Eternal Flame

Natsu stopped, glided a short distance, and forcefully threw the bottle containing the Moon Drops.

"Riyao, catch!"

Riyao looked at his hand; on the left were sunflower seeds, and on the right were sunflower seed shells.

"Watch this! I'll show you what I'm made of!"

With a flick of his ankle, he tossed the Moon Drop bottle up into the air.

"How about it, isn't he handsome?"

Riyao hadn't even finished speaking.

Boom!

A deafening explosion suddenly rang out.

[Fire Dragon's Roar]

Like a raging crimson beam of light, it instantly tore through the air and blasted out.

The three men who called themselves "treasure hunters" didn't even have time to utter a single scream before they were overturned by the scorching and violent magic.

The hard ice surface shook violently under this force, followed by a crisp, ear-piercing sound of glass shattering.

"Ah! What are you doing! You've spilled all the Moon Drops!"

Natsu was also startled by this turn of events. He rushed over and knelt heavily on the ground with a thud.

He stared intently as the precious liquid slowly seeped into the pink ice, his hands frantically scrambling across the surface.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, he stopped rummaging around.

Natsu's nose twitched twice like an alert puppy, and he lowered himself even further, almost pressing his face against the pinkish ice.

Riyao strolled over and took the opportunity to reach out and give Natsu's pink hair a good ruffle.

Lucy watched this scene and couldn't help but complain.

"This scene looks a lot like a dog training exercise, doesn't it?"

"Wait, there's a very familiar smell."

Natsu ignored Riyao's actions and carefully sniffed the ice surface again, his eyes suddenly sharpening.

He suddenly raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, and fixed intently on the huge, pink iceberg in the center of the village.

"This isn't ordinary ice. This iceberg... was formed from frozen flames! There's no mistake, I remember now! This familiar magical aura... it's Uncle Hellfire Dragon's fire!"

"Hellfire Dragon? Is that the giant dragon that appeared during the Dragon King Festival Grand Magic Games, the one whose body was engulfed in flames?" Lucy asked, her face filled with shock and confusion.

Natsu didn't reply.

Having identified the source of the flames, he dashed towards the massive iceberg like an arrow released from a bow.

[Fire Dragon's Roar]

He opened his mouth, and blazing dragon flames frantically licked at the pink ice, attempting to melt the iceberg that had frozen its own kind with his own fire.

The iceberg did indeed hiss under the high temperature, and there were signs of melting on the surface, with water droplets sliding down the ice.

But compared to that enormous, mountain-like size, Natsu's efforts were utterly inadequate.

"Move aside, Natsu, let me try."

Gray ripped off his shirt and threw it on the ground.

He stepped forward and placed his palm firmly on the cold, icy pink iceberg.

While dealing with the three treasure hunters, he noticed something unusual; he discovered that he seemed to be able to resonate with the ice here.

With Gray's deliberate guidance, the pink, evil-destroying ice magic began to slowly flow into his body through his palm.

Gray gritted his teeth, enduring the stinging sensation brought on by the strange magic.

He saw himself as a giant straw, circulating this violent magic through the magic circuits within his body before releasing it outwards again.

Riyao leisurely munched on the sunflower seeds in his hand, watching the two of them fussing over there with great interest.

"Hey, how much longer are you two going to keep going? It's almost dark. Are you even going to make it back to the guild for dinner today?"

Riyao's smug voice drifted over coolly.

Natsu and Gray both stopped in their tracks, and veins bulged on their foreheads at the same time.

"If you're so capable, why don't you do it yourself! It's easy for you to talk when you're not the"

"I'll do it! I'll show you what a difference there is, you two noobs!"

Riyao casually tossed the sunflower seed shells in his hand, clapped his hands, and took two unhurried steps forward to stand in front of the iceberg.

[Life Mimicry - Azure Dragon]

A faint blue light flashed across Riyao's body.

He didn't strike any fancy opening pose; he simply opened his mouth, aimed at the solid iceberg that even Natsu's dragon flames couldn't penetrate, and took a bite.

Click!

A crisp, cracking sound rang out.

He actually managed to bite off a large chunk of pink ice.

Riyao chewed it in big mouthfuls, making a crunching sound.

Natsu's eyes instantly lit up like two giant light bulbs.

Seeing that the method worked, he didn't hesitate and, imitating Riyao, opened his mouth and bit down hard on the iceberg.

Click!

