Heart and Soul

Splash--

Several tabletop-sized pieces of amethyst were overturned, Riyao, covered in dust, crawled out of the pile of Magic Crystal rubble. He casually shook the crystal fragments out of his hair and looked up to see that the Black Dragon was being tightly entangled by Natsu and the others.

He rubbed his aching chest and grimaced.

"Ouch, that really hurts. It's been so long since I've been used as a punching bag and thrown around like that."

Since I can't gain the upper hand in a direct melee, I might as well go back to my old ways and become a fully automatic fountain-like healer.

He raised his hand, his fingers spread wide, and multiple layers of emerald green magic circles unfolded in his palm, aiming at Natsu and the others who were besieging the Black Dragon.

[Hymn of Life]

Buzz!

A dense, almost liquefied rain of emerald green light descended from the sky, precisely striking the foreheads of every Dragon Slayer present.

Natsu and the others, who had been shaken by the Black Dragon, felt a surge of heat explode through their limbs and bones, their sore muscles returned to normal, and they felt their physical abilities had improved significantly, allowing them to fight with even greater force.

Natsu clasped his fists together, and dark red dragon flames surged three feet, accompanied by an excited, strange cry.

"It's on fire!"

After applying all the buffs to the main damage dealers, Riyao's eyes darted around and spotted Cobra was still huddled in the corner, wringing his hands and watching the show.

Everyone's here bleeding and fighting for their lives, and you're just sitting in the back like an old man taking a stroll, eating sunflower seeds?

Riyao chuckled mischievously and pointed a finger at Cobra's forehead.

[Additional - Dragon Force]

A beam of green light splattered onto Cobra. Riyao had imbued the Cobra Cobra with the Dragon Force, clearly not wanting to give him an excuse to slack off.

Boom!

Cobra shuddered, feeling as if the second-generation dragon Magic Crystal inside him had been force-fed ten kilograms of strong liquor.

The raging dragon magic surged uncontrollably from his pores, instantly covering his arms with a layer of rugged, purplish-black dragon scales!

Cobra's lips twitched. He turned around and glared at the kind-faced Riyao. Now he couldn't pretend to be dead anymore. Helpless, he rushed forward and joined Natsu and the others in beating up the Black Dragon.

Facing a formidable lineup that had all activated Dragon Force and Soul Fusion Mode, Acnologia in the center of the arena showed no sign of panic. Instead, he fought with even more ferocity and savagery.

Facing Natsu's powerful Fire Dragon's Iron Fist, Acnologia didn't even dodge. He grabbed Natsu's fiery fist with his bare hands, his five fingers digging into the dragon scales like iron pincers!

Before Natsu could even pull his hand away, the Black Dragon grinned maliciously and twisted his waist, forcefully swinging Natsu like a human weapon, smashing him towards Gajeel and Laxus who were flanking from the side!

Bang! Boom!

The three of them collided like bowling pins, sending Gajeel and Laxus flying and rolling a long way away.

Immediately afterwards, Acnologia's cold, golden vertical pupils locked onto Cobra, who had just charged forward.

Cobra's ears twitched, and he heard Acnologia's inner voice indicating that its muscles were tense and it was about to rush over to attack him. He was so frightened that his soul almost left his body, and he hurriedly turned around to try to dodge, but unfortunately, his body's reaction speed was no match for the Black Dragon's burst of power!

Bang!!

With just one punch, a violent shockwave exploded in front of him. Before Cobra could even scream, he was firmly embedded in a thick Magic Crystal wall behind him, positioned in a perfectly standard star-shaped position.

Just as the Black Dragon withdrew its fist, two streaks of light, one black and one white, converged with a pink gust of wind in mid-air!

[Dragon Slayer Secret Art Technique: Holy Shadow Empty Fang Flash]

The Dragon Slayer Secret Art unleashed jointly by Sting, Rogue, and Wendy perfectly blended holy white light, deep shadows, and a violent wind that tore through the vacuum, transforming into a black and white spiral storm that swept towards Acnologia, causing the entire space to tremble violently.

Boom!

A dazzling ball of light exploded on the Black Dragon's body, and the blinding shockwave leveled all the crystal pillars within a radius of 100 meters!

Everyone was overjoyed to see that he hadn't dodged and had taken the full force of the Three Dragons Combined Attack.

Sting, panting heavily in mid-air, wiped the sweat from his brow, a hint of joy just beginning to appear on his face.

"Success! Even the Black Dragon, if it were to take this attack head-on, would..."

Sting's smile froze on his face before he could finish speaking.

Call--

The raging storm of light and shadow collapsed inward like a deflated balloon.

Everyone then saw Acnologia reveal himself, standing in the very center of the crater, opening his mouth wide, and sucking all the chaotic energy into his mouth like he was sucking on noodles.

He swallowed it with a gulp, and the Black Dragon's robes fluttered without any wind, leaving not a trace of scorch marks.

"Ha! After all this time, I can still taste such delicious Dragon Force! Haha..."

Acnologia spread his arms wide, threw his head back, and laughed wildly, a laugh so arrogant that it made everyone's eardrums buzz.

Sting and the others looked horrified, and a layer of cold sweat seeped out of their backs.

