Just as she was dragged through the guild doors, Mirajane's face was as white as a block of ice freshly pulled from a snowbank outside of town. Even her tough, delinquent-girl act from earlier had vanished. She hid her blackened demon hand behind her back, her shoulders tense and rigid.
Riyao squeezed Mirajane's demon hand, giving her some encouragement.
Riyao grinningly draped Mirajane's blackened hand over his own shoulder, his elbow intentionally nudging her tense arm. His voice was full of playful teasing: "Oh come on, you're just upset because your hand looks like a freak's? Since when has this guild ever lacked freaks?"
He leaned toward the noisy crowd in the guild, counting people off on his fingers one by one, intentionally drawing out his words. He first pointed at Gray, who had just finished half an apple and was shirtless, wiping juice from the corner of his mouth: "The pervert who likes being half-naked!"
Gray had been nonchalantly wiping apple residue from his mouth, but upon hearing this, he instantly bristled: "Who are you calling a pervert! You bastard, Riyao!"
Riyao ignored Gray entirely. Instead, he turned to Natsu, who was squatting on a wooden table in the corner devouring roasted beef. He held up another finger and raised an eyebrow, teasing on purpose: "The idiot who claims to have a giant dragon for a dad."
The roasted beef in Natsu's mouth instantly sprayed half a meter, covering the table in front of Levy with breadcrumbs. He didn't even hear the word "idiot," jumping up and slamming the table as he shouted: "It's the truth! He really is my dad!"
Riyao continued counting on his fingers, getting more excited as he went, pointing at the people around him one by one: "The bookworm who spends all day gnawing on books, the red-haired one who wears armor and follows the rules every day, the two uncles who only ever talk about dirty jokes when they're together, and that one who's always stealing the Master's hundred-year-old vintage from the cellar."
Levy adjusted her glasses, her face instantly darkening; Macao and Wakaba glanced at each other and quickly looked away; Cana's hand, holding a wine cup, froze mid-air.
The faces of the surrounding guild members instantly darkened. Even Laxus, who was eating an apple in the corner, stopped moving.
Makarov, who was trying to maintain his dignity as the Master, had the corner of his mouth twitching around his cigar. His shoulders shook so hard his cape swayed, and he nearly swallowed his cigar while trying to stifle his laughter, his white beard shaking like a sieve.
Finally, Riyao pointed abruptly at Makarov and waved at Lisanna, who was peeking over curiously, winking at her: "See, Lisanna, this is the Giant of Light I was telling you about! Don't be fooled by his height; when he turns into a super giant, he can lift the entire guild hall up high!"
Makarov, whose face was already flushed from holding back laughter, suddenly stopped smiling. Throwing his dignity as Master to the wind, he charged forward on his short legs and gave Riyao a solid bonk on the head. Riyao let out a yelp and crouched on the ground, clutching his head. Then, Makarov grabbed him by the back of his collar and threw him into the noisy crowd like a sack of laundry.
The guild members instantly erupted. Natsu jumped over with a flaming fist, Gray chased after him with shards of ice, and Levy grabbed a magic book nearby and slammed it onto Riyao's back. Even Laxus came over to land a few kicks. Everyone swarmed around Riyao, beating him up.
Amidst the chaotic clatter, Makarov cleared his throat and began his persuasive talk with the three Mirajane siblings. Though he called it persuasion, it was actually just smooth-talking.
...
Mirajane looked at the freshly stamped Fairy Tail guild emblem and then at Riyao being pummeled in the middle of the crowd. She felt a bit tempted and, after hesitating for a long time, blurted out: "Um, can I go over and hit him a few times too?"
Makarov had just slipped to the guild entrance when he heard the commotion inside. His face went pale, fearing that this guy would pull out that dreaded Life Link - Modified magic again and bind himself to the whole guild to share the beating.
He nodded repeatedly like a chicken pecking at grain while clutching the hem of his Master's cape and scurrying toward the door. He didn't even dare to bend down to pick up the oak tankard that had just rolled past his feet. He nearly tripped over the threshold as he ran, muttering to himself, "I'm out of here, I'm out of here. Out of sight, out of mind."
Mirajane instantly revealed a mischievous smile. Clenching her blackened demon hand, she charged toward Riyao like an arrow released from a bow. She raised her fist, preparing to strike the back of his head, but after only a few steps, the guild members who had been surrounding him suddenly dispersed as if they had planned it.
