Chapter 10
After Mayhem tossed Sherry and Lucy off a cliff
The two girls had been lucky enough to land in the sea in deep water, so they just threaded water miserably as they made their way to shore utterly soaked, "if that thing doesn't kill someone that'll be the day" Lucy said, "i'm starting to think Mayhem is an appropriate name" Sherry admitted then looked around and began to sweat nervously as she realized where they were, "oh no not here!" she exclaimed, "what why not here?" Lucy asked, beginning to panic, "we'll it was nice known you as an enemy but i must leave now" Sherry said shaking Lucy's hand "uh what?" Lucy asked.
"Doll attack: rock doll" she said as clusters of rocks formed around her and formed a large golem with her on it's head, the golem moved to the cliff and began to climb, "hey what do you think you are doing!?" Lucy demands, "leaving you to die" Sherry said casually as the golem climbed, "better you get noticed by who lives here than i", "why you little-!!!" Lucy shrieked, "and isn't a golem climbing a cliff more noticeable than two girls on a speech.
Sherry stopped with a comical look on her face at Lucy's sentence, "well-" she began feebly, then a shadowy figure jumped off the cliff above her, they all looked up to face the figure, even the golem and that was it's mistake as the figure wielded a sword and it threw it like a javelin straight down it went into the golems mouth and sliced straight through the insides of the golem like it was hot butter and came out the other end and impaled itself straight up in the sand.
The Golem began to crack and crumbled to dust and fell to the ground around the sword, Sherry remained suspended in the air for a few seconds before falling back down to earth hard, "ow" she said, "you okay?" Lucy asked, "no we're dead" Sherry said in utter panick. There was a THUMP as the figure landed next to her sword.
It was a woman, a tall woman, bigger than any human woman, wearing armor with the right side being the color of gold and the left side being blood red, her black hair lay free down her head and shoulder and on her face was a golden mask that covered her mouth and nose, her eyes were pupiless like a sharks but pure white.
She drew out the blade by the long and thin hilt which was honestly almost as long as the actually blade and the girls realized that it was bitingly sharp and searing hot getting to the point of being white at the tip of the blade, "oh Lyon's bitch, should have known he would send you ta die, must have gotten too scared to dump yah" the woman mocked in a heavily scottish accent. "Um w-who are you?" Lucy asked fearfully, "you don't get ta talk missy this here's my property so let me give yah a proper Maker welcome" the woman said, "Maker?" Lucy asked.
The woman then charged swinging the sword, Lucy jumped out of the way felling a little bit of the searing heat from the tip of the sword, the dodge didn't last long as she then swung the sword down and the impact sent Lucy rolling as she dodged.
With Lucy temporarily stunned, the tall woman turned to Sherry, "uh don't kill me" she cowered, "i warned yah about what happens when ye come here a Makers forge is her castle you know" the woman said loudly, by know lets just call her the Maker as we don't know her real name. Sherry composed herself, "Doll attack: Wood doll" Sherry said summoning a creature this time made out of wood from the nearby tree's, "sorry no love for you".
This moment however was short lived as a single clean cut from the Makers sword cut the creature clear in half, Sherry once again fell off the creature and then stared up at what most would consider their executioner, "anymore tricks up ya sleeve girl or have ya finally fan out of resources as all wizards do in the end" the Maker mocked as it raised it's sword, "hey hold it missy" Lucy said.
She held up a gatekey and plunged it into the water "open gate of the water bearer: aquarius" Lucy said and a mermaid woman appeared in the water with a blue hair and a nothing but a bra to cover her chest. "Who's the bloody siren?" the Maker asked, it was Aquarius holding her amphora as her main weapon, "Aquarius?" Sherry asked, "how does a weakling like you have a spirit with that kind of power?".
"That big woman is our enemy!" Lucy told Aquarius stoically who didn't register her, "she's trying to kill us so go get her", "would be a relief honestly" Aquarius said, "I don't have time to deal wit your bad attitude!" Lucy yelled back, her voice echoing a little bit "Get over there and take her down! Now!", "take me down i'd like to see ya try" the Maker scoffed as it held it's sword in both hands, "well i see your just as annoying as ever" Aquarius said calmly, "no wonder you still don't have a boyfriend".
Two burns to Lucy, she fumed at her Spirit, "geez why do you keep rubbing it in like that!?" she screamed waving her arms around angrily, "listen bitch i'm hearing a lot of talk and your here to fight and that's it so cut the mouth and show me if you can knock me off ma feet" the Maker challenged, "did you just call me a bitch?" Aquarius snapped, "you bet i did" the Maker said adding insult to Injury with the whore comment.
In absolute fury Aquarius for once did as she was told, she used her power and created a tidal wave, a massive tidal wave that would swallow the whole bay, the Maker was quick however and ran towards the cliff, two stride in she leapt at a distance not humanly possible, she was already halfway up the cliff and with another great leap she was at the top of the cliff and out of harms way, "OH COME ON THAT'S NOT FAIR!" Lucy shrieked in an absolute undignified manner.
It was too late to cancel spell Lucy was the first to be swept up by the tidal wave, "please have mercy" Sherry begged the tidal wave, mercy was not forth coming as the tidal wave turned into a water cyclone and now both Ladies were going through a rough ride as they were tossed and joselled around by the cyclone.
Aquarius watched amused, "huh and i thought the blond girl was stupid at least i got to teach them a lesson" she said, "i can close my own gate thank you very much bye-bye" and with that she disappeared. The tidal wave retracted with both girls sprawled on the floor. The Maker looked at the two hoping they were dead, they were not, Lucy was the first to wake up but the ride had made her very dizzy, so Dizzy that she had to use her arms for balance.
Sherry was virtually the same, the two argued pointing in opposite direction not being able to see where each other were in their dizziness, bumped into each other and began to fight blabbering while doing so. The Maker caught words such as Lyon, Defeat, i won you didn't, no i did.
And then the Maker decided enough was enough and now was time to get some answers, she jumped down, bashed both Lucy and Sherry on the head and lifted them off the ground, "okay what's going on, are ya with Lyon or against him?" she demanded, "no me and my team are here to stop him and his cronies including her" Lucy said pointing to the terrified Sherry, "from releasing Deliora".
