PREVIOUSLY ON FAIRY TAIL:
Lyon's minions, Yuka, Toby, Sherry, and her pet rat Angelica attempted to destroy the village with acid jelly, but Natsu and Palva incinerated their plans. However, the battle became head-to-head as Natsu and Dori took on Yuka and Toby respectively, defeating them pretty easily. Leon ended up encountering Erza, who arrived on the island to take the Fairy Tail mages back to the guild, but was instead met with rage by Leon's questionable rage towards her. Lucy and Palva both took fought and defeated Sherry and her rat, but Palva almost incinerated the entire shoreline after losing her lance. Leon went and saved her, but led Erza to Lucy and Happy, tying them up. Now only Gray and Natsu remain, and Erza is not gonna let them off the hook!
The day had reached near noon. Gray was lying inside of a tent house, his body in bandages from his fight against Lyon. He started to come around as his eyes squinted, then he opened them up, realizing he wasn't where he saw last. He saw the canopy of the tent above him. He sat up, and saw the tent house he was in. It was clear it was no longer night, due to the light coming from outside the flaps of the tent.
"Where am I?" he asked, standing up. He stepped outside, and found himself in a new scene. Wherever it was, it was not the village. However, based on the designs on the tent, it did belong to the villagers. The question now was what happened to their village?
"Thank goodness! You're awake." Gray turned to see a young lady approach him, who had a blue demon leg and foot.
Where is this?" Gray asked. "This is a storage area a bit further away from the village." the lady explained, "The village was destroyed last night, so everyone sought refuge here."
"The village was destroyed?" Gray questioned in surprise, then he recalled Lyon's last command to his minions; destroy the village. To think he was that heartless to actually allow that to carry through. It sickened Gray. He suddenly felt a pang of pain as he grasped his chest. His injuries were still there.
"Glad you can come back to us." said a voice. Leon, Pastry, and a worn out Palva were approaching the two from another tent.
"Leon. Palva. Pastry." Gray greeted. "How're you feeling?" Pastry asked him, hopping onto Leon's head. "Can't complain." Gray answered.
He then looked to Palva, noticing that she was putting a lot of weight on her lance to hold herself up, he asked, "You okay?" "Yeah. Things…just got crazy last night." Palva answered with a nervous chuckle. She didn't want to tell Gray what really happened to her, so she refrained from giving details.
"We managed to save everyone from the attack." Leon explained, "Actually, I'd rather say that thanks to Natsu, Dori, Palva, Lucy and the cats, everyone was safe, and those minion guys were taken down. I just led the group away from harm."
"Are they here, too?" Gray asked. "Yes. They asked me to tell you to go to their when you and Palva were awake." the female villager explained. "I see." Gray understood.
"They're camped out in that tent over there." Pastry explained, pointing a finger to the said tent, then adding a nervous tone as he added, "Though be warned, they are with the scariest demon I've seen." Gray was confused at this. With the villagers back to normal, how could there be a scary demon about.
Leon and Pastry led Palva and Gray over to the tent. "You go in, first." Leon told Gray. "Why?" he asked. "Just do it." Pastry answered, "Leon and I don't want to see her first." Wondering how scary the demon was, Gray decided to enter the tent, meeting with the 'demon', sitting and waiting for him with threatening eyes; Erza.
"You sure took your time, Gray." the scarlet-haired woman stated. "Erza?!" Gray gasped, then noticing Lucy and Happy still tied up next to her, "Lucy, Happy!"
Palva next entered the tent, and saw Erza for the first time. Instantly, she could feel the sense of threatening authority from her, and paled as she asked, "Uh…who's she? And why are those two tied up?" Leon and Pastry came in last, with the latter hiding his eyes from the woman in front of them.
"I've heard the details from Lucy and Leon." Erza started, standing to her feet, "Weren't you supposed to stop Natsu? I'm utterly speechless. Not only did you allow them to go, but you even allowed yourself to join and involved people who aren't even part of a guild to be a part of something that is clearly an S-rank request."
"Hold on. Don't blame them for having us come along!" Palva interfered, "If you want to blame someone, blame me. I needed Natsu's help, so I didn't care if he was doing something illegal or not!"
"Speaking of which, is Natsu even here?" Gray asked, noticing his lack of his presence, "I don't see Dori here, either."
"They aren't back here, if that's what you were wondering." Leon answered, "They weren't back at the destroyed village either. I checked. The only place I haven't looked was at the ruins."
"We're going to search for Natsu and that other person you brought." Erza informed Gray, walking right past him, "We shall return to the guild the moment we find him." The trio of non-guild members could only watch to see how Gray would react to this.
"Wh-What are you saying, Erza?" the Ice-Make mage questioned, "If you've heard about the details, then you know what's happening on this island now, right?" "And what of it?" Erza questioned calmly, in an almost uncaring way, "I came here to bring back some guild law-breakers. I have no interest in anything besides that."
"How dare you act so coldly to-!" Palva started angrily, but she was interrupted by Leon placing a hand on her shoulder. She stopped and felt as Leon's grip tightened. He wasn't gonna say it yet, but Palva knew that he was angry at Erza's actions and words, but that he was waiting for Gray's response.
"Didn't you see the shape the people of this island are in?" Gray questioned angrily. "I did." she answered.
"Are you just going to ignore that, then?" Gray questioned again. "The request was posted in every guild." she explained, "Wouldn't it be more appropriate to leave it to the guild mages who formally accepted this job?"
"How can you be so heartless?!" Gray questioned her harshly. Erza turned her head to him with a dark expression as she asked, "What did you say?"
"How could you say that to the great Erza?!" Happy demanded fearfully. "The great?" Lucy echoed, seeing him trying to suck up. "More like 'the Infamous'." Pastry corrected.
"Do you intend to break the guild's law as well?" Erza questioned, producing a magic circle and summoning a sword, pointing the tip at Gray, "You won't get away with it."
Her intention was for her threat to scare him into submission. However, what he did was the complete opposite. He grasped ahold of the blade with his bare hand tightly. He gave the same glare back at Erza, showing he was not afraid of her or her blade. Lucy, Happy, Palva and Pastry were all terrified at this clash of resolving characters, while Leon had his eyes shadowed from view.
Gray directed Erza's blade towards his Fairy Tail guild mark on his chest, growling, "Do whatever you want! This is the path I have chosen. It is something that I must do." Erza seemed surprised at these words.
Just then, a hand grasped Erza's blade from in between Gray's and Erza's. Leon stood there, holding Erza's blade firmly. However, from his rage, his grip tightened, causing the blade to crack, then shatter in half, with each mage holding onto one piece of it. This action surprised every person that was in the room, as he turned to Erza with a glare that was just as threatening, if not more so, than Erza's.
"Rules were only made to prevent people from making reckless decisions." he began, "That doesn't mean they take up absolute authority. Those rules CAN be broken! There is only one set of rules that has to be followed, no matter what; the ones engraved in your heart."
He turned fully at Erza as he continued, "Gray chooses to settle this matter, even throwing his connection to the guild on the line to do what is right. Meanwhile you, who would rather follow some rules, would turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to the outcries of the people in need, of battles that need to be fought here and now, and to allow people to suffer or die because you did not care. How can you even even wear that guild mark with pride?"
Erza's eyes flashed in anger, but not from being lectured, but from not having an argument that didn't make her worse than a villain.
"If you ask me, Gray, Natsu and the others are the ideal definition of a Fairy Tail mage." Leon stated, "They will go out of their way to make sure the innocent are safe and happy, and the guilty are punished. That's why I intend to give everything I have to help them complete this…no, I would save these people, even if it wasn't a request!"
He turned to Gray and asked, "You still willing to go see this through?" "Absolutely." he answered, finding Leon's words true to him.
"Good. Then let's get to it." Leon started, turning to Palva, "We need to find Natsu and Dori. Think you can sniff them out?" "I can try." the female Dragon Slayer answered.
He then took the broken blade in Gray's hand, and with a pair of slices, he cut Lucy and Happy free. "If you guys still want to see this through, too, then come with us." Leon told them, "Let's leave the rule-followers while her back is turned from everyone. If she wants to stop us, then I'll deal with her myself."
"U-Uh, yeah." Lucy answered, fearing Erza might become more violent than ever after everything Leon said. They crept past Erza in a shaky matter as they followed Gray out of the tent, followed by Palva and Pastry, leaving Erza and Leon alone.
