White-Haired Riyao
On the desolate battlefield outside Hargeon.
The world, which had been completely frozen by the Time Seal, emitted a crisp sound like a mirror shattering.
Time begins to flow again.
The White-Haired Riyao stood in the center of the battlefield, the magical energy emanating from him causing the battlefield to fall silent.
Her long, snow-white hair danced wildly in the sea breeze, and her white robe was spotless.
The oppressive force emanating from him was so heavy it made the earth groan, like an invisible mountain pressing down on everyone's spine.
Mirajane looked at the Riyao and knew that it was the False God Form of the Riyao.
But those eyes were clearly different. If Riyao's original eyes were like the blazing sun and the bright moon, these eyes were—
The gold in his left eye was dim, like the twilight before sunset; the silver in his right eye was cold and broken, like a cracked crescent moon.
The White-Haired Riyao looked around.
His gaze swept across the blood-stained wasteland, past the thousands of imperial troops, his voice so calm it betrayed no emotion.
"Hello everyone, it's been a long time. I don't have much time left, so I won't chat with you any longer."
He raised his staff and slammed it into the ground, crushing the surrounding enemies with terrifying spatial power, instantly turning them into a bloody mist.
Thump!
There was no initial gesture that gathered any magic, nor any incantation chanted.
The moment the staff touched the ground, the space within a radius of several hundred meters seemed to be squeezed into a ball by an invisible giant hand!
Click!
Hundreds and thousands of fully armed Imperial vanguard soldiers didn't even have time to utter a scream.
Their heavy armor collapsed inward along with their flesh and bones, then turned into a thick, pungent cloud of blood mist amidst a piercing explosion.
A bloody stench filled the air.
Thick blood mist spread through the air and slowly settled on the scorched earth.
The White-Haired Riyao didn't even blink. He casually gripped his staff with a backhand, his expression as indifferent as if he were just dusting off his clothes.
It seems that in his eyes, these are all just ordinary flowers, plants, and trees.
The lives that wailed, shattered, and disintegrated beneath his feet were no different from the weeds trampled flat by the roadside.
This terrifying tactic instilled fear in both sides.
Not only was the Imperial army instantly gripped by a death panic, but the Fairy Tail troops also felt a chill run down their spines.
"Is this Riyao?"
Erza looked uncertainly at Mirajane, who shook her head.
She gripped the Edgeless wooden knife tightly in both hands, her palms drenched in cold sweat.
Riyao would never reveal such a cold-blooded gaze that regards all living beings as worthless weeds.
"He is Riyao, but not the Riyao we know. I can't explain why."
Grandine's voice rang in their ears.
That kind of deathly silence, I've only ever felt in one other person.
Mirajane frowned. She had heard Riyao mention it, but she hadn't expected this future self to be so... brutal.
She also noticed something else: this Riyao hadn't glanced at her once from beginning to end.
From the moment he appeared until now, even when he was healing Ultear and shattering the time-stop barrier, the White-Haired Riyao's gaze never lingered on her face for even half a second.
It wasn't deliberate avoidance, but rather a deep-seated fear and restraint.
A bad feeling rose in my mind.
Ankhseram's Curse of Contradiction!
The more you cherish life, the more everything around you will be taken away by death!
What happened in the future?
What exactly happened to the guild on that future timeline?
Why did Riyao become like this, even afflicted with the same curse as Zeref?!
Mirajane was uneasy; all she wanted now was to find her own Riyao.
She gripped the hem of her clothes tightly with all ten fingers, her knuckles turning white, her mind in turmoil.
At this moment, White-Haired Riyao raised his hand, and his right hand gradually became illusory.
Time particles flowed continuously from his fingertips, his entire arm like a reflection in water, rippling with transparent waves.
"I thought it would be short, but I didn't expect it to be this short. If I can get the Fairy Heart, maybe I can stay here."
He looked up in Magnolia's direction.
His eyes, like the setting sun and the waning moon, narrowed slightly, and his tone was as calm as if he were casually discussing today's weather.