The Maker dropped Lucy, "well you could have started with that, any enemy of that prick is a friend of mine" she chuckled, "names Ibojil the Blood anvil", "well um nice to meet you Ibojil but uh what do we do with her?" Lucy asked pointing to Sherry, in response the Maker backed up, aimed with one arm while holding Sherry in the other, "no! how could this happen to me?" Sherry wondered out loud as the Maker ran a few paces and then threw her like a cricket ball high into the air.
"I never loose" she mopped depressingly as she thought of Lyon, "although the burning flame of my life has been extinguished far too soon, my love for you will blaze on eterna-" and that was when she landed on the beach of the mainland near Harbinger headfirst, miraculously she was still alive but now with a large bump on her head she swayed for a moment and then fell unconsciously.
"Uh bloody drama queen, could barely stand her'' Ibojil said back on the island "not that you're any better" she then said to Lucy, Lucy was about to complain but then something jumped off the cliff and landed in an explosion of dust not to far away, "oh what now does no one respect property anymore?" the Maker said outraged, it was Erza, looking majestic in her armor as she looked at the two, "Erza-!" Lucy began happily but then she notice the look Erza had flashed and the rest of her sentence died in her throat.
"Oh i forgot she's mad at us because we broke guildrules and took an S-class mission without permission" Lucy thought pale faced, sweating and frozen in fear, "what the bloody hell are you doing on my land, answer before i get upset" Ibojil threatened, "ask her" Erza responded referring to Lucy, "your here to take us back to the guild" Lucy quavered, "promise you won't hurt me" the statement echoed around awkwardly and eventually petered out into nothing.
"Hey i've been looking all over for you!" called a new voice, the Maker massaged her temples in frustration, it was Happy, Lucy fell to her knees in despair, "i'm glad your okay i was wor-" Happy stopped and shut his mouth as he noticed Erza, in desperation he tried to fly away, only to be caught by the tail, "Dolls, Girls, mermaids and now a flying cat!?" the Maker said exasperated, "gonna have to move now that people are coming in as they please no thanks to you three musketeers".
"Don't worry we'll be leaving soon" Erza assured the Maker, "now where is Natsu?" she asked Lucy, "listen i'm sorry we came here, but all things considered i think we are qualified even without permission with Strife on out team" Lucy pointed out, the Maker took a double take at the Mention of Strife but said nothing, "and some really awful things have been happening on this island" Lucy said trying to reason with Titania, "true enough, and all because of that Lyon twat" Ibojil agreed.
"Yeah and his Minions are going to revive a frozen demon and the islands villagers are suffering" Lucy added, "they've turned into monsters", she averted her eyes, "we just thought that if worked together we may be able to help them", "none of that is my concern" Erza said emotionally, "pfft you have the wise choice of the lot" the Maker scoffed, "but not the right choice" she then thought all of the information Lucy had said had lit a spark somewhere inside her. Lucy couldn't contain herself, "please Erza let us finish this job" she said in desperation.
"We can't just leave things this way", Erza pointed her sword at her, still holding Happy by the tail, "i don't think you understand you betrayed master Makarov you'll be lucky to get away with your lives" she said, "except maybe Strife" Erza thought miserable, but the one who saved Lucy's life was Ibojil who had been working up a good grievance ever since Lucy had began to talk about the villagers a demon and someone named Strife.
Strife? Could he really be…, "i'll help yah round up your stragglers" Ibojil said, Lucy, Happ and Erza looked to her in absolute surprise, "uh why?" Erza asked, "the sooner you all together the sooner you can help me move as payment for ma services, that's how wizards work ain't is?" Ibojil replied as she drew her sword from her back glaring at Lucy.
"Oh no Now there's two ERZA's!" Lucy thought.
Next morning in the village
Gray woke up in a tent and very well rested for some reason, he still had bandages on however, he stepped out of the tent to find a mass of tents around him, similar to the village but a lot more spaced out, "oh thank goodness your awake" A voice said from behind Gray, it was a village girl named Sakura with a blue insect-like leg, "oh hey" Gray said, trying not to look at her insect leg for the sake of politeness.
"Still can't believe that Lyon would do this" Gray thought, "what is this place?" Gray asked, "it's a refuge, thanks to your friends everyone made it out alive and we came here" Sakura said, "glad to hear by the way where are the others?" Gray asked, "Lucy and Happy are back, Natsu ran off after the fight as did the Watcher and Strife still hasn't shown up" Sakura told him, Gray was relieved that Natsu, Happy, Lucy and the Watcher were okay but he was worried about Strife.
Where was he? What could have happened to him?, "oh and before i forget there's someone waiting for you in that tent" Sakura said pointing to one of the tents.
After thanking Sakura, Gray made his way over to the tent and walked inside. A miserable Lucy and Happy being tied up dumbfounded him and the girl, whose wrath haunted his nightmares, Erza Scarlet, who was calmly drinking tea. Though she sat very calmly, her legs crossed and her hands folded over her lap after she finished drinking her tea, her eyes told a very different, violent mood.
"Took ya long enough" Said a massively tall black haired woman next to Erza who Gray didn't recognize but who seemed to unnerve him,"You made me wait, not smart," Erza said in a calm, yet dark tone.
The only thing that kept Gray from running was his concern for Lucy and Happy. For some reason, he felt better than he ever had after his fight with Lyon. "Erza!" Gray said as he desperately tried to come up with an excuse to take the pressure off him, "Um, why are Lucy and Happy tied up? And who's she?" Gray asked, "names Ibojil the blood anvil" Ibojil said proudly.
"We heard everything from Lucy and what the situation is. Weren't you supposed to stop them from going on the island?" she asked while getting up. Gray looked down, guilty, "you involved in this whether you like it or not ain't ya" Ibojil guessed, "yes i am" Gray admitted, "what happened to the village?" Erza then asked, "we went to find Natsu but he wasn't there and the village was in ruins".
