The Use of Life Force

Riyao slowly brewed a pot of green tea, poured two cups, and pushed one cup in front of Zeref.

"So, in order to control the curse on you, you used magic to seal away almost all your emotions?"

"Hmm." Zeref lowered his gaze. "I need to make the final arrangements. If I don't control the curse on my body well, it will be very inconvenient."

His fingertips traced the rim of the glass, his dark eyes unfathomable, undisturbed by even the slightest ripple.

Riyao leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers unconsciously on the table, and smacked his lips.

"You were there that day, weren't you? On the day of the Dragon King Festival, the scene was incredible—seven dragons ran out of your Eclipse Gate."

"Yes, I saw it."

"Future Rogue arrival proves your plan will fail. What are your thoughts?"

So I readjusted my plans.

Zeref's voice was flat, as if he were talking about someone else's story.

"The war that was originally scheduled to begin soon will be postponed."

"It's good that it's postponed; my little research project hasn't even been completed yet. Ugh, so annoying."

Riyao tilted his head back, exhaled a long breath, and rubbed his temples.

These words finally stirred something in Zeref's stagnant gaze.

What research?

"The application of vitality."

Riyao sat up straight.

"The Curse Power you create is essentially a variant of magic, but life force is inherent in all living beings. Whether magic exists or not, it always exists; I even believe life force is stronger than Dragon Force or divine power."

"A very interesting topic."

Zeref turned his gaze into the distance.

"But isn't she the source of your tree's energy?"

"Yes, the conversion efficiency is a bit low. After this is finished, the Parasol Tree will need a long period of rest."

The two chatted casually, and the atmosphere was surprisingly peaceful.

Riyao wasn't worried about his Fairy Tail companions getting hurt; after all, with their invincibility activated, what could possibly go wrong?

Zeref didn't care at all.

His purpose in coming this time was simply to retrieve the Book of E.N.D..

If Natsu were to die here, given his current state of sealed emotions, he wouldn't feel any emotional turmoil.

"Oh, right..."

While discussing the research on the topic of vitality, Riyao suddenly leaned forward and blurted out this sentence.

"Would you be happy if you had children?"

This completely unrelated remark hit Zeref like a ton of bricks, instantly shutting down his high-speed CPU.

The fingers holding the water glass froze in mid-air.

A slit appeared in the emptiness in Zeref's eyes, and he blinked sluggishly.

"Child?" He paused for a moment before managing to find his voice.

"I never thought about this, and I don't know how I would feel."

Zeref frowned, a rare moment of confusion flashing across his face.

He stood up.

Riyao followed his gaze and looked towards the distant Underworld Island.

"Alright, let's chat again next time."

Riyao stood up, stretched his shoulders, and his bones made a crisp cracking sound.

[Life Mimicry - Azure Dragon]

Azure magic swirled around him as he floated up, casually waving his hand with his back to Zeref before transforming into a shooting star and hurtling towards the Underworld Island.

Zeref stood there, looking in the direction where the Riyao had disappeared.

The topic of "children" from earlier kept replaying in my mind.

He felt that Riyao's words were implied, but he couldn't figure it out.

He couldn't understand it, after all, all he remembered was that they kissed.

The wind blowing in my face from high above.

Riyao could no longer hold back; the corners of his mouth turned up wildly, and his shoulders trembled uncontrollably.

It was so interesting to secretly drop this bombshell on Zeref and watch him get humiliated!

He grinned silently until the wind almost blew his tears out, then he rubbed his stiff cheeks hard.

With his gaze fixed on the battlefield directly below Underworld Island, Riyao suddenly accelerated, transforming into a streak of azure lightning as he hurtled downwards.

Boom!

The violent shockwave overturned more than a dozen demon soldiers nearby, sending dust billowing into the sky and creating a large crater in the ground.

"Still haven't dealt with these mobs? I even gave you some buffs."

Riyao strode out of the dust with his hands in his pockets and an arrogant tone.

He took a step forward.

I had just taken half a step when, snap, my foot slipped into the air.

"Holy crap! Who is this?! So inconsiderate as to dig a hole here!"

With a thud, he vanished.

Erza, who was wielding Wufeng and locked in close combat with Kyoka, suddenly sneezed, causing the tip of her sword to deflect half an inch.

A hand covered in dust gripped the edge of the pit.

Riyao crawled out, covered in dust and dirt, with a blade of grass still on its head.

Not far away, the Fairy Tail members bit their lips hard, their shoulders twitching wildly, their faces flushed from trying to suppress their laughter.

Riyao brushed the grass off its head.

"Just laugh if you want to, no need to hold it in so hard."

"Hahaha..."

Cana was the first to break down, laughing so hard she couldn't stand up straight, scattering her cards all over the floor.

"I'm currently in a battle, so laughing out loud isn't really appropriate, hahaha..."

Everyone could no longer hold back and burst into laughter.

Seeing this, several demon soldiers raised their spears to launch a sneak attack, but Cana, laughing wildly, casually threw out a fire card, which blasted them into the air with a bang.

Riyao wiped the dust off his face, rolled his eyes dramatically, and couldn't be bothered with these idiots.

He walked straight through the chaotic battle lines toward Ur.

"Alright, I'll take you to get a nice body. Do you have any requirements?"

Ur's eyes lit up.

"Can it be customized? Make it look younger! That way, when I go out with Ultear, she'll mistake me for her sister. Just thinking about it makes me happy."

She wanted to add more details, but Riyao unceremoniously reached out and pressed his hand against her chest, his fingertips glowing with the light of a spell.

Click.

With fluid, effortless movements, he pried out the crystal ball embedded in his heart.

The wooden shell that had been maintaining its shape suddenly lost its support and collapsed to the ground.

"You..."

Riyao held up the crystal ball, grinning with an irritatingly smug look.

"I was just being polite, why are you actually making requests?"

Ur never expected that when this bastard said "take her there," he meant "take" literally!

Riyao turned to look at the enormous figure in the center of the battlefield.

"Sir, do you need any help? If not, I'll head over to their lab now."

Makarov's gigantic right foot stomped down, creating a shockwave that crushed a group of demon soldiers to the ground.

The old man didn't even turn his head, casually pointing towards the pit.

Go ahead, and be careful.

Alright.

Riyao brandished the crystal ball in his hand, turned around, and leaped into the pit with a leap of faith.

"Crossing through the darkness to reach your side."

He quickly passed through the long passage and arrived at the ground directly above the Underworld Island.

The hole led directly into the structure of the Tartaros. He looked around and followed the marks on Mirajane's body.