Leon started to walk away before Erza started, "Wait a moment." He turned to her as he saw her grit her teeth out of frustration. "Although I'm not inclined to break the guild rules myself, I can't disagree with what you said." she informed him, "While the actions of Natsu, Gray, Lucy and Happy are unacceptable, the problems on this island come first. So I'll help complete this job."
Leon's red eyes looked at Erza's fierce brown ones. For a moment, they didn't move even in the slightest. Then Leon turned away as he stated, "You'd better not cause any trouble." He walked out of the tent, followed by Erza.
Outside, the rest of the group watched as the two exited the tent, standing side by side in front of them. "I-Is there something wrong?" Lucy questioned, looking fearfully at Erza. "She's deciding to come and complete this mission with us." Leon answered, turning to her, "Isn't that right?" Erza nodded in response.
Happy and Lucy both seemed pleased she had a change of heart, until she warned them, "Don't get the wrong idea. You will still be punished." "Aye…" they responded sadly.
"Let's get moving, guys." Palva informed everyone, "I can barely smell Natsu's fire from here. He must be at the ruins."
"Don't tell me he's gonna face Lyon all by himself!" Gray gasped. "If he's with my sis, then we won't have to worry." Palva assured her. With that, everyone raced towards the direction of the ancient temple.
Near the entrance to the temple of the moon, Natsu and Dori had just made it out of the jungle, both of them yawning deeply. "Dang… I came up with a great idea, and we end up oversleeping." Natsu moaned, rubbing his eyes.
"I guess all the excitement last night really caught up to us." Dori added, stretching her arms into the air one at a time, "Even so, your idea is surprisingly ingenious. I wouldn't have thought of something like that, but I guess your hot-headed demeanor could come up with an idea like that."
"If you don't wanna do it, then I can take care of it all." Natsu assured her. "Nah. I need a way to wake myself up." she answered, the two of them standing directly at the entrance, "Let's hope everything goes to plan." "Alright. Let's begin!" Natsu declared, and they rushed into the ruins.
Dori led Natsu over to where the furthest set of walls and pillars were that supported the building. "Everything onward is free target practice." she informed him. "Alrighty! I'm all fired up!" Natsu declared, and he started punching down one column at a time, while Dori pulled out her crossbow and fired off shot at a few others. Both of them split up as they destroyed anything remotely acting as a support to the temple, from the columns to the walls. Nevertheless, they were unleashing all their magic onto the structures.
"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!" Natsu roared, unleashing waves of flames from his arms that took down several walls at once. "Crystal Crown!" Dori shouted, slamming the ground and producing a large ring of pointed crystals, every one puncturing through the columns around her.
Overtime, the two could see their damage was causing the temple to shake and tilt to one side. "It's working, Natsu!" Dori called out, feeling the area tilt on them. "Good! I can smell that guy that beat up Gray before right above us!" Natsu roared, and he unleashed a powerful breath attack directly above him.
Dori joined his side as soon as he stopped, and they looked up to see three individuals look down at them from four floors up. One of them was Toby, the second was Lyon, but the third was a new face, hidden by a sort of tribal mask, though he had a gray cloak and long green hair going down his back.
Natsu looked at their surprised expressions, and chuckled. "You know, I usually end up breaking things by accident. It's kinda funny how hard it is when I mean to do it."
"Yeah, I gotta hand it to you, your plan actually worked like a charm." Dori stated, "Plus, I got just the pick-me-up from wrecking this place up."
"What are you trying to do?!" Lyon demanded. "The building is crooked now, right?" Natsu questioned, "This way the moonlight can't shine on that demon below!" Dori smiled and nodded at this.
"You bastards…" Lyon growled, "How dare you do this?! Damn you, Fairy Tail!" "Technically, I'm not Fairy Tail." Dori corrected him, "But what can I say? They're pretty fun guys to be around."
"Uh, I'm confused. I don't get what's going on at all…" said Toby. "Those two are trying to topple these ruins." the green-haired man explained, "By destroying half the pillars supporting the base of the ruins, they can topple the building so that the moonlight will not reach Deliora. That's probably their plan."
The green-haired man looked back down at Natsu he continued, "Based on what that girl said, this was Salamander's plan. Contrary to his appearance, he's quite sharp."
Natsu started to produce flames at his feet that made him levitate off the ground, while Dori crouched with one hand on the ground as she summoned a magic circle at her feet, causing a bit of crystal to form. "Quit yapping already!" Natsu roared. "We're stopping you guys AND saving the villagers!" Dori declared.
"Flames at his legs?" Lyon noticed Natsu's magic. "Watch out! That girl can produce crystals like crazy, too!" Toby warned the Cold Emperor, "She even froze my claws in them!"
Natsu shot up first with his rocketing feet, while Dori caused a crystal to grow at her feet, making her rise up to where the action was. Natsu unleashed a headbutt straight into Lyon's chest, causing him to gag in agony. However, this was a rouse, as his body cracked and transformed into ice.
"What? A fake?" Natsu gasped. Behind him, Lyon was gathering energy into his magic circle. "Ice-Make Eagle!" he roared, sending several bird-shaped ice at Natsu, who turned to meet it. "You can't dodge them in mid-air!" he pointed out.
"Crystal Barrage!" Dori reached the group as she formed a magic circle from her hands, sending several crystal pieces shooting upwards at once, hitting the ice birds and destroying them. "But how?!" Lyon gasped.
Natsu landed back on the ground in a handstand, unleashing torrents of flames from his feet. Lyon ducked underneath the attack as it streaked right over him. "What kind of magic is this?!" he questioned in surprise.
"Crystal Launcher!" Dori sent Lyon flying by launching him in the air with a crystal. "He's wide open, Natsu!" she shouted back. Natsu replied by sending another blast of flames from his mouth directly at Lyon, who had no way of dodging it.
Suddenly, the green-haired man waved a hand to Natsu, and the ground beneath him suddenly gave way, causing him to miss Lyon and fall to the ground below. "Natsu!" Dori gasped, shocked as to what happened.
"Seems like you are in luck, Cold Emperor." the man told Lyon, while Toby was smoldering from Natsu's flames hitting him.
Lyon looked to the man as he demanded, "What did you do?!" "What indeed…" the man answered, grinning back at him. "Don't play dumb!" Dori barked, "I saw you wave your hand to Natsu. You destroyed the floor!"
"So you noticed that, did you?" the man questioned, "I just figured a two-on-one fight against our Cold Emperor might be a bit much. After all, he needs to reserve his magic for when he faces Deliora."
Suddenly, the area around them became cold as they turned to see Lyon emanating a chilling aura. "Are you saying that I would lose to those flames and this girl's crystals?" he questioned, and in an instant, he froze the entire room, minus the people standing in it and the hole Natsu fell through, in which had the said Dragon Slayer climbing back out of.
"Begone!" Lyon ordered the green-haired man, "I will finish these two myself, starting with this girl. I'm the only mage who can defeat Deliora: Cold Emperor Lyon! I wouldn't be worthy of that reputation if I had a hard time with these two brats." "As you wish." the green-haired man answered.
"Defeat Deliora?" Natsu questioned what he said. "Are you telling me you're doing all of this just so you can fight it?" Dori questioned, "That's a pretty selfish desire."
As Natsu climbed out of the hole, the green haired man vanished into thin air, while Toby, not wanting to get in the way, jumped into the hole.
"That thing looks half-dead already." Natsu pointed out, "You seriously plan on breaking it out just to fight it? That's pretty messed up." "Seriously. You're making innocent lives suffer all because you want to boost your own ego and reputation." Dori stated.
"It's all to surpass Ur." Leon responded, a cold aura emanating around him as he unleashed more Ice-Make Eagles at Natsu and Dori, "So I can continue seeing my dream!" "Crystal Wall!" Dori summoned a wall of crystal, blocking the icy birds. However, some got around the barrier, aiming at the duo. They leapt upwards to avoid the attack, as the birds crashed at the place they were at before.
"In that case, why don't you just challenge Ur directly?!" Natsu questioned angrily. "Because he can't." Dori answered, landing on the wall she produced, "Remember, Natsu? Gray told us Ur sacrificed herself to create the Iced Shell." Natsu's eyes widened in realization, forgetting Gray told them that in the cavern.