"If i had known it had gone this far i would have kicked the twats of the island myself a long time ago" Ibojil admitted, "it was a horse" Gray admitted, "don't lie to me" Erza snapped, "it's true" Happy then said, "it was a horse called Mayhem" Erza froze, "Mayhem?" she asked then put the stoic act back on as she began walking past Gray.
"Come were are leaving once we find Natsu and Strife" she said, "what? no we can't leave just yet!" Gray exclaimed, "if Lucy told you everything then you know whats going to happen!", "what would be you point?" Erza asked, Gray froze.
Ibojil narrowed her glare at Erza at those words, "i came here solely to apprehend you fools for breaking the rules of the guld", Erza went on, "i'm not interest in anything other than that" Ibojil knew she should say something but she wasn't a guild member only added help but she would speak out if things got too out of hand.
And to think she was beginning to like Erza but now she just seemed like a girl trying to play knight to be powerful, "have you even seen whats going on to these people?" Gray asked, "yes" Erza replied emotionless "and your just gonna turn your back regardless?!".
"There are requests posted on the boards of every guild" Erza said, IBojil had had enough of this girls ignorance she slammed her sword into the ground and got everyone's attention, "yeah for three years girly" she snarled, "off you go lad" she then said to Gray, "me and little miss knight hood are going to have a little chat".
Erza drew dual swords on both of them, "don't you move Gray and Ibojil you have no right as your not a member of the guild" Erza snapped, Ibojil swung her sword in a backhand position, it connected with Erza's blade and if it had been a normal blade it would have just slide off and knocked the great Erza back a little but this was no ordinary blade as it was superheated so as it connected and Erza began to stagger the blade melted through Erza's sword.
Erza looked at the melted blade and then Ibojil grabbed the sword pointed at Gray and pointed it towards her own throat, "off ya hop boyyo" she said to Gray, the ice mage hesitated before nodding and running off. "Listen i was ignorant of the situation myself girly" Ibojil then said to Erza, "please don't" Happy begged the Maker, "were to young to Die" Lucy agreed.
"Listen girly i thought the same thing when this started three years ago, that it was a simple curse to be lifted by a mage it wasn't my problem" Ibojil continued, "but as time passed i began to have my doubts, then Lyons cronies showed up, figured they thought i was the root of the problem so i made it clear that i wasn't and kicked them off ma beach, then you lot came and i realized it was a lot bigger with a demon involved".
Erza continued to glare at her, "so if your going to be playing judge jury and executioner, do it, i see that you are a killer in your eyes, but your restraint well heres you chance to let loose" Erza's arm began to shake as the words began to hit her. Ibojil let go of the blade and Erza lowered it slowly the words impacting her.
"Take these brats back if ya must, but stay out of our way, and if ya don't then get on board" Ibojil said as stolen out of the tent having to bend down to do so, "hurts doesn't it" she said as a parting shot, "to think you have authority then you just get talked down to".
Lucy and Happy couldn't comprehend what just happened at the thought of someone else talking to Erza like that, Strife treated her as an equal but this woman actually talked down to her the way she did. Erza turned to Happy and Lucy and panic set in, "No please don't get mad at us we don't have any control over him!" Lucy blurted, "Gray's not feeling himself right because he lost a fight to his old friend" Happy helped out.
With on Slash Erza cut the ropes that bound Lucy and Happy, "these events are most intolerable, Gray was right and so was that Maker we need to deal with the immediate problems" Erza said, Lucy and Happy were delighted, "thank you" they said but it was short lived, "but your still being punished when we get back" Erza then said, "yes ma'am" the two said.
Forbidden temple
Natsu Yawned as he had not slept the entire night, "this sucks" he said to himself, "i came up with an awesome plan, but i just had to get lost and fall asleep!", "i'm just impressed that you even found your way" said Strife's voice, and behind him walked up Strife, "Strife? How are you here? and how did you know i was here?" Natsu asked, "wasn't hard, figured you might try to find the temple" Strife replied, and the Watcher appeared "and Watcher told me you had a plan so what's the plan?".
Natsu explained his plan, it was a good plan, "i'll inform him of what to do" the Watcher said than disappeared, "him? Whos him?" Natsu asked, "turns out Lyon was a pawn but not to Delora and well you'll see who He is" Strife replied. "Wait your telling me that your new buddy is the one manipulating Lyon!" Natsu exclaimed, "it's complicated okay" Strife admitted.
"Alright i'll trust you" Natsu said, "oh and one more thing" Strife said, Natsu sighed, "how much did you get done in the time you were gone?" he asked and then a white and purple hose with a black main, "uh Strife no offence but what that horse do?" Natsu said unimpressed, the horse reared and was enveloped in purple flames and when the flames subsided Mayhem was covered head to hoof in armor.
Natsu needless to say had to pick his jaw up from the ground, "met the white horse that wears a mask, Mayhem" Strife said as he hopped on, Natsu then smiled as he realized the implications of this, "alright let's go i'm all fired up" he said.
Galuna island forbidden temple upper floor
Lyon could not bring himself to look at or even bowl out his subordinates, he was busy looking at his ice hand from when Strife had shot his hand off, "so Sherry's disappeared?" he asked Toby, "yes boss" Toby replied miserably, Toby thought he was going to be bowled out at the prospect of being defeated by the Watcher, but being assaulted by the Watcher himself in another way made Lyon sympathetically towards the dog man.
Yuka was still unconscious and last was heard Sherry had an incident with that stallion, "Mayhem" Lyon muttered as he remembered the stallion, it as a surprisingly fitting name, but the Watchers words returned to him, was he really a pawn?, "Those filthy fairy Tail wizards, especially that Strife," Lyon said.
"Strife?" Toby jumped at the sudden appearance of a small, hunched man who wore worn, red clothes, a gray cloak, and a red, horned mask that only covered the upper half of his face, showing a wide grin.
Lyon hid his surprise well, not even blinking, "Zalty your stealth skills are beyond me" Lyon said, "you survived Strife?" Zalty continued.
"You know of Strife?" Lyon asked In surprise, "I was told about him, Strife the Bezaliel the one who defeated Lullaby" Zalty answered, Lyons eyes widened.
