Shoot him, Fire Poker!

Natsu rushed out shortly after Riyao left.

His voice carried a fierce, defiant edge, and his fists were clenched so tightly they cracked.

"We need to settle the score with that sleeping bastard."

Gray cursed under his breath, his lips twitching, but he still started walking and followed.

Erza and Jura both rubbed their foreheads in unison, their movements perfectly synchronized, as if they had rehearsed it.

"Well, there's nothing much to arrange anyway. We've already witnessed the Oración Seis's abilities."

Erza lowered her hand, her gaze calmly sweeping over the remaining people.

╮(╯_╰)╭

Leading a team is tough.

Jura nodded, his hands behind his back, his voice deep and calm.

"In that case, let's each set off with our own guild members. What do you think, Erza and Lady Ichiya?"

Erza's voice was clear and firm.

"I'm fine."

She struck a signature pose all night, sequins glittering under the lights, despite the lingering traces of her kidnapping.

"I'm fine with that too, man~"

They split into three groups.

Lucy felt a surge of security as she watched Erza walk ahead of her.

She followed closely behind Erza, clutching the Celestial Spirit Key tightly in her hand, her eyes scanning the surrounding darkness warily.

The sounds of battle raging in the forest came incessantly from different directions.

The deafening roar of colliding magic, the crashing of falling trees, and the screams of enemies rose and fell in the night, like a chaotic symphony of war.

Riyao also managed to find the Oración Seis's stronghold.

It was a huge cave half-hidden in the mountainside, located below a depression, and easily visible at a glance.

A faint magical energy emanated from the cave entrance, and the aura of Nirvana in the air was so intense it was suffocating.

Just as Riyao was about to approach, a figure rushed out from inside and blocked his way.

Racer.

His face still bore the anger of his previous suppression, and his clothes were covered in mud and broken leaves, but his eyes burned with a furious desire to regain face.

He clenched his fists, leaned forward slightly, and assumed a ready-to-fight stance.

Riyao tilted his head, looking at Racer with the same look he gave her when examining roadside pebbles, his tone full of undisguised contempt.

"Huh, why send out the weakest one? Are you looking down on me?"

What are you talking about? Don't think...

Racer's lips twitched, and she was about to utter a harsh remark.

Riyao didn't wait for him to finish speaking.

"Shoot him, Fire Poker!"

The Fire Poker was suddenly activated in his hand, extending at an extremely fast speed. The tip of the poker turned into a black afterimage and accurately struck Racer's chest.

The force was so great and the speed so fast that Racer didn't even have time to react.

He was sent flying like a pebble launched from a slingshot, tracing a long arc in the air before disappearing into the distant sea of trees.

Magic that can weaken other people's senses is so trashy, it's completely beneath us.

"Home run, perfect."

Riyao retrieved the Fire Poker, not even bothering to glance at the direction Racer had flown off in.

Carla's cat eyes widened, and the whole cat froze on Riyao's head, forgetting to hold on tightly with its paws.

Her voice carried an incredulous bewilderment.

"What happened? He just vanished in an instant."

Riyao slung the Fire Poker over his shoulder, speaking as casually as if he were commenting on a stray cat by the roadside.

"He thought my senses were impaired, and he was showing off and making threats. This thing is supposedly capable of wiping out a guild, I wonder what kind of small guild it is."

"..." Carla fell silent.

-_-||

She opened her mouth, as if to say something, but then didn't know what to say.

Riyao shook his head, a smug smile playing on his lips.

"Just say whatever you want to compliment, don't be shy, we're already so close."

"..."

Carla remained silent, radiating an aura of "I don't want to talk to this human."

Riyao stopped teasing Carla.

He dropped his playful grin, leaped down, and landed steadily in front of the cave entrance.

Carla gripped his hair tightly, pressed her entire body against his head, and arched her back slightly, ready to face any danger at any moment.

Stepping into the cave, the interior was much larger than it appeared from the outside. Dim torches hung on the rock walls, casting flickering shadows on the rough stone.

Riyao spotted Wendy immediately.

She huddled in a corner of the cave, hugging her knees, her shoulders trembling, tears streaming down her face.

Happy squatted beside her, gently patting her back with his two little paws, and kept saying something comforting, but his voice was too soft to hear clearly.

Beside him stood a dazed Jellal. His body leaned against the rock wall, his head drooping slightly, his eyes unfocused and empty, as if he had just woken from a long nightmare and had not yet fully distinguished between reality and dream.

His breathing was slow and heavy, each exhale carrying a wisp of white mist.

Brain stood in the center of the cave, his hands resting on the talking scepter, head thrown back, laughing wildly.

His laughter echoed through the cave, reflecting off the rock walls as countless overlapping echoes, sounding particularly jarring.

Midnight curled up in a corner, fast asleep, his snores mingling with Brain's laughter to create an eerie duet.

