In the tent with Erza, Natsu, Lucy, Gray, and Happy
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE'S HERE?" Gray demanded. "HOW COULD HE POSSIBLY BE HERE? AND WHAT DO YOU MEAN UNSEALED?"
"Easy there, Gray, I'm getting to that," Natsu told him. "I don't know who, when, how, or why, but a small group of cultists have moved Deliora to this island and are attempting to unseal the demon."
"That's insane!" Gray shouted. "What on earth-land would they want with that monster?!"
"I don't know, but probably something twisted. However, my mission just so happens to be rather similar…"
"I don't care what you do to me, you're not unsealing Deliora! You'd have to kill me first!"
"Gray, calm down! I'm unsealing Deliora to bring Ur back to life!"
Gray stopped struggling against his binds for a moment, remembering what Natsu had said earlier. "I told you before! Ur is the ice, if you break that seal you kill Ur! Besides, even if that would bring her back, you can't melt it. Iced Shell is unbreakable…"
"That's not true, there are two ways of beating it. Fortunately for you, I happen to be the only one currently alive that has the power to unseal it without killing her."
Gray scoffed at this and rolled his eyes. "Oh, really? Well, how do you plan on doing that?"
Natsu explained the origin of Iced Shell, being created by the Ice Dragon Queen Glacia to subdue other royal dragons, and how the reason Ur was used as a vessel was that regular humans don't have enough power to use Iced Shell without sacrificing themselves, no matter how strong they may be. He then told Gray about the cultists, who were currently using Moon Drip to break Deliora's seal, which would both kill Ur and seal the demon.
"Even if that's all true, flame-brain," Gray retorted, trying to maintain his confident nature even as the information he was receiving was slowly breaking him down. "What does that have to do with you? I won't let you unseal Deliora, and I won't let you kill Ur!"
"It so happens that the second way to unseal Iced Shell is using a special type of magic known as Fire Dragon King magic. As you may know, I use White Fire Dragon King magic, which is a slightly stronger branch of that same magic, and was given the information on how to cast a spell that will unseal it. Deliora will be revived, meaning we will have to fight and defeat the demon, but Ur will too. Unfortunately, Gray, my mind is made up. I'm unsealing the demon, for reasons we don't really have the time to go into right now, but it would mean a lot to me if you were to help me to un-"
"I'll do it…" Gray whispered.
Natsu smiled and freed Gray from his binds. "Thanks."
"Don't think I'm doing this for you, hothead," Gray retorted.
"Of course not, tundra tool, now let's get going. Erza? You ready to roll?"
"Indeed, let us depart!"
"What about me?" Lucy wailed. "Untie me first!"
"Oh, Lucy! I forgot you were here, apologies," Natsu replied, surprised at the blonde's 'sudden' appearance.
"And I thought you were a nice person…" Lucy muttered.
"I try to be," Natsu answered casually, oblivious to Lucy's embarrassed realization that he could pretty much hear anything anyone said regardless of how loud. "I'm assuming you'd rather stay here and not fight the demon?"
"No-I mean I don't- I mean I'd rather-" Lucy stuttered.
"Lucy, there is no shame in declining something you feel is too dangerous. While sometimes it's better to die bravely than live in fear, a true wizard understands when to back away from something that is too much for them. Why don't you stay with the villagers and make sure they're all safe?" Erza told her, placing a firm hand on the now freed blonde's shoulder.
"Besides, I'd like Happy to stay here as well. Someone needs to look after this hairball!" Natsu joked.
"WAAHHH! NATSU'S A BIG MEANIE!" Happy wailed.
"Thanks…" Lucy replied, smiling slightly. "Just be careful, ok?"
"Aye, sir!" they replied, saluting.
"Hey, are you making fun of me again?" Happy whined.
"Aye, sir!" they saluted again, laughing at Happy's wails at them all acting like 'big meanies'.
Regardless, the three set out to slay the demon and save Gray's long lost teacher from her prison of ice. They were stopped briefly on the way by Mako, the village chief, who asked them why they were leaving the village instead of just destroying the moon. Natsu and Erza both were extremely confused, but Gray told the chief that they were doing some exploring first and that Lucy would stay there to answer any questions they had. After finally leaving his demands of lunar destruction, they left the village, only to get answers from Gray about the elder's insanity. Gray caught them up to speed on the mission, and they took a moment for Natsu to recover from his laughter at the elder's request.