Zalty was a shady block at best but he did give the group valuable information, "you must have gotten him really angry to have shot your hand off" Lyon rubbed his hands, "sore subject sorry" Zalty apologised. "Yes i never thought a member of Fairy tail would go that far" Lyon admitted, "uh maybe we should not mess with him" Toby suggested, "even so we will still have to deal with Salamander and Titania and this Watcher as he is called" Zalty added "oh and that blacksmith we delt with a year back is the one is with them".
"Your information is invaluable, we will ready are defences for all of them" Lyon declared but then there was a shaken, the entire temple was shaken, "is it an earthquake?" Toby asked fearfully. "I don't think so?" Lyon said, he was right as at that moment the roof crumbled and a fireball like a meteor shot down through the roof and down into the lower floors and the impact made the entire temple tipped to one side.
"What is the meaning of this" Lyon demanded hoping down from floor to floor through the whole made by the meteor, at ground floor, there was smoke rising up from the meteor crash landing, and next to it was Strife riding on Mayhem and Natsu smiling like a lune and fists on fire.
"Grr i should have known that Salamander and Bezaliel would make his move" Lyon scolded himself, "and how the hell did you tame that nag when i couldn't!?", "do you think this is my first Rodeo with Mayhem?" Strife chuckled, "no matter" Lyon said as some cultists and wraiths "you are foolish for coming here along".
"Ooooohhh yeah that's the thing" Strife said as if bearing bad news, from the smoke large footsteps came and out strode a majestic and terrifying looking Samuel he stood in between Strife and a terrified Natsu and placed his sword over his shoulder, Strife dusted a bit of dust off the demon princes shoulder, "we're not along" Strife said to the petrified Lyon, Lyons cronies and cultists.
Galuna The night before forest
"Samael!" the Watcher exclaimed, "yes watcher it is i, and i must say i am glad to see the horseman" Sameal replied, "at least i feel more at home now, but why are-" Strife began, "no wait let me guess Samiel banished you here". "You guess right, Lucifer figured that fighting each other secretly to rule over this world would distract us, but i have no such interests, but i rival of mine is after something that can help me return" Samael said, "and what's that?" Strife asked, "allow me to start at the beginning" Sameal said smiling almost smugly.
"A long time ago a ice mage froze a demon in an ice shell and left it in a glacier leaving her two students to never want to see each other again, one went and joined a guild, the other did the same until he left that guild, and leaving him open to manipulation and suggestion" Strife knew the first part of the story but the second part was news this could be useful to him.
"and so a rival of mine, went and whispered dark words into his ears, giving him ideas to make himself superior and putting in a spy to make sure he was doing the work, and i sensed the power in Deliora and i knew i could use it to return fully powered, so you know what i did?", "enlighten me" Strife said dryly.
"I took up the role of being the master she thinks she is serving and took over my rivals operation all for Deloria's still beating heart", "so your the cause of all this trouble and why should i not stop you from resurrection Deliora" Strife asked his hands going to his pistols, "because there is little to fear from something in a coffin" Sameal said, Strife froze and lowered his hands, "okay but i still got to kick Lyons ass back into sense the others don't know about it" Strife said.
"Hold on horseman, how about a deal instead" Sameal said then laid out his terms which were memorized and seemed to be put together alost like a plan of action.
Galuna island forbidden temple
Natsu recovered from the shock of Samaels appearance and realized he was on there side but decided not to engage in any banter and shot out fire from the bottom of his feet, propelling him upwards like a rocket, "i won't kill anyone horseman but i can't guarantee injury" Samael said. "fine by me" Strife said, "Fire dragon sword horn" Natsu said as Flames wrapped up around him, and collided the still shocked Lyon headfirst picking up Lyon as he impacted.
But when they almost hit the roof Lyon shattered into ice crystals, "what?!" Natsu exclaimed, as he it the roof "coward used a fake!" "what you call cowardice, i call strategy" Lyon said behind him. "ice make eagle!" Lyon shouted and a flock of eagles flew towards salamander, "let's see how well you can dodge in midair Salamander".
The flock of eagles darted towards the dragon Slayer, Natsu angled his face and breathed fire to propel himself away, Lyon grimaced, then heard a Neighing as he looked behind him to find Mayhem charging at him with Strife using his sabers to slash at any cultists and knock them out in one shot and kill any Wraiths in a single slash.
Lyon sent another flock of Eagles this time at Strife, but Strife jumped off Mayhems back and the horse disappeared and Strife fired upon Lyon, the birds followed Strife as he landed next to Natsu, the birds were upon them but then a blue portal appeared and the bird flew into it, "What?" Lyon asked and the Watcher appeared.
The Watcher was clearly not injured and Lyon began shaking as his words echoed in his head, his attack would have incompacitated any wizard but this Watcher looked right as rain, "how are you still standing?" Lyon demanded, "my kind recover quickly and it takes a lot to end us" the Watcher mocked, as it summoned another portal above Lyon and the ice birds impacted into him.
"Those portals really are useful" Strife admitted, "limited but useful" Natsu agreed, "i can see why people love a good fight" the Watcher said, then a nearby Zalty held out his hand and the floor beneath Strife and Natsu grew brittle and turned to dust, "oh-" Strife began as the two remained in the year for a second then fell, "Shhhiiiittttt!" Strife finished as the two plummeted.
"Very fortunate, Lyon," Zalty said, "Luck is on your side.", "What did you do?" Lyon suspiciously asked. "Whatever do you mean?" Zalty asked innocently. "Don't play dumb with me!" Lyon snapped, "Your magic had to have caused that hole in the floor."
"Well, it appears that nothing escapes your eye, does it?" Zalty commented, "Please allow me to explain my actions, sir. After all, you're the only one strong enough to defeat Deliora, so it's imperative that you remain in one piece."
"Are you suggesting that I could fall victim to such lower-class magic?" Lyon said as a cold fog formed around him.
With a twitch of his finger, the floor, walls, and ceiling of the room they were in had become coated in a thick layer of ice, excluding the hole where Strife and Natsu had fallen and the parts of the floor they were standing on.