"So he told you that, did he?!" Lyon questioned, sending more eagles at Dori, "Did he also mentioned that it was his fault that she's dead, too?!" Dori summoned a dome of crystal around her, blocking the attack from all sides. Once it subsided, she unveiled herself, with a disgusted look on her face.
"You don't think I know what it's like to lose loved ones due to the actions of people you know and trust?" she questioned, "I've lost my parents since I was six, all because my sister lost control of her magic!" Natsu looked at her, recalling that first night they came to this island, what Palva told him.
(Flashback) "Ever since I was born, I, myself, have never been able to control these flames. Because of it, I've burnt so many towns and villages like this down without even meaning to. I've burnt people alive without wanting to. That includes…" she shed some tears as she sobbed, "That includes my parents."
"…Sure I blamed her for that, and I was angry at her for a while, but I didn't hold a grudge against her." Dori continued, firing a Crystal Barrage from her magic circle, "I intend to help her find a way to control those flames of her's, so that no one can suffer like me anymore!"
Lyon produced a turtle shell-like shield in front of him, repelling her attack. "That shield won't work on me!" Dori barked, leaping off the wall and slamming her fist on the ground, "Crystal Cataclysm!" she sent a wave of crystal stalagmites along the ground, bypassing his shield and striking underneath Lyon and sending him flying into the wall.
"You hurt Gray, AND you intentionally ordered the death of innocent villagers, who are already suffering due to your stupid dream!" she barked, "I can't stand people like you! Natsu, let's give this arrogant 'emperor' a wake-up call!" "You got it!" Natsu answered, placing a fist in his palm.
Lyon got back up after Dori's attack, staring coldly at the two opponents before him. Natsu's fist ignited in flames, while crystal started forming on Dori's forearm. He wasn't afraid of dealing with either one of them, but he wasn't planning to get another hit on him again.
Racing through the jungle, the remaining party of seven headed towards the temple, with Palva in the lead, sniffing for the direct route to it.
"You're kidding me?! He's planning to fight Deliora?!" Lucy questioned Gray, after hearing what he learned from their last skirmish. Gray didn't answer, but he slowed down to a halt, along with everyone else around him.
"Lyon's only aim is to surpass Ur." he explained, placing a hand on a tree, "But with Ur gone, he wants to defeat Deliora in the way that Ur couldn't, in order to surpass her."
"I see. Guess that does sound like the only way to surpass someone who's already dead." Lucy understood. "It doesn't give him the excuse to ruin people's lives in doing so." Leon retorted. "Aye." Happy agreed.
Gray's eyes became serious as he stated, "Listen. There's something…something Lyon doesn't know." He turned to everyone as he continued, "It's true that Ur is no longer with us. But Ur is…still alive." The news stunned everyone around him.
"What do you mean?" Erza questioned. "Okay, now you're contradicting yourself, pal." Pastry noted, "How can she be alive AND dead at the same time?!"
Gray paused for a second, then he started, "Ten years ago, the city where I lived was attacked by Deliora. It didn't even take a day for it to be destroyed…"
He then went deep into the story, about how Lyon and Ur discovered him as the only survivor of the attack. Gray vowed, from that day on, to seek vengeance on Deliora for what it had done, which made him decide to learn Ice-Make magic from Ur. Fueled by vengeance, he succeeded in learning the magic quite well, all the while wanting to learn more powerful magic to defeat Deliora. Although according to Lyon back then, Ur decided to teach him in order to help him be free from the vengeful darkness in his heart, but he didn't care back then.
Then one day, he got a tip from a traveling group of hunters that Deliora reappeared once more in Brago. With his mind how it was, he completely ignored Ur's warnings, and went after Deliora by himself, and so, he went to Brago.
Before Gray continued on with what happened after that, they stopped as they noticed the ruins far off. However, something was off about it, due to the fact it was tilted to one side. The shift in angle caused Lucy, Palva and Happy to tilt their heads to one side in order to see it straight.
"Something seems off kilter here." Pastry noticed. "Are the ruins…tilted?" Lucy asked. "Did Natsu and Dori do that?" Palva asked. "I bet Natsu, though I'm not sure about Dori being involved." Gray stated. "Same here." Erza agreed.
"Not sure how he did it, but only he would do something nuts like that." Gray pointed out. "Still, I wonder what's the point of tilting it like that?" Leon questioned, "Sure, they caused structural damage, but for what? It's not like it's gonna stop the ceremony."
"Actually, it makes a difference, because the light of the moon won't shine on Deliora now." Gray pointed out, "I don't know if he did it on purpose or not, but it works."
"Who knew that his tendency for destroying things could actually come in handy?" Lucy questioned, readjusting her head. "And knowing my sis, she would probably agree and even help in this plan." Palva added, readjusting her own neck, "She's not afraid to get a little destructive when she needs to."
"My head's stuck! Looking sideways at that crooked temple hurt my neck!" Happy moaned, trying to readjust his head, too. "I gotcha." Pastry stated, flying backwards a bit, then took a dash at Happy's head, snapping it the other way and making him fall, shocking Lucy. "That hurt!" Happy exclaimed. "You're welcome." Pastry responded casually.
Suddenly, Erza and Leon sensed something approaching, and Erza heavily shoved Lucy, Happy and Pastry out of the way as she shouted, "Watch out!" They all crashed into trees and rocks from her shove, while Palva, Gray and Erza nimbly dodged throwing weapons that came their way. Leon pulled his two-handed sword out to block the oncoming blades.
"Who's there!" Leon demanded, raising his sword. All of a sudden, a bunch of purple cloaked individuals with veils covering their faces appeared from both sides of the path they were on, surrounding them. All except Erza, recognized them as the chanters during the ceremony the previous night.
"We've found you, Fairy Tail!" an old lady's voice spoke from the head of the pack. "We won't allow you to interfere with the Cold Emperor!" a male voice spoke from another.
"Not these guys!" Gray growled. "Lyon's minions?" Erza questioned. "More like his spellcasters for reviving Deliora." Leon corrected.
"We're surrounded!" Lucy gasped. "Aye!" Happy agreed, his head tilted even further after his head slammed into the tree thanks to Erza.
"Leave them to me!" Erza declared, summoning another sword to her hand. The team was quite surprised at her support in this, especially Gray. "Go, Gray." she ordered him, "Finish things with Lyon." Despite the surprise at first, Gray nodded in understanding.
"I'll lend my blade into the battle, too." Leon decided, shifting himself next to Erza. "Don't worry! We're here, too. So just go!" Lucy declared, snapping her whip as she readied it in both hands.
"Aye!" Happy answered, holding a skinned fish in his hands like a sword. "That fish ain't gonna help!" Pastry barked at Happy, pumping one of his fists, "I'll give them a good spiking!" "You guys…" Gray muttered, realizing the support he had from his comrades.
"Palva, take Gray, and get him to Lyon!" Leon ordered, "Dori and Natsu might be there, too." "Right!" Palva answered, racing over to Gray and taking him around the waist with her free arm. "Hey, what are you…?!" he questioned, baffled he was getting pulled in by this young girl.
"Fire Dragon's Pounce!" she shouted, rocketing herself and Gray over the crowd of subordinates, heading directly towards the temple.
"Impressive jumping skills." Erza noted, seeing Palva and Gray leave. "Don't get too excited. She's nothing compared to her older sister." Leon informed.
Palva and Gray reached the peak of their arc, landing back down on the ground again. "Let's keep going!" the Dragon Slayer ordered, "Based on the intense smelling flames, I think Natsu is facing Lyon, right now. If Dori's fighting alongside him, too, then we'd better hurry. Otherwise, she'll take him down before we even arrive!"
Gray looked back where they just came from, and smiled. Truly, he had friends who had his back in times of need.
"Didn't you hear what I just said?" Palva asked, "You'd better hurry and stop Lyon yourself!" "I heard you." Gray answered, and they raced towards the temple.
"While were running, can you tell me what happened after you went after Deliora?!" Palva asked as they ran. Gray looked down as he recalled everything that happened that night, when he foolishly went to try and defeat Deliora himself.
"Ur and Lyon ended up following me, despite Ur saying that she was no longer my teacher." Gray started, "Tried as we might, we couldn't even stop Deliora. In the end, Ur wanted me to take Lyon and leave her to fight it by herself."
"She planned on fighting it by herself?" Palva questioned. Gray nodded and continued, "She told me that she would do it to free me from the darkness, but I knew it was a losing fight. But Lyon…refused to believe she would be defeated. He saw her as a the most powerful mage, and one he wished to surpass. He even went and studied books Ur hid from us, and learned the Iced Shell, which he attempted to use then on Deliora."
