Ch. 5- Deliora Revived
Fairy Tail © Hiro Mashima
Story and OCs © Me
Lyon was left at Gray's mercy. Every time he tried to attack, the other Ice Wizard either hit him with his own Ice-Make spells or just delivered hard kicks or punches to his face, beating him bloody. Haru lied against Blue Fang's side, resting as she tried to rest from her wound. Gray may have been able to staunch the bleeding using his ice, but it was all he could do for her until she got some real medical attention.
All Haru could do was quietly cheer Gray on... because right now, she felt the same way he did: it was clear that words would no longer work on Lyon. The only thing that would get through to him was beating sense into him.
At one point, Gray did get hit by Lyon's Snow Dragon attack, but even as the right side of his stomach began to bleed, the raven-haired young man would not back down.
"All you're doing is making me waste my magic, Gray!" Lyon shouted, even though he was bleeding from his head and mouth by now. "I need to save it for my battle against Deliora!"
"Haa... haa...!" Gray panted. "You really think... I'm gonna let that happen, you bastard?!"
"It doesn't matter what you do, Gray," Lyon countered as he unclipped his cape and tossed it to the side. "Deliora will be revived! Nothing can stop it, now! NOTHING!"
"That's what you think," Haru spoke up, getting Lyon's attention, "but believe me, Lyon... Deliora's not coming out of that ice."
"Oh, really?" Lyon asked as he looked back and forth between her and Gray, who was struggling to stand. "Look at you two. One of you can barely move and the other is forcing himself to stand when he's starting to bleed out himself! Zalty will complete the Moon Drip ceremony and Deliora will rise again! What makes you think that you'll win?!"
"Because," Haru said before she grinned, "my big brother is someone I can always believe in."
"Huh?" Lyon muttered.
"She's right," Gray replied with a confident grin. "Natsu never backs down from anything... so don't ever underestimate him!"
"...Empty words," Lyon hissed. "All of them!"
Suddenly... the temple began to shake, causing Gray, Haru, and Blue Fang to look up, the silver wolf giving a worried whine from the tremors.
"W... what's going on, now?" asked Haru, nervously.
"The temple is shaking, again," said Gray.
"...The Moon Drip ceremony has begun," said Lyon. "The ice around Deliora has begun to melt!"
"What?!" Gray and Haru questioned.
"It's over, Gray," Lyon said. "You lose! Deliora shall be revived... and I will be the only one to stop it!"
Gray seethed as he glared at the silver-haired Ice-Make Wizard.
"I've long waited for this moment, Gray!" Lyon exclaimed, triumphantly. "For a whole decade, I've gathered people under and built up my knowledge, and that's when I learned about this island!" He then raised up his hands, causing several Ice Eagles to fly up from the floor, their thin, blade-like wings slicing into Gray, who did his best to block the attack.
"Gray!" Haru cried in horror.
"We brought Deliora all the way from Brago!" Lyon continued. "That was 3 years ago!"
"ENOUGH!" Gray shouted as he spread his arms out, using his own magic to cancel out the eagles. "You spent those 3 years... for a worthless task!"
"W... worthless?" Lyon repeated... his expression slowly darkening. "Worthless?!" With a wave of his hand, he sent another wave of ice at Gray, who grunted as he forced himself to block again, only to get pushed back. "Those are some bold words for a piece of trash who spent the last 10 years playing wizard as a hobby for some stupid guild!"
"I believed what Ur said!" Gray shouted. "She told me to go to the western lands, and that's where I found Fairy Tail! When I got there, I asked Gramps to help me find a way to melt the ice around Deliora... and I found out there was such a spell. I realize now that the Old Man was probably talking about Moon Drip." He then glared bitterly at Lyon. "And to think... one of Ur's own disciples is now working on trying to murder her! You're a pathetic excuse for a human being, Lyon!"
"Bah!" Lyon scoffed. "Go ahead and say what you will... but I've lived for this day, Gray!" He then charged at his rival, conjuring a large cat made of ice, just like the one he used to attack Blue Fang. "Just think about it! How can a disciple surpass his master if she's already dead?! The answer is simple: by defeating Deliora, the one enemy our master couldn't defeat, then I will finally surpass Ur!"
"I get that!" Gray shouted as he dodged the animal. "But while it's one thing to wanna improve yourself, you went about it the wrong way! What makes you think an idiot like you, someone who's blind to reality, could ever surpass Ur?! You need at least 100 years of training! Go learn something and then start over!" He then formed a sword of ice before slashing Lyon right through his stomach... or so it seemed. As it turned, it was just another ice clone made in Lyon's likeness, which crumbled instantly.