"I don't think I've ever seen you actually laugh before, dragon breath," Gray commented, a slightly amused look on his face.
"Not...one...word…" Natsu said between gasps for breath and laughter, forced to wipe the tears from his eyes.
"Yes, yes, mystery man," Erza scolded, trying to put up a serious front in place of the giant smile that was plastered on her face. "Now get up and let's go."
"Oh, come on, Erza," Natsu told her, sighing after recovering from his fit. "You can't fool me. You thought it was just as funny as I did."
"This is a serious situation, Natsu!" Erza was still attempting to be serious, but again, her massive grin gave her away.
"Sure it is, Erza," Natsu mused, rolling his eyes. "Do I need to tell Gray here of that mission we took where-"
Erza's eyes shot open and she slapped a hand over his mouth, blushing furiously. "Shut up! I have no idea what you're talking about!"
"Hmm, those seem like the words of someone hiding something to me," Natsu said sarcastically, moving her hand off his face. "I seem to recall someone in a bit of a laughing fit after being tick-"
"NATSU!" Erza shouted.
"As much as this amuses me," Gray interrupted. "We need to get going. So if you two lovebirds are finished, we have cultists to find."
"L-Lovebirds?" Erza stuttered out, somehow blushing even harder.
"I suppose you're right, Gray," Natsu said, taking the lead and ignoring his comment. "Onwards!"
Now recovered from...whatever...that was...the group of mages continued their way through the forest, set to find Deliora and save Gray's master from her eternal prison of ice.
"Do you have any idea where we're going, kindling kid?" Gray asked frustratedly.
"Not a clue, polar bare," Natsu replied. (A/N: Pun 100% intended)
"You two have gotten a lot better at this over the years," Erza commented.
"I believe that's due to Gray running out of insults," Natsu answered. "I could go on for a while, seeing as there are quite a lot of interesting things to make fun of with Gray. Not to say he isn't a highly skilled mage and a valued guildmate, but that it is simply very easy to make jokes about him. You see, the trick is-"
"I thought you fixed that habit," Erza sighed, while Gray proceeded to engage in another argument with ash-breath about who was easier to make fun of.
"Hold on," Natsu interrupted his own argument, and rapidly sniffed the air.
"Finally find something, bloodhound?" Gray taunted.
"Two things. One is our destination, the other is-"
"NYEHHHHH!"
Natsu was cut off by a gigantic rat wearing a maid outfit that landed in front of them from seemingly out of nowhere. While enormous and relatively dangerous, it was nothing that they couldn't handle.
"WHAT IS THAT?" Gray shouted.
"Now that is something I did not expect…" Natsu thought aloud.
"NYEEHHHHH!" the creature screamed again, this time releasing a green gas-like substance towards the mages. Little did they know, while it actually was relatively harmless, the smell was...well...putrid would be putting it lightly.
"Oh god! What in Mavis' name is that smell!" Erza declared, holding her nose.
"I have no idea! Natsu, what is-Natsu?" Gray tried calling out for his teammate, but the fire mage was down for the count. The smell, nearly enough to make the two normal mages hurl, was too much for the royal dragon slayer's legendary sniffer, and he was out cold.
"Natsu!" Erza shouted, rushing over and shaking the fallen mage. "YOU WRETCHED CREATURE!"
'Well, that gives me an idea…' Gray thought evilly. No one had ever seen Natsu get knocked out since he first dueled against Kael. Even on all the missions he went on, most being S-Class or higher, the worst he got was a few broken bones. 'Maybe I can make some of this stuff…'
"GRAY! Quit your scheming and fight!" Erza demanded.
"Y-yes, ma'am!" Gray quickly replied, readying an ice-make spell. 'Well, so much for that plan…'
It took only about a minute before the rat was down for the count, beaten and unconscious. Other than the terrible breath...gas...attack...thing...it actually had no real combat abilities. It was just a matter of not walking into a clawed swipe, and then it went down easily. After defeating the monster, the two rushed back over to their fallen compatriot and carried him past the fallen rat for a few minutes before attempting to wake him up.
"Natsu...Natsu...wake up…" Erza calmly told him, slightly shaking his shoulders.
'Wow...I expected her to just slap him…' Gray thought.
"Ugh...why do I feel like I just snorted lava…" Natsu groaned.
"Thank goodness!" Erza exclaimed, hugging him quickly, before examining her new patient for injuries. "Can you still smell ok?"
