The Riyao Eating People Incident

The white light dissipated in the guild atop the high cliff.

The dining table was empty.

Irene gripped the antler staff so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

After struggling for half a day, all that was pulled out was a phantom shaped by magic!

"You bastard..."

She kicked open the stone door of the side hall, her scarlet cloak fluttering in the wind.

"Zeref! Mavis ran away a long time ago! Are you two just standing there like decorations on the edge of the cliff?!"

At the edge of the cliff, Zeref turned around.

He was stunned for a moment, then his lips twitched and he actually laughed out loud.

"Haha... ran away? You managed to slip away from you, truly worthy of being called Mavis."

Irene's temples throbbed.

Here we go again. Whenever His Majesty the Emperor mentions Mavis, his mind regresses to that of the self-pitying, neurotic intellectual from four hundred years ago.

Back then, he forcibly pulled her back from the brink of becoming a dragon in the deep mountains, coaxing her to go to the Western Continent to conquer the world and build an empire. As a result, after conquering the country, he didn't come to inspect it for several years.

"Your Majesty, please don't have another attack."

Irene coldly interrupted his hysterical laughter.

"Your Spriggan 12 have been almost completely destroyed by Fairy Tail down there, and even August is trapped in the forest. If we don't get the Fairy Heart, we'll all be dinner for the Black Dragon when he returns."

"Just a chess piece."

The smile on Zeref's face faded, and his tone became as calm as if he were discussing someone else's funeral.

"If they can't even get past Fairy Tail, expecting them to stop the Black Dragon is a joke."

His plan had only two parts from the beginning:

First, the infinite magic of the Fairy Heart reverses time; second, Natsu fully awakens, resorting to violence to combat violence.

Since Riyao had enhanced the Dragon Slayer Team to the point of being like monsters, Zeref secretly hoped that Natsu would personally give him a quick death and, incidentally, sever the knot between the two of them.

"Irene, go into the woods and bring her back."

"Knew."

Without another word, Irene flipped and leaped into the abyss, her red figure disappearing into the sea of green trees.

The mountain wind howled, and only Zeref remained on the cliff top.

He pulled his black robe tighter and looked up at the thick, leaden-gray clouds swirling in the sky.

"Acnologia..."

"Oh, Your Majesty, what a refined taste you have! Standing here all alone, enjoying the northwest wind?"

A lazy voice suddenly came from behind me.

Zeref's muscles tensed instantly!

With his keen senses, he could hear even the slightest movement of an ant within a few miles. Yet, a large, living person suddenly appeared out of nowhere within three steps behind him, and he didn't receive the slightest warning!

He twisted his body abruptly, and black energy surged from his palm.

However, the scene that met his eyes made his eye twitch violently.

Riyao was squatting on a large blue rock at the edge of the cliff, holding a bucket of steaming hot butter popcorn in his hands, chewing it with relish.

Beside him, Mavis, who had just slipped away, also curled up in a ball, mimicking his posture. She held two kernels of popcorn in her little hands, her big eyes darting around on Zeref with a mischievous grin, and her little hands rubbing together excitedly.

The air felt eerily cold for three seconds.

Zeref's palms were sweaty, and his voice was a little hoarse.

"What... exactly do you want?"

"What a question you're asking."

Riyao swallowed the popcorn, casually stuffed the paper bucket into the void, dusted off his trousers, and jumped off the rock.

"It's only fair to reciprocate, right? You just captured our first leader, so as the guild representative and family member, it's only reasonable for me to tie you up in return, isn't it?"

Mavis nodded frantically behind him, his two tufts of hair on his head bobbing wildly, his face clearly showing he was enjoying the spectacle.

Zeref took half a step back.

Having lived for four hundred years, he spent most of his time as a bookworm researching dark magic and had little practical combat experience.

To make matters worse, the blond guy in front of him had eyes and a sneer that were ten times more ruthless than the black mage himself.

"Etc--"

"Wait my ass! Healing mages never waste time talking nonsense with their patients!"

The granite beneath Riyao's feet shattered into white powder with a loud bang!

There were no lengthy incantations, no flashing magic circles.

Before Zeref could even blink, Riyao's figure had already embedded itself in his defensive inner circle, and the iron fist, glowing with a dense green light, smashed out a ring of snow-white sonic boom in the air!

[Life Enchantment]

Thump--

The dull thud was like the muffled sound of battering rams striking a large bronze bell!

Zeref's handsome face twisted and contorted on the spot, his eyes bulging outwards, bloodshot.

That punch landed squarely on his stomach, the surging vitality colliding with the death energy within him, making his internal organs feel as if they had been forcibly stuffed into a high-speed blender!

The blast of air burst through his back and violently blasted out, causing the stone wall dozens of meters behind him to crack open with spiderweb-like craters!

"Ughhh!!"

The dark mage, who hadn't experienced physical pain for four hundred years, let out a shrill scream. He curled up on the ground like a boiled shrimp, his knees slamming into the gravel, clutching his stomach and retching violently.

Under extreme pain, the death energy within his body was passively unleashed!

[Death Hunt]

A pitch-black storm, as black as ink, suddenly expanded, and the moss and pebbles beneath our feet instantly turned to ash!

However, Riyao, standing right in the center, didn't even sway. He was enveloped in a layer of jade-like glass light, and the dead wind blowing against his face only ruffled a few strands of golden hair, without even scratching his skin.

"Is that all the strength you've got?"

Riyao reached behind him and pulled out the palm-sized golden Parasol bonsai.

The sapling grew taller as it faced the wind, and a dark bluish-black hole split open in its trunk, resembling a gaping mouth.

Riyao grabbed Zeref by the back of his collar and lifted the imperial emperor up like a dead dog, then chuckled and patted the tree bark.

"Your Majesty, it's windy outside and you might catch a cold. This tree is cool in summer and warm in winter. We're having a special event today, so please come in and stay in a private room."

Zeref's eyes rolled back, and he convulsed in pain, unable to utter a complete sentence.

With a flick of his wrist, Riyao stuffed Zeref whole into the tree hole, like packing luggage.

With a snap, the bark closed up perfectly, releasing a wisp of smoke as if letting out a burp.

Riyao patted the dust off his hands, turned his head with a kind expression, and looked at the little girl behind the big rock.

Mavis was so frightened that her hair stood on end. The two popcorns in her hand fell to the ground with a thud. She clutched her collar tightly with both hands and stammered as she shuffled backward.

"Wait... wait! Do I have to go in too?!"

"A family should be together, so come inside!"

"Help! -- Riyao is eating people!"

The screams stopped abruptly, the tree hollow opened and closed again, and the mountaintop returned to silence.

Riyao's smile never stopped; he was very satisfied with his performance.

"Now we just need one more to complete the family photo, oh wait, Natsu too."

The canopy of the trees beneath my feet swayed in the wind like ocean waves.

"Let's recruit August first. I'm such a good person; it would be a real shame if the guild didn't give me a banner of appreciation."