Mirajane and Erza both felt a pang of anxiety upon hearing the words "White-Haired Riyao."
Erza gripped the Edgeless tightly in her hand.
What on earth is this future idiot thinking?!
"Just kidding."
The White-Haired Riyao's lips curled slightly, but before he could even laugh, his expression froze.
The stiff smile that had been painstakingly forced came to an abrupt end the moment it touched upon a certain emotion deep within.
Boom!
A terrifying Death Storm erupted from his body.
Dark, deathly aura surged forth from his body like churning ink, corroding even the air in its path with a crackling sound!
A silvery-white spatial magic circle flashed past Mirajane and the others, instantly transporting them to a distance.
Death Storm swept across the battlefield, and all the imperial soldiers within a mile radius perished.
The pitch-black aura of death swept across the land like a giant wave. Thousands of imperial soldiers didn't even have time to draw their swords before their skin instantly withered and their eye sockets sank, collapsing to the ground in unison, their lives utterly extinguished.
The entire area, spanning a radius of one mile, was completely transformed into a silent, gray, and desolate wasteland.
Mirajane's eyes widened; just as she had guessed.
That really was Ankhseram's curse.
Those present who knew of Ankhseram's curse were utterly shocked.
For example, Dimaria, the Battle Empress on the Empire's side, kept muttering "impossible" as she fled.
"Isn't this His Majesty's curse? How can it be happening to other people?"
Dimaria turned pale, staggered and fell to the ground, the longsword in her hand trembling slightly.
The White-Haired Riyao sighed, stood up again, and looked at Dimaria.
The lower half of his body had begun to turn into specks of light, and the transparent phantom was becoming increasingly faint.
"Time is running out, let's finish this quickly."
He raised his hand toward Dimaria.
He slightly clenched his fingers.
Space twisted and folded instantly. Dimaria didn't even have time to activate [Time God Chronos] before she was forcibly pulled off the ground by an unreasonable force!
Dimaria's body flew uncontrollably into the hands of the White-Haired Riyao.
Bang!
The White-Haired Riyao grabbed Dimaria by the neck with one hand, suspending the Battle Empress, one of the Spriggan 12, in mid-air like a chick.
"May I borrow your time?"
Buzz!
Blinding golden light overflowed from Dimaria's acupoints, transforming into visible golden streams that rapidly flowed into his collapsing body through Riyao's palm.
Dimaria's face was contorted in rage; no matter how she struggled, she could not break free from the control of the White-Haired Riyao.
The divine soul, magical power, and even control over the laws of time within the body are all being forcibly stripped away!
She felt the power within her being drawn away and flowing into the White-Haired Riyao.
The previously blurred White-Haired Riyao solidified briefly for a few seconds under the infusion of time.
You're useless now.
The White-Haired Riyao tossed the drained Dimaria aside.
Dimaria's eyes were lifeless, and she lay sprawled on the ground like a rag.
He raised his staff, preparing to cast a spell to kill all the imperial soldiers.
The staff was raised high, and the space of the entire sky was instantly compressed to its limit. Thousands upon thousands of tiny spatial rifts appeared densely above the heads of the surviving imperial soldiers.
Just before the staff fell, he glanced at Mirajane.
Mirajane was staring at him from a distance, her azure eyes filled with heartache, worry, and unease.
The White-Haired Riyao's wrist, gripping the staff, paused for a moment.
The staff fell.
In the instant the silver light surged, the remaining imperial army, along with its weapons, was completely wiped out of the battlefield!
"Never mind, it doesn't fit Fairy Tail's spirit of unity and friendship."
The White-Haired Riyao retracted his staff and gave a low, self-deprecating laugh.
Call--
A gust of wind blew by, White-Haired Riyao disappeared completely.
The silvery-white starlight of time dissipated in the sea breeze, as if he had never set foot in this era.
At the same time.
Soldiers rained down over the capital of the Alvarez Empire.
Countless Imperial soldiers screamed as they plummeted from ten thousand meters in the air, falling like dumplings being dropped into a pot.