Memento Vivere

The withered green beam of light continued, and the purplish-black death aura surged along the ground like a tide, covering even the rubble with a layer of deathly ash.

Suddenly, a streak of emerald light swept diagonally from the direction of the tree canopy, carrying the overflowing fragrance of grass and trees, and crashed into this deathly silence.

Riyao smelled a stench of death and flew over from the treetops with Mirajane in tow.

The wind whipped his robes, making them flutter, and the putrid stench of death filled his nostrils, causing him to frown.

The dark green dragon scales covering his body receded inch by inch along the lines of his skin, his dark green hair faded back to a dazzling gold, and he withdrew from his Azure Dragon Form, landing steadily on a section of broken wall ruins.

Mirajane gently jumped down from his arms, her skirt brushing against the pebbles on the wall.

"That's a really good name for that move. I'll try it too." Riyao chuckled.

He gently lifted the fingers that were hanging by his side.

[Memento Vivere]

A faint green light flickered deep within Riyao's pupils, like Hisui slowly rising from the bottom of a pool.

Suddenly, patterns lit up the ground beneath their feet, and emerald green magic circles rose from the ground, layer upon layer, until twelve circles were laid out in the blink of an eye.

Each array pattern shimmered with a warm light, and the vine-like patterns spread outward from the array's core, intertwining and enveloping everyone present.

The next second, an even thicker, emerald-green beam of light shot into the sky, crashing into the withered green beam of light, spreading and covering the lifeless green like ink being splashed.

In the end, the entire beam of light was dyed a bright emerald green, leaving not a trace of the lifeless, withered green.

The originally overwhelming purplish-black mist dissipated instantly upon being hit by this dense, almost viscous, life force.

Like ice and snow meeting boiling water, it didn't even struggle before sizzling into nothingness.

The Fairy Tail members stood there dumbfounded, their limbs, which had felt like they were made of lead, suddenly felt light.

A warm sensation rose from the soles of my feet, and the stinging pain from the deathly aura vanished without a trace.

Someone touched their arm; a faint green glow still lingered on their skin.

Erza still held her longsword aloft, and when she turned her head, she saw Riyao and Mirajane standing on the broken wall.

She immediately exploded and yelled at the two of them.

"Where have you two been cuddling again? Do you know we almost died just now? You two were slacking off the whole time..."

She stood with her hands on her hips, the clanging of her armor making a clattering sound, and the veins on her forehead bulged.

If they weren't still on the battlefield, she would have liked to put on the Heaven's Wheel Armor and give those two slackers a good beating.

The two fish-slacking monsters exchanged a glance.

Riyao raised his hand and touched the back of his head, his eyes darting around, avoiding eye contact with Erza.

Mirajane, on the other hand, laughed nonchalantly and even waved at Erza.

"Oh dear, I'm here to save the day! I still have things to do, and besides, I've done so much already, like giving Uncle Yin a tattoo or something."

Upon hearing this, Yin blinked and subconsciously looked down at her stomach.

Even through the tattered robes, you could feel the presence of that pink pig's head tattoo.

His lips twitched. So the thing that had inexplicably appeared on his stomach earlier was the work of this blond kid.

"Hey blondie, could you give me something else to tattoo? This pink pig head is just too... unique, I'm a grown man and I can't pull it off."

Yin coughed, trying to make his tone sound polite.

He wouldn't dare suggest wiping it off or anything like that.

I'm currently in a state of semi-death, maintaining a very delicate balance. If I were to wipe off this pig's head and suddenly die, it would be a huge loss.

Even if it's awkward, it's better than becoming a dead man, but... this pink pig's head is really damaging to his image as a legendary demon-slaying mage.

Riyao immediately adopted a serious expression.

"No, don't let the 'Daddy Pig' tattoo fool you... it's unique, but it's the result of my careful consideration."

He spoke with such seriousness, as if it weren't a prankster pig's head, but some kind of unparalleled sealing magic.

Without waiting for Yin to say anything more, he took Mirajane's hand and waved to the crowd.