"But wouldn't that mean he would sacrifice himself to seal it away?!" Palva asked as they raced up some steps, drawing closer to the battle above, "You said before that Ur sacrificed everything to create that Iced Shell."
"I don't think he understood that part." Gray answered, "He just did it anyway, wanting to prove himself better than Ur. However, she stopped him from casting it, and used it instead. And when the Iced Shell is cast, the user's body becomes the very ice itself."
Palva stopped running, turning to him in shock. "So you're telling me that she is that oversized glacier that sealed away Deliora?!" she gasped, "I guess that's what you meant when you said Ur was still alive. But…then that makes no sense. If Lyon is unsealing Deliora, he's literally killing Ur herself, right?"
"That's what I meant when he said he didn't know." Gray answered, "He doesn't realize that Ur is still alive, and is the Iced Shell itself. Ur made me promise to tell Lyon that she died, or else he would spend his life trying to find a way to undo the spell."
The two paused for a second, then felt the area shake about them. Natsu and Dori's fight against Lyon was obviously still going. Knowing this, the two continued their run towards the battlefield.
"So was Ur able to free you then?" Palva asked, looking back at him, "Did her sacrifice really save you from the darkness?" Gray looked back at her before answering, "It did. Ur gave her live to drive away my days of darkness. 'Go forth…to your future'. With her last words in my heart, I decided to start on a new path. But Lyon…"
"Go forth…to your future." Palva echoed, thinking on them. She constantly reminded herself of her past, of everything her flames had done that made a happy future impossible for her. Was there such a path for her to take? She didn't know, not until she found a way to control the flames inside of her.
Back inside the throne room, Natsu and Dori's attacks were catching up to Lyon, as he panted slightly, but stood his ground. He refused to back down to either mage before him.
"You're looking pretty tired there." Natsu pointed out, "Why don't you just surrender already, you pointy-eyed bastard!" "Your eyes are pretty pointy themselves." Lyon retorted.
"You can't win against the two of us." Dori pointed out, "I had barely used my full power yet. If you can't even defeat the two of us, you stand no chance against Deliora."
"You'd like me to give up, wouldn't you?" Lyon questioned, his body glowing with an icy aura. Natsu flared up his fist while Dori readied a magic circle.
Just then, the wall of ice next to them started to crack, drawing their attention. Suddenly, it shattered, revealing Gray and Palva standing there. "Gray?!" Natsu gasped. "Palva, it's you!" Dori noticed.
"Sniffed them out." Palva stated, "He's all yours, Gray." Gray nodded in appreciation for her efforts.
"Natsu, Dori, let me take this guy down." Gray ordered them, stepping into the room. "But you already lost to him once, remember?" Natsu reminded him.
Gray got in between the three as he answered, "I won't this time. I'll finish this." Dori and Natsu looked at him, wondering if he had a plan to stop him.
"That's some confidence you have there." Lyon pointed out.
Gray glared at Lyon for a moment before starting, "It was my fault that Ur died ten years ago. But…" he shifted his footing, "Hurting my friends… Hurting the village… Trying to melt that ice… I can't forgive you for that. I'll punish you for them all, Lyon." H crossed his arms straight out in front of him, positioning himself as he was ready to do something. Something that shocked Lyon.
"That pose… Iced Shell!" the Cold Emperor gasped. "Iced Shell?" Natsu questioned. He then recalled what he remembered Gray and Lyon saying about Ur using it, and panicked, along with the sisters.
"Wait, hold on!" Palva called to him, "If you use that spell, you would end up just like your master! You would be-."
"Don't say another word!" Gray barked at her, stopping her before she revealed what happens to the user of the Iced Shell. HE had to show what would happen to Lyon.
"You bastard…have you gone mad?" Lyon questioned in a growl.
"Return the villagers to the way they were, take your friends and leave this island immediately!" Gray ordered, and a large magic circle appeared at his feet, glowing light blue, "This is the last chance I will give you."
Lyon calmed himself, looking confidently as he stated, "I see… You think you can bluff me with that magic? How pointless."
Gray didn't intend to stop, as the magic energy intensified from the magic circle, causing powerful, swirling icy energy to surround him. Everyone braced themselves against the magic energy's power. "I'm serious." Gray assured Lyon in a calm demeanor.
"You'll die!" Lyon barked, using a magic circle in an attempt to strike Gray and stop him, but the magic energy surrounding him caused Lyon's attack to backfire, sending him flying backwards.
"Gray!" Natsu barked. "Don't do this!" Dori shouted. Palva tried stepping towards Gray herself, but ended up getting sent backwards from the powerful force of magic energy, falling on her back.
"No matter how many years pass, it won't change the fact that it's my fault Ur's dead!" Gray admitted, his whole body turning to a blinding white color, "I have to take responsibility sometime… So now's the time. I'm prepared to die. I've been for the past 10 years!"
"You can't be serious?!" Lyon questioned in a shocked manner, as a part of Gray's face cracked like a piece of ice.
"Answer me, Lyon!" roared the Ice-Mage mage, "Do we die together or live together?!"
Holding onto the last of his confidence, Lyon tried to remain calm as he said, "Do it. You don't have the guts to die. There's no way you do!"
Gray closed his eyes, realizing that Lyon would not fully believe that he would perform the Iced Shell. It looks like he had no other choice. "Too bad." he muttered. He roared as he charged up the energy to the max potential, the outcries of Gray, Dori and Palva screaming to him barely reaching his ears.
Natsu, Erza, everyone at Fairy Tail, even the new mages I met here on this island. It's up to you now. Gray thought to himself, Sorry, but I'm making my exit! This is…the end! "Iced-!"
"You dumbass!" Natsu somehow got into the magic spell and delivered a punch to Gray's face, sending him to his knee, and stopping the Iced Shell at once. Lyon and even Palva were amazed at Natsu's sudden strike.
"Natsu!" Gray barked. "You suddenly interrupt our fight and start blabbing about this 'responsibility' crap? You're irritating!" Natsu barked, "Don't steal my prey!"
"You're prey?" Gray questioned. "I'm the one who's gonna defeat him!" Natsu declared, pointing a thumb at himself.
"Didn't I already tell you that this is my business?!" Gray barked. "And did I ever say, 'Yes, I understand that, Sir'?" the Salamander questioned.
"WOULD YOU TWO JUST SHUT UP?!" Dori shouted to the two of them, silencing the both of them with frightened looks. She glared at Gray as she growled, "If you wanted to settle things with Lyon and repent for what you've done, then giving up your life is NOT an answer! You're not being brave or anything like that. You're just running away, and turning your back on the friends and family who care about you! So get your act together, Gray!"
Gray's eyes went into realization as he realized what she said made sense. Natsu's glare at Gray told him the very same thing. Gray was trying to 'settle the score' by running away and dying. He was just a coward who was mixed up. Palva looked at her sister, knowing how she would take this to heart.
However, just before anyone could say anything more, the ground began to shake. Everyone was perplexed as to why the temple was shaking about them. "W-W-What's going on?!" Palva questioned, keeping her footing stable as best as she could.
Back outside, the remaining team was overwhelming swarm of Lyon's followers. Erza and Leon were effortlessly slashing them down, Lucy was cracking the whip on them, Pastry was unleashing multiple spike dashes at them, and Happy was practically shoving everything he could find down their throats, gagging them. However, what the enemy lacked in the strength department, they gained in tenacity.
"Stop them!" the veiled old lady ordered, "We must not allow anyone to get in the Cold Emperor's way!" The others cheered in response, declaring their undying support.
Just then, the ground began shaking about them, just as those did inside the temple. "What's happening?" Erza asked.
"You might want to look at the temple!" Leon told them, starting at the ruins from far off. What they saw was too shocking to even comprehend. The ruins were no longer tilted, but back to the way it was before, as if the support came back to one side again.
"No way!" Lucy gasped. "The ruins have returned to their original position!" Happy realized. "How is that even possible?!" Pastry questioned in shock.
Inside the throne room again, Gray, Dori and Palva looked about, realizing what had just happened, but were confused as to how it came into fruition. "What the heck is going on?!" Natsu demanded, hammering the icy floor angrily. All his hard damaging the ruins was gone, after all, so of course he was angry.
