Ankh glanced sideways at Erza and indeed saw her wearing an incredibly confused expression.
Erza seemed to sense a special bloodline connection from the imposing woman standing before her.
Irene withdrew her hand.
The Life God Power circulated perfectly within Dimaria's body to nourish and heal her, gradually restoring her calm breathing.
Someone who had already been sent to hell was forcefully brought right back to life!
Ankh became even more certain of the woman's identity.
Irene's beautiful face revealed a faint smile as she narrowed her eyes and said, "She is a future genius of the Alvarez Empire. She cannot die here like this."
Erza remained completely lost in confusion, while Mirajane and Ultear cautiously gathered their Magic Power.
Ankh stared directly into Irene's eyes as dark death energy rising from his hand, and sighed.
"Another troublesome enemy..."
Yet Irene showed absolutely no hostility on her face.
Instead, she walked toward him with a gentle smile.
That terrifying Magic Power, strong enough to stir the seas themselves, swept over them.
Mirajane and Ultear, standing right beside Ankh, broke out in a cold sweat.
In their perception, the Magic Power casually emanating from this single woman far surpassed that of Guild Master Makarov and Hades combined.
Erza's breathing grew rapid as she stubbornly watched the increasingly familiar face approaching, her thoughts turning to mush.
However, what truly surprised Ankh was that since her appearance, Irene hadn't properly looked at Erza even once.
This deeply puzzled Ankh—Irene shouldn't fail to recognize her own daughter, given they both carried the Divine Power "anti-counterfeit mark" within their bodies.
Was she deliberately ignoring her? It seemed Irene had indeed actively abandoned Erza...
While lost in thought, Irene had already approached.
She raised her eyes, carefully examining Ankh's appearance, and said gently.
"I didn't expect the God Successor who defeated Dimaria to be so young as well. I apologize to your guild and for the harm caused to it."
Ankh frowned.
Was she mistaking him for a God Successor?
She must be pretending...
Ankh didn't believe this inheritor of the Life God Power wouldn't immediately recognize the original Divine Power within him, nor his name.
Moreover, her tone was too polite, completely different from Dimaria's sadistic attitude.
Did she think she couldn't afford to offend them and wanted to avoid a conflict?
'That couldn't be right.'
'Judging by her raw strength, she is incredibly powerful—in a real fight, I wouldn't be confident of a certain victory...'
Yet Irene did exactly that.
Though she offered no material compensation, her attitude of apology was entirely sincere.
She removed the large black witch hat from her head, placed it gently over her chest, and bowed to Ankh with noble grace.
Without her hat, Irene seemed slightly less imposing.
With her long scarlet hair fully revealed, she appeared pure yet highly sensual—it was hard to imagine this was someone from over four hundred years ago...
Watching Irene's lowered head, Ankh hesitated for a moment before replying, "Since you have apologized, could you please withdraw from this island?"
Whatever the case, Ankh had Erza and the others with him right now.
If they fully engaged in battle with Irene and the girls got caught in the crossfire, it would be disastrous.
In a direct clash of Divine Powers, Ankh couldn't guarantee what might happen.
The top priority was to leave Tenrou Island first.
Beneath her lowered face, safely hidden by her crimson hair, Irene's eyes revealed a fleeting trace of loneliness.
But she quickly returned to normal, lifting her head and speaking gently.
"Of course. I will order them to withdraw immediately."
Hearing Irene agree so readily, Ankh felt a tremor in his heart—this group must have already achieved their true goal...
Just then, Erza finally couldn't hold back anymore.
Staring at the painfully familiar face before her, she urgently asked.
"Um... excuse me, do we know each other?"
Hearing Erza's voice, Irene turned her head for the first time to face Erza directly.
However, Irene completely abandoned the pleasant demeanor she had shown during her conversation with Ankh.
Her exquisite face now revealed coldness, fierceness, and a trace of deeply painful struggle.
It was incredibly hard to imagine these complex emotions appearing when a mother faced her own daughter.
Irene forcibly suppressed the negative emotions raging in her heart, deliberately speaking in a flat, cold tone.
"We do not know each other."
She had once strongly considered eliminating the person before her, using her magic to steal her body and start a completely new, happy life, but... she ultimately restrained her mad impulses, abandoning her daughter to let her live before she could commit to that cruel decision.
Erza's eyes instantly lost their light.
She lowered her head, making her expression unreadable, only allowing a soft murmur to be heard.
"I see... sorry..."
Ankh looked at Erza, then at Irene, his frown deepening.
He felt this family drama was becoming increasingly complicated...
Though he didn't understand the exact reasons, he knew that even honest officials couldn't perfectly settle family disputes, and foolish rulers only blindly favored their own people...
Therefore, Ankh decisively stood by Erza's side, putting his arm securely around her shoulder and blocking Irene's line of sight before speaking softly.
"Let's go first, Erza. Everyone is still waiting for us."
Erza raised her eyes to gaze at Irene's turned back, then silently nodded.
As the footsteps behind them gradually faded away, Irene slowly walked back to Dimaria's side, letting out a long, trembling sigh.
This trip to Tenrou Island had brought very few good news, but plenty of painful matters...
"Enchant: Float."
Irene lightly tapped her staff on the ground.
Dimaria's body emitted a faint red glow before levitating smoothly into the air.
Staring at the oppressive sky heavily covered with dark clouds, Irene narrowed her eyes and whispered with a grave expression.
"The real disaster is coming..."
After speaking, a water-blue Magic Crystal ball materialized in Irene's hand, its transparent surface showing several blurry images.
Irene quickly issued commands to the crystal ball.
"Cease pursuit of Fairy Tail. Our mission is concluded. All troops and warriors prepare to return to the warship."
Several voices in the crystal ball's communication channel responded to Irene's command:
"Yes!"
Amid the unified, disciplined responses, one restless voice stood out: "Lady Irene, please! Just give me ten more minutes, and I'll have their airship..."
"Ajeel!" Irene's tone instantly intensified, incredibly cold and imposing. "Either return on your own, or I will come personally to bring back your corpse!"
The crystal ball fell into dead silence, the absolute fear and panic from the other side palpable even through the magical channel.
"Yes..."
The promptly subdued Ajeel didn't fully understand why Irene was so furious, but could only respond in quiet obedience.
The crystal ball returned to silence.
Irene turned to gaze once more at the exact spot where Ankh and the others had disappeared, then walked smoothly across the rolling waves toward the warship, bringing the floating Dimaria along with her.
At that moment, the dark clouds in the sky seemed to be forcibly drawn by something, swirling madly to form a massive black vortex.
It felt as if some terrifying monster was about to emerge from the sky.
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