The Team Battle Was About to Begin

The magic transformed into Mirajane, and a dazzling light condensed into form.

Riyao reached out and caught her, tightening his arms around the still somewhat dazed Mirajane.

Mirajane opened her eyes, looked around, and stared blankly at the unfamiliar scenery and floating Magic Crystals reflected in her blue eyes.

"Where am I? What happened?"

Riyao explained the situation to Mirajane, from the time Anima absorbed the guild members into the world of Edolas, to what had happened in the past two days.

The whole story was explained in just a few words.

Mirajane whispered in Riyao's ear, his warm breath brushing against his earlobe.

"Is this the world you used to live in?"

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

"No, this is Old Mys's hometown."

Mirajane was a little disappointed, as she was looking forward to seeing Riyao's hometown. Her lips pursed slightly, but she quickly regained her smile.

"Shouldn't we worry about Gajeel's side?"

She tilted her head slightly in Gajeel's direction.

Before Riyao could speak, Gajeel had already shouted, his voice full of stubbornness.

"No need, I'm going to conquer this cat!"

Riyao shrugged, looking helpless.

He got jealous when he saw that Natsu and Wendy both had cat companions.

"Mind your own business!"

Gajeel, his thoughts exposed, blushed crimson and shouted in embarrassment and anger.

Mirajane gazed at the enormous Magic Crystal, its interior swirling with blue light, sealing within the magical power of countless individuals.

Why not rescue the others as well?

"It's too much trouble to sort them out one by one, and we can't just smash them all at once. There are Magnolia residents inside, and we'd have to take care of them if we released them. We're already a handful of people to deal with."

Riyao tapped the Magic Crystal, his knuckles making a crisp sound as they touched the crystal's surface.

Inside the palace, the battle was nearing its end.

Natsu, worried about his companions' safety, manifested the Dragon Force.

Blue and orange flames ignited on his body, the two colors intertwining and swirling, forming a scorching heat wave around him, and the stone bricks on the ground were baked red and cracked.

[Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Crimson Lotus Phoenix Blade]

Natsu transformed into a giant flaming sword, the blue and orange flames coalescing into the shape of the blade, piercing through Byro's massive body with a sharp whistling sound.

Flames erupted from the octopus's back, and Byro let out a final scream.

The massive body collapsed with a crash, its tentacles lying limply on the ground, and the smell of burning filled the air.

Lucy gripped the River of Stars Whip tightly, looked at the fallen Byro, bit her lip, and made up her mind that she would go back and train hard, no longer wanting to be a summoning tool.

In the corridor, Gray conjured an ice-forged Tang sword, its blade long and straight, with a chilling aura rising from its edge.

He simply froze the corridor, the ice spreading from his feet to the walls and then to the ceiling, blocking Sugarboy's path.

"Hey, hey, hey, this guy's magic is really interesting."

Sugarboy stopped and turned to look at Gray, a relaxed smile still on his lips.

"Enough talk, hand over the keys!"

Gray strode forward, his ice-forged Tang sword slashing horizontally.

Sugarboy Boy raised his sword to block Gray's Tang sword. The moment the two blades clashed, the chilling aura of the ice-forged Tang sword seeped into the blade.

The blade was cleaved open, and cracks spread rapidly from the cleavage. The magic circuit was severed, rendering the entire sword unusable; it shattered into several pieces and fell to the ground.

Sugarboy was stunned, his mouth agape as he stared at the half-broken sword hilt in his hand.

"Huh?"

Gray didn't care about the enemy's reaction. He raised his hand and pushed, and a burst of cold air shot out from his palm, freezing him into an ice sculpture.

Sugarboy remained frozen in the ice, his expression one of utter shock, as the Dragon Chain Cannon key slipped from his stiff fingers.

Gray caught the key and weighed it in his hand.

"Tch, is that all you've got?"

Natsu arrived with Lucy to meet up with Gray, and the three of them bumped into Erza.

Natsu and Gray assumed fighting stances. Judging from Erza's attire, she didn't seem to be one of their own Erzas, as she was wearing Edolas Erza's outfit.

Erza swung her spear and knocked the guard leading the way unconscious. The butt of the spear struck the back of his neck, and the guard collapsed to the ground without uttering a sound.

"Natsu, Gray, Lucy, it's me."

Natsu cautiously leaned closer to sniff, his nose twitched slightly, and then his eyes lit up.

It's Erza!

After discussing it, the four headed towards the room where the king was, intending to use the Dragon Chain Cannon to directly bombard the Magic Crystal and shatter it.

The group pretended to be captured by Erza, with Natsu and Gray walking in front with their hands behind their heads, Lucy being "held" in the middle.

Erza, gun in hand, walked at the back, her expressionless face resembling that of a cold-blooded captain escorting prisoners.

Erza's information and Riyao's information are out of sync.

Riyao has brought Mirajane to the territory of the Exceed.

Happy said that Carla took Wendy over there, and Riyao went over to support them.

As soon as I arrived, I saw these cats with all sorts of different appearances trying to throw stones at Wendy and Carla.

Wendy spread her arms to protect Carla, Carla bit her lip and refused to back down an inch, as stones were about to fall like raindrops.

The Riyao's magic poured out, spreading like a tide. With pure magic, it pinned the cats to the ground, leaving them unable to move, the stones in their paws clattering to the floor.

"You think you can bully Wendy and Carla? You bunch of cowardly idiots!"

Riyao's voice wasn't loud, but every word struck the hearts of these cats like a stone.

Mirajane also glared at the cats, arms crossed, lips slightly downturned. The oppressive aura emanating from the demon made the closest cats tremble.

Happy ran to Carla's side and grabbed her hand with his little paws.

The high-ranking members of the Exceed quickly came out, and Shagotte, the queen of the Exceed race, also appeared, gracefully landing in front of everyone with a respectful posture.

"My lord, we did not mean to do so."

Mirajane snorted coldly, raising her chin slightly.

"If we had come any slower, these people... the cat would have thrown all the stones at our companions."

Shagotte lowered her head, her voice filled with remorse.

"This is my fault, I've been deceiving everyone all along..."

Nadi, the long black cat, quickly stopped Shagotte, his hands no longer trembling with anxiety.

Your Majesty...

The ground of the royal capital cracked open, glowing red and turning the sky crimson. Tremors rose from beneath our feet, and an unsettling magical energy permeated the air.

Riyao scratched his head, puzzled as to why Natsu and the others hadn't been able to stop the Dragon Chain Cannon from firing, and frowned.

"Huh, why are they firing the Dragon Chain Cannon again? Mira, I'll go check it out. You stay here and help Wendy and the others hold things up."

Mirajane nodded, Riyao turned and flew towards the giant Magic Crystal, its figure quickly becoming a small dot on the horizon.

Riyao watched as the Dragon Chain Cannon fired, embedding itself in the floating island of the Magic Crystal, and then hurtling towards him, or rather, towards the floating island of the Exceed race.