Infuriated from being considered unfit to help, Lyla helped the villagers set up camp in their storage area a little ways from the village. She moved boxes and barrels, set up cots and futons, and did anything else she could to keep herself busy. If she wasn't busy, her mind might wander somewhere unpleasant.
Many of the villagers suggested kindly for her to rest. Lyla had been working nonstop and the moon's curse did a number on her, but she had to keep herself busy. Plus, Gray was sleeping off his wounds in the infirmary, so she had to make up for the work he couldn't do.
It wasn't until the camp was finished being set up when Lyla sat down to catch her breath. That's when a young woman with a blue, insect-like leg -due to the curse- offered her a plate of food.
Instead of fighting, Lyla took the apple that was there more as a side dish and began walking towards the woods. She hadn't gone far when someone asked, "Where are you going?"
"To eat in peace," she replied drily and continued walking. "I'm not going far."
"But it still isn't safe!" The villager insisted.
"I'm not safe," She retorted softly before rapidly disappearing into the woods. It was partially true, but more as an excuse to be left alone at the moment.
"What?" The person said, unsure of what Lyla had said.
Lyla, staying true to her words, stayed close to the makeshift camp, close enough to hear quietly and far enough to be alone.
As the girl settled into the crook of a tree branch, she listened to the sounds of nature as they echoed. After double checking no one was around, she pulled her mask down and began to eat. The apple was gone before long. She stared toward the camp, listening to the villager's enjoying themselves despite their curse. Her mind began to wander as she listened.
She had been listening to them for hours, thinking, when a loud, obnoxious laugh cut above the quiet chatter. Gray would still be asleep, so only one person was going to be this obnoxious. Natsu.
Lyla climbed down from her perch and moved through the woods, away from the camp, until she saw the idiot. Silent as always, the teenager walked up behind Natsu and smacked him across the back of the head.
"Shut up, ash-brain! Do you want that Reitei asshole to hear you?" The girl snapped, hissing under her breath to keep quiet. "You've already startled all the animals around here!"
"I didn't know you cared so much about the animals," Natsu said, confused and rubbing the back of his head.
"I don't care right now, that's L-...nevermind..." She trailed off sadly. After a second, she returned to normal. "It'll let the enemy know where we are if we disturb the wildlife too much. That is not a good idea if we're going to protect the villagers."
"Oh, that makes sense. I didn't know you were smart like that, Lyla."
"Just be quiet." The girl was pinching the bridge of her nose.
"But what if I have a plan?"
It was the next afternoon when Natsu and Lyla made it to the temple built over Deliora. It was quite warm outside. Unpleasantly warm, at least, for Lyla, who was wearing dark clothes. Inside the temple, it would be nice and cool.
"All right! Let's split up!" Natsu exclaimed.
"Shut up," The girl groaned, rubbing her temples. "You're going to attract the enemy and make my damn headache worse. So shut the hell up!"
"Oh, okay…" Natsu said, a little spooked by Lyla's outburst. She had been calm since she had first scolded him in the forest.
"Just… let's go break some stuff." She said softly, rapidly changing mood. He nodded and they headed inside together.
It wasn't long before loud crashes resounded throughout the temple and flares of black shadows and red flames could be seen.
The temple began to tilt as Natsu broke pillar after pillar. Lyla, exhausted from it all, was sweating profusely as she broke the pillars more slowly.
"Are you ok, Lyla?" Natsu called, still smashing through the support system.
"I'm fine. Keep going. I'll be right behind you." He nodded and continued working.
In no time at all, Natsu had destroyed majority of the pillars on the left side. Lyla managed to destroy the few he didn't get to. The temple slanted, causing Lyla to lose her balance.
Natsu had blown a hole through several floors. Now the two wizards could see who Lyla assumed to be Reitei, the cat guy, and an old man dressed in a cloak and mask peering down at them from five floor above.
Natsu started laughing. "I'd rather destroy it before you found me out," he glanced at Lyla, "but these ruins are a lot harder to bring down than I thought."
The one she thought was Reitei asked, horrified, "What are you trying to do?"
