Aquarius's Key

Rumble!!

The sky was torn apart, and the Celestial Spirit King's sword, powerful enough to split mountains, pierced through the Underworld Beast's indestructible back without any hindrance.

With a mournful cry that echoed through the heavens, the enormous Underworld Beast crashed heavily to the outskirts of Magnolia like a kite with a broken string.

The immense impact sent a jolt through the entire town.

The enormous Parasol Tree in the Riyao Manor stirred once more.

Countless thick vines, like wildly dancing pythons, grew frantically in the direction where the Underworld Beast had fallen, tightly binding it layer upon layer.

Riyao and the Underworld Beasts had stabilized, they used the rapidly spinning steel drill bit to brutally smash through the wall above, which was covered in flesh and blood.

Minced meat and rocks crashed down with a clatter.

Riyao landed smoothly.

The area had just been washed by the floodwaters summoned by Aquarius; the air was thick with a fishy smell, and the ground beneath our feet was wet, making a squelching sound when we stepped on it.

He turned his head and immediately saw Lucy slumped in the sewage, sobbing uncontrollably.

The Jackal was standing not far away, his face contorted with rage, ready to strike.

Riyao walked over unhurriedly, raised his hand, bent his index finger, and tapped Lucy's forehead crisply.

Thump.

"What are you crying about?" Riyao pointed to the Jackals not far away. "The enemy is right in front of us, are you here to mourn for them?"

"Waaaaah... Riyao!"

Lucy was sobbing uncontrollably, her face covered in tears.

Seeing Riyao appear, she clung to him like a lifeline, crawling over on all fours and grabbing Riyao thigh tightly, burying her face in his trouser leg and rubbing it against him frantically.

"Ah... Aquarius... Aquarius is gone... Ahhh..."

Riyao looked down at the appalling water stains and snot on his trouser leg, and his eyes twitched twice.

He shook his leg vigorously, trying to shake off this "giant sticky candy".

Lucy was holding on way too tightly.

"Don't cry."

Riyao sighed and helplessly pointed to what Lucy was clutching tightly in her hand.

"Open your eyes and look at the key in your hand."

Upon hearing this, Lucy looked up, sobbing.

Tears completely blurred her vision; she could only vaguely make out a golden outline in her hand.

She raised her dirty hand and wiped her eyes haphazardly, then looked down to see the golden key, symbolizing the Aquarius Celestial Spirit, lying quietly.

There are no cracks.

It was not broken.

Intact and undamaged.

Lucy's crying stopped abruptly.

She blankly stretched out her fingers and repeatedly rubbed the surface of the key, feeling the familiar cold metallic touch, and finally stopped sobbing completely.

How come this is different from what Aquarius said?

Wasn't the price for summoning the Celestial Spirit King to be the sacrifice of a key to the Twelve Gates of the Zodiac?

Lucy suddenly realized what was happening.

She frantically reached for her waist, ripped off the heavy keychain, and held it up to her eyes to examine it carefully.

One.

Two.

All three... are there.

"Stop looking, not a single one is broken."

Riyao couldn't stand the feeling on his trouser leg any longer, so he shook his leg vigorously again.

"You didn't even check the situation before you cried. Also, let go of my leg right now, why do you always rub your snot on people, really?"

Lucy finally let go.

She looked at the intact key, tears still clinging to the corners of her eyes, but couldn't help but smile, revealing her big teeth in a silly grin.

What's going on?

Lucy tilted her head back, looking at Riyao with eyes full of adoration.

"Riyao, did you do this? Could it be... your key that broke?"

"How is that possible?"

Riyao rolled his eyes dramatically and answered with complete confidence.

"That's a token of our love, Mira and I. It can't be broken."

Lucy paused for a moment.

This was the first time she had ever heard of the special meaning behind the Riyao Key, and upon reflection... it was quite romantic.

I bumped into something.

The Jackal had been completely ignored not far away, was now trembling with rage.

These two humans, right in front of him, were actually chatting about everyday things on this battlefield filled with sewage?!

This is the greatest insult to him!

"Hey! You guys are so arrogant!"

The Jackal roared angrily, the veins on its forehead throbbing.

"How dare you chat idly in front of me! Die!"

He suddenly exerted force with both legs, and his whole body turned into a blur as he pounced forward.

A blinding yellow light emanated from his palms, and he slammed them down hard onto Riyao and Lucy's heads.

Lucy was about to scream in fright.

Riyao didn't even glance at the Jackal.

He suddenly tensed his right leg muscles and kicked the Jackal hard in the stomach.

Bang!

A dull thud of flesh colliding rang out.

Before the Jackal could even let out a scream, it was sent flying like a cannonball, crashing into the thick wall of flesh above, impossible to pry off.

Lucy swallowed hard and quickly shouted a reminder.

"Riyao, be careful! His Curse can turn anything it touches into a bomb!"

"Oh, Killer Queen, it's alright."

Riyao calmly glanced down at it.

Sure enough, a dangerous yellow light emanated from his right shoe, and it looked like it was about to explode.

He calmly lifted his foot, took off his shoe, and tossed it aside.

Boom!

The innocent shoe exploded into a fireball in mid-air, leaving not a trace.

Riyao stood barefoot on the wet ground, his expression completely unchanged.

"What? Killer Queen?" Lucy looked at Riyao with a completely bewildered expression.

Don't worry about such details.

Riyao waved his hand casually.

Rumble!!

As soon as he finished speaking, a violent tremor erupted once again within the entire body of the Underworld Beast.

The sheer scale of the attack caused even the surrounding flesh walls to begin convulsing violently.

Lucy screamed in fright and reflexively lunged forward again, clinging tightly to Riyao's leg.

Riyao looked down at her, his face full of disgust.

"You're so dirty, covered in mud and snot, please stop hugging my leg."

"Hello!"

Lucy huffed and puffed out her cheeks, glaring at him fiercely.

"What happened to the promised camaraderie? This is too much! Waaah, what's with that look of disgust?! I'm a blonde beauty, for goodness' sake!"

"Oh."

Riyao let out a disdainful sneer.

"Not as pretty as my Mira."

Mirajane, who had been lying on Riyao's back, couldn't help but smile slightly upon hearing this.

Riyao continued to show off his wife.

"You've only ever seen Mira with her bangs tied up, you've never seen Mira with her bangs down, have you?"

Lucy thought about it carefully and realized that she had never seen Mira with her bangs down either.

Riyao raised an eyebrow smugly.

He reached back and touched Mirajane's forehead, gently untying the iconic little bun.

Her long, silvery-white hair, now free of its restraints, cascaded down smoothly.

Her wispy bangs perfectly framed her delicate face, and paired with her long, tightly closed eyelashes, her originally lively temperament instantly transformed into a gentle yet aloof one.

Lucy's mouth gaped open slightly in surprise, her eyes widening in astonishment.

"It really does look even better... But why does Mira always wear a little bun?"

"To seal away some of my good looks, I guess."

Riyao sighed, but his tone was full of undisguised boasting.

"There's nothing I can do, you know, my Mira is just too beautiful. If she just let her bangs down like this and walked down the street, people would hit on her all the time, I couldn't even keep up with swatting away flies."

Seeing Lucy's stunned expression, Riyao grinned and laughed even more heartily.

At that moment, Mirajane, who was on his back, slowly opened her eyes.

Her deep blue eyes were crystal clear. She glared at Riyao's profile with annoyance and gently pinched his ear.

"We're still on the battlefield, stop talking, you idiot."

Riyao immediately straightened his attitude and responded with a smile.

"Okay. How's your digestion going?"

"Nailed it."

"Let's go, let's go get some more demons."