"This means the moonlight will be able to shine on Deliora again!" Gray realized. "Someone must've used a spell to do this. But who could've had that power?" Dori questioned.
Palva was just entering the room through the hole Gray made when someone else came from behind. It was the green-haired, masked man, passing the female Dragon Slayer and approaching Lyon.
"I'm sorry, I was busy." he told his master. "Zalty, is this your doing?" Lyon questioned. The man named Zalty laughed and answered, "The moon will be coming out soon, so I decided to restore the temple."
"He restored the temple back to normal?!" Palva questioned in amazement. "What the hell is that guy?" Gray questioned.
"After all our work to disrupt it!" Natsu snarled, then he barked, "How were you able to restore it?!" Zalty turned to Natsu with a questionable look, then he abruptly laughed at him. "HOW THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT?!" Natsu demanded.
"Easy, Natsu! He's trying to get under your skin." Dori pointed out. "Kinda an easy task." Gray muttered.
"Well then, I suppose we must make preparations for the Moon Drip ceremony." Zalty told Lyon, ignoring the group completely. With that, he took off back the way he came.
"I was ignored?!" Natsu gasped. He ignited in flames as he angrily roared, "GREAT! BRING IT ON, MASKED MAN!"
"Stop getting so angry, Natsu!" Dori barked, "We have to stop him before he starts the Moon Drip ceremony!" "Right! I'm on his tail!" Palva barked, racing after Zalty, with Dori right behind her.
"Natsu!" Gray roared as Natsu was about to take off. The said Dragon Slayer stopped and turned to Gray, declaring, "I'm gonna beat that guy to a pulp, a million times over! I'll leave things here in your hands! It will be a disgrace if you lose again."
Gray seemed surprised Natsu was willing to allow him the opportunity to fight his old 'friend', but he understood with a simple, "Yeah…"
"And not for you!" Natsu continued. "I know." Gray answered. "But for all of Fairy Tail!" they both answered simultaneously. They grinned at one another for a few seconds, then Natsu took off after the sisters and Zalty.
"My, you two are a boisterous pair." Lyon noted, drawing Gray's attention.
"Just now, did you foresee that Natsu would stop me from using Iced Shell?" he asked.
"No, I didn't anticipate that guy being capable of getting close to such magic." Lyon answered.
"Then you were serious about taking it?" Gray asked.
"That's right. But I will be saved." Lyon answered, "I said 'do it', because I was aware of that." "I knew it…" Gray growled. He should've realized it was pointless.
"Even if I am entrapped within the ice, I still have my faithful comrades outside." Lyon explained, "And this is the island where Moon Drip can be used to undo Iced Shell."
"That was careless of me." Gray understood, "Using Iced Shell is practically futile here."
"And yet, you still desire to settle the score with me?" Lyon asked, "You cannot win against-."
"Just stop it." Gray interrupted, startling Lyon, "Give up on Deliora."
"What nonsense are you spouting?!" Lyon questioned angrily, "First you threaten, now you try to persuade me? Does your guild have a dentist that removed your fangs already?"
Gray didn't feel intimated by this. Instead, he calmly began, "Lyon, listen to me carefully: Ur is still alive!" The news seemed to startle Lyon a bit.
"Iced Shell is a spell that turns the body of its' user into ice. The ice that entrapped Deliora." Gray explained, "The very same ice you are trying to melt now is Ur herself! Ur transformed into ice and lives on until today. I apologize for not letting you know about this before. I promised Ur that I wouldn't."
He recounted the words Ur told him before she became ice. "If he knew that I've become ice, he would spend his entire life trying to undo the spell."
"It's over. There's no need to go through with-." Gray started. He was stopped, however, by Lyon approaching him and hitting him with a magic spell straight through his body. An iced tiger formed on his back, and the piercing attack caused immense amount of pain to Gray as he tried reaching out to Lyon, but he ended up falling to his knees, breaking the ice on his back, until he fell to the ground.
"I know all about that." Lyon stated with a malicious smirk, "But that ice is no longer Ur. It is just a frozen stone that remains."
Gray struggled to get up, shocked and enraged to hear that Lyon knew what happened to Ur, and what he considered the ice. "You knew…all along?" he questioned, his head falling back to the iced ground again.
"You don't honestly believe that Ur is alive either, right?" Lyon questioned, "Just grow up already."
Rage fully enveloped Gray's heart as he glared daggers at Lyon, hissed, "You knew everything, and yet…!" His rage became his strength as he rose back up onto his feet, clutching the place Lyon's attack went through.
"And what of it?" the said Ice mage asked. Gray didn't answer, but instead, he retaliated with an angry swing of his fist that sent Lyon careening into the iced wall on the other side of the room, face-first. He slid to the ground, but instantly caught himself on his feet as he gasped, "Impossible! How can you move despite such a grave injury?!"
"I have had enough." Gray sneered, his face reverting to a calm demeanor, but still feeling hatred for his fellow pupil, "I have had enough of trying to save you."
"Which means from now on you will attempt to defeat me?" Lyon questioned, "I am saving my power for the battle with Deliora. You see, I don't want to waste my magical power."
Gray raised a fist straight in front of him as he said, "We will settle it this way, then."
"In other words no magic, right?" his opponent translated, "Fine then."
Gray roared as he charged at Lyon, but he came at him quickly with a fist to his injury, sending him to the ground. "Aim for your opponent's weak points during combat. That was what Ur taught us, remember?"
"Don't you dare…speak that name!" Gray roared, turning to retaliate, but ended up with a knee to the same injury. He gagged, but he was far from finished. He had to take down Lyon, once and for all. All for Ur, and Fairy Tail.
Meanwhile, Dori and Palva were in hot pursuit of Zalty, with Natsu trying to catch up from behind, roaring as he demanded the guy to stop.
"Hold it right there!" Dori roared, "Crystal Wall!" She summoned a few walls of crystal in Zalty's path, stopping him abruptly. He turned to see Dori, Palva and Natsu surrounding the path behind him.
"Now you can't run from us!" Palva barked. "How the hell did you restore the ruins?!" Natsu demanded.
Zalty chuckled as he raised a hand, and a large magic circle appeared from it. All of a sudden, a circular piece of rock caved in from the wall above, aiming towards Natsu. "Watch out!" Dori shouted to him.
"Do you think this will work on me?!" Natsu demanded, and he ignited his foot in flames, kicking the piece of rock into rubble. Zalty grinned as he waved his hand, and the rubble suddenly rose up, forming into the circular rock it was before, and resting back into the ceiling once more, as if the whole thing never happened.
The trio were startled at how he was able to do that, while Zalty stated, "Just like what you saw, that was how I restored the ruins."
"I never seen anything like it!" Palva gasped. "W-What is that magic?!" Natsu demanded.
Dori, on the other hand, was startled, as she deciphered from that demonstration and from before in the throne room what he did. "You used Time magic!" Dori gasped, drawing the attention of the Dragon Slayers, "That's your power, right?"
"Very good! I honestly am surprised you were able to figure that out." Zalty praised her.
"He can control time?" Natsu questioned. "He reversed time to bring that rock back to normal, just as he did with the columns Natsu and I destroyed that tilted these ruins." Dori explained, "And as for summoning that hole underneath Natsu before, he merely sped the time forward on the rock, deteriorating them."
"It's good to know at least one of you has the brains to figure this out." Zalty stated, causing the Dragon Slayers to feel insulted, "That's right. I have a form of Lost Magic called the 'Arc of Time'. It's called Lost Magic because it was so powerful and contains such grave costs, that it has been removed from history itself."
"They were erased from history?!" Natsu questioned.
"Right, I've heard of this, as well." Dori recalled, "Apparently, Dragon Slayer magic is also included in such kinds of magic, too." "Seriously?!" Natsu and Palva questioned in amazement.
"Still, it's too bad for you." Dori retorted, "My crystals are unable to deteriorate like many other kinds of things. Good luck trying to escape us-." Before she could finish, Zalty suddenly vanished before their eyes.
"What the heck happened?!" Natsu questioned in shock, "Where did he go? Damn it!"
"I thought you said he couldn't get away!" Palva accused her sister.
"I forgot he had that power." Dori recalled how he disappeared before in the throne room, "Natsu, Palva, tell me you were able to get the guy's scent."
"Yeah, I did." Natsu answered, sniffing about, "But the guy's scent was a bit weird."