"Gray, careful!" Haru called. "He did the same thing with Natsu!"
"I got this, Haru!" Gray shouted, right before he sensed something behind him... and as he turned, he saw a giant cat lunging for him.
"ICE-MAKE: SNOW TIGER!" shouted Lyon.
"Nice try!" Gray declared before he put both his hands together. "Ice-Make: PRISON!" Soon after, he conjured a cage made entirely of ice, trapping the Snow Tiger inside. "Take a good look, Lyon, because this is what you REALLY look like: a wild animal who knows of the real world!"
"Don't make me laugh!" Lyon shouted. "I'll just tear down your puny ice cage with no effort!" However, as he tried to control the Snow Tiger... the bars of the cage would not break, causing him to gasp in horror. "No... it can't be! But how?!"
"You may be able to use one-handed Ice-Make spells," said Gray as he jumped down from the cage, "but the one-handed stance has bad balance. That's why it doesn't have the power it needs at critical moments like this!"
"What?!" Lyon questioned. "How dare you...! ICE-MAKE: EAGLE!" He then unleashed several ice eagles upon Gray, who grunted as he braced himself against the attack and was surrounded in a big cloud of ice and flurry. Lyon grinned triumphantly, thinking he had won... only to gasp as Blue Fang suddenly leaped out from the cloud and charged at him... with Gray riding on his back, holding a bazooka made of ice!
"It's over, Lyon!" he shouted. "ICE-MAKE: ICE CANNON!"
With that, Gray fired the cannon at Lyon, who screamed as he was sent flying right through the wall!
"...You should know," Gray said as the bazooka disappeared. "After all... Ur taught us that."
Lyon staggered and trembled, his clothes in shreds... but all he could do was make this last utterance.
"G... Gra... y...!"
Then, as he coughed up blood, Lyon finally collapsed to the floor. As for Gray, he panted as he leaned against the world, holding his bleeding stomach, causing Blue Fang to whimper in concern as he nudged him.
"I-It's okay, Blue Fang," Gray reassured as he pat the wolf on the side. "I'm okay..." He then put his hands to his wound, using his magic to freeze it shut. "Ngh...! Agh, damn that hurts!"
"Gray..."
Gray gasped as he turned to see Haru stumbling toward him, smiling proudly.
"Great job," she said. "You finally shut the bastard up."
"Haru," Gray said. "Are you okay?"
"I'll live," Haru replied. "It's you I'm worried about. You took more of a beating than me." She then looked to the giant hole in the wall... and noticed that night had fallen. "Uh... when did get it dark?"
Suddenly... a huge, unearthly roar shook the temple, causing them to gasp as they looked up.
"...Oh, shit...!" Gray whispered, his eyes wide in horror as he felt his heart practically hammering against his ribcage.
"G... Gray?" Haru asked as she held onto Blue Fang, who whined in fear as he heard that roar. "What's going on? What's that sound?!"
"...Deliora...!" Gray answered. "It's awake!"
"...Oh, no..." Haru said, worriedly.
XXX
At the temple entrance, Erza, Lucy, and Happy also heard the roar of the beast. In fact... the monster's cry was loud enough to shake the entire island!
"W... what's that noise?!" Lucy asked, worriedly. "It sounded like a monster growling!"
"Maybe it's just your tummy growling, Lucy!" Happy suggested.
"You know, you're not as funny as you think you are," Lucy groused.
"Could it be?" asked Erza, nervously. "Was that... Deliora?!"
"Oh, no!" Lucy cried. "That means the ice around it has melted!"
"Hey, look!" Happy exclaimed as he noticed a small beam of purple shining through the ceiling and the floor. "I've seen this before! That's the Moon Drip spell!"
As soon as he said this, Deliora's ferocious roar was heard again, this time louder than before.
"That doesn't sound promising," Erza said.
"Lucy, just eat something already!" Happy shouted.
"It's probably you!" Lucy countered. "Go eat a mouse or something!"
"We may hear Deliora," Erza began, "but the Moon Drip ceremony is still ongoing. Maybe it hasn't been completely revived, yet!" She then noticed a flight of stairs going to the roof of the temple. "Quickly! Up to the roof!"
"What?!" Lucy questioned. "But Deliora's below us!"
"If we stop the ceremony on the roof," Erza began, "we can stop Deliora! Now move!"
