Irene Left Alone

Wood chips and pebbles flew everywhere in the clearing in the woods.

Erza pushed off the ground with her feet, lowering her body as she charged forward.

The Edgeless wooden sword in her hand, covered with the dragon's might, slashed through the air with a piercing sound, heading straight for Irene's ribs.

Clang! Clang!

Irene stood still, not even moving her feet.

The antler staff twirled halfway in her palm, then lightly tapped the side of the wooden sword.

The two seemingly casual taps carried a heavy force.

The shock traveled along the blade into Erza's wrist, numbing her hand and sending her flying backward. She barely managed to regain her footing after sliding across the grass, leaving two muddy tracks, her throat filled with the taste of rust.

On a tree branch, Riyao crunched the roasted broad bean in his mouth and spat the shell into the mud.

"Alright, Erza, stop now."

Riyao patted the crumbs off his palm and shouted down to the crowd.

"Your skills are barely enough to beat up an ordinary Ten Wizard Saints. Trying to hack and slash your own mother is like giving an old woman a back massage; save your energy."

Erza knelt on one knee, panting heavily, her bangs sticking to her cheeks with sweat.

She raised her head, her spirited eyes blazing with fury, and glared at the treetop through gritted teeth.

"You were squatting there watching for a full half hour! Why didn't you call for backup sooner?!"

"You just don't understand, do you?"

Riyao looked serious and waved a finger in the air.

"Erza, don't worry, I'll get you some help."

Why didn't you do it sooner!?

"It's better to play slowly than to break the rules."

"???"

"Establish the rules first, and the road ahead will become wider and wider."

"If you keep talking nonsense, when we get back, I'll keep Mira talking about it for several nights!"

"Hey, why can't you take a joke? It's all to avoid getting a heart attack."

The two of them chatted back and forth, while Irene, standing opposite them, listened with her eyes narrowed.

The tall, scarlet-haired woman rested one hand on her antler staff, her crimson eyes sweeping over Riyao's face before settling back on her daughter's pretty face, which was flushed with anger.

"Oh dear... my silly daughter, you haven't gone astray in matters of the heart, have you? It's not that I can't accept you being someone else's..."

"Shut up!"

Erza's entire face instantly turned as red as a boiled lobster, even the base of her ears turned bright red.

In a fit of rage, she drew her wooden sword, unleashing a burst of violent magic once more.

"What nonsense are you spouting! Take this!!"

With a bang, Erza transformed into a red shadow and charged forward again, her sword strikes even more chaotic than before, clearly driven mad by anger.

Riyao sighed and shook his head in the tree.

The thought processes of this mother and daughter are definitely not those of normal humans.

He looked down and calculated the time outside.

Gildarts smashed a street with a single punch, and the main force of the Imperial Army was already routed.

Neinhart, that unlucky fellow, was cornered by Makarov, Laxus, and Mirajane, and had a friendly chat with them, his face getting slapped three times its normal size.

Natsu had just been airdropped back by himself and was still arguing with Gray over who got the kill.

In their home turf of the Forest Sea of All Creation, none of the Fairy Tail members would suffer any losses. The ones who should be praying to the gods and Buddhas to avoid a terrible death are these invaders from the Western Continent.

"Alright, time's up, let's call it a day."

Riyao put away his playful smile and looked down at the small golden Parasol Tree in his palm.

Smack

He snapped his fingers.

The ground trembled violently, and large swathes of the dense forest that covered an area of dozens of miles began to blur.

Countless thick, green giant trees transformed into countless emerald light spots that danced in the sky, whistling as they merged into the Parasol in his palm.

The misaligned space was reassembled and leveled, and the forest barrier was completely dispelled.

Having supported such a large high-level spatial domain, Riyao stood on the newly exposed ground without even panting, his complexion as rosy as if he had just soaked in a hot spring.

When the green light dissipated, the battlefield revealed plunged Irene's heart into despair.