"Leave me," Lyon ordered, as the Watcher used his portal magic to bring the two back to the correct level, "i will end the Salamander and Bezaliel, when i finally defeated Deloria everyone will worship my name; Cold emperor Lyon; i have worked too hard for everyone to tarnish this day", "the best you'll get to worship is a fancy name like Ymir or Ishma" Strife said hoping to throw Lyon off, "also this day was tarnished ever since you brought Deloria to this island, allowing yourself to be pulled on Strings" .
"Lyon i know what it's like to be a slave, so i went too far with the banta back on the roof, but it's a Watcher nature" the Watcher said, "i was too ignorant to realize and help my fellows and my fellows were too ignorant to be helped, but you are not a Watcher so just listen and stop".
Lyon sent more ice eagles at the trio which they dodged, then there was an explosion of men from outside, "watcher you better go help Samael before he accidentally kills someone" Strife said, "keep getting to him i can sense his doubt" the Watcher said and disappeared.
"Listen you make deals with the devil and the devil will benefit the most" Strife said, "I know I'm calling the kettle black but not all demons are like Samy, Deloria is just a mindless beast, you release it and you wish you never made the bet".
Strife fired at Lyon who responded with another flock of ice eagles, all of them were blasted to pieces, "listen you want to prove yourself I get it" Strife then said "but Urs dead so you can't and now you just trying to live up to her name and avenge her but that led you to being misguided and wanting power until you became…this".
"I didn't know Ur died sealing that demon away" Natsu said solemnly thinking of the loss of his own father, "Misguided? You are misguided! Nothing will stop me from resurrecting Deliora; it is the only way I will ever surpass Ur!" Lyon bellowed as he continued attacking the trio, who safely dashed and dived out of the way from each of his attempts.
Despite their numbers advantage, Lyon was actually doing an admirable job of attacking his opponents. Still, the teleportation made it impossible for Lyon to get a direct hit on any of them, and it was only a matter of time before he would run out of his magic power, or make himself vulnerable to a direct attack.
"Look Lyon I already took a hand I don't want to punish you more than you already are" Strife said "Are you kidding me!?" Natsu asked incredulously, "He's cursed the villagers, attacked you and Gray, he's trying to resurrect a demon and he stole your horse! You still don't want to hurt him!?"
"And I wasn't any better a long time ago" Strife said both Lyon and Natsu froze, "I took his hand true, but I wasn't think straight not that it excuses anything, I was emotional" Natsu looked at Lyons outstretched hand to see it was made of ice, he hadn't noticed that earlier.
"but so is Lyon and his emotions have made him into a puppet and that is why I'm trying to help him" In absolute silence, Lyon shed a single tear, before whispering, 'I am beyond saving.' With that, Lyon prepared to attack, only for the wall next to them began to crack. It eventually shattered, revealing a smiling Samuel, Ibojil, Watcher, Gray, Lucy, Happy, and Erza!.
"Guys!" Strife said, "wait who's the maker and why is there a Maker here?" He then asked as he saw Ibojil, "we'll explain later but for now Gray has a few words" Ibojil said then turned to Lyon, "specially made for you Lyon ya twat".
Gray stepped forward and faced his brother, "what but Gray you're still injured?!" Natsu said, "not to mention you got your ass handed to you the last time" Strife added.
Unfortunately, They make good points." Erza reluctantly admitted, much to Natsu's relief, "let me guess you're here to take us back to the guild" Strife deadpanned.
"Enough of this" Sameal said banging his sword blade on the ground making Lucy and Happy squealin fright, "this is the equivalent of a Nex sacramentum would you defy the laws of single combat?".
"You were right Strife" Gray said as he got into position, and the entire room was bathed in the light of a magic circle, Lyons eyes shot up in fear, "sometimes things need to be done and I need to do this if I have to" Gray continued, "I don't even know what your doing!" Strife shouted back.
Gray had informed Lucy, Erza, Ibojil and Happy about the Iced Shell, so they were all concerned by his suggestion. "Come Horseman unless you want to be caught in the spell" the Watcher said figuring out what was going on.
"That stance.." Lyon said, "no you wouldn't! Not the Ice shell" "It's time we face our punishment together" Gray said, "okay now I get it" Strife said, "come horseman let us leave" Sameal said.
"You wouldn't dare" Lyon continued, readying an attack, "you want to live, change the villagers back" Gray responded, "and leave this island and everyone on it".
A magic circle appeared under Gray, "we should leave" Lucy said, "come then" Sameal said summoning a portal at one end of the room.
Meanwhile Lyon tried to flap it off as a bluff, "you wouldn't dare your not strong enough" Lyon said with a mad smile.
Grays expression didn't change as he activated the next stage of the spell, "don't do it" Natsu called but Strife grabbed him, "let's get out of range" Strife said, knowing that Gray did what he had to do.
"All these years I've lied to myself I didn't want to admit that Ur died because of me but she did" Gray continued as the spellgot more and more intense, Lyon tried to run but then he felt himself going all rigid and he could move a muscle.
"Time for you to stop being a slave" it said as he held Lyon with his black magic, "and now Brother…it's time I took responsibility" Gray said stoically And the magic continued getting more and more intense and the room became colder and colder.
"No Gray this is not the way" Natsu shouted, "it's the way he's going to have to take" Strife argued, "I don't like it either but stopping him would be calling the kettle black".
Then the portal disappeared, "what the Samy?" Strife said in confusion to Sameal for his action, "what horseman did you forget our deal already?" Sameal chuckled. "What is he talking about?" Lucy asked Strife, "what deal?" Erza asked.
Galuna island the night before
"you don't tell anyone the truth and allow Deliora to be free in order for me to steal his heart, but we make it look like we are going to stop them, then when Lyon realize he had been played and that his plan failed, he'll be utterly devastated, that can be his punishment for insulting the bond between a horseman and his horse. Then I can tell you how to break the villagers' affliction, finally I can tell you about the Wraiths as you call them and how humanity is here and give you the power to stop Lucifer's rivals before they grow too strong" Strife was impressed with the deal.
Usually when you make a deal with the devil the devil benefits more than the one agreeing to the bargain but this sounded like it would benefit Strife himself more in this case.
