Hades (Precht)

Erza was in so much pain that she crouched on the ground, one hand bracing herself against her knee, the other rubbing the back of her neck, her forehead still covered in cold sweat.

Evergreen and Elfman weren't much better off; one was squatting with her face buried in her knees, groaning, while the other sat on the ground, grimacing and twisting her neck.

Even Meredy was squatting on the ground, her hands covering the back of her neck, with a few tears welling up in her eyes.

The four people formed a circle, all rubbing the back of their necks in unison, creating a rather bizarre scene.

Erza held back her final strike, dissipating most of the force as the back of her blade slashed down.

If you were to strike with all your might, they would all be knocked unconscious, and none of them would escape.

She rubbed her neck a few times, slowly stood up, and stared at Meredy with an unfriendly look.

Meredy felt a chill run down her spine from that look and instinctively tried to back away, but her body was still weak with pain and she couldn't move at all.

Erza raised her hand and tossed the Edgeless over.

The Edgeless spun through the air and flew towards Meredy. A flash of magical light emanated from the blade, and in a few swift movements, it bound Meredy tightly from head to toe.

Meredy was tied up and unable to move, so she could only twist her body on the ground.

Erza walked up to her, looking down at her with an undisguised murderous intent in her voice.

"You think you can't be hit? We'll capture you and deal with you properly when your magic is depleted. You'd better stay connected and don't unlink."

Meredy looked at Erza, who was exuding an aura of power, and unconsciously shrank her shoulders, her body trembling slightly.

She had only one thought in her mind.

She misses Ultear, sob sob.

Meanwhile, throughout the island.

Thanks to the protection of the Sacred Tree, the Fairy Tail members did not suffer any real injuries, only some pain.

Everyone thinks it was Riyao that did it.

Regarding reputation...

Mirajane stood at the edge of the forest and clenched her fist.

"Once this is all over, I'm going to give them a good beating."

Lisanna, standing next to her, shrank back and muttered something under her breath.

"My brother-in-law is so pitiful."

High in the sky, Riyao sneezed three times in a row.

He rubbed his nose, looking completely bewildered.

If he knew that all the guild members on the island were keeping a grudge against him, he would definitely cry foul.

Unfortunately, he didn't know.

Riyao shook his hand and plummeted straight down, his clothes fluttering in the wind, leaving a trail of brilliant emerald light that streaked across the sky above Tenrou Island.

Everyone on the island saw the light.

The long, green tail of light stretched from the horizon straight down to the coastline, drawing a dazzling arc of light.

"That's Riyao!"

He went to the beach!

Everyone rushed to the beach, but were they going to meet up or to beat up Riyao?

Seaside.

Blunote stumbled out of the forest.

He looked up and saw Hades' figure, and was so excited that he almost cried. He immediately used his magic to fly to Hades' side.

"President Hades!"

Hades turned around and frowned when he saw Blunote's miserable state.

"Blunote? What happened to you?"

Before he could finish speaking...

Boom!

A beam of green light crashed onto the beach, creating a huge crater. Sand and stones flew everywhere, and the shockwave whipped up waves half a person's height in the surrounding sea.

Amidst the billowing smoke and dust, Riyao struck a classic superhero landing pose: kneeling on one knee, one hand supporting his weight, the other swung back, and his head slightly bowed.

As the smoke and dust slowly dissipated, he slowly raised his head, a confident smile curving his lips.

"I did it!"

When Makarov saw Riyao's smug look, his blood pressure spiked, and he immediately started cursing.

"You brat! What's with this Life Link Modification now?! Haven't we already suffered enough beatings?!"

He cursed as he rubbed his still-aching neck, his cheeks puffed out in anger.

Riyao stood up from the pit, brushed the sand off his knees, and innocently raised his right hand.

"Huh? It wasn't me."

He shook his wrist, revealing a heart-shaped chain mark that was flashing pink.

"Look, I got connected myself. I was in a lot of pain up there too."

Makarov stared wide-eyed at the mark, his mouth agape, but he couldn't utter a word.

Just then, Erza emerged from the forest carrying Meredy, who was bound like a dumpling.