"The building is crooked now, right?" Natsu got ready to jump. "This way, the moonlight can't shine on that demon below!"
The building rumbled again and Lyla fell to the floor.
"You bastard! How dare you do this?" Reitei sneered. "Damn you, Fairy Tail!"
"Oh no… I don't get what's going at all..." The cat guy stated.
The old man turned to him and said, "They are trying to topple these ruins. By destroying half of the pillars holding up the base of the ruins, he can topple the building so that the moonlight will not reach Deliora." The man smirked more. "That's probably his plan."
"Despite Natsu being the dunce he is, he can be smart at times." Lyla… complimented him? The men couldn't hear her, but Natsu could.
"Quit yapping already!" Natsu exclaimed, firing flaring around his feet and lifting him slightly.
"Flames on his legs?" Reitei asked in confusion, yet his face did not show it.
The catman made a questioning sound before saying, "This guy can flame up any part of his body!"
Natsu jumped -growling. He catapulted into Reitei's stomach, knocking him straight up. The cat made a shocked snorting sound while the old man just looked satisfied. He began to crack, then shatter in a bright green-blue flash of ice before another glow of the same color took its place.
"What?" Natsu glanced behind him. "A fake?"
"Ice-make Eagle!" Reitei exclaimed. The girl couldn't see him from the bottom floor, but she saw the eagles bolt at Natsu.
"You can't evade them in mid-air!"
Natsu's response was to look up and blast fire at the ceiling, slamming himself into the floor. Lyla couldn't see him anymore, but heard his landing. Another blast of fire could be heard.
"What haphazard magic!" Reitei said.
"Fire Dragon's Breath!" Another jet of fire launched from Natsu. A moment later, a scream echoed from him.
Lyla remained in the shadows of the floor just beneath them. She took the time during the fight to make her way to the top.
"Seems that you were in luck, Reitei-sama." The old man said.
"Keep it to yourself that I got fired…" The catman told them.
"What did you do?" Reitei's voice echoed imperiously.
"What indeed..." Was the old man's smug reply.
"Don't play dumb." Reitei snapped. "It was your magic that destroyed the floor, right?"
"As expected of Reitei-sama… Nothing gets past you." The old man sighed. "But, please do understand. I cannot afford to lose you until Deliora is resurrected." A cold wind rose from Reitei's magic, the fog icy fog with it falling down the hole Natsu created earlier.
"Are you saying that I would lose to those flames?" Reitei asked as his magic glowed brighter. The wind got stronger and some ice, the same color of Reitei's magic, sprouted from underneath him. It quickly spread throughout the floor, the walls, the ice even reached the ceiling. Lyla let out a soft hiss when the ice froze over the hole above her. Now she would have to break through. Damn it…
"Begone! I will finish him myself. I'm the one and only wizard who can defeat Deliora. Reitei Lyon! I wouldn't be worthy of that reputation if I had a hard time with this brat." Lyla managed to make out what Reitei said. It would've been so much easier to eavesdrop several years ago.
Lyla used magic from her palms to lift her up from the ground. She listened to Reitei talking. Once it seemed like she stood just behind him, she created a platform beneath her to keep her above ground and started pounding on the ceiling. Her ironclad gloves plus aid from her magic made the rubble crumble faster. The ice started to crack to too long afterwards.
Luckily, Reitei had been casting a spell, so he didn't hear Lyla until the ice shattered behind him,the teenager leaping out.
He turned around only for Lyla's foot to snap kick him up his jawline. Reitei recoiled back, touching where she had hit him with his fingers.
He roared in fury, "Ice Make Eagles!"
Lyla was ready to block the attack when Natsu's fire got his attention.
"Don't forget who you're fighting!" Natsu called back, his childish demeanour completely vanishing. Lyla never knew Salamander could be so serious.
"Just drop it and surrender already, pointy-eyed bastard."
"Like you eyes aren't pointy." Reitei retorted.
Reitei Lyon was slim with a muscular body. His bluish silver hair spiked upwards with a few strands falling over the left side of his face. His eyes were pointy like Natsu's, but slimmer. He wore a large white cape with fur trimmings and golden edges over a light ocean blue tunic coming just below his knees. He also had dark pants tucked into armoured boots.