The Watcher was also thinking about it, "sounds like a good plan to me" the Watcher said, "at least Lyon would have learned his lesson, i just wish it could have been easier on him", "and yet not long ago you were breaking him down with heated words" Samael said, "i'm a watcher were supposed to be cruel even when we are trying to help" the Watcher said, "and it's my job as a horseman to protect the balance, alright Samael you got a deal, but no killing anyone" Strife said shaking the demon's hand.
Present Forbidden temple
"I asked for combat not a meaningless self-sacrifice" and with a wave of his hand he knocked, the Watcher, Lyon and Gray against the wall, "what the hell?!" Gray demanded the demon.
"Apologies but you are just running away again, I know that you have your reason but I have mine" Sameal said back, "you are both students of Ur you want to settle a debt to see who's superior or about owning up to your mistake then fight each other".
Sameal turned to Lyon, "what good would defeating a demon your master already defeated prove, that you are on the same level as her cause that's what the people will see" Lyon looked down in thought, but then he looked up with determination "I've worked too hard to give up now you worthless demon".
Lyon sent ice spikes at Samael, Samael then flew out of reach, "fool" Sameal said then laughed and The room, as well as the rest of the temple, which had been resting at an angle; was now falling back to its original position. In a matter of seconds, it was as if none of the damage, "well done Zalty" Sameal said to Himself so that no one else would hear.
Natsu stomped the ground in frustration as the damage done was now no longer there, "This is bad," Gray said, "The moon is going to shine on Deliora!"
"Forgive the intrusion," Zalty said, entering the room; he and Toby had slipped out during the fight between everyone. "I should have known," Lyon, said calmly, "You did all this?"
"The moon is on the verge of revealing itself," Zalty replied, "so; I thought I'd fix the temple for you.", "That weirdo fixed the temple all by himself?" Gray asked; astonished by the power that must have been required.
"After all the trouble we went through to mess it up, too," Natsu complained, then angrily shook his fist at Zalty, "So, what did you do to fix it?", "It's a lost magic that only he has." Sameal said.
Zalty looked at Natsu and merely began to laugh maniacally. "Tell me how you fixed it, you jerk!" Natsu screamed, before an annoyed Erza hit him in the head. Samael took a double take, "is he always like this?" Sameal asked Happy, "unfortunately" Happy admitted
"Well, if everything is in order, I'll prepare for the Moon Drip ceremony," Zalty said, before he ran off. "Would you quit ignoring me, you masked freak!?" Natsu shouted, miraculously recovering from Erza, and then began to chase after him.
"We can't let Zalty complete the Moon Drip ceremony" Erza said, Strife looked to Sameal as the rest followed Natsu, "keep up appearances horseman, it'll all be worth it" the dark Prince assured him, then Wraiths appeared around them, "Maker help me hold them off" Sameal said, "never thought I'd be working with Sameal himself" Ibojil said, "nor me with the blood anvil" Sameal said as the Wraiths attacked.
"It won't be no matter how much I learn and gain," Strife said, feeling very guilty about having to lie to his guild mates. The team separated into two groups one to go to the roof and the other to go after Zalty, Strife went with Natsu and Erza to go after Zalty while Happy, the Watcher and Lucy went to the roof to stop the moondrip collection ritual.
That left Gray to deal with Lyon while around them Ibojil and Sameal killed the Wraiths, As soon as everyone else left the room, not having any other choice about letting Ibojil and Sameal staying, Gray said, "Lyon, there's something I need to tell you before this gets ugly."
"What is it?" Lyon annoyingly asked, "Ur…is alive."
Caverns of the temple
"Natsu, Samy already told you how that guy did it now can you please slow down!" Strife yelled exasperated as he and Erza chased Zalty, "no way I didn't hear him" Natsu shouted "I'm not gonna stop until he tells me how he did it?", leaving Strife to sweat drop and wonder how he didn't hear the demon.
Finally, Zalty stopped running and pointed his hand at the spot above Natsu; a chunk of ceiling came loose and fell right at him. "Crap" Strife cursed as he fired a black hole shot and destroyed the ceiling chunk.
"See, that's why you should have waited for us, you idiot!" Erza reprimanded.
"Sorry," Natsu said sheepishly, and then he noticed that Zalty was not finished yet; the masked man waved his hand and the chunk of ceiling that had fallen lifted back to where it was; the damage disappearing like it had never happened.
"That's how I fixed the temple," Zalty explained.
"You are a chronomancer, a time manipulator" Strife said casually, Zalty whirled to face Strife in absolute shock, Even Natsu and Erza were a little shocked by his deduction.
"How did you know about Strife?" Zalty asked swearing under his mask, "a gift of the old ones" Strife said, "not many now a days but everyone once in a while someone inherited the ability, but by other means" Strife continued casually.
"Humph," Zalty appeared a bit put out, "Still, this magic is extremely rare, rare enough that it is one of the Lost Magics, a type of magic so powerful and dangerous that it has been lost to history."
Strangely, when Strife continued to look at Zalty, he did not see a man, he saw a woman with black hair, wearing a tasteful white dress, inside of Zalty. Her face was hard to make out but the rest of her was somehow familiar.
"Your pink-headed friend's magic is another example of Lost Magic," Zalty said, referring to Natsu. "Wow, really?" Natsu asked.
"Who would've guessed that Natsu had Lost Magic this whole time?" Erza commented. Before they could go any further, Zalty laughed and vanished, much to the irritation of his opponents.
"Don't you just hate it when Chronomancers never say goodbye?" Strife asked Natsu and Erza light heartedly.
Upper floors
Lyon did not move a muscle, staring at Gray with wide eyes.
"The Iced Shell does not actually kill its caster," Gray continued, "It uses their body to form the barrier; the ice keeping Deliora sealed away, which you have been trying to melt, is Ur. She is not dead; she lives on in that ice."
Lyon just stared at him.
"I am sorry that I never told you the truth back then," Gray said, "Ur made me promise to keep it a secret. She was worried that if you knew, you would spend the rest of your life trying to bring her back."
"Of course," Lyon muttered. "It's over," Gray gently said, stepping closer to Lyon before he embraced him a brotherly hug, "There's no reason to go through with this anymore."