Natsu scurried back to the corner training area with half an apple in his mouth, Gray grabbed his shirt and ducked behind the bar counter, and even the usually steady Levy hid behind the bookshelves with her book. One by one, they acted as if nothing had happened, not even daring to show their faces.
Riyao had just climbed up from the ground and was brushing the dust off his clothes when he glared unkindly at the charging Mirajane. "Mirajane! What do you think you're doing?!"
Mirajane's fist froze mid-air. Her blackened demon hand hung there as her face, which had been filled with the thrill of revenge, instantly slumped. She forced a smile, her fingertips curling slightly, and her voice softened like melting butterscotch: "...Um... my demon hand... does it look good?"
Seeing this, Riyao immediately straightened his back and struck a deeply affectionate pose. He reached out and grabbed Mirajane's demon hand, his fingertips intentionally brushing against the hot black markings. He spoke in a voice so tender it practically dripped with honey: "It looks very good. It's cool and handsome, it really suits you."
The guild members, who were just about to start jeering, instantly fell silent. The apple in Natsu's mouth fell to the ground with a "thud," the ice shards in Gray's hand shattered with a "clatter," and even Lisanna covered her mouth, her eyes wide.
But in the next second, Riyao grabbed Mirajane and gave her a solid shoulder throw. With a "thud," she slammed onto the padded floor. Everyone froze in place, even forgetting to breathe.
Mirajane was stunned for a full two and a half seconds before the dull pain in her backside made her realize what happened. She instantly bristled, scrambled up, and charged at Riyao with her demon hand clenched, her voice cracking with rage: "Ah! You bastard, Riyao! How dare you throw me!"
She chased Riyao around the guild hall, her fists raining down on his back. Natsu was the first to react, jumping in with a flaming fist to kick him while he was down. Gray followed suit, freezing Riyao's ankles. The once-tidy guild hall was instantly torn to pieces; wooden tables were flipped upside down, wine barrels rolled everywhere, and most of the glasses on the bar were shattered. It was even more chaotic than the group beating from before.
Makarov had originally slipped to the mouth of the alley by the guild entrance, fearing Riyao would pull out that dreaded Life Link - Modified magic. But as soon as he stopped, he heard the clattering and crashing of things being smashed inside, and even the ground began to shake.
Makarov's face turned green with anger. He immediately cast his Giant Magic to suppress this bunch of house-wrecking idiots. Standing in the corner, Lisanna understood what a "giant" was, but she didn't understand where the "light" Riyao mentioned was.
Out of the corner of his eye, Riyao noticed Lisanna's confused expression. He pointed to the top of his own head, then pointed to the reflective top of Makarov's enlarged head.
Makarov also noticed Riyao's little gesture. His already dark face turned even darker, and even his beard bristled.
Makarov called everyone involved in the brawl to come forward and made them sit in a row on their knees in the open space before him to receive a lecture. Natsu sat at the very front, clutching his stomach with the half-eaten apple still in his mouth; Gray had just put on his shirt and was sitting obediently; Mirajane was still glaring fiercely at Riyao, her fists clenched tight; Riyao, on the other hand, was grinning happily at Mirajane, looking incredibly smug.
"Mirajane, give me your hand for a moment," Riyao said to Mirajane, who was shrinking back.
"What do you want?!" Mirajane instinctively shrank back, asking warily.
Riyao reached out and grabbed Mirajane's blackened demon hand. Emerald-green healing magic lit up in his palm, slowly seeping into her arm and bit by bit adjusting the chaotic magic. As the emerald magic flowed, several faint cracking sounds came from Mirajane's arm.
Mirajane instinctively looked at her hand. The demon hand had returned to its original state, and even the previous heat had vanished. She was stunned for a moment, and then Riyao raised his head proudly, saying with a smug face: "How's that? Pretty impressive, right?"
"Didn't you say it was hard to solve?" Mirajane frowned, poking his arm and complaining.
"Don't focus on the wrong details," Riyao scratched his head, returning to his usual annoying self.
Mirajane lunged at him again in anger, and they started scuffling. Natsu and Gray quickly joined in to egg them on, and the whole hall became noisy once more. Who would have thought that this guy, who wrecked the guild every day and loved to act like a jerk, was actually an S-Class Mage of Fairy Tail.