, the leaves curled and fell off, and the flowers withered instantly, as if something was greedily draining the life force of this land.

However.

Lullaby blinked his three eyes in confusion.

It cannot sense the life force flowing into its body.

The extracted life force is flying in a certain direction.

Riyao pulled out a crystal ball the size of a fist at some point, holding it in one hand while making a grasping motion in the air with the other.

The stream of life force obediently entered the crystal ball, swirling inside and emitting a soft glow.

He held the crystal ball up to his eyes, squinted at it for a while, and then a satisfied smile appeared on his lips.

"Hmm~ 99%~ A rare find~ I'll take it home and use it to grow vegetables."

The way he said it made it sound like he'd found some treasure at the market.

Lullaby's three eyes widened in disbelief, completely baffled as to what had happened.

It was clearly casting a spell, so why did its life force end up in someone else's hands?

But the Curse had already been cast, and it couldn't be abandoned halfway. It could only grit its teeth and increase the output of its Curse Power, trying to make up for the missing part of its life force.

[Lullaby]

It opened its enormous mouth and began to sing.

There must be a reason why the Tartaros don't include it.

Just like now, Lullaby was beaten so badly by Erza, Gray, and Natsu that the Lullaby he was playing... went off-key.

What should have been a sinister and terrifying sound that would kill anyone who heard it was now emanating from its tattered mouth as a series of intermittent, fluctuating, strange noises.

"Say hi to the top!"

Interspersed throughout were a few off-key, broken notes, sounding like a leaky bellows screaming in agony.

A crow flies by... caw... caw...

Lucy was already terrified, clutching the hem of her clothes tightly, her face deathly pale. But when she heard this eerie "singing," she froze, then exclaimed loudly.

What the hell is this?!

She pointed at Lullaby, her face filled with disbelief.

"This is the legendary Lullaby?! That's all?!"

The second comedian, Happy, immediately joined the group, flapping her wings and flying over with a look of disgust.

"That sound like a fart!"

Lullaby's three eyes simultaneously broke out in a cold sweat, and it touched its throat in disbelief.

"Where... where has my proud, beautiful voice gone?!"

Its voice was choked with sobs; a demon had been so badly wounded.

Riyao pushed up his glasses, a flash of white light passing through the lenses, making him look very serious.

"The attack just now left many holes in it, which is why the voice is out of tune!"

His tone was as if he were explaining some magical principle; there was no indication that he was gloating.

Upon hearing this, everyone suddenly realized what was going on, and then...

One person started making fun of Lullaby.

"This demon is all show and no substance," someone said, arms crossed, shaking their head and clicking their tongue in amazement.

"I thought he'd be really good, but he just has a terrible voice." Someone covered their ears, looking disgusted.

"They dare to assassinate the presidents with this? Are they kidding me?" Someone burst out laughing.

Lullaby is completely out of control.

Its three eyes changed from scarlet to yellowish, and then from yellowish to bluish-green, just like a traffic light.

It is a demon, a Lullaby, yet it has been so humiliated by these humans!

"Ahhh--!"

It went completely berserk and began causing widespread destruction.

It opened its enormous mouth, unleashing a barrage of dark purple cannonballs that ignited flames wherever they passed.

The forest is burning, the earth is trembling, and smoke and dust blot out the sun.

Natsu's eyes lit up instantly when he saw the flames.

He pushed off with both feet, and like a cannonball, he plunged into the sea of fire, his mouth open.

Just then, the Riyao.

His hair turned from gold to pure white, and one of his pupils changed from its original color to deep blue.

A jet-black flame ignited in his hand; it was no ordinary fire, as it devoured even the light.

With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the ball of black flame toward Natsu: "Suck, suck, Natsu."

His tone was relaxed and casual, as if he were feeding a pet.

Natsu was enveloped in black flames, and his entire body disappeared into the black flames.

Lucy was terrified when she saw this and screamed loudly.

"Riyao! What are you doing?!"

She instinctively wanted to rush over, but was stopped by Happy.

Happy flew up, patted her on the shoulder, and said in a knowing tone, "You've been there all along."

"Calm down, calm down, you're a newbie."

It shook its finger, its expression inscrutable. "Have you forgotten that Natsu can eat fire?"

Lucy froze, then suddenly remembered, "Oh right, Natsu is Dragon Slayer, a Dragon Slayer of Fire Dragon, he can eat fire!"

Amidst the black flames, Natsu was devouring the dark flames in large gulps.

With each bite he took, his aura surged, and a powerful force coursed through his muscles.

He wiped his mouth, revealing a wild smile.

"Thank you for the hospitality! The power is surging up!"

Erza didn't hesitate for a moment, and a flash of light appeared.

"Requip! Purgatory Armor!"

Her armor instantly transformed into a set of cool, black armor, radiating a violent aura.

She gripped the greatsword tightly with both hands, tapped her toes, and transformed into a black streak of light, charging towards Lullaby.

"Look here! You damned demon!"

A powerful sword strike landed squarely on Lullaby's body, smashing a huge gash into the demon's form.

This scene drew wide-eyed stares from the lecherous guild leaders below.

"Oh my! Erza's Purgatory Armor!"

"That figure! That presence!"

"As expected of the Titania!"

Gray knelt on one knee to steady himself, clasped his hands together, and icy blue magic surged wildly in his palms.

"Ice-Make - Whirlwind Disc!"

A giant ice whirlwind disc materialized out of thin air, spinning as it flew towards Lullaby, cutting frost marks into the demon's body.

Erza and Gray exclaimed in unison, "Natsu, now's the time!"

Natsu burst out of the black flames, wielding a dark flame in one hand and a crimson flame in the other.

He combined the two forces, condensing them into a massive fireball in his palm—black and red, radiating an aura of destruction.

His eyes burned with fire, and a wild smile spread across his lips.

[Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame]

He hurled the enormous black and red fireball at Lullaby!

Rumble--!

A massive explosion resounded throughout the area, the shockwave uprooting surrounding trees and sending plumes of smoke and dust billowing into the sky, obscuring the entire heavens.

At the epicenter of the explosion, Lullaby let out a bloodcurdling scream as its massive body vanished in the flames.

And at this very moment.

Riyao stealthily hid under the cover of smoke and dust, his hands making grasping motions in the air.

Some dark purple specks of light drifted out from Lullaby's tattered body and were collected into his palm.

Those are demonic factors.

A sly smile curled at the corner of his lips.

"Hey, I'm just collecting some loot, is that okay?"

His voice was light and airy, with a hint of smugness, like a child who had stolen candy.