"Same here. He smelled a bit feminine." Palva described, causing Dori to look confused, "Still, he's not too far off. Let's go, Natsu!" Dori lowered her Crystal Walls, and they rushed to some stairs that went further down towards the base levels.
Back outside again, Erza and Leon's team were still surrounded as they fought off all of Lyon's followers. Erza and Leon were still going hard, while Lucy, Pastry and Happy were slightly tired from fighting so much, while the enemy had either that much stamina, or they were that dedicated to halting them from falling down entirely.
"Guys, have you noticed it?" Erza questioned the team. "Yeah, I have." Leon answered.
"Same here. Even though there are many of them, their magic powers seem really weak." Lucy noticed.
"Exactly. There shouldn't be more than five decent mages here." Erza pointed out.
"Aw, geez, I won't be able to get serious with them, then." Happy stated in a boisterous tone. "Yeah, just keep telling yourself that, cat." Pastry retorted.
"I kinda feel this is a pointless battle for me to take part in, now." Leon stated, turning to the blonde, "Lucy, why don't you demonstrate your talents to finish them off, okay?"
"Leave it to me!" Lucy answered, pulling out a golden key, and casting her summoning spell, "Open! Gate of the Crab: Cancer!" Out of the summoning gate came a middle-aged human man with yellow-tinted sunglasses, a blue and black-stripped buttoned-down shirt, black jeans, six crab legs produced from his back, and coral-like horns, wielding two pairs of standard-looking scissors.
"Who's this weirdo? He ain't no crab." Pastry questioned in confusion. "Aren't you…?" Erza started, recalling meeting him before.
Cancer suddenly produced a bouquet of roses as he knelt to Erza. "It is a pleasure to be at your command, Miss Erza. Snip~" he greeted in a low tone.
"What's with the 'miss'?! And that 'Snip'?! I'm the one who summoned you!" Lucy barked in an unbelieving tone. "You're quipping too much!" Happy stated.
"First that Virgo girl, now this guy. You're spirits are definitely unique in some ways." Leon muttered with a sweat-dropped expression.
"Anyway, neutralize them!" Lucy ordered. "Okay, baby." Cancer answered, snipping his scissors. He came at the swarm of enemies with his scissors like it was nothing, trimming the steel weapons they carried and taking all of them down with ease. Leon was quite impressed that he was able to do this with supposedly ordinary scissors.
When he was done, all of the followers had fallen, and were finally too injured to get back up again. With his job done, Cancer left the battlefield.
"Impressive work." Erza commended Lucy's magic, "Let us hurry on ahead." "Right." Lucy answered, with Leon nodding in agreement.
"W-Wait!" barked the old woman before, and they all turned to see her face finally unveiled, along with the young man who was by her side before. "We won't let you hinder the Cold Emperor!" she grimaced.
"Those hair ornaments…" Erza recognized, "You guys are natives of Brago, aren't you?"
"Brago? But that's the place Gray told us about, right?" Pastry recalled.
"Yeah. That's where Ur sealed it away in the Iced Shell." Leon remembered, looking at the natives, "I see, so it's revenge, huh? You want it to be destroyed entirely after it destroyed Brago." The old lady gritted her teeth, proving Leon's statement to be true.
Back in the ruins, Natsu and Palva led Dori down to the base floor, where they sniffed out Zalty's trail within the hole Natsu created before that led to the caverns. They dove down and raced towards the place Deliora remained frozen in the Iced Shell. They saw the masked man standing in front of the frozen demon, grinning up at it.
"There you are!" Natsu roared, leaping into action with a fiery fist, "For now, let's get things blazing!" He hammered his fist at the spot Zalty was at, but he jumped to avoid the attack.
"You won't get away that easily, you freaky tiki mask guy!" Palva shouted, having made a leap into the air just as Natsu lunged, and she shot herself at Zalty as well. He avoided her attack just as easily, leaping up to a different platform of rock while her attack broke the ground.
"Such pleasant words and name-callings!" Zalty sassed, "But, how did you know I was here?"
"We, Dragon Slayers, have a great sense of smell." Natsu answered. "Yeah, speaking of which, why do you smell like women's perfume?" Palva asked, "You're not one of those cross-dressers on the sidelines, are you?"
Zalty laughed at this as he stated, "I must resurrect Deliora, no matter what."
"Give it up already! It's impossible now." Natsu retorted with confidence.
"Really? And why is it impossible?" Zalty questioned the Dragon Slayer.
"Because Gray will crush that guy, and I'll crush you. A million times!" Natsu declared, pointing a finger at Zalty.
"Don't you mean WE will crush him?" Palva asked, standing next to Natsu with a raised lance, "I want to have a go at taking this guy down, and ending this whole demon revival."
"Careful, you two." Dori warned them, standing right next to her sister, "This guy wields a lot of magical power if he can restore this temple back to normal. Don't underestimate him. Besides, look up there." Palva and Natsu looked up and were startled. Moonlight was starting to shine down onto the Iced Shell, coming from a magic circle from the ceiling.
"L-Light?!" Natsu gasped. "It's Moon Drip!" Palva realized, "But who's doing the ceremony? Leon and the others should be dealing with the followers in the jungle!"
Dori thought through the roster of enemies remaining, then came to the conclusion; the dog-faced young man, Toby, was the only one capable of performing the ceremony. Could it really be done by just one person, though?
"The Moon Drip effect may be weak with just one person, but we have already gathered plenty of moonlight." Zalty explained, "We had only needed a chance to provide a little more. Look." At this, the liquid moonlight suddenly caused part of the Iced Shell to break off and melt.
"OH, CRAP!" Natsu cried out in fear, "Deliora's ice is melting off!"
"It's gonna revive anytime soon!" Palva exclaimed, "We have to stop the guy doing the ceremony!" Both Dragon Slayers started racing back to the way they came in, while Dori cried out, "Don't be so reckless! We won't make it in time!"
Zalty raised a hand, and a column of rock suddenly fell from the ceiling above, nearly slamming itself down onto Natsu and Palva, making them fall over from the shockwave of the impact. Dori was both shocked at the sudden attack, and relieved to see them okay.
"I will not let you escape." he warned them, getting the attention of the trio, "Coming after me was a mistake, indeed. You three were pretty foolish." All three of them growled at how foolish they were to fall for a trap like this, while Zalty laughed heartily.
"SHUT UP!" Natsu and Palva shot at him angrily with fists and lances ignited in flames, attempting to strike him down. He avoided the attack before it could make contact.
"Are you sure about that?" the masked man asked, "Are you sure about using Fire Magic under these circumstances? You'll just accelerate the thawing of Deliora."
Natsu answered with a vigorous flaming foot that nearly struck Zalty. "If Fire Magic could melt the ice, you guys would've had it easy wouldn't you?" Natsu asked.
"You can't fool us with stuff like that!" Palva barked, appearing in the air high above the two with flaming feet, "We'll stop you here, then deal with the guys above us. After that, it'll be all over!" She rocketed herself down at Zalty with her feet flaming behind her. Natsu and Zalty both dodged her attack as she came landing with an ax kick that destroyed the entire rocky area about them.
"I am surprised by the speed and acuteness of your thoughts in the midst of battle." Zalty stated, "I'm even more impressed by the amount of power you deliver, child. You two might be worth my time."
While they distracted him, Dori quickly summoned her communication lacrima. "Leon, Come in!" she called to it, "Can you hear me?!"
Nothing happened for a few seconds, then Leon's face appeared on the lacrima. "What is it? I'm kinda busy here." he responded.
"If you are busy, then I assume you are stopping the Moon Drip ceremony that's happening right now?" Dori questioned.
"Eh?! Why is the ceremony happening right now?!" Lucy's voice came from the lacrima. "This is bad! We gotta stop it!" Happy exclaimed.
"So the others are with you now, huh? Good." Dori understood, "Listen to me. Only one person is performing the ceremony right now. Natsu, Palva and I have our hands full here, so you have to stop him, fast!"
"You got it." Leon answered, and the lacrima went blank. Dori made the lacrima vanished, and glared at Zalty, prepared to fight him as well.
Within the jungle, Leon pocketed the lacrima as Erza questioned, "How do you plan to get there quickly?" He turned to her with a glare as he answered, "Through the wings of my best friend."
Suddenly, angel wings produced on the back of his coat. In truth, it was Pastry grabbing him from the back, and taking him into the sky. "Let's go stop that ceremony, Pastry!" Leon roared.
