Mavis Draws Circles
The air in the hall froze the instant Mavis's Thought Projection shattered.
The remaining golden light fragments still drifted in mid-air, while a shadowy figure carrying a chilling white icy mist tore through the ground and shot out!
Gray instantly rushed to Riyao's side, grabbed his arm with his backhand, and conjured an Ice Demon Katana, holding it to his neck.
The Absolute Zero chilling air hissed against the blade, and ice crystals instantly spread up Riyao's collar. Gray's eyes were as cold as unyielding ice, and veins throbbed on his forehead.
"Who exactly are you?! Where is Riyao?"
Boom!
A scorching heatwave suddenly crashed down from the other side!
Natsu's flames were crimson red, and he would immediately smash them onto Riyao if anything seemed amiss.
The raging flames distorted the surrounding air violently, Natsu's face was contorted into a grotesque demonic grin, his eyes bloodshot with rage.
"Damn it! How dare you impersonate Riyao!"
The others were all poised to attack, ready to fight at the slightest provocation.
A terrifying killing intent surged and churned throughout the guild hall, so heavy that it was hard to breathe.
Even with a knife to their throats and flames burning their eyelashes, not a single person uttered the question, "Riyao, why did you betray us?"
No one thought Riyao would betray them; their first reaction was always, "Someone is impersonating Riyao."
Just when a major battle was about to break out.
A helpless sigh came from behind the bar.
Mirajane sighed, rubbing her forehead.
"That idiot is my Riyao. He did this to send the First Generation back into his body. After all, the enemy's goal is the Fairy Heart, and this will maximize the margin for error."
Gray and Natsu were initially so tense they were ready to kill each other, suddenly froze.
Erza's sword formation froze in mid-air, Cana's cards nearly slipped from her hand, and everyone in the arena froze instantly.
The expressions on everyone's faces became quite varied.
The expression shifted from rage, astonishment, and confusion, before finally transforming into extreme frustration at being made a fool of.
Despite being held to the side by ice blades, Riyao showed no remorse as a prisoner; instead, he grinned.
Riyao chuckled slyly.
"Yeah, I was just joking around to relax you guys who seemed so tense."
He shrugged, wearing an innocent expression that said, "I'm doing this all for your own good."
After a half-second silence, the entire guild hall erupted!
"Riyao!!" the crowd roared in unison.
The sound echoed deafeningly, and the chandeliers throughout the stone and wood building swayed wildly!
Seeing dozens of murderous gazes focused on him, Riyao slipped away and swayed in the wind.
Riyao immediately ran behind Mirajane, poking his head out, looking extremely guilty.
"Oh right, honey, shouldn't we go deliver the clothes to the First Generation? Let's go, it's so hot here."
He pulled Mirajane towards the basement, moving so fast that Mirajane was thrown into the air, giving the others no chance to retaliate.
"You brat! Get out here right now!!"
Makarov was so angry he was about to explode. Without thinking, he ran after them.
The old man, with his short legs, charged menacingly toward the basement entrance, determined to drag that brat out and hang him from the chandelier to whip him.
He hadn't run more than a few steps when Erza grabbed his shoulder.
"Old Chairman, you'd better not go down. They're going to deliver clothes to the First Generation."
Makarov stopped in his tracks, his entire body instantly frozen in place.
That's right... The original Mavis's true physical body was sealed underground for a hundred years. After the Thought Projection was forcibly returned to its place, the physical body had nothing left.
If he were to rush down now, the scene would be unimaginable.
Makarov stood with his hands behind his back, shuffling his toes on the floor, looking like an old child.
"Oh, I'm still not used to being called 'Old Chairman' or something like that. I'm getting old."
He sighed somewhat forlornly, scratched his sparse white hair, and shook his head self-deprecatingly.
Natsu, standing to the side, didn't have so many complicated thoughts.
Natsu strode forward, grinning broadly, and slapped the old chairman's bald head hard with his big hand!
"Haha, the old man is just an ordinary member now, haha..."
The laughter stopped abruptly as Natsu was slammed into the floor by Makarov.
Boom!
Makarov's arm instantly expanded into a giant hand three meters wide, and with a blank expression, he slammed Natsu into the thick solid wood floor like a nail, leaving only his legs twitching helplessly in the air.
"You brat, don't you know how to respect the elderly and care for the young?"
Makarov blew on his beard and snorted coldly.
Above the bar, the silhouette of a miniature Fire Dragon fluttered its small wings.
When Natsu was knocked down, Igneel flew up and slowly landed on the bar, its two little front paws wrapped around its chest, looking down at its silly son who was lying head over heels on the ground.
"That brat deserves a beating. And Lisanna, bring me a serving of braised beef."
"Okay," Lisanna replied with a smile.
Lucy leaned against the round wooden table, watching her guildmates bickering and laughing, instantly casting aside the shadows of war.
It's that familiar feeling again.
Step, step, step.
The sound of light, quick footsteps came from the basement.
Mavis wore a gothic dress, which made her look like a porcelain doll.
Layers of black and white lace trim, an exquisite waistband that accentuates her petite figure, and long golden hair tied into two loose, curly ponytails.
She twirled twice gracefully in the center of the hall, like a happy little lark, lifting the hem of her skirt with both hands and proudly raising her chin.
"Hehe, isn't it pretty? Mira said this is the style that big sisters like to wear."
The guild hall fell silent instantly.
Everyone stared at the first president, who was only a little over 1.4 meters tall, had a baby face, and yet solemnly claimed that he was wearing a "mature older sister style" outfit. The muscles in their faces twitched wildly.
They kept their expressions tense, afraid that laughing out loud would hurt Mavis's pride.
Gajeel leaned against the support pillar with his arms crossed, squinting at it for a while before tilting Gajeel head.
"Isn't this something for little kids? Levy wears it all the time."
The loud, gruff voice echoed clearly in the hall.
Silence.
A deathly silence.
Everyone was stunned for a few seconds upon hearing this, then they all broke down in laughter, tears streaming down their faces.
"Puhahaha!!"
"Kids' version, haha! The same style Levy's!!"
Levy's face instantly turned red from her ears to the top of her head, and steam almost seemed to rise from her head.
The little girl was both shy and furious to the extreme. Her slender figure resembled that of a raging little female leopard, and she leaped into the air with a kick!
"Fool!!"
With a loud bang, the Iron Dragon was kicked hard into the thick brick wall by the petite girl, and it couldn't be pried out.
Mavis stood there blankly, her once-proud ahoge (cowlick) gradually drooping down, her little mouth pouting, and her eyes quickly filled with tears.
The first president huddled in a small ball, his back to everyone, his fair fingers drawing black lines filled with resentment on the floor.
Mirajane knelt beside her, gently stroking her head and soothing her with soft words.
"The first generation looks great like this. It's okay if the older sister looks like this; it makes her look younger."
Mavis felt even worse, and kept drawing circles on and on.
Mirajane's hand froze in mid-air, looking pleadingly at Riyao, her eyes silently screaming: Riyao!!
Riyao rubbed his stiff, smiling face, squatted down next to Mavis, and said, "First Generation, look on the bright side, you can eat now. Hurry up and finish setting up the tactics, and we can still have a proper dinner."
Swish!
The drooping golden ahoge on Mavis's head instantly stood up straight like a radar that had been powered on!
The little girl suddenly turned her head, her big green eyes sparkling with a bright light, and a trickle of drool even escaped from the corner of her mouth.