"Time to settle the score." Natsu grinned madly, his fist igniting in flames. Lyla's magic engulfed her hands, too. Reitei would have to dodge both wizards at the same time, and it would be trickier from both the front and the back.
They looked to the side as a part of the wall of ice began to crack. Someone else was on the other side…
"What's this?"
Lyla was relieved when it turned out to be Gray breaking through. His clothes were only his pants, shoes, and bandages wrapped around his upper body.
"Natsu, Lyla," Gray began, "please let me take care of his guy."
"You jerk, you lost to to him once already, remember?" Natsu reminded him. Everyone's guards were still up, but Gray's sudden appearance stopped all the fighting.
"This time, I won't."
"At least let us help. It'll be easier with three against one." Lyla's voice raised slightly. She tried her best to keep from lashing out. The moon may not be out yet, but it had long lasting effects on her, just like the villagers.
"This is between him and me." Gray told her. She snarled in response, keeping her hands ready in case Reitei attacked. First Natsu keeps her from fighting the ice wizard's goons, now Gray won't let her fight the stupid ice wizard.
Gray shifted, spreading his feet and crossing his wrists in an "X".
"That pose…" Reitei gasped, "Iced shell!" Whatever spell Gray was casting was either very advanced, very dangerous, or both.
"Ice shell?" Natsu asked to no one in particular.
Lyla recalled Gray saying how Ul used a spell called Iced Shell to seal Deliora.
Bastard had a death wish, huh? How stupid can Gray get?
"Have you gone mad?" Reitei said.
"Return the villagers to normal," Gray demanded, "and get off of this island along with your underlings!" An ice blue magic circle appeared under him, "This is your final chance."
"Gray, shut up and stop this!" Lyla yelled at him, "You're really going to give your life up just to stop some guy?"
He ignored her. He began casting the spell, freezing wind biting Lyla's skin through her clothes. The force of the wind was too strong for Reitei, who lost his balance and flew backwards. Natsu and Lyla couldn't move, otherwise they'd be sent flying into the walls.
"No matter how much time passes by," Gray spoke over the wind, his bandages coming undone, "the fact that I killed Ul will remain unchanged. I knew I'd have to take responsibility one day."
Lyla blocked her eyes with her hands with how bright the spell was, her magic going out.
"And today is that day. I've been ready to die for the last ten years!"
Lyla's eyes threatened to tear up. It could've been from the light, or from something else.
"You dumbass!" Natsu's voice echoed in the large room, punching Gray in the cheek and leaving a bruise.
The wind stopped, the spell stopped, everything went silent. Lyla took deep breaths now that she could relax on some level.
"Natsu!"
"You suddenly interrupt my fight and start blabbing about this 'responsibility' crap? You're irritating! Don't steal my prey!"
"Way to be the salamander you are." Lyla said snarkily.
She was ignored, the bickering between Salamander and Ice Queen apparently much more important to deal with right now. She almost forgot that they were here to defeat the enemy.
"Honestly, could you two just be quiet for three seconds?" Lyla pushed Gray and Natsu away from each other.
The temple just then began rumbling, the ice on the ceiling breaking apart. Lyla noticed that floor was being tilted back to normal. Somehow, it was standing up straight again.
Natsu began having a fit that their work was being undone while Gray and Lyla worried about the light now being able to shine on Deliora.
"I'm sorry, I was busy." The short old man from before came running in through the hole Gray broke through.
"Zalty, is this your doing?" Reitei asked the old man. At least Lyla now had a name for his masked face.
"The moon will be coming out soon, so I decided to restore the temple."
"After all our work to disrupt it!" Natsu exclaimed in annoyance, "How were you able to restore it?"
Zalty ignored him, returning his attention to Reitei, "Well then, I suppose we must make preparations for the Moon Drip ceremony."
The old man ran off, Natus chasing after him.
"Natsu!" Gray exclaimed, "Lyla, go after him."