XXX
Haru whimpered as she both heard and felt Deliora's cry. Not just that, but she felt this powerful presence... in fact, this wasn't the first time she felt it. The last time she experienced this... it was when she, Natsu, and the others faced Lullaby back in Clover.
"...Gray," Haru whispered before she looked over at Gray, who stared down the temple hall. "Gray, what are we gonna do?!"
A pause... before Gray sighed.
"Haru," he spoke. "Go find Natsu and the others, then go to the village and get everyone off the island."
"What?" Haru asked. "W-why?! What are you gonna do?!"
Gray didn't answer her. Instead... he began to walk down the hallway.
"G-Gray?!" Haru called. "Gray, answer me! What are you gonna do?! GRAY!"
He still didn't answer her... much to her growing worry. She hurriedly clambered onto Blue Fang's back, even though her wound still caused her pain.
"Blue Fang, quick! Follow him!" Haru urged, and with a bark, the silver wolf obeys, following after the Ice Wizard.
'Gray... please don't do what I think you're about to do!'
XXX
Natsu gaped in disbelief at what he was seeing: Deliora, the behemoth monster that was encased in ice... had been freed. Its roar shook the cave where it stood, the ice around having melted into a gigantic lake at its feet.
"No way...!" Natsu whispered in shock.
"NATSU!"
Natsu gasped as he turned to see Gray, Haru, and Blue Fang appear... the former staring at the water sadly as he scooped in his hands and let it run over his fingers.
'...I'm sorry, Ur...'
"Guys!" Natsu called as he ran over to them. "You made it! You-" He then noticed Haru's frozen wound. "What the...?! Sis, what happened to you?! Where'd you get that from?!"
"Don't worry about it!" Haru shouted before she looked up at Deliora. "Is... is that...?!"
"Yeah... it's Deliora," Gray answered.
"There's only one thing to do!" Natsu shouted as he pointed at the monster. "We gotta take that thing out! Where are Erza and Lucy?! We need their help!"
Gray opened his mouth to answer, only to gasp as he heard snickering behind, causing him, Blue Fang, and Haru to turn and see Lyon crawling toward them... although he looked like he was barely alive.
"Not a chance..." he said. "There's no way... you could defeat that monster...! It's my prey... I must be the one to surpass Ur! So... I must-"
"WILL YOU SHUT UP ABOUT THAT, ALREADY?!" Haru yelled, causing Lyon to gasp. "'Surpass Ur' this and 'Surpass Ur' that! I'M SICK OF HEARING IT! Why are you so FIXATED on that?!"
Lyon's mouth quivered as he attempted to speak... but Haru cut him off before he could.
"Don't you get it, Lyon?!" asked Haru. "Ur didn't give up her life for you to do something like this! You've become an obsessive maniac, focusing on one thing only! Do you really think that Ur would have wanted you to waste your life for something like this?!" She then grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and lifted him up. "WAKE UP, LYON! DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT UR WOULD BE PROUD OF YOU IF SHE SAW WHAT YOU'VE BECOME?!"
Lyon's eyes went wide... memories appearing in his mind's eye. He saw himself, standing before Ur, who was reading a book after she tended to a young Gray's wounds. The boy was upset and jealous over having to share his master with the orphan and even dared to say that Gray was merely a replacement for her daughter, just as Lyon was. However... this earned him a slap to the face from the female Ice Wizard, who glowered down at him fiercely at first... but then she smiled, tenderly as she dropped down to her knees and cupped his face.
"I never once thought of you or Gray as a replacement for my daughter, Lyon... you are you... my beloved student."
"...Ur..." Lyon whispered, finally remembering the warmth and tenderness that she gave to him and Gray... the motherly love that she provided them both.
"That's enough," Gray spoke as he stepped forward. "Just leave it to me." He then took on a familiar stance, crossing his arms and laying his hands out flat. "I'll be the one to take down Deliora, once and for all!"
"W... what?!" Lyon questioned.
"No...!" Haru whispered, realizing what he planned to do. "Gray, no! Not again!"
"This is why I told you to leave, Haru!" Gray shouted. "Just get outta here!"
"No, Gray!" Haru cried. "You can't do this!"
"She's right, Gray!" Lyon yelled. "Don't you realize how long it took to melt that ice?! Someone will eventually find a way to melt your ice, too, and Deliora will still be revived!"
"I know that," Gray began as his body began to turn white, "but... this is all I can do! THIS IS THE ONLY WAY TO STOP HIM!"
"NO!" Haru screamed as she practically threw her arms around him from behind, causing him to stumble. "I WON'T LET YOU!"