"I won't let you down!" Pastry answered, and he accelerated himself up to where the top of the temple was.
Back up in the throne room, both Gray and Lyon were still at it. Although Lyon had the upper hand at the beginning, Gray's tenacity and experience from fighting Natsu since they were kids allowed him to overwhelm him in the fist fight. Then Lyon decided to let go of his previous statement of preserving magic, and started using it on Gray again. In the midst of this, they felt the ground shake from the Iced Shell melting.
"The ruins are shaking again…" Gray stated.
"The Moon Drip ceremony has begun." Lyon noticed, his eyes full of malicious desires, "The ice on Deliora has started melting." Gray realized this meaning Ur's magic seal was starting to disappear as they stood there.
"It seems like this this it. You were not able to stop me." Lyon stated, summoning icy energy about him, "Do you know how long I have waited for this moment? Gathering allies and knowledge for the last ten years, to finally learn of this island. The island where moonlight can be gathered; Galuna!"
He summoned more Ice-Make Eagles at Gray, who dodged out of the way as they hailed all about him. He then put up a shield of ice to protect himself from the peppering attack. "We carried Deliora here from Brago!" Lyon explained, "And that was three years ago."
"Have you been wasting your time on this useless crap for three years?!" Gray question, disgusted that he wasted so much of his life.
"Useless?!" Lyon barked, his pupil's dilating and his magic energy surging, "This is coming from someone who's been laying idle in a guild for the past ten years!" He shot a much larger icy bird at Gray, who knew he couldn't block it, so he dodged it as it hit the ground strongly.
"I just believed Ur's words!" Gray growled back at Lyon, "She told us of mages stronger than her in the western countries. And it was Fairy Tail that I arrived at. There were heaps of amazing mages. It was unbelievable. I asked Gramps about a way to free Ur from the Iced Shell, too. He had an idea, but he stated that melting the ice would be the same as killing Ur. Now that I think of it, Gramps was probably going to mention Moon Drip." He glared angrily at Lyon as he finished, "And to think that the one to kill Ur would be her senior pupil! You're a disappointment!"
"Say whatever you want." Lyon retorted, not even phased by Gray's speech, "I have lived on for this day alone. How can a pupil, who was left behind, surpass his dead teacher…?" He summoned magic energy into his hand, forming a monster's head as he charged at Gray, roaring, "Think about it! It's Deliora! If I can obliterate the one thing my teacher would not defeat, then I can surpass her!"
"That aspiration of yours is admirable, but you don't realize that you've taken the wrong path along the way!" Gray roared, dodging every attack Lyon delivered with his lion-headed hand. He summoned a blade of ice, and slashed Lyon's iced fist with one swipe.
"Do you think someone who sees nothing could ever beat Ur?" he asked, "Think again! Not in a hundred years!" He slashed Lyon hard with his blade of ice, only to discover that Lyon was an iced decoy. "Ice-Make…" He heard Lyon's voice behind him, "…Snow Tiger!" With one hand, he summoned a giant beast of ice that came at Gray with sharp fangs and claws.
Gray wasn't even phased by this as he flipped upwards, shouting, "Ice Make Prison!" He summoned a giant cage beneath him that sealed the tiger in.
He flipped onto his feet, standing on top of the cage as he turned to the startled Lyon. "This is your true form, Lyon." Gray compared him, "A pitiful, wild beast who knows nothing of the world."
"Foolishness! I'll destroy that Creation Magic of yours!" Lyon roared, raising a hand to control the beast within the cage, but for some reason, he was having trouble freeing it or allowing it to use its' full power.
Gray landed onto the ground as he warned Lyon, "Creations made with one hand are imbalanced. So they lack power during crucial moments."
He placed a fist into his open palm as he used his Maker magic again, summoning a large circle beneath him. "Ice Cannon!" he roared, summoning a large bazooka weapon made out of ice, aiming it at Lyon. He blasted Lyon with a powerful blast of energy as Lyon roared in agony, succumbed to the attack as it blasted a hole in the wall behind him, showing the night sky. When the attack died down, Lyon stood there, barely hanging on as his eyes went blank, and his clothes torn to shreds. "That's what Ur taught us, right?"
"G-Gray…" Lyon gagged, and he fell onto his back, unable to continue on with the fight. Gray sighed in relief, then winced in pain as he completely forgotten Lyon's piercing attack from the beginning of their fight. "I should've frozen this up sooner…" he grimaced, placing ice over the spot to freeze the wound.
"Gray!" cried out a voice. Gray looked outside and saw Leon and Pastry arriving up to where they were at.
"Leon!" Gray greeted. "I see you've been busy with your own battles." Pastry noticed the fallen Cold Emperor.
Leon looked to him, then back to Gray as he asked, "So, you feel fulfilled, now?"
"Mostly." Gray answered, "What about you? What are you doing here?"
"We're gonna stop the ritual from happening!" Leon answered, "Someone's performing the Moon Drip ceremony above us, so we'd better hurry!" Gray nodded in understand.
Just then, he saw the leaves rustling from outside, and felt a sense of foreboding. His feelings were answered as there was a deafening bellow from down below, like a horrible monster cry. All of the guild members and allies were bracing their ears from the painful roar.
"Damn! My ears!" Leon growled, placing his hands over his ears. "It's gonna make them bleed!" Pastry cried out, already holding Leon to stop him from bracing his own ears.
Gray looked about him, stammering, "Th-That voice…I could never forget that." He recognized that voice far too well, as it was the same roar from the beast Ur sealed away. It was Deliora.
"Damn it! Has it been resurrected?!" Gray questioned in frustration. "We gotta stop the guy from unfreezing it any further!" Leon declared, "Pastry, let's go!" Enduring all he could against the roar, Pastry flew Leon up even higher, towards the top. Gray, on the other hand, felt there was only one thing he could do to stop it; Iced Shell.
Down in the caverns, Dori and the Dragon Slayers were in shock and their ears in agony as they witnessed the top half of Deliora's body completely melted off. The moment it was released, it created an ear-splitting roar that was amplified thanks to the caverns.
"It's here, it's finally here!" Zalty stated with delight. He grinned cheekily down at the trio as the demon stopped roaring.
"Damn it!" Natsu growled, "We don't have time to play around." "Agreed. We need to put this guy down and stop Deliora's revival!" Palva added.
"Don't worry about the ceremony." Dori assured them, "Leon is all over it. Just focus on this guy, for now!" Natsu and Palva looked back at her, grateful she got the message out.
All of a sudden, the two Fire Dragon Slayers were struck in the head by a pair of objects. "Guys!" Dori cried out, but ended up struck in the back by a third flying object.
"I can manipulate this as well." Zalty pointed out, as the three objects came back to circle the man, revealing themselves to be orbs of glass-like lacrima.
"Cheap shot…" Palva groaned as the trio rose to their feet again. "Bring it on!" Natsu declared.
Zalty shot an orb in a zig-zag towards Natsu, who charged in with a flaming fist, shattering the lacrima. As soon as he did this, Zalty flicked his hand, and the orb repaired itself. It then circled around, slamming hard into Natsu's gut. "But I broke it, didn't I?!" Natsu grimaced.
"It's that Time Magic!" Dori realized, before sidestepping an oncoming flying orb.
"That's correct. I can control the time of objects." Zalty explained, "In other words, I can rewind time back to before it was broken."
Palva twirled her lance about before unleashing a slash that cut the oncoming orb in half, making them pass right by her. Unfortunately, Zalty reformed it once more, making it circle around and slam her in the side, causing her to fall in pain. "Dang it all, he's right!" she moaned, "I cut it, but it just un-cut itself."
"The Arc of Time is a form of magic that has been erased from history itself." Zalty continued, "In other words, it is one of the Lost Magics." I knew it! Dori understood, This guy is on a whole different level compared to everyone else on this island!
"How about I advance these crystals's time into the future now?" Zalty questioned, and with a wave of his hands, the orbs all sped up, as if he pressed the fast-forward button on them. Natsu and Palva got pummeled hard by the crystals, while Dori summoned a dome of crystal that protected her from the fast-forward orbs, though they started to break through with every hit it delivered onto it. Natsu and Palva kept trying to punch and kick the orbs into a million pieces, but Zalty would just rewind the clock on them, allowing them to deal out more damage to them.
"Dori, I would really appreciate it if you would actually start fighting here!" Palva exclaimed, leaping high to avoid getting hit by the orbs, "Seriously, can't you take him down?!" She ended up getting hit by the crystal orb in the back, and got sent back down to the ground with a crash.