Another crisp sound rang out.

However, this time it wasn't ice that shattered.

Natsu suddenly covered his mouth and crouched down in pain.

A tooth, stained with blood, rolled onto the smooth ice surface.

"Heroic Eagle..." he mumbled incoherently, covering his leaky mouth.

Everyone stared at Natsu's silly antics with speechless, deadpan expressions.

Riyao completely ignored Natsu's wailing from the side.

He quickly digested the mouthful of ice-slaying demonic power he had swallowed, and an even more violent demonic power brewed in his chest cavity.

Riyao's cheeks suddenly puffed out, and the air around him distorted due to the high temperature.

[The Azure Dragon's Cang Roar]

With a deafening dragon roar, pure azure flames gushed forth from his mouth like a waterfall.

The flames, mixed with the demon-slaying power they had just devoured, slammed violently into the pink iceberg.

Rumble!

The once indestructible pink ice melted rapidly, like the first snow under the blazing sun, turning into rising hot water vapor that enveloped the entire village in a white mist.

Natsu, that glutton, endured the toothache and swiftly grabbed a ball of blue flame from the side, stuffing it into his mouth without a second thought.

He chewed haphazardly a few times and swallowed it, and miraculously, the tooth that had just broken grew back under the nourishment of magic.

As the massive iceberg completely melted and collapsed, its true form was finally revealed to everyone.

It was the base of a huge altar made of ancient stones.

"Where is the Eternal Flame? Why is it not burning? Has it truly been extinguished?"

Lucy strode forward, staring wide-eyed in disbelief at the empty altar.

Freya, standing to the side, was also stunned. She stared blankly at the altar, her eyes filled with astonishment and confusion.

The Eternal Flame is the village's guardian spirit, supposedly eternally indestructible. How could it suddenly vanish without a trace?

"No, it hasn't gone out yet. I can still feel a faint but warm soul remaining here."

Wendy stepped forward, closed her eyes, and clasped her hands together in front of her chest.

A faint, vibrant green glow slowly emerged from her petite body, drifting towards the center of the altar like fireflies.

[Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Milky Way]

As Wendy guided them, ripples spread through the space at the center of the altar.

Immediately afterwards, a tiny, orange-red flame appeared out of thin air.

Nourished by magic, the flame gradually rose and grew larger, eventually twisting and deforming into the majestic yet illusory colossal form of Hellfire Dragon.

"My dear friend's son, I never imagined that after all these long years, we would meet again."

The illusory figure of the Hellfire Dragon looked down at Natsu, its voice deep and resonant.

"Oh! It really is an older man! That's great! Can you resolve this situation and remove the ice from the giants?"

Natsu jumped up excitedly and swung his fist forcefully.

"All of this was brought about by my very existence. Now, it is my turn to personally resolve this calamity that I caused."

As the Hellfire Dragon finished speaking, it suddenly raised its head and let out a deafening roar.

Immediately afterwards, an extremely hot flame, centered on the altar, swept across the entire Sun Village like a tsunami.

Wherever the flames passed, no houses or trees were burned. Instead, the pink ice that had frozen the giants and even the earth melted away rapidly at a visible speed.

After releasing this immense power, the Hellfire Dragon's already illusory form began to become even more transparent and rapidly shrank.

"My soul has long since vanished into the past; this is now merely a lingering obsession. Do not grieve for my departure. Finally, beware of 'END'."

As soon as he finished speaking, the illusory figure of the Hellfire Dragon completely vanished into thin air, leaving only a small orange-red flame in the center of the altar, radiating a warm light.

As the ice completely melted away, the giants frozen in the Sun Village gradually awoke from their long slumber.

They stretched their stiff bodies, looked at the village that had come back to life, and let out a deafening cheer and roar.

The Fairy Tail members stared in the direction where the Hellfire Dragon had disappeared, bewildered by its last warning, a shadow falling over each of them.

"END? What exactly is that? Why did the uncle specifically warn us?"

Natsu scratched his pink hair in frustration, completely baffled.

"Don't think about it too much, let's go back to the guild first. Minerva just revealed a lot of unsettling information during the battle. The last remaining member of the Balam Alliance, the most mysterious dark guild 'Tartaros,' is likely to make a move soon."

Erza, her hand unconsciously tightening its grip on the hilt of her sword.

Riyao dusted off his hands, walked over to Mirajane, and naturally took her soft hand in his.