"GET OFF ME, HARU!" Gray demanded as he tried to pry the green-haired girl from his back. "I HAVE TO DO THIS!"
"I WON'T!" Haru yelled, tears falling from her eyes again. "PLEASE, GRAY, DON'T DO IT! YOU CAN'T DIE, NOT LIKE THIS!"
"DAMMIT, HARU!" Gray cursed. "STOP BEING SO SELFISH!"
"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'S BEING SELFISH!" Haru cried, causing him to gasp. "WHY ARE YOU SO READY TO GIVE UP YOUR LIFE?!" A gut-wrenching sob soon racked her body, and through his bare skin, Gray could feel her trembling. "Gray... please, don't do it...! Please... I'm begging you!"
Gray's eyes went wide... but then Deliora roared again, causing him to look up at the monster. He seethed, frustration and fear beginning to take over. If Haru wouldn't let him stop this demon... then who would?
"Now you've gone and done it, Snowflake."
"N-Natsu?" Gray asked as he looked up to see Natsu standing before Deliora.
"Salamander?" Lyon repeated.
"You made my little sister cry TWICE in one day!" Natsu shouted. "I won't forgive anybody who does that, not even you, Gray!" He then turned and glared back at the Ice Wizard. "So... first I'm gonna kick this monster's ass, then I'm comin' for you for makin' Haru worry so bad, got that?!"
"Natsu...!" Haru whispered while Blue Fang stared in awe.
"You idiot!" Gray shouted. "Stay out of the way!"
"If you're gonna freeze this thing, you may as well freeze me along with it!" shouted Natsu, causing the black-haired teen to tense up. "Well?! Go ahead and try that 'Iced Shell' now, Gray!"
Gray trembled, his arms falling to his sides... even though he tried so hard to will them back up in the earlier stance.
"That's what I thought," Natsu sneered before he turned to face Deliora. "Now... just shut up and watch." He lit his hands on fire, preparing to leap into battle. "YOU HEAR THAT, YOU UGLY SONUVABITCH?! I'M FIRED UP, NOW, SO COME AND GET ME!"
With a roar, Deliora raised its fist as if to answer Natsu's call to battle... but then, just as it was preparing to bring its fist down on the Dragon Slayer... its arm suddenly broke off, and soon after, its whole body began to crumble into dust!
"W... what...?!" Gray whispered.
"What's happening?" Haru asked.
"Deliora... it's breaking apart!" Lyon realized in shock and disbelief. "It was... it was already dead to start with!"
Deliora let out this anguished roar as its body began to disintegrate until only its head was left. As the monster let out a choked cry... its eyes almost seemed to glow, albeit faintly... and it made one final utterance.
"E... N... D..."
Soon after... its head turned into dust, as well, leaving absolutely nothing behind.
"...E.N.D...?" Haru whispered.
"Wait, I don't get it," Natsu said. "What just happened?"
"For ten years," Lyon explained, "while it was encased in Ur's ice... its life force was slowly being drained away. What we witnessed... was Deliora's dying moments." He then chuckled, mirthlessly... as tears began to form in his eyes. "I... I spent a whole decade... for nothing. I'll never be able to surpass Ur..." He sniffed as he put his hand over his face, weeping quietly.
"Damn, dude!" Natsu cursed in awe. "Your master was awesome!"
Gray only stood there, unable to speak... but then, all of a sudden, he began to chuckle... a soft but genuine laugh... but then that laughter soon turned to weeping as tears fell from his eyes.
"...Thank you... Ur...!" he whispered, prompting Haru to wrap her arms around him in a tight hug while Natsu grinned.
"Natsu!"
Natsu turned to see Lucy, Happy, and Erza enter the cavern.
"Hey, Luce! Happy!" Natsu called. "And Erza, too-" His happiness quickly turned to horror as he noticed the aforementioned Requip Wizard. "OH, CRAP, ERZA!"
Unfortunately, he didn't get very far, for Erza grabbed him by his scarf before he could escape.
As for Ur's melted ice... it ran out via the temple aqueducts and flowed out into the sea. In a way, it was as if Ur still lived on... at least, that's what Gray believed, and Lucy and Haru also believed it. They felt that whether she turned into sea, clouds, or even rain, she would always look after her two beloved disciples, because all she wanted was for the two of them to get along.
However, in spite of their triumph... Haru couldn't help but feel bothered by the last thing Deliora said before it crumbled into oblivion.
'...E... N... D...?' she thought. 'What is that?'
Oh, you'll find out Haru... in time.
Review, please!