Acnologia withdrew his perception. Ur's soul had originally turned into ice and then shattered into the sea; as for whether she was dead, she probably wasn't.
However, he had now enchanted Ur's soul onto Irene's magic staff, sealing it temporarily. He would find a way to get her a normal human body later.
After a few brief instructions to Irene, Acnologia entered another period of secluded meditation. When he woke again, his soul would be even stronger than his physical body.
Irene looked at the silent Acnologia with a wicked smile on her face, quickly moving him onto the bed.
This bad man always likes to be on top; now it's her turn to ride him!
As for saying she wouldn't do anything before... Heh, how can you take a woman's words seriously?
The wheels of time continued to roll, arriving at July 7, X777.
On this day, Irene pushed open the door. Sunlight shone on her cheeks, revealing a hint of rosiness.
She looked back at the naked man spread-eagled on the bed, her eyes smiling as she extended a long finger and gently pressed it against her red lips: "Bad man, wait for me to come home, okay!"
Having said that, she gently closed the door and looked up at the sky, turning into a streak of scarlet light that disappeared into the horizon in an instant... The sky was dim now, and the sun was gradually being obscured.
A dignified blonde woman walked up to the Eclipse Gate, holding a book in her hand as she murmured softly, "According to the records left by my ancestors, if the gate is opened in an era of abundant magic power, people from the past will come to the present world. The Day of the Eclipse is exactly today."
"Opening the gate requires the twelve zodiac keys, but the only problem is that the Aquarius key is in Grammi's hands. She has gone to the Western Continent and has yet to return, so I can only use my own magic power and life force to supplement it."
A smile appeared on Layla Heartfilia's face. "It's better if this mission of the Eclipse Gate ends with me. My child won't have to keep watch anymore and can freely choose her own life."
With a wave of her hand, eleven gold keys flew into the sky, spinning and blooming with brilliant light that illuminated the heavens.
"Open, Eclipse Gate!"
With a call, the long-sealed metal gate let out a rumbling sound, and a ray of dazzling light burst from the gap in the door.
However, because there were only eleven zodiac keys, it lacked sufficient power.
"As expected, it's not working..."
Layla Heartfilia sighed softly and pressed both hands against the Eclipse Gate, the magic power in her entire body beginning to surge.
As one of the top Celestial Spirit Mages of the current era, she could easily be rated at the Wizard Saint level. At this moment, golden magic power burst forth, pouring endlessly into the Eclipse Gate.
Though it was still not enough, she had long been prepared; next would be her life force.
However, just then, a cool voice rang in her ear.
"Enchantment: Magic Power!"
Boom!
A terrifying amount of magic power poured into her body, endless and unstoppable.
She was horrified. What terrifying magic power! Who on earth was helping her?
It was at least at the level of the Four Gods of Ishgar!
But now was not the time for such thoughts. She erupted her magic power once more, and this time the magic was so dense that it changed the color of the sky and earth, stealing the light from the sun and moon.
A heavy rumbling sound echoed, and the Eclipse Gate was finally fully opened!
Layla looked at the scarlet-haired woman who had suddenly appeared beside her, her face filled with gratitude. "Thank you for your help just now, otherwise I might have had to fill the gap with my life force."
The scarlet-haired woman was none other than Irene!
"It is I who should thank your family!"
Irene suppressed her excitement and looked at the gate blooming with white light.
Layla was confused, but before she could say anything, a blonde woman with a ponytail walked out with six children, and the children immediately turned into streaks of light and flew toward the horizon.
"Hmm?"
Irene's gaze narrowed as she sensed her daughter's aura, instantly turning into a streak of light to give chase.
After everyone had walked out, the Eclipse Gate slowly closed, and the zodiac keys returned to Layla's hands.
Layla looked at the woman who looked seventy percent like herself and asked in confusion, "Who are you?"
"Anna Heartfilia."
Layla was startled. "You are my ancestor, Anna?"
She hurriedly handed the book and the eleven gold keys to Anna, saying, "I am your descendant. Today, I opened the Eclipse Gate exactly according to the instructions you left behind for an era of abundant magic power."
Anna saw there were only eleven keys and looked at Layla, asking in confusion, "With only eleven keys, how did you open the Eclipse Gate?"
Was the magic power of her descendants really this strong? To open the gate without even collecting all the keys?
Layla explained where the missing key was and then said, "It was thanks to that scarlet-haired Mage just now. If not for her, I would have been using my life force to open the gate."
Anna had seen that scarlet-haired woman just now, and she looked remarkably like Queen Irene, who had entrusted Little Erza to her.
Could it be another descendant of Queen Irene?
She didn't consider that Irene might have lived until now; in her understanding, only dragons and Zeref possessed such long lifespans.
Anna's face showed a hint of guilt. "I've really put you all through a lot of trouble!"
For her, it was just a matter of closing and opening her eyes, but for her descendants, it was a lifelong commitment.
A smile appeared on Layla's face. "You don't need to blame yourself. It's all over now. Because you established the family, we descendants didn't suffer much."
She didn't blame her ancestor. From the ancestral records, she knew clearly how terrifying that era was, where people lived in the morning and died by evening, and everyone was searching for a way to end the war.
Anna asked, "What year is it now? Is the Human-Dragon War over?"
She didn't sense the aura of any dragons, and the scene before her was peaceful—a world of difference from her own era. The magic power here was also surprisingly abundant.
Layla said, "It is now July 7, X777. The Human-Dragon War ended four hundred years ago, likely shortly after you opened the Eclipse Gate."
"At that time, seventy percent of the human race was killed by Evil Dragons. At the final moment, Acnologia and Queen Irene slaughtered their way through the dragon swarms, exterminating all Evil Dragons. But because the war was so tragic, the human race in Ishgar was almost extinct."
"Later, Acnologia and Queen Irene disappeared. The human race went through decades of development before slowly recovering."
Their family had continued from four hundred years ago to the present, so they naturally had detailed historical records.
After listening to her account, Anna mused, "So, Acnologia and Queen Irene were the saviors of that time?"
Layla nodded hesitantly. "Perhaps. But Acnologia went crazy for a while, not only hunting down every last Evil Dragon but not sparing the human race either. In that terrifying war, fought until the heavens collapsed and the earth split, ordinary people were too small and couldn't distinguish between good and evil at all."
"Except for the Kingdom of Fiore, which has always recorded Acnologia as a hero, other kingdoms have mixed reviews of Acnologia and Queen Irene, eventually crowning them with the titles of world-ending dragon king and scarlet despair."
"However, I believe their merits outweigh their faults because the world was ultimately saved by them. If not for them, there would be no peaceful future for us!"
----------------------------------
I've already posted 40 new chapters on Patreon!
If you like the story and want to reaad more, please visit my patreon. Every support is very meaningful!
[patreon.com/Kazenova223]
Thank you very much!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"