Wendy looked up at Riyao through teary eyes, her voice filled with self-blame and grievance.

"Mr. Riyao, I... I can't refuse... He's my benefactor."

Her lips were slightly red from crying, and the tip of her nose was also red; she looked extremely pitiful.

Happy's voice carried a hint of unease, and his two paws nervously rubbed together.

"Riyao, they resurrected Wendy with Jellal."

Brain saw Riyao walk in and smiled dismissively. His smile carried a condescending arrogance, as if he were looking at prey that had walked right into his trap.

"Riyao, I've heard so much about you. Why don't you join us? With your strength, you'd definitely have a place among the Oración Seis."

"Seven Demon Generals doesn't sound good, forget it."

Riyao walked straight to Wendy's side, squatted down, and gently wiped away the tears on her face, his movements as tender as if he were wiping a fragile piece of porcelain.

"Pah, pah, pah! What resurrection? Jellal was barely clinging to life; he's just recovered."

Riyao's voice was light and confident, as if he were talking about something perfectly ordinary.

"Wendy, don't cry. The treatment is done, it's not a big deal."

Wendy looked up at Riyao through teary eyes.

Brain was furious at Riyao's arrogance.

The flames in its eye sockets flared wildly, emitting a piercing scream that echoed through the cave like a dull knife scraping an iron pot.

"You dare to barge into our stronghold and ignore us! Do you know who you're talking to?!"

Riyao glanced at the talking scepter, his gaze completely unmoved, as if he were looking at a roadside stone.

He ignored it and turned to Jellal.

A faint, ethereal light shone in Riyao's eyes, and something seemed to be slowly turning deep within his pupils.

Sure enough, after dying once, the demon inside him disappeared.

The dark entity that once resided within Jellal's soul has been utterly annihilated in the baptism of death.

Riyao came up with an interesting idea.

The corners of his mouth turned up slightly, forming a mischievous smile.

"Jellal, my dear brother, it's me, Jellal!"

Riyao's voice suddenly rose a few decibels, carrying an exaggerated intimacy.

"My name is Siegrain, do you remember me?"

Upon hearing this, Jellal's confused mind seemed to be struck by lightning, and some long-forgotten fragments of memory began to loosen.

The name Siegrain echoed in his mind like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, creating ripples upon ripples.

Fragmented information surfaced from the depths of memory, blurry and broken.

"Brother? I remember a little now, I do have a brother, but I remember his hair color was the same as mine."

Jellal's voice was hoarse and slow, like a rusty machine struggling to run.

"I dyed my hair later to avoid being arrested by the Magic Council."

Riyao answered without changing his expression, his tone as confident as if he were stating an undeniable fact.

Carla rolled her eyes wildly, reaching the extreme of eye-rolling for the entire cat.

At the same time, Riyao subtly winked towards the cave entrance, signaling Happy to take Wendy away from the cave.

The movements were stealthy and swift, a complete silent exchange completed in the blind spot of Brain and the scepter.

Happy looked at Riyao with some worry, his two cat eyes full of unease.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end he gritted his teeth, grabbed Wendy, and rushed towards the cave entrance.

Wendy's scream was swallowed by the wind, and the two figures quickly disappeared into the light at the cave entrance.

Carla's eyes widened, and she quickly understood Riyao's intention.

He was sending away irrelevant people so that he wouldn't have any worries.

Without further hesitation, she flapped her wings and followed Happy out of the cave.

Brain didn't stop them.

Anyway, he's already achieved his goal. Jellal has been resurrected, Wendy is no longer of any use to him.

He merely tilted his head slightly, his gaze falling on Riyao, a playful smile curving his lips.

"Oh? So you're planning to make a move?"

"Before Nirvana begins, I need to use my Demon Form, otherwise I'll become rusty."

Riyao slowly stood up.

His body began to change.

The air around him seemed to be ignited, beginning to twist and churn violently.

A terrifying magical power erupted from his body, like a beast that had been imprisoned for too long finally breaking free of its cage, letting out a deafening roar.

[Life Mimicry - Demon]

His body was enveloped in a layer of magical light, making his muscle lines even sharper. Black claws extended from his fingertips, and two winged shadows appeared behind him.

The magic carried an oppressive feeling that made people instinctively want to escape, as if an ancient demon was awakening within him.

[Life Magic: Hundred Battles]

A second spell was applied.

Hundred Battles Spell Formula patterns spread from his chest, crawling along the dark red magical light all over his body, outlining dazzling golden lines on his skin.

The entire cave became incredibly hot.

The air seemed to be roasted over a fire, distorting and warping. The torches on the rock wall shot up several times their normal height under the impact of the magic, then exploded into fragments with a crackling sound.

The pebbles on the ground began to tremble slightly, as if being pushed from below by an invisible force. The rocks on the cave ceiling began to crack under the high temperature, and fine stone chips fell down.