"Alright, you guys continue fighting. I have other things to attend to."

As soon as he finished speaking, Riyao flew away with Mirajane.

Their movements were as fast as the wind, giving Erza no chance to utter another curse.

Erza was so angry she gritted her teeth, her grip on the sword hilt tightened, and she ground her teeth in the direction the two had flown away.

But with the battle at hand, she couldn't afford to settle scores with the two slackers. She took a deep breath, turned around, and continued to join the siege of Mard.

On the other side, Mard's [Memento Mori] spell just now had completely depleted most of his Curse Power.

He knelt on the ground, one hand supporting him. Fine cracks covered his metallic carapace, and dark purple blood dripped from between his fingers into the rubble, spreading out a small, dark stain.

Its wings drooped on its back, with several tears along the edges, and even its breathing was heavy and labored.

When that pillar of life light dispersed the death aura, he also suffered a considerable backlash; his chest felt as if it had been hit by a heavy hammer, leaving him feeling suffocated.

The attack from the surrounding group came one after another, with flashes of swords, flames, and iron rods coming at him in turn. He struggled to defend himself and soon fell into a disadvantageous position.

Gray's eyes sharpened as he seized the opening in the transition of his moves.

The ice beneath his feet instantly spread out, and he used the momentum of the slippery ice to accelerate instantly. The ice blade that condensed in his hand gleamed with a cold light, and he flashed to Mard's side.

The ice blade sliced through the air, creating a fine mist of ice.

[Ice Demon - Zero Katana]

There was a soft whooshing sound.

A deep, bone-revealing wound suddenly appeared between Mard's shoulder and chest, and a burst of icy cold air erupted from the wound.

Centered on the wound, half of his body froze at a visible speed, even the blood vessels under his skin solidified into pink ice crystals, with fine ice shards protruding outwards from the wound.

Mard groaned, his body staggering backward half a step uncontrollably, his entire arm stiffening.

[The Azure Iron Dragon's Roar]

Gajeel, who had been waiting nearby, suddenly opened his mouth, and a torrent of bluish-gray iron filings roared out.

The dense, shrill iron filings slammed into Mard, sending him flying and crashing heavily into the broken wall behind him.

The rubble and bricks fell down with a clatter, raising clouds of dust that buried most of him.

[Fire Dragon's Roar]

Natsu then rushed forward, clenched his fist, took a deep breath, and a burst of flames erupted from his mouth. The orange-red flames instantly engulfed the broken wall, completely engulfing Mard in flames.

Flames shot skyward, distorting the surrounding air, and the heatwave forced those nearby to instinctively take a half-step back.

"You idiot, have you forgotten that the Book of END is on him?"

When Gray saw Natsu breathe fire directly at someone, he immediately panicked and yelled at Natsu.

"Uh, sorry, sorry, I forgot, haha."

Natsu, startled by Gray's outburst, scratched his head and suddenly remembered what had happened, then grinned sheepishly and apologized repeatedly.

He quickly extinguished the flames and ran towards the collapsed Mard, intending to snatch the Book of END first.

Before he could even get close...

Without warning, a black figure appeared in the smoke and dust.

It appeared out of nowhere, without any magical fluctuations or footsteps, as quiet as a shadow.

Natsu's heart skipped a beat, and the hairs on his body stood on end. He instinctively jumped back, creating enough distance between himself and the enemy.

The newcomer, dressed in a long black robe, stood quietly before Mard, his face calm and expressionless, yet exuding an indescribable sense of oppression.

"Zeref!"

Natsu exclaimed in surprise, his eyes widening as he recognized the man at a glance.

The entire room fell silent instantly.

Everyone was so shocked they couldn't close their mouths, staring blankly at the black figure.

They never expected the legendary Dark Mage to appear here. Most of them had only heard his name on Tenrou Island and had never even seen him.

Seeing this legendary man standing at the pinnacle of the magic world with his own eyes, he subconsciously softened his breathing.