Lyon raised his hand, but before Gray could move, he placed it against Gray's right side and sent an icicle straight through him. Gray fell to his knees, clutching the wound in agony; it did not feel like it hit any of his vitals, but it still hurt.
"Sympathetic fool," Lyon said, "I know how the spell works; I can assure you that she isn't alive anymore. That's nothing more than a chunk of ice!"Gray pulled the bloody ice out his side and tried to rise. "You…you knew all along?"
"Of course he did, his heart is far too cold now to feel anything" said a now present Samuel as he tossed away a dead Wraith, Ibojil was finishing off any stragglers that tried to float away.
"He is truly beyond salvation, making him the perfect wizard for a mission like this". "True you wretched demon but shut you mouth I can speak to myself" Lyon snapped, "once Deloria is dead I will end you".
Sameal laughed a cruel laugh, "now now Lyon" Sameal said with a cruel smile, "is that any way to speak to your Puppet master?".
Forbidden temple Caverns
Zalty stood before the frozen form of Deliora, maliciously smiling from ear to ear.
'At long last' he whispered, before the sound of yelling made him dodge a fiery punch. "There you are!" Natsu yelled, "I'll burn that stupid smile right off of your face!"
Zalty dodged another attack, this time a sword from Erza, who glared at the Dragon Slayer next to Strife who was firing at Zalty at a distance, "stay still you little shit" Strife said in frustration.
"What part of 'wait until we're in position' did you not understand?" Erza angrily yelled at Natsu. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't help it, "Natsu protested, "He pisses me off!"
Zalty laughed, "The term 'hot headed certainly applies to you, Salamander; by the way, how did you manage to find me?"
"I followed my nose," Natsu said, "For some reason; you reek of lady's perfume.", "oh guess I wasn't seeing things then" Strife said, "he's really a woman in disguise."
Zalty merely laughed it off, "I would love to stay and chat, but I have other things to do.", "buying a new dress? Cause that one really doesn't suit you" Strife quipped, "like Freeing Deloria" Zalty corrected "Just forget about it already," Natsu confidently said, "it's not going to happen."
"Really?" Zalty sarcastically asked, "Why is that, pray tell?", "Because, Gray's going to beat Lyon." Erza interrupted. "We'll just see about that," Zalty seriously said, then pointed at Deliora.
Up above there was a stream of Moon Drip hitting the ice! "Someone's performing the ceremony?" Natsu asked.
"Wait, weren't Happy, Lucy, and Watcher were supposed to find Toby?" Erza asked, "I have the remaining chanters locked away on the ship I used to get here."
"How'd you-?" Strife began, then he remembered Watchers portals "oh wait Watcher teleported them there?" Erza nodded.
"Also Watcher said you had your horse Mayhem back, is he any good in a fight?" Erza asked, "he knocked me out, what do you think?" Strife asked to summon Mayhem from next to him, to prove his point.
"Impressive" Erza said, "If I may interrupt, Miss Scarlet did take out the chanters," Zalty confirmed, "but Toby is still performing the ceremony all on his own. It will not be much Moon Drip, but it will only take a little more in order to free Deliora anyway. I guess your friends failed."
Sure enough, a huge chunk of ice began to crack and shatter causing Natsu to panic.
"I'm going to stop you!" Natsu rushed to the exit, but Zalty used his magic and sent a chunk of ceiling falling at him; Natsu barely dodged it in time.
"I'm afraid that none of you are going anywhere," Zalty sadistically smiled, "guess chasing me was just a waste of time. It is a pity; I really expected more from the great Titania."
"I'll show you! Requip" Erza declared as a golden light engulfed her body, forcing Nightcrawler and Natsu to look away. When the light faded, Erza was wearing an armor that was primarily dark red but also sported orange and black parts, with the first ones shaped like flames and the second one resembling the limbs of a dragon. She now sported high, long pigtails. In her hand was a long, flaming sword.
"Flame Empress Armor, really?" Zalty asked incredulously, "You might make the ice melt faster."
"If the ice could be melted with fire, you wouldn't have gone to all of this trouble! Bluff all you want, but once we're done here; all our friends have to do is stop the ceremony!" Erza declared.
"It seems that the great Titania lives up to her reputation." Zalty said as he laughed.
Behind the fighters, the frozen body of Deliora began to shake; the vibrations were strong enough to make the entire cave shudder.
"Alright Samy moment of truth…literally" Strife thought.
Upper floors of the forbidden temple
Lyon was wide eyed and staring at Samael as Gray watched and pulled the idle out of his side, "you okay boy" Ibojil asked watching the scene unfold in front of them.
"Uh it's began hasn't it?" Sameal asked Lyon mockingly, "the time you have been waiting for", "the hell do you mean puppet master?! I do not source you?!" Lyon yelled, "who said I had to be your master to pull your strings, I may not have started this but I have certainly played a large influence on it."
"What do you plan for Lyon to revive Deloria?" Gray said angrily, "release not revive" Samael corrected, "shut up" Lyon snapped releasing a blast of ice at Samael who merely jumped back, "now now Lyon your being a bad puppet, I may have to cut your Strings" Samael warned mockingly as he summoned fireballs from the roof and sent them at Lyon.
Lyon rolled out of the way, but then Gray shot ice at Lyon and Lyon was too late to dodge, "think I'll leave you to slug it out I have had my fun" Samael said as he opened a Porter and teleported away.
"Cowardly twat" Ibojil cursed as she turned to watch the fight, this was Gray's battle simple as that. "After everything Ur did for us, taking us in, raising us, training us… you would still kill our mother without a second thought. You make me ashamed to be related to you, even if it's not by blood."
"Say what you will little brother, I don't care," Lyon said, "My entire life has led up to this moment. Our beloved mother is long dead; if we want to prove that we have surpassed her, what can we do in her absence?" a dragon head surrounded Lyon's hand, and he dove at Gray. "There is only one solution: Deliora. I will finally surpass our master by defeating what she could not!"
Gray barely managed to avoid Lyon's attacks. "I'll admit, I can't argue with your passion, but I can't help but think that you lost your way!" Gray said quickly created an ice sword and shattered Lyon's dragon-fist. "It is shocking that someone as blind as you could never be better than Ur, not in an eternity!" "Wake up, brother!" Lyon shouted.