"Tch." Lyla ran in the direction Natsu had gone, but stopped. Zalty was probably heading to Deliora, where the moon's curse would be the strongest. Once the moon came out, it would be worse for her and she'd end up being useless.
So, Lyla ran back to Gray and Reitei. She made sure her steps were silent and stayed in the shadows, peeking through the hole in the wall of ice. At most, she could offer a surprise lethal blow when Reitei was most vulnerable during their fight.
Lyla placed her hand over her mouth to keep from gasping. Her eyes wide, she saw that Reitei had cast a spell. An ice shaped like a snow tiger sprouted from Gray's back. The spell shot through his side. Gray collapsed from the pain.
Gray stood up, punching Reitei in the side of his face. He shot backwards, creating a dent in the iced wall behind him. Blood dripped down Gray's side.
"Impossible! How can you move despite such a grave injury?" Reitei exclaimed in confusion.
The two ice wizards stood up, they stopped using magic and agreed on an old fashioned brawl, which seemed pointless to Lyla, but it might be better for Gray's sake.
Then again, maybe not. Reitei was beating the crap out of Gray with such ease. He wasn't even scratched. Meantime, Gray struggled to stand up straight.
"In the end, you are still no match for me." Reitei began walking away, Lyla back away from the entryway and let her magic escape her hand. If she was going to attack him, it would be as he walked out. One powerful spell should do the trick.
"Wait!" Gray stood up, showing that he has not been defeated yet, "this isn't over yet!"
The shadows in her hand vanished. Reitei charged at Gray. Gray charged at him, they exchanged punches to the face, but Gray's had more power behind it.
"There's no way I am gonna lose!" He yelled.
The two wizards started beating each other to a pulp, and Gray seemed to be winning.
Lyla's eye started to sting. The moon must be above the temple by now, but the moon drip must not be as strong yet.
Angered, Reitei casted a spell, "Ice Make Snow Dragon!"
A large dragon made of ice flew and clenched it's jaws onto gray. He managed to break free and rolled onto the floor.
"You broke our promise!"
"Who gives a damn? No matter how you struggle, Deliora will soon be resurrected!"
The temple shook. Lyla would love to pull her eye out right now, it felt like the fires of Hell were burning in it. Again. She tried stifling a scream of pain, which came out as small shrieks.
Gray and Reitei were casting spells. Gray created an iced cage to trap Reitei's snow tiger. They were speaking, but the girl couldn't hear.
"No." Lyla hissed, "No, no, no, no, no…" She continued to chant, as if it might stop her magic. The magic became more uncontrollable by the second. Shadows oozed out of her hands, a dark aura glowed from her. She ripped her mask off of her face, her body was burning up!
"Ice Cannon!" Gray casted a spell that created a large cannon in his hands. He knew it would be the final attack to end this fight.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Lyla screamed at the top of her lungs. Shadow magic bursted from her body, shooting out in all directions. It broke through the ice Reitei created, it shattered through the ruins' old and already crumbling walls.
Gray created an iced shield to block where this magic was coming from. It shattered almost instantaneously and was thrown into the wall. By the time the magic cleared out, he saw Lyon unconscious on the floor.
He saw black and purple shadow magic emitting from a somebody in the distance. At the sudden pain in his side, he created some ice to block his wound from the beginning of his fight.
Gray cautious approached the body. It turned out to be Lyla's?
She laid there, unconscious, but trembling. Gray reached his hand out to pick her up and carry her, but the magic around her shot a blast of shadows at him. He dodged to the side before it hit him and stumbled.
"What is this?" So it looked like he couldn't touch her…
He created a sled with his maker magic and slid it under her, being careful so she couldn't get hurt.
Whatever state Lyla was in, it seemed like she was very vulnerable.
Gray didn't trust Lyon being in the same room as Lyla, even when her magic was protecting her, so he decided to take her to a safe place near the exit of the ruins. It wouldn't be wise to take her closer to moon drip, which caused her last episode similar to this. Slowly, he began pulling the sled and the glowing teenager on it.
Lyla groaned in pain when the sled hit a bump.
"Don't worry. We'll be safe soon." Gray tried to reassure her, or, more accurately, himself.