"Palva!" Natsu cried out. He then saw another orb, and prepared to strike it down with another fiery fist. However, before it got close to his fist, it stopped in midair, startling Natsu. "It stopped?!" he gasped, seeing his raging face reflected in the orb.
"As you can see, I can also stop its' time." Zalty pointed out.
"But it won't work on humans, will it?" Natsu asked, while Palva got back onto her feet, panting slightly.
"My, my, you sure are sharp." Zalty noticed, recalling the crystal orbs back to his side, "To be precise, this magic won't work on living creatures. That's why I cannot use this magic to reverse the Iced Shell that is Ur herself."
Palva turned to the Crystal Dome as it died down, revealing Dori once more, glaring at Zalty as she questioned, "There's something I don't get. You're helping Lyon revive this demon just so that he can destroy it. Sure, I get it will boost his inflated ego, but what's in it for all of his followers and minions? And what's in it for you?"
"I can't say for sure about the others. I've only joined recently." Zalty answered.
"Then what about you? You have plenty more power than Lyon or any of those guys." Dori noticed, leaping onto the slab of rock Natsu and Palva were on.
"Oh my, I see nothing gets past you." Zalty answered, and then he started to laugh, "The Cold Emperor. That spoiled brat would never be able to hold his ground against Deliora, in the first place."
"You knew he can't beat it, and you still allowed him to revive it?!" Palva questioned. "Then will you defeat it yourself?" Natsu asked.
"Certainly not…" Zalty answered, "I want to make it mine." The news made the trio narrow their eyes in suspicion as he continued, "There are techniques that can manipulate even an immortal beast. Wouldn't it be magnificent if I had such power under my command?"
"That's such a weak reason." Dori spoke up, drawing the attention of everyone else around her, "You really wormed your way into this mess just so you can control this monster? And here I thought you were smart."
Once again, Zalty laughed as he stated, "You really don't get it. There are times when you find yourself in need of more power."
"Statements like that just make you even more pathetic." Dori stated, "People who want power, but have no reasonable goal behind it, are even weaker than normal people. If you think of yourself as this all powerful manipulator, then show me what you can do; one-on-one."
"Hey, hold on!" Natsu barked, "I'm the one who's gonna kick this guy's butt, so let me-." His sentence was stopped by a lance whipped in front of his face, directed by Palva.
"I wouldn't intimidate my sis if I were you." she warned him, "There's a reason why I put my faith in her protecting me all this time." Natsu looked at Palva, then at Dori as she readied herself to fight.
"That ego of yours will lead you to destruction." Zalty warned Dori, raising a hand and summoning a magic circle, "Ceiling! Accelerate your time and crumble!" The ceiling above the trio started to fall down towards them.
Dori pulled out her crossbow and raised it to the sky, producing a magic circle. "Crystal Shot: Spread!" She roared, pulling the trigger and sending over a dozen shots homing into the oncoming rubble, hitting every single piece of rubble and destroying them before they came into contact.
"Do you really think your crystals can defeat my Arc of Time magic?!" Zalty questioned, sending the three orbs at Dori at a fast pace. She leapt high to avoid the first to from colliding with her, and stopped the third one with her free hand. Zalty grinned as he believed the impact would shatter her arm, but his grin faded when he noticed his crystal orb suddenly getting absorbed into Dori's open palm, disappearing from his view. She then placed her crossbow away as she fell back down, and leapt off the rock with the two orbs flying after her. She raised her hands as she caught the two orbs from the side, absorbing them as well.
"How is that possible?!" Zalty questioned, seeing Dori landing on a column of rock nearby. "I don't just summon crystals. I can absorb them into my body." Dori explained, "Think of it like a Dragon Slayer eating their own element, only I can't replenish my magic energy from them. Although, that doesn't mean I can't use them against my opponent!" She pulled her hand back like a baseball player, and swung it forward as she summoned one of the crystal balls she absorbed, sending it hurdling at Zalty. He leapt backwards, avoiding it as the orb broke the column he was on.
"You can't absorb all of these before they pepper you black and blue, kid!" he declared, sending a dozen more crystal orbs hurdling at Dori.
"Crystal Barrage!" Dori roared, unleashing her own barrage of crystals from her hands, impacting the crystal orbs and causing an explosion that fumed the entire area. Natsu and Palva endured down below, while Zalty and Dori remained unfazed as the smoke covered them. They were able to have enough visibility to land on two separate columns of rock.
"All of you people are messing up the villagers on this island for the dumbest of reasons." the Crystal mage growled, "Fighting for revenge. Destroying lives to show they are better. Gaining power for no good reason…" She hurled another one of Zalty's crystal balls she absorbed straight at the column Zalty stood on, destroying it and causing him to fall with the rubble.
"…If you can manipulate time, then let's see you avoid the future I have in store for you!" Dori roared as she shot forward, blowing away the smoke with her body so she had a clear aim of Zalty, summoning the third orb she absorbed, and throwing it directly at Zalty's face, making contact and causing him to fall to the ground below with a crash.
"Alright, sis!" Palva cheered. "That was seriously awesome." Natsu stated, then he huffed, "Though I wish I could've delivered a punch to his freaky face."
Dori leapt from column to column, landing on the ground nearby where Zalty landed. The crash caused a dust cloud to form, but she was able to see the silhouette of the man inside the fumes. However, what she saw wasn't what she had expected. His mask was on the ground next to him as he, or rather she, rose herself up. She looked to see Dori standing there, amazed at what she discovered about her opponent. Realizing her mask was off, she quickly took it and placed it back on. In an instant, her body transformed back into the masked man again as the dust cloud cleared.
"What in the…" Dori started. Zalty was no longer grinning like a fool, but gritting his teeth in an irritated way. "Who…who are you?" Dori questioned, "What are you really planning?"
"It seems like I underestimated you." Zalty stated, "You may be even stronger than Salamander. Make no mistake; This won't be the last time we meet." With that, he vanished into thin air, leaving Dori bewildered. What was his, or rather her, goal in all of this? And why the disguise?
"Dori!" Natsu called down to her, causing her to look up to see the Dragon Slayer look down at her.
"You okay?!" Palva asked. "Yeah. The guy's gone for now." Dori answered, "Looks like he won't be bothering us here."
Just then, something on Palva started to glow, and she pulled out her communication lacrima. "Leon, is that you?" she asked.
"Yep. Dori told me you guys were busy on your end." Leon explained, speaking to her from the top of the temple, with Toby laying unconscious next to him, and Erza, Lucy and the cats close by, "We stopped the guy performing the ceremony. What's more, Gray defeated that Cold Emperor guy. You all done on your end?"
"Everything's peachy here." Palva answered as Dori joined her and Natsu, "Looks like there was a manipulator among their gang, but sis took care of that."
"You mean all the other guys were taken down, and I didn't managed to do that?!" Natsu barked, "This sucks!"
"You are too late!" Toby's voice shouted through the lacrima, regaining consciousness, "The ceremony is already finished!"
Just then, Deliora made another humongous roar, drawing the trio in the cavern. It unleashed a column of green energy that shot into the ceiling above, surging all the way to where Leon and the others were.
"Oh, crap! I forgot how close they were to finishing that!" Palva exclaimed, bracing herself against the impact of the magic energy.
When the energy died down, Deliora stood straight up and roared once more, leaving the trio afraid at what they were witnessing. The demon of destruction had rose once more.
Another chapter done. Honestly, it took me a bit longer than I thought, but I wanted to cut it off before the crew decided the fate of Deliora. That leaves one more chapter before the end of the Galuna Island arc. I hope these battles were satisfying to you all.
And for those who have been asking about when I will continue my SAK series, I'll tell you this right now: I will return to it, eventually. Yes, I know it is long overdue for a chapter update, and yes, I left the Heart's Origin series at a pause, along with having some ideas for the Final Mix, especially with ideas after playing Kingdom Hearts 2.8. However, I am taking a good long break until I am influenced into doing it again. So please, I'm saying this as nicely as I can, but stop asking me about when it will come out next. It will come, just only when I want to do it.
For now, please enjoy this new series I have in store for you. I want to try and create this series that is appealing to others, including adding new twists to this anime involving my OC characters. I love hearing your opinions on my story, so please leave a review on my work, and wait patiently for the next chapter.