A Merciless Verbal Beatdown
On the broken cliff edge of the eastern border.
A fierce wind, carrying the smell of the sea and lingering sparks, howled and darted between the cliffs.
Riyao looked at Irene and August with a half-smile.
The pair of eyes that had originally radiated a chilling and divine power slightly dimmed their piercing light, and the white-robed youth stretched out a big yawn, his joints cracking and popping.
"Actually, I initially wanted to call this spell 'One Breath Transforms into Three Pure Ones,' but I was afraid you wouldn't understand it, and it would lose its cool factor."
He shifted to a more comfortable position, lying on his side in the air.
With one hand supporting his head and one leg dangling over the other, he looked as relaxed as if he were taking a nap on a beach chair in his guild's backyard.
The sacred and majestic aura that had just been there vanished completely.
He found it too tiring to hold it up for so long, so he simply started to lay it out.
Showing off might feel good for a moment, but if you keep doing it, your neck will get sore.
He raised his hand and teleported the Four Heavenly Kings away. There was no point in them staying there; maybe he could kill them to add some excitement when the fighting got heated.
After the area was cleared, only the three of them remained on the cliff edge.
Riyao turned to look at Irene and August, his lazy, dead-fish eyes narrowed, and a mischievous smirk curled at the corner of his mouth.
"You know that, right? I can see through the essence of life; your loved ones are all in Fairy Tail."
August frowned slightly. He knew his own background and understood that the relative Riyao was referring to was Mavis.
The old man's withered hand gripping the magic staff tightened unconsciously, and a barely perceptible, intense turmoil flashed deep within his cloudy eyes.
But Irene, standing next to him, tilted her head, not understanding what Riyao was talking about.
She gracefully twirled the antler staff in her hand, her wide magical cloak swaying gently in the wind.
"Little brother, what are you saying?"
"Hey, didn't you know? Your daughter is Erza."
Boom--
Upon hearing this, Irene's eyes widened, and the Dragon Force surged out uncontrollably, causing the surrounding temperature to drop to freezing point.
The elegant, playful smile that had been lingering on his lips shattered completely in a fraction of a second!
Even August, who was standing to the side, was forced back two steps by the shock.
A layer of golden magical energy spontaneously arose around the old man, his long robes fluttering wildly in the violent air currents, and he couldn't help but shout in a deep voice.
"Hey, Irene, calm down."
"He's still alive?"
Irene gripped the antler staff tightly with both hands, her pupils contracted sharply, and her chest heaved violently.
The baby she abandoned in her swaddling clothes in a remote village, the child she thought had died long ago... was actually still alive?
Not only is he alive, but he's also in that so-called Fairy Tail guild?!
Irene calmed her breathing and suppressed the raging Dragon Force.
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and when she opened them again, her expression had returned to its usual coldness and composure.
After calming down, I suddenly realized a blind spot.
"Our relatives? August, who are your relatives? Could it be Makarov?"
Irene raised her long, thin eyebrows and looked August's wrinkled old face up and down with a strange expression, clicking her tongue in amazement.
August closed his eyes and sighed.
What is all this nonsense?
"No, but Riyao's Life Magic is indeed very powerful. I tried it, and I couldn't copy it all."
August raised his left hand expressionlessly, attempting to forcefully change the subject.
A green light emanated from his hand, appearing somewhat dim compared to the life force of the Riyao.
As a magic king capable of instantly casting and copying all magic in the world, he attempted to analyze the underlying structure of Life Magic the instant Riyao cast his spell.
However, he discovered that he could only simulate a tiny bit of the surface, and could not reach the core at all.
However, Irene, standing nearby, paid no attention to the old man's magical blunder.
She rested her chin on her hand, her eyes sparkling with gossip and curiosity.
She counted on her fingers.
Makarov? The age doesn't match.
Warrod? He looks completely different.
Which other old man is in the guild? Wait... family members aren't necessarily elders; they could be peers, even juniors, or...
Mavis, the first guild master of Fairy Tail?
Impossible, right? Maybe it is.
Irene's beautiful eyes suddenly lit up, as if she had discovered some earth-shattering secret, and she covered her mouth with a mischievous gasp.
"I see, your relative is Mavis, oh, so..."
So His Zeref is his biological father?!
"Irene!!"
August interrupted her.
For the first time, the old man's aged voice carried a hint of panic and anger. He slammed his staff heavily into the ground, and a dazzling golden arc of lightning exploded in the void.
Irene raised an eyebrow, feeling that she had guessed correctly. Her curiosity satisfied, she stopped talking.
She smiled faintly, gracefully took half a step back, and stroked her red hair by her ear with one hand, adopting a "I see through it but I won't say it, you figure it out yourself" attitude.
Riyao rolled his eyes. There were only three people here, and now they all knew about it.
What's the point of hiding it?
At their age, they're still playing dumb, as if everyone else is blind.
August leaned on his long staff, his head slightly bowed, looking particularly lonely and desolate in the howling wind.
Riyao lay on its side in mid-air, shifting to a position where it rested its chin on one hand, and slowly began to speak.
"I have a question. I've never heard either the First Avenger or Zeref mention having a son. Did they know you existed?"
Riyao are starting to deliver; if you can use your mouth, why use your hands? If you can save your energy, why waste it?
Why bother with fighting when you can simply crush the mentality of two Spriggan opponents with words?
Today! I, Riyao, must use my verbal skills to thoroughly defeat my enemies!
August was stunned.
The old man's pupils suddenly dilated, and he froze on the spot as if struck by lightning.
If I can recognize them as my parents, they should recognize me too, right? Or maybe they just don't want to acknowledge my existence?
Could it be that... in my mother's heart, and in my father's eyes, I was always just a stain that was hated, abandoned, and even refused to acknowledge?
As he pondered, his mind gradually twisted, his magic overflowed, and violent storms arose around him.
Irene looked at August with a somewhat speechless expression.
This little guy has the nerve to talk back to me.
Just moments ago, he was righteously telling himself to calm down, but now, after being provoked by a couple of words from the young man opposite him, his magic has gone berserk and he's more powerful than anyone else.
Riyao appeared calm on the surface, but was secretly delighted.
Seeing that the strongest mage in the Western Continent had his defenses broken down by his few words, Riyao was overjoyed.
Is talk-no-jutsu really that effective?
Riyao cleared his throat and added fuel to the fire.
"Ahem, last time I asked Zeref a question, I asked him what he would do if he had a child, and he was stunned, so you two didn't acknowledge each other?"
August's eyes widened, and his voice trembled slightly.
The raging golden storm of magic suddenly stopped, the old man's body trembled violently, and tears welled up in his eyes as he stared intently at the Riyao in mid-air.
"You mean, His Majesty didn't know about the child's existence?"
"Hmm, I don't know either. Even the First Generation didn't know."
Riyao's words completely unsettled August.
Originally, he was stuck in a rut, immersed in the Despair of being "abandoned and hated by his parents" for a century, but in this instant, he was completely shattered by a thunderbolt!
It's not that I don't love you... it's that I simply don't know?!
Mavis Sleep for many years, Zeref had always lived alone; they had no idea there was a child!
He wondered if he would receive the family affection he had longed for so long if he went to acknowledge them now.
The old man's heart pounded like a drum; his heart, which had been dry and cold for nearly a century, was now surging with an unprecedented, burning desire.