Jellal channeled his Celestial Magic, turning his body into a streak of golden starlight as he swiftly vanished from his spot.
A pillar of pitch-black flames blasted through the shield, scorching a massive charred crater into the ground.
Riyao clicked his tongue, looking disappointed.
"You actually dodged it, how boring. Don't you want to try and see if you can block it? That would have looked so much cooler."
Jellal stood a dozen meters away, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth and straightening his disheveled collar. Though he was in a sorry state, he still struggled to maintain his elegant posture.
"You can only talk big for now."
Riyao tilted his head, and just as he was about to continue the pursuit, he heard familiar footsteps behind him.
Mirajane and Erza had arrived.
Mirajane deactivated her Satan Soul, returning to her everyday appearance, though her body still bore the marks of battle.
Erza was fully armed, the sword in her hand glinting coldly, but her expression was complicated.
Seeing Mirajane, Riyao immediately dropped his demon form and hurried over. He cupped Mirajane's face in his hands, checking her from left to right, then pulled her arms up to inspect them over and over.
"You're not hurt, are you? Do you feel unwell anywhere?"
(((o(°▽°)o)))
Mirajane gave Riyao a sidelong glance and reached out to swat away the hands fumbling with her face.
"With your Life Link active, how could I get hurt? You, on the other hand, don't worry about yourself at all."
Riyao gave a cheeky grin and took Mirajane's hand, their fingers interlacing tightly.
Erza's gaze moved past Riyao and Mirajane, landing on Jellal.
Seeing Jellal again, she couldn't help but freeze for a moment, her sword-hand trembling slightly.
"Jellal..."
Her voice was soft, carrying eight years of longing, guilt, and anger—a mix so complex that even she couldn't distinguish one from the other.
Just as Jellal was about to speak, Riyao interrupted him. His tone was flat, but every word was like a nail driven into Jellal.
"Erza, someone implanted a fragmented demon consciousness in him to tamper with his mind. After all these years, it's long since merged with his own consciousness; there's no way to peel it away."
Erza's body shook slightly. She turned to look at Riyao, then back at Jellal.
Seeing Riyao expose his true face, Jellal's expression shifted several times before he finally stopped pretending.
He covered his eyes and let out a cackling laugh, his voice eerie and frenzied.
"Jiejiejie! This is all for Zeref! Resurrecting Zeref is the only reason for my existence!"
He lowered his hand, revealing a distorted face with a grin that stretched to his ears, completely devoid of his previous elegance.
"It's already too late. Etherion is ready!"
High in the sky, a massive magic circle had completely unfurled. It was several kilometers in diameter, covering the entire sky.
Complex runes were inscribed upon the magic circle, gathering a suffocatingly vast amount of magic power. The light dyed the sky in eerie colors.
While the group was in a standoff, a larger conspiracy was unfolding at the Council on the other side of the continent.
Ultear stood atop the ruins of the Council headquarters, the staff in her hand radiating the magic of time.
She activated the Arc of Time. The ancient magic weathered and collapsed the Council headquarters; the thousand-year-old building turned to dust under the erosion of time, crumbling like a sandcastle.
Ultear looked at the collapsing Council with a complex expression.
"Once things are finished here, I should go to Fairy Tail to see Ur. What is the truth?"
Although Ur's true identity hadn't been made public, Ultear was a woman who walked both the light and dark paths, and her intelligence-gathering capabilities were quite formidable.
While investigating Riyao, she had discovered Ur's existence—a person who should have been dead was now revived.
Deep down, Ultear hoped the truth was what she currently knew.
If Riyao knew Ultear was thinking this, he would definitely sue her for slander. This wasn't resurrection!
But she was also afraid that the revelation of the truth would make all her years of effort look ridiculous.
Etherion had already been fired before the Council collapsed.
A massive pillar of magical light descended from the heavens. The pillar was dozens of meters in diameter, illuminating the entire sea surface and even piercing through the distant clouds.
The light pillar struck the Tower of Paradise. The boundless magic power was frantically absorbed by the Lacrima in the tower's structure, and the entire tower began to change.
In the distance, the second wave of the Kingdom's army watched this scene with mouths agape, rendered speechless by the terrifying magical spectacle.
Back at the guild, Makarov had also received news from Yajima, his aged face full of anxiety.
He stood on the ruins, pacing back and forth, his hands clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white.
Thinking about it, he went to Riyao's manor to take a look. After jogging all the way there, he saw that the wutong tree was still lush and leafy without any abnormalities, which finally put his mind slightly at ease.
The wutong tree had a mysterious connection with Riyao; if the tree was fine, it meant Riyao was fine.
Under the infusion of Etherion, the entire tower became extremely magnificent. The originally pitch-black tower was now covered in Magic Crystals, reflecting rainbow-colored light like a crystal palace standing upon the sea.
The Magic Crystals contained boundless magic power, with flowing light spreading across the entire tower like blood vessels.
Riyao reached out to touch the Magic Crystals on the tower wall, feeling the surging magic power inside and clicking his tongue in wonder.
"So this is the R-System? It can swallow such a massive amount of magic, though it doesn't seem very stable."
He tapped the Magic Crystal, and a humming echo came from within, like a beating heart.
Jellal spread his arms and looked up at the now incredibly magnificent Tower of Paradise, laughing loudly with a frenzied and triumphant cackle.
"Hahahaha! What a beautiful creation! This is the true form of the R-System!"
While Jellal was still intoxicated by the sight, Riyao, Erza, and Mirajane shared a look.
Without needing any words, the three of them moved simultaneously.
[Enchantment Magic: Magic Augmentation]
Riyao's claws were wreathed in Ink Flame. Black flames danced at his fingertips as he lunged for Jellal's face.
Mirajane took over her Satan Soul. Purple demonic armor covered her body as her claw-blades carved a sharp arc, slashing toward Jellal's waist.
Erza gripped her sword with both hands, having swapped into her Black Wing Armor. The black blade, carrying armor-piercing power, cleaved straight toward the top of Jellal's head.
The three coordinated perfectly, attacking simultaneously from three directions, unleashing a frantic barrage on Jellal.
Riyao led the frontal assault, Mirajane flanked him, and Erza watched for an opening to strike. Their cooperation was so seamless it was as if they had rehearsed it countless times.
Jellal was, after all, one of the Ten Wizard Saints recognized by the Council. His true strength was quite terrifying, nowhere near as pathetic as depicted in the anime.
Even under the three-way siege, he remained at ease. Celestial Magic formed a rotating shield around him, and seven starlights transformed into offensive measures, precisely blocking every single attack from the trio.
At the very least, he wasn't someone the current Natsu could handle.
Natsu could trade a few blows if he entered his Dragon Force state, but his magic capacity was ultimately his shortcoming; he simply couldn't win a battle of attrition.