Meredy was bound tightly by Edgeless, with only her head showing. Her face was still wet with tears, and she was being held dejectedly by Erza.

Erza put Meredy down on the ground and dusted off her hands.

"It was this girl; her magic linked us all together."

Makarov glanced at Meredy, then at the mark on Riyao's wrist, paused for two seconds, and then coughed lightly.

"Uh, Riyao, I misspoke earlier."

Riyao rolled his eyes, just about to start complaining.

Then he subconsciously glanced around, his gaze suddenly freezing on the rocks not far away.

In the shadow of the reef lay a dying figure, covered in wounds, the blood staining a large patch of the reef red.

Riyao's pupils contracted.

"What the hell, Ultear, what are you doing?!"

Without saying a word, he took off running towards the rocks.

Hades' eyes turned cold. He raised his hand and released several dark chains. The pitch-black chains dragged a sharp whistling sound as they wrapped around Riyao from all directions.

Without even turning his head, Riyao stomped his foot hard on the ground, creating a small crater in the sand.

He suddenly accelerated, and the dark chains barely grazed his back before missing.

He rushed to the edge of the reef, grabbed Ultear, and leaped high into the air, deftly flipping his body to dodge the second wave of chains chasing from behind, before landing steadily back beside Makarov.

He laid Ultear flat on the beach and knelt down to check her injuries.

"How did you get injured like this?!"

Ultear's body was covered in a horrifying number of wounds, the deepest of which stretched from his shoulder all the way to his waist, with the flesh torn open and still bleeding.

Her breathing was so faint it was almost imperceptible, and her face was deathly pale.

Makarov waved his hand, his tone heavy.

"It's a bit complicated, we'll talk about it later."

Riyao asked no more questions, placing his hands above Ultear's wounds, his palms glowing with a warm green light.

Pure healing magic flowed continuously into Ultear's body, and her wounds began to heal at a visible speed, her pale face gradually regaining some color.

When Meredy saw her beloved Ultear injured like this, she panicked.

Bound Edgeless by Wu Feng, she could only crawl forward on the ground, inching her way to Ultear's side, her eyes fixed on Ultear's face, muttering incessantly.

"Ur, Ur..."

Her voice trembled, choked with sobs, and tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to spill at any moment.

Under the healing power of the Riyao, Ultear's injuries recovered rapidly. Her eyelids trembled, and she slowly opened her eyes, her vision still somewhat blurry.

"Meredy?"

The first thing she saw was Meredy's face, which looked like it was about to cry.

When Meredy heard Ultear call her name, she finally couldn't hold back her tears any longer, and they fell down in a steady stream, creating small craters in the sand.

"Ur! Ur, are you alright?!"

Hades stood not far away, watching all of this with a cold gaze.

He certainly knew about Meredy's magic, after all, he was the one who taught Meredy's magic system.

If Meredy is killed, the entire Fairy Tail crew will be killed along with her.

Hades raised his hand, and a dense dark magic gathered in his palm. The magic spun rapidly, forming a sharp spiral spike, surrounded by crackling black arcs of electricity.

Without the slightest hesitation, he pushed forward with his palm.

The spiral spike shot toward Meredy at incredible speed, its sharp, piercing sound cutting through the air and carving a deep furrow in the ground.

Ultear had just recovered and was not fully conscious, but her body reacted faster than her mind.

She suddenly flipped over and pounced on Meredy, using her back to block the spiral spike.

Pfft.

The spikes slashed across Ultear's back, leaving a deep, bone-revealing wound. Blood gushed out instantly, splashing onto the beach and onto Meredy's face.

Meredy's eyes widened, and she froze.

She stared blankly at the shocking wound on Ultear's back, then slowly raised her head to look at Hades in the distance.

Guild Master Hades, in order to destroy Fairy Tail, actually didn't hesitate to kill himself.

Meredy's lips trembled, no sound came out of her throat, but tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

Everyone else present was stunned.

Makarov looked at Hades.

The person in front of him was a completely different person from the Precht he remembered.

Makarov clenched his fists, his whole body trembling.

He suddenly raised his head, his eyes reddening, his voice filled with suppressed anger and grief, and roared at Hades.

Hades! What have you done to your own child?!