Gray slashed his blade across Lyon's chest, but instead of falling to his knees, Lyon merely shattered into a pile of ice; it was another Ice Fake. "You always were so gullible, little brother." Lyon said from behind him, "Ice Make, Snow Tiger!"
A giant ice tiger had emerged to attack the wounded Gray who managed to do an impressive back flip over the overgrown cat and pointed his palms downwards. "Ice Make, Prison!"
An elaborate cage appeared around the tiger, trapping it. Gray stood on top of the prison and glared at Lyon. "You see this, Lyon? This is what you are," Gray said, "a beast in a cage, lashing at a world he barely knows!"
"Always so gullible, little brother," Lyon smugly said, waving his hand, "I'll make quick work of this ice!", Despite his boasting, the tiger was still stuck inside the prison. Lyon could only step back in shock, as Gray jumped down in front of him.
"Single-handed spell casting is unbalanced; your creations will fail when you need them the most," Gray said.
Gray placed his hands together and a magic circle appeared under his feet; when he separated his hands, a large bazooka appeared in them, which he then aimed at Lyon. "Ice Cannon!"
The cannon fired a powerful blast that blew a gaping hole through the side of the temple. Lyon fell to the ground in pain, his clothes tattered and his body covered in wounds.
It didn't help that Ibojil took a pot shot at him by stepping on his face smashing it into the floor then shifted her foot a little just to rub the pain in, "you certainly belong in a cage" she snarled the turned to Gray.
"Thanks for teaching me that move, Ur" Gray softly said, and then groaned in pain. He looked at the wound Lyon had caused, and then used his magic to seal it shut.
"Need a healing stone" Ibojil said tossing Gray a stone specialised for complete healing, a Gray crushed it between his hands and the magic worked its way through his body in a matter of seconds, he felt instantly refreshed and healed.
"Wow" he breathed, "healing stone, more powerful than any healing magic you have here" The blood anvil explained.
He would have relaxed, but a sound rang out throughout the temple. A noise that haunted his nightmares ever since his youth. Samael reappeared and chuckled, "the deed is done" he said.
The noise was of The Demon of Destruction; Deliora.
Catacombs
"Yes it's free" Zalty said in triumph as the ice shattered, "I'm done wasting my time with you!" Natsu said, and ran at Zalty, but a green sphere collided with his head, sending him flying. The sphere flew towards Zalty, where it orbited around his wrist.
"Ready when you are," Zalty said, grinning.
"Why you…" Natsu attempted to charge Zalty again, only for the same thing to happen, "time reversal, figures" Strife said annoyed, he then took Natsu distraction and fired with a dual shot.
It hit Zalty square in the mask knocking it off, "if a chronomancer has to concentrate and that leaves them open to facing the wrong way" Strife explained as he picked up the mask.
"We can't worry about that now" Erza said as she and Natsu got ready to fight the now free Deloria, "guys stand down, it can't do anything" Strife said, the two had a look of utter shock. Has strife lost his mind?
Temple roof
On top of the temple, Toby fell to the ground in pain, overwhelmed by Huninn and Muninn repeatedly pecking him. Happy was looming over him with a large fish while Lucy and the Watcher just stood there with arms crossed. Even though he lost, Toby still could not help but smile.
"You're too late! The ceremony is completed; Deliora is free!" Toby yelled in triumph.
Back underground
With a small shoulder twitch, Deliora shook off the last of the ice and took a step forward. "No," Gray's voice behind them caused the trio to turn and see the injured ice wizard walking towards them with Abigail and Samael.
"Sorry Gray, we couldn't stop it," Natsu said, "I guess our only choice is to take that thing out." "Natsu's right, it looks like a Lullaby all over again." Erza resigned, but somewhat excited.
Mayhem nudged Strife's shoulder "Guys that are not going to-" Strife said quietly but no one was listening as he couldn't bring himself to reveal the truth.
Unbeknownst to them, a mysterious figure in a dark cloak had appeared far from them in a puff of red smoke. It held a mysterious orange orb in its three fingers that it pulled out from its cloak.
"Forgive me Titania, but I can't allow that to happen. Lock!" the mysterious figure softly said as an invisible light hit Erza. All of a sudden, Erza had involuntarily Re-quipped back into her normal armor and could not change into any of her armor or summon her weapons. This would not be a problem, if she had not lost her sword fighting Zalty! Then, she fell to her knees in exhaustion.
"Uh Erza the hell happened to ya?" Ibojil said, "don't tell me the little prick made you exhaust your resources?". "No I was fine before but now I can't access my magic or weapons" Erza said.
"Isn't it obvious? Not even the great Titania is strong enough to vanquish Deliora!" Lyon's voice weakly called out behind them, and they saw him dragging himself towards the demon, insanely smiling. "But I am…I will defeat Deliora!"
"Well go ahead Cold emperors" Samael mockingly laughed with a mocking boe, "s-silence filth I'm not your servant" Lyon snapped with not as much flair as he had earlier, "I have waited THREE years to do this and surpass Ur."
"Oh yes, you spent three year releasing a corpse" Samael smiled cruelly.
Lyons' resolve snapped at the weight behind those words, Deloria took a single step forward and it's strengh failed as it toppled to the ground dead. "W-what no" Lyon breathed, he looked very broken as he sank to his knees.
"Yes the iced Shell was slowly sucking its life away, it wasn't a prison it was a cofine" Samael said triumphantly, "I told you guys to trust me" Strife said weakly, "you knew this?!" Erza said angrily, "making a deal with the devil comes with a price" Strife said.
Samael then plunged his hand into Deloria and drew out a still beating heart, "yes" Samael breathed as he felt the power, "What it's still beating?" Natsu said astonished, "yes a demon's heart is the source of his power, it can even still bear long after a demon is dead" Samael explained.
"Hey guys!" Came a call, it was Lucy, Happy and the Watcher, but then Lucy and Happy saw the heart and shrieked indignantly before fainting dead away, it was as well they had, they probably could not have handled Samael then eating it.