They knew the Black Dragon could devour magic of all attributes, but they didn't expect that the combined Dragon Slayer Secret Art of the three of them would only leave a few bloody scratches.

Riyao, though far away, didn't panic. He stroked his chin and squinted, carefully observing the fluctuations in Acnologia's aura.

"His magic power didn't surge, it seems he's already overeaten and his magic power is temporarily stored up. Or perhaps this is his spiritual body, and a surge in magic power wouldn't be directly reflected here."

As is well known, Dragon Slayer absorbs magic power of the corresponding attribute, not only will their own magic power be restored, but their strength will also increase dramatically in a short period of time.

This is also the most unreasonable aspect of the Extinction System. Other mages painstakingly consume magic power during their training, and then naturally absorb the magic power floating in the air to replenish themselves, gradually expanding their magic power source day by day.

Slayer Magic has the ability to devour, so it doesn't need to consume its own magic power. It only needs to keep devouring the corresponding attribute magic power to grow rapidly, like inflating a balloon, much faster than normal cultivation.

For example, Wendy mainly relies on consuming pure air to restore her magic. Even when she's not fighting, she inhales ordinary air with every breath, although the amount of restoration is very small.

But it's like being constantly training 24/7, so at such a young age he's already much stronger than many mages who have been training for over a decade.

The Black Dragon before them was even more formidable; it possessed Dragon Slayer Magic devoid of any elemental attribute. Having no elemental attribute meant it was compatible with all elements, whether it was fire, iron, or light and shadow—it accepted them all without discrimination.

Extremely shameless.

Cobra, who had just dug himself out of the Magic Crystal, heard these thoughts in Riyao's mind and spat out the crystal foam in his mouth while cursing inwardly how shameless this thing was.

Poison is a disadvantage!

As time ticked by, the main body of the Christina was making final preparations.

The Riyao Spirit Body exuded an alluring life force, and the connection between the physical body and the spirit body grew stronger and stronger, making the whole person seem like a piece of Tang Sanzang.

This pure, unadulterated vitality was, in Acnologia's eyes, ten times more delicious than that of an ordinary dragon, and far more fragrant than Zeref, who reeked of rotting corpses.

The Black Dragon in the center of the arena stopped laughing wildly, its golden vertical pupils suddenly locking onto Riyao, and the muscles in its ankles tensed to their limit in an instant!

"Riyao! Get out of the way!!"

Cobra had been listening intently like a radar, widened his eyes and shouted at Riyao with his throat sore.

However, the Black Dragon, now enraged, was significantly faster than before!

Riyao only had time to take a step back before he immediately raised his arms, covered in Azure Dragon scales, to cross and block.

The next second, a monstrous force powerful enough to shatter mountains slammed into him, and his entire body was thrown backward uncontrollably.

Acnologia gave no chance to catch his breath. With a push of his foot, he reappeared like a ghost directly above the flying Riyao, and swung his right leg high like a battle axe, slamming Riyao down from mid-air!

Boom--

The entire Magic Crystal ground collapsed with a roar, and spiderweb-like cracks spread for hundreds of meters, forming a huge crater in the center of the cave, with billowing dust rising into the sky.

When the dust settled, the scene that was revealed left the entire audience speechless.

Natsu gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot, and the others, seeing the horrific scene at the bottom of the pit, also showed expressions of horror and anger.

"Riyao!!"

In the very center of the crater, Riyao was pierced through the chest by Acnologia's large hand covered in deep blue dragon patterns.

A heart, radiating a dazzling emerald light, was pulled out and continued to beat in the Black Dragon's palm.

Acnologia greedily inhaled the powerful life force emanating from his palm, his face filled with cruel ecstasy.

"Haha, I'll accept this vitality."

Despite having a large hole in his chest, Riyao showed no sign of pain. Instead, he suddenly raised his head and grinned with a wicked grin.

"You wish!"

Riyao revealed a smile, his hands gripping the Black Dragon's hand that pierced his chest like iron hoops. All the remaining power in his body instantly locked the Black Dragon's joints, and Acnologia was unable to pull the arm out for a moment.

Everyone else had tears in their eyes and rushed over with all their might, disregarding everything else.

Just as Acnologia was about to shatter Riyao's arms, a figure Present Riyao like a ghost—it was Cobra, who had received Riyao's script in advance through mind reading!

Without a word, Cobra snatched the emerald heart from the tip of the Black Dragon's claw. As the core heart was taken away, Riyao's entire translucent spiritual body began to dissipate into a sky full of green light.

Natsu, who was at the forefront, was furious when he saw this, thinking that Cobra, had betrayed them at the last minute and was trying to steal their inheritance.

"Cobra! What are you doing?!" Natsu shouted angrily, his eyes wide with fury.

"Eat it!"

Cobra didn't bother arguing with him at all. He rushed in front of Natsu in one stride, taking advantage of the moment when Natsu opened his mouth to shout.

He swung his arm and shoved the heart, surging with a massive amount of life magic and dragon essence, into the chest like a piece of roasted meat, while also lifting the man's chin up!

Glug!

Cobra clapped his hands, looked at Natsu who was standing there dumbfounded, his magical power surging exponentially, and rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"That bastard made me do all of this. He said, 'The rest is up to you!'"