Joy

Riyao controlled the dragon's tail behind him to extend and skillfully wrap around Mirajane's waist.

The dragon's tail curves into a comfortable arc, supporting her steadily like a natural baby carrier.

This ensured Mirajane's safety while freeing up Riyao's hands to deal with emergencies.

Mirajane adjusted her position on Riyao's back, clinging tightly to his neck like a sloth, resting her chin on his shoulder, and closing her eyes peacefully.

Looking at the two of them so inseparable, Ur rubbed his arms vigorously again.

"These two are so lovey-dovey! I just came back to life and I already have to eat a mouthful of dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection)."

Riyao doesn't care what Ur complains about.

His eyes flashed with a faint green light again, and he locked onto a direction through the layers of walls, then took a step forward.

"Let's pack up the materials for the Tartaros; keeping them is just a waste."

The moment they stepped out of the laboratory, something unexpected happened.

Rumble~

The entire Underworld Island trembled violently, as if a magnitude 10 earthquake had occurred.

[Joy]

This is Curse belonging to Hades Mard Gil.

The surrounding hard stone walls melted instantly, turning into nauseating, bloody flesh.

These fleshy walls wriggled and expanded wildly as if they were alive, completely enveloping and swallowing up everyone who was not from the Tartaros.

The Fairy Tail members, scattered in various locations, didn't even have time to react before being sealed inside the wall with astonished expressions.

At the same time, the Underworld Island finally revealed its true form to the world— the Underworld Beast.

Viewed from a great height in the distance, it was clearly a blood-red whale monster as large as a mountain range.

The Parasol Tree and the Underworld Beast began a struggle, a tug-of-war of life forces, each drawing upon the other's strength.

Logically, under the influence of "Joy," only the demon should be able to move freely within the Underworld Beast's body.

But Mard Gill, the god of the underworld, quickly sensed something was amiss.

"Seilah is dead."

He flipped through the book in his hands, his tone cold and flat.

"There are still unsealed enemies active inside the Underworld Beast."

His voice traveled through the neural network of the Underworld Beast, directly into the minds of every demon.

"Whoever can eliminate these rats first can replace Seilah and enter the Nine Demon Gates."

This promise was like a spark falling into a pan of boiling oil.

The demons throughout the Tartaros instantly went into a frenzy, beginning a mad hunt.

Having unexpectedly escaped the seal, Lucy is now facing a desperate pursuit by a small group of demons.

The majority of the troops, like a black tide, surged toward the direction where Riyao was located.

The end of the passage.

Riyao stared at the massive, menacing army of demons before him.

He showed no sign of panic, and even arrogantly extended his right hand, giving a big thumbs-up.

"Oh ho, you actually dare to come here to cause trouble for me? You've got some nerve."

After saying that, he grabbed the writhing, bloody flesh beside him with his other hand.

The emerald green magic circle exploded on the surface of the flesh wall, and the life force instantly shattered the seal of the Curse.

"Come out here!"

With a sudden burst of strength, Riyao forcefully pulled Ur out of the flesh wall.

Ur gasped for breath, shaking off the remaining slime from his body.

"How come you get banned so easily?" Riyao retorted mercilessly.

"What title?" Ur glared at him.

"Is it a seal? The word 'seal' and I are just incompatible!"

She moved her neck and wrists, and her knuckles cracked.

Ur raised an eyebrow as he watched the demon soldiers surging towards him like a tidal wave.

Is it appropriate to engage in such high-intensity exercise right after being resurrected?

Riyao patted her on the shoulder.

"This is perfect for your rehabilitation training. Go for it, Ur!"

"What beast?!"

Ur almost choked on his breath.

Can't you say a single nice word?

She rolled her eyes dramatically, but her hands moved without hesitation.

He clasped his hands together heavily in front of his chest.

A dazzling ice-blue magic circle instantly unfolded in mid-air, unleashing a frigid storm.

[Ice-Make - Thorny Jungle]

Countless thick, python-like ice thorns roared forth from the magic circle.

They wove together in mid-air like living creatures, forming a giant meat grinder that mercilessly crashed into the demon army.

Pfft! Pfft!

The moment the thorns touched the enemy, the sharp spikes on their surface suddenly grew longer.

It pierced the demon soldier's armor with ease, embedding itself deep into flesh.

A terrifying chill instantly seeped into the wound.

Before the demons could even scream, they were transformed into ice sculptures from the inside out.

Immediately afterwards.

The thicket of thorns tightened suddenly, like a giant python constricting its prey.

Click!

Hundreds of demon soldiers instantly turned into countless shattered ice fragments, creating a strange snowstorm in the passageway.

Riyao carried Mirajane on his back, looking at the frozen jungle that stretched for dozens of meters in front of him.

He curled his lip and clicked his tongue.

"It's obvious you're secretive when teaching your apprentices."

He made accusations without any restraint.

"That Gray kid's Molding Magic is a joke. All he does in a fight is conjure up a giant block of ice to smash people. There's absolutely no skill involved."

"Fart!"

Ur crossed his arms and arrogantly raised his chin.

"That's because he was too stupid! He was so focused on shaping the ice that he didn't pay any attention to the temperature."

"Look at Lyon, he uses ice to freeze the enemy from the start. So, this is definitely not my fault!"

Ur firmly denied the accusations made by Riyao.

While the two were bickering, the straggling soldiers had already been cleared out.

But at the edge of the jungle, several figures exuding a terrifying aura slowly emerged.

Several core members of the Nine Demon Gates finally arrived at the scene.

One of the men, who had a full beard and the appearance of a middle-aged human, had his pupils contract sharply the moment he saw Ur's face.

His eyes were first filled with astonishment, then with disbelief and shock.

This man was none other than Gray's biological father—"Absolute Zero" Silver Fullbuster.

"Interesting..."

Yin suppressed the turmoil in his heart and a cold smile appeared on his lips.

"That woman, I'll handle her, okay?"

He didn't even wait for his other demon companions to answer.

With a sudden burst of power from his feet, he transformed into a gray afterimage and hurtled straight towards Ur.

Riyao stood still and blinked.

He made no attempt to stop it, but just as Yin was about to grab Ur, he whispered a few words to Ur.

Bang!

Ice shards flew everywhere.

Yin and Ur vanished from their spot simultaneously, leaving only the lingering chill in the air.

Only Riyao and the Sleep Mirajane on his back remained at the scene.

He looked up at the remaining Nine Demon Gates demons opposite him.

The atmosphere froze for a second.

Riyao suddenly grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth.

"You're giving me gas! Time to run away!"

He shot off like a cannonball, crashing through the wall and hurtling toward Lucy.

The remaining demons stood frozen in place.

We looked at each other, and simultaneously, several question marks appeared on our foreheads.

One second I thought we were about to engage in an earth-shattering bloody battle.

The next second, this thing actually ran away?!

"Don't let him get away!"