Looking around, the imperial army lay dead on the ground, groans echoing everywhere.

The Spriggan 12 were either dead or wounded; some were dead, others captured. The legion that had once swept across the Western Continent was now like a vegetable field plowed by wild boars.

The most crucial thing was that, in the entire imperial camp, only Irene was still standing upright.

Irene suddenly turned her head to look at the command platform at the top of the cliff.

It's empty.

There was no trace of His Majesty Zeref, and even the magic of the Sorcerer King August had completely evaporated.

She pursed her lips and glanced again at Neinhart, who was sprawled in the mud a few hundred meters away, his handsome face swollen like a pig's head.

"So... in this vast empire, I'm the only one left all alone?"

Congratulations, you got it right!

Riyao jumped down from the tree stump and gave her a bright smile and a thumbs-up.

"Ms. Irene persevered to the final round of the grand finale and won the 'Lone Wolf Award'!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a tall, slender, and gentle figure, carrying the familiar scent of lavender, rushed up from the side and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Riyao ~"

Mirajane smiled and pressed her face against his chest, her white hair falling over her shoulders, her eyes so tender they could melt water.

"Where did you go slacking off? That guy who used the Phantom Magic of the Dead was so much fun! He conjured up all the enemies we'd encountered before to greet us, and we all had a blast fighting him."

"I know, I've been watching you the whole time. You were the worst player there. Those big shoe marks on Neinhart's face were all your doing, weren't they?"

Mira's smile froze slightly.

Oh dear... you saw everything?

Her eyes narrowed into dangerous slits, and her jade-like hand, which was wrapped around the back of Riyao's neck, slowly slid down, precisely pinching a small piece of soft flesh on his lower back. With a flick of her fingertips, she twisted it hard half a turn.

"Since you've been watching all this time... why didn't you come find me sooner? Hmm?!"

"Ouch! It hurts! Mira, have mercy! I'm going to die! I'm going to die!"

Riyao immediately began to wail in an extremely exaggerated manner, forcing out two crocodile tears from the corners of his eyes.

Mira let go of his hand in annoyance and glared at him.

Riyao rubbed his lower back and chuckled foolishly twice.

With his current physical strength and passive healing, the pain receptors were immediately repaired by divine magic as soon as they were stimulated; it was purely a matter of muscle memory from flirting.

Riyao put away his playful thoughts, supporting the Parasol, and looked at Irene, whose face was solemn.

"Mira, I'll go deal with the last of the Spriggan 12 first."

Buzz!

A flash of emerald green spatial ripples, and Riyao and Irene vanished from their original positions, disappearing into a completely enclosed subspace barrier.

Mira looked at the empty meadow, sighed softly, and shook her head.

"Honestly... always so secretive. I'll settle the score with you when we get back to the guild."

With a whoosh.

A narrow crack appeared in the void, and a hand swiftly reached out, shoving a thick, heavy book—exuding a dark and ominous aura and bearing the three large, dark red "E·N·D" characters on its cover—into Mira's arms.

The Riyao's voice came from the crack.

"Mira! Give this black book to Lucy! Tell her it's time for her to unleash her incredible talent as a third-rate novelist!"

Bang! The crack closed.

In the subspace, gray fog churned, and all was silent.

Riyao, holding the small tree radiating gentle vitality in his hands, walked step by step towards Irene like an unscrupulous peddler selling fake insurance, a warm, professional smile on his face.

"Ms. Irene, I have a great painless relief program for you. Would you like to participate?"

"What project? It doesn't sound very friendly to me."

"Take a deep breath; dizziness is normal."

The Parasol Tree in Riyao's hand transformed into a spear and pierced Irene's heart, Irene life to quickly fade away.

"Don't cause trouble. Just obediently flow into the Parasol Tree with that pull, and don't attach your soul to me."

"You know... quite a lot. Considering you've been somewhat kind to my daughter... I'll trust you this once..."