"Erza…" Natsu groaned again, shaking off his haze, and sniffing a moment. "I think so...It's dulled a little, but you still smell amazing…"
Erza blushed and quickly stood up while Gray just laughed.
"Man, that was pathetic, scarface!"
"Did you want me to amp up your smell well over 1500 times the normal strength of a human and go smell that? I didn't think so!" Natsu retorted.
"Wait, can you actually do that?" Gray asked.
"Not to that degree, no."
"Wait, what does that mean?" Erza asked, now curious about the newfound revelations.
"Some dragon sense enhancement spell thing or something...Honestly, it was the only spell I never really bothered to practice. Thought it was kind of useless."
"Could I try it out sometime?" Erza asked quietly.
"I don't see why not. I'll try to practice a bit more too. If I used it right now, you'd only have about a quarter of my nose."
"I hate to interrupt your plans, but didn't you say you smelled the place where we were going?"
"Actually, I did. My nose recovered enough, so let's go!" With that, Natsu raced off through the forest followed closely by Erza and Gray. They ran for about ten minutes before bursting through the brush into a large clearing, where, standing tall in the middle, stood a massive temple. There were two columns on either side of the entrance, and red moon-like symbols were painted on the center-most two as well as over the entrance. The temple was tiered like a massive staircase but was so large every level had a multitude of trees, bushes, and other plant life growing on it.
"Whoa…" Gray muttered.
"That's huge…" Erza finished.
"Aye, sir!" Natsu exclaimed, grabbing their wrists and pulling them forward. "Onwards!"
"I don't even want to know why this doesn't surprise you…" Gray groaned, 'following' the pyromaniac.
"I've been just about everywhere in Ishgar, so I've seen everything from buildings made entirely of skulls to entire lakes that aren't even real," Natsu explained.
"How can a lake-actually, don't tell me…"
Erza chuckled at their interaction as the three entered the temple. They walked for a few minutes, simply exploring the area, when Natsu stopped them for a moment.
"It's weird...this is definitely where Deliora should be but I can't smell him…"
"Then how do you know he is supposed to be here? Maybe there's another temple?" Erza asked.
"No, it's definitely here. I can't smell demon, but I definitely smell people. And before you ask, it isn't the villagers. You might not believe me, but I think they're demons too. That entire village smelled of demon. Regardless, I smell people here, and quite a lot of them."
"The villagers are demons?" Erza questioned, shocked.
"I'll explain later. Why don't we just follow one of the scents and shake them down for information?" Gray suggested.
"As much as I don't like that idea, I think it may be the only one we have…" Natsu sighed and scratched the back of his head before walking forward. "Well, we might as well give it a tRYYYYY!"
Right as the three started walking, the floor opened up beneath them and they began falling down a giant hole. It was a massive pit, twenty feet in diameter and at least two-hundred deep. Natsu was the first to fall, so he managed to grab Erza on the way down and used flames on his feet like thrusters to dull the impact.
Erza, expecting a rough landing as soon as she started to fall, squeezed her eyes shut and braced for impact. Fortunately, it never came, and she opened her eyes to see a pair of deep green and scarred eyes, shadowed by a hood that covered the rest of him.
"Did you enjoy your flight?" Natsu joked, smiling down at her.
"Er-uh-thank you…" Erza stuttered as Natsu set her down.
"Thanks for the help, charcoal…" Gray muttered, standing up and dusting himself off.
"Looks like we're here…" Natu said darkly, quickly changing the subject. "I definitely smell demon...Let's go."
Recovering from their respective falls, albeit for two different reasons, Gray and Erza quickly hurried after the now sprinting Natsu. Within a minute, they caught up and saw the dragon slayer standing in awe at something. That something turned out to be a massive block of ice, easily standing at 150-feet tall. The snowy prison was sitting in the middle of a massive room, making their guildhall seem like a child's playroom.
"There it is…" Natsu muttered.
"Deliora…" Gray growled, clenching his fist tightly.
Sure enough, within the massive block of ice was the ultimate demon of destruction himself, Deliora. It was giant, taking up nearly the entire ice prison. Its body was almost ape-like, made entirely of muscle. Its mouth was stuck open, as if it had been frozen mid roar, revealing razor-sharp teeth the size of swords. Around its face was an additional piece of flesh-covered bone that covered its forehead and chin like a faceless mask. The piece was smooth on the outermost parts but on the inside were more tooth-like bits with two on the bottom appearing like massive fangs. On top of the mask-like piece were two horns that looked as if they could cut through steel like it was gelatin.
