— — — — — —
Time passed by little by little, and night gradually fell.
Natsu, Lucy, and Happy were already asleep, while Gray was deep in thought, lost in memories. Meanwhile, Kitaro was still studying magic.
BOOM!
"What's that sound?"
"Is it nighttime already?"
"Look at the ceiling!"
"It's opening!"
At that moment, a hole appeared in the ceiling above the underground chamber. A beam of violet moonlight shone down through it, landing directly on Deliora.
"The moonlight shining on Deliora... this isn't a coincidence! Let's go find the source of that light."
The group followed a staircase to the first floor, where they saw the light streaming down from above. They climbed further up the stairs, all the way to the top.
At the summit of the ruins, they saw a crowd of people dressed in what appeared to be cultist robes performing some kind of ritual. They chanted an unknown incantation, drawing the moonlight down to them.
"These guys are actually gathering moonlight!"
"What could they possibly want with Deliora by doing this?!"
"We've got company!"
"Hide quickly!"
A few people approached, including the three individuals they'd seen earlier that day near Deliora's chamber.
"Damn it, I didn't sleep during the day, and now I'm so tired."
"Ughhh…"
"And we still haven't found the intruders."
"This is disappointing. We detected intruders earlier today, but they seemed to have escaped. I wasn't able to express my love properly."
"Intruders…"
The man wearing the horned mask spoke calmly.
"How's the preparation for reviving Deliora coming along?"
Sherry replied, "At this rate, it'll be done by tonight or tomorrow."
"So it's almost ready. There shouldn't be anyone on this island except the villagers at the edges. While I'm not a fan of bloodshed, I can't tolerate intruders meddling here. Go destroy that village for me."
"Yes, sir!"
"What?!"
"They have nothing to do with this!"
Natsu couldn't hold it in any longer. "That's it! I can't hide anymore! The intruders you're looking for are right here!"
Natsu roared as a blazing stream of fire erupted from his mouth, drawing everyone's attention.
"That emblem... They're from Fairy Tail!"
Sherry recognized the guild emblem on Natsu's shoulder. As former legal guild mages, she and her companions were familiar with many guild insignias.
"So that's how it is. The villagers must've requested help from Fairy Tail."
The appearance of Fairy Tail meant someone had issued a quest. Apart from the village, there was no one else on this island who could've done so.
"What are you waiting for? Go destroy the village!"
"Huh?"
"Why?"
Lucy and Natsu were confused. They were the intruders, and they'd already revealed themselves. Why bother going after the innocent villagers?
"Anyone who gets in our way—or even thinks about it—is an enemy."
"What?!"
Natsu was baffled by their twisted logic.
"You bastard!"
Gray couldn't hold back anymore and charged forward.
"Stop this ridiculous ritual and your nonsense!"
He slammed his hands onto the ground, summoning a mass of ice spikes that surged upward.
The horned-masked man countered by pressing his hand to the ground, using the same ice magic. Their attacks clashed and canceled each other out.
"Lyon... Do you even realize what you're doing?"
"Hmph, it's been a while, Gray."
Natsu and Lucy were stunned. Not only did Gray and this guy know each other, but they also seemed to use the exact same magic.
Gray shouted furiously, "What the hell are you doing?! Ur sacrificed her life to seal Deliora! And now you're trying to undo everything she gave her life for?!"
Lyon replied coldly, "Did you forget, Gray? It was you who killed Ur."
"..."
Gray's face paled, and his body trembled at Lyon's words.
"How can you keep living so shamelessly? You killed Ur, Gray. You don't deserve to speak her name!"
Lyon raised his hand and summoned an ice hammer, slamming it into Gray's body.
"ARGH!"
Gray was sent flying.
"GRAY!"
"You bastard!"
Seeing Gray injured, Natsu prepared to attack immediately.
"Wait!"
Gray stopped him.
"What are you doing?! He attacked first!"
The enemy had struck first and even threatened innocent villagers. Natsu could barely hold back his rage.
Lyon smirked coldly at Gray. "What's the matter? Feeling too guilty to fight me? Then step aside and don't interfere. I'm going to revive Deliora."
"I'll allow anything but that!"
Deliora was far too powerful. Its revival would lead to unimaginable disaster.
"Hmph, fine then! Let's settle this once and for all."
"Ice-Make: Eagle!"
Lyon summoned a swarm of ice eagles, sending them hurtling toward the group.
"Stay behind me!"
"Ice-Make: Shield!"
Gray conjured an ice shield.
"Protecting your friends is noble, but shouldn't you ensure your own safety first?"
WHIZZ!
The ice eagles avoided the shield and struck Gray directly.
"UGH!"
"GRAY!"
Natsu was about to charge again, but Sherry and her two allies blocked him.
"We won't let you harm Master Lyon!"
"Get out of my way!"
Natsu attacked the trio.
Lyon sneered at Gray. "You're skilled at static ice creations, but I specialize in dynamic ones. Have you forgotten that my magic moves?"
Gray pushed through the pain.
"Ice-Make: Hammer!"
A massive ice hammer appeared above Lyon, crashing down toward him.
"Ice-Make: Ape!"
Lyon summoned a colossal half-bodied ice ape, its arms crossed above its head.
CRACK!
The ice hammer and the ape shattered on impact.
"Pathetic. You're still using both hands to cast spells, just like always."
.
.
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