Mirajane was extremely anxious on the shore. She stood on the reef, her eyes fixed intently on the direction of the Tower of Paradise, her hands gripping her skirt tightly, her knuckles turning white.
The light from the explosion had dissipated, but Riyao's figure had yet to appear; only churning waves and floating debris remained on the sea.
She wanted to go back and check if Riyao was okay, but each time, Erza pulled her back.
Erza held Mirajane's hand, attempting to comfort her, but her tone was uncertain, and her voice carried a trace of trembling.
"Mira, don't worry, Riyao is definitely fine. He's so strong..."
She didn't continue, because even she didn't quite believe those words herself.
That explosion was too terrifying; the destructive power of the entire Etherion's magic was too shocking. Who could guarantee they could walk away unscathed in such a situation?
Lucy and the others also spoke up to offer comfort, but everyone's face was filled with worry.
"Riyao is so amazing, he'll definitely be fine."
"He is Riyao, after all. What kind of storms hasn't he seen?"
Happy hugged his own tail and muttered quietly.
"Natsu hasn't even woken up yet. What if something happened to Riyao too?"
Juvia clasped her hands together, muttering under her breath.
"Lord Water God, please bless Lord Riyao with a safe return. Juvia hasn't gotten Lord Gray's post-bath photo yet."
Just as the atmosphere grew increasingly heavy, a large wave crashed toward the shore, the crest a full two meters high, churning with white foam.
Everyone subconsciously took a step back, and then, a figure slid down from the crest of the wave on a surfboard, his posture as dashing as if he were on vacation.
Riyao stood on the surfboard, his Azure Dragon form not yet fully faded. His ink-green long hair fluttered in the sea breeze, his dragon horns shimmered with a jade light, and his dragon tail swung leisurely behind him.
He stood with his hands on his hips, a brilliant smile on his face, and his voice echoed in the sea breeze.
"Ta-da! I'm back! Mira!"
° ˖ ✧ ︎ ◝ ︎ ( ⁰ ▿ ︎ ⁰ ) ◜ ︎ ✧ ︎ ˖ °
Mirajane's eyes turned red instantly. She rushed over and threw herself into Riyao's arms, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist with such force that it was as if she wanted to merge him into her own body.
"You're back too late." Her voice was muffled, carrying a trace of grievance and lingering fear, her shoulders trembling slightly.
Riyao held Mirajane, one hand gently stroking her head, his voice as soft as if he were coaxing a child.
"Sorry, I played a bit too hard. I won't do it next time."
Mirajane rubbed against him in his arms, not speaking, just burying her face deeper.
Gray, Lucy, Juvia, and Happy gathered around, asking Riyao all sorts of questions, and the originally heavy atmosphere suddenly became lively.
Happy flew to the top of Riyao's head, grabbed Riyao's dragon horn with his little paws, and took a bite.
"Riyao, are these real dragon horns? They're so hard!"
Riyao tilted his head, and Happy, on the dragon horn, swayed along with it. "Real, don't bite, it tickles."
Gray unceremoniously reached out to touch the dragon-scale-covered area on Riyao's arm, feeling the texture of the scales, then manifested an ice dagger and poked the dragon scales.
"This is so hard, much harder than my ice. My Ice-Make magic can't even pierce it."
Riyao swatted away Gray's ice dagger.
"Stop poking. Those are my scales, not your experimental materials."
Juvia stood to the side, holding her face with both hands, looking like a lovestruck fan, watching the scene of Riyao holding Mirajane, her mind already wandering into wild fantasies.
She imagined that the two people hugging now were herself and Gray, that Lord Gray was gently stroking her head, and she was snuggling in Lord Gray's arms, acting coquettish.
"Hehehe..."
Lucy looked at this bunch of unreliable people, then at the intimate scene of Riyao and Mirajane, and facepalmed, complaining.
"Can you guys read the room? The romantic atmosphere is completely gone."
Natsu also woke up at this moment; he rubbed his eyes and climbed up from the bottom of the boat, his first sight being the ink-green dragon tail behind Riyao, which was swinging leisurely back and forth.
"Wow! A dragon tail!"
Natsu's eyes lit up. He rushed over as if he had seen a new toy, reaching out to grab the dragon tail to take a look.
The dragon tail seemed to have a mind of its own; it whipped suddenly, giving Natsu a slap across the face and swatting him away.
Natsu flipped twice in the air and landed with a thwack on the beach, a clear dragon-tail mark printed on his face.
"So painful! How can your tail hit people!"
Riyao shrugged: "It has a mind of its own."
On the other side, Erza, Simon, and the others gathered around the surfboard.
The surfboard was not an ordinary surfboard, but Jellal encased in a Magic Crystal.
Jellal was sealed within the semi-transparent Magic Crystal, his face pale, his body covered in charred scars.
Sho, Wally, and Millianna looked at Jellal sealed in the Magic Crystal, all gnashing their teeth, wishing they could drag Jellal out and hack him into pieces.
Sho's fists clenched until they rattled, his voice filled with hatred.
"Jellal!!!"
Wally's blocky body was trembling, his fist pounding into his palm.
"You lied to us for eight years! Eight years!"
Although Millianna was usually Happy-go-lucky, her eyes were red at this moment, and her face under her cat-ear headband was filled with grievance and anger.
Erza and Simon's emotions were relatively stable, though their faces both wore complex expressions.
Erza looked at Jellal sealed in the Magic Crystal—the one who was once her most trusted partner, now reduced to this state—and felt a mixture of emotions.
Simon looked at Jellal in silence, his fists clenching and unclenching, unclenching and clenching.
Erza turned to look at Riyao and asked, "Is Jellal still alive?"
Riyao pondered for a moment, let go of Mirajane, walked to the side of the surfboard, bent over to check Jellal's condition, and then straightened up.
"He has one breath left. I don't know if it will be the real Jellal or that demonic consciousness that wakes up."
Simon caught the key point and pressed, "Demonic consciousness?"
Erza took over, briefly explaining the situation Riyao had described earlier at the top of the tower.
"According to what Riyao said earlier, Jellal was invaded by a fragmented demonic consciousness and manipulated by someone to do all of this. His current consciousness may have already merged with the demonic consciousness and cannot be separated."
Hearing this, Sho suddenly looked up, his voice sharp and angry.
"Even if he was manipulated, can the things he did before be forgiven?! What about those who died because of the R-System?! What about those who were enslaved for eight years?!"
His voice echoed along the shore, carrying eight years of grievance and anger.
The other three had the same expression; they had been deceived by Jellal for eight years, treating Jellal as their hope, only for everything to be a lie.
Erza's mood was complex; she lowered her head, not knowing what to say.
She understood Sho's anger, but Jellal was also a victim, having had a demonic consciousness implanted in him and losing his self.
Riyao looked at Erza's troubled expression, thought for a moment, and helped her reply, "What about the evil deeds you committed when you were deceived before?"
His tone was not heavy, but every word was like a hammer striking the hearts of Sho, Wally, and Millianna.
Wally spoke up in defense.
"But we didn't do it on purpose..."
Halfway through his sentence, he froze.
He suddenly realized, what was the difference between his situation and Jellal's? They were deceived by Jellal and did many bad things.
Jellal was controlled by the demonic consciousness and also did many bad things.
None of them did it on purpose, but the harm had already been done.
Wally couldn't continue, a painful expression appearing on his blocky face.
Riyao sighed, his tone complex.
"You haven't suffered these years either, and you can be considered beneficiaries; you have no standing to judge Jellal's actions."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone present, finally landing on Erza.
"Hand Jellal over to the Council for detention. If he wakes up one day and it's his true self, let him atone for his sins and ask for forgiveness from every suffering victim."
"If it's that fragmented demonic consciousness, then you can take revenge without any psychological burden."
Everyone fell silent.
The sea breeze blew past, carrying the salty, damp air and the sound of distant thunder; no one spoke.
Should the sins under the lies be forgiven? Should the evil acts committed under control be judged? When a victim becomes a perpetrator, how should it be judged?
These questions have no standard answer; everyone has a different scale in their heart.
Riyao looked at the silent crowd and didn't say anything more.
Some things cannot be solved by reason alone; they need time to digest and reconcile.
He turned and walked back to Mirajane, reaching out to hold her hand.
Mirajane held his hand back, fingers interlaced, silently conveying warmth.