"That thing...is huge…" Erza said in shock.
"Indeed," Natsu replied, leading them behind some rocks while the two were still in shock. "Now be quiet, someone's coming. I want to see what they're doing here and then we can shake them down."
Returning to reality, the two nodded and proceeded to duck down behind the rocks that Natsu had led them to. Moments later, they too heard the echoing sounds of footsteps through the entrance they had just arrived through.
Three figures emerged, two men and one woman. One of them looked strangely dog-like, with dog ears on top of his head and a dog nose in his face. He wore simple green pants, no shirt, and a necklace from which dangled a single sock. The second man was much shorter and wore a rather strange almost ceremonial outfit. However, the most notable thing was his eyebrows, which seemed to defy every law of physics ever to exist with their size. Finally, the third figure was noticeably normal. She was rather beautiful, with dark pink hair set in twin ponytails one on either side of her head, and wore a pink and black dress that extended just past her waist with thigh high stockings and sleeves that were detached from the outfit.
'Only one normal one among them…' Natsu thought. 'And that's coming from me…'
"We need to find the intruders," the man with the eyebrows commented.
"Arrrr…" the dog-man growled.
"I think the moon drip spell affected you too, Toby."
"It did not! It's a fashion statement!" the man now known as Toby defended.
"Stop! We need to find the intruders for the Cold Emperor! Someone hurt poor Angelica! They truly have no love!" the girl exclaimed.
"But I'm still tired from being up so early…" Toby whined.
"The Cold Emperor entrusted us to deal with the intruders! We must find and dispose of them, in other words, to show them love!" the woman exclaimed again.
'Well so much for one normal one…' Natsu thought sarcastically. He signaled for Erza and Gray to stay put, mouthing that he was going to try something. The two nodded in agreeance before he stood.
"Pardon me, but I couldn't help but overhear you were looking to show me...love? Was it?" Natsu said, approaching the three.
"Intruder!" Toby yelled.
"Who are you and why are you here? You have five seconds before we dispose of you…" the eyebrowed man said with a glare.
"Now, now why don't we all calm down," Natsu replied, holding his hands up as a sign of surrender. "I heard there was a group here unsealing Deliora."
"How do you know about that? It is of the utmost secrecy and love!" the girl exclaimed.
"Uh...right...Anyway, I was rather hoping to speak with this 'Cold Emperor'. I believe that I can assist in unsealing the demon far quicker."
"Nonsense!" the eyebrowed man declared. "Who are you?"
"I go by many names, but you may call me 'N'," Natsu told them. "While I can't exactly prove any of my claims, I'm sure if your leader can take down the ultimate demon of destruction, he can deal with little old me should I try to do anything. Right? I'll even let you tie me up if you wish, though I insist on staying conscious and covered."
"Hmmm…" the eyebrowed man said, thinking. "Very well. We will bind your wrists, and you are not permitted to speak without permission. Is that clear?"
"Thank you ever so much Mr…?"
"You may call me Yuka," he replied. "This is Toby and Sherry."
"A pleasure. Now, onward!" Natsu declared. They eyed him rather strangely, before binding his wrists and leading him out of the cave.
"What was that about?" Gray asked, standing up after the group had exited.
"I think he wants to get whoever this 'Cold Emperor' is onto our side. Another person to ensure that Deliora dies, and then we won't be interrupted while we're trying to fight it. Very good planning on his part," Erza explained.
"I suppose, but why did he let them tie him up?" Gray questioned.
"To gain their trust," Erza replied. 'I wonder if he enjoys being-NO! STOP!'
"I guess...But what are we supposed to do now?"
"Uh-er-I guess we just wait down here?" Erza stuttered, fighting off a blush.
"Are you ok there, Erza?"
"Yes! I'm fine! We should just wait here! Find something to occupy yourself with, understood?" she demanded, glaring at the ice mage.
"Aye!" Gray quickly replied, saluting the knight.
Meanwhile, Natsu was being 'escorted' by three mages that worked for a man they called 'The Cold Emperor'. They were walking up stairs and entered a room, which was relatively empty except for a sleeping mat, a chair, a desk, and a light.
"You shall remain here under surveillance until nightfall, where you shall be introduced to the Cold Emperor, accompanied by all of us of course," Yuka explained.
"I see, I do suppose that makes sense," Natsu replied, nodding thoughtfully. He wandered around examining the room, sniffing the contents of each object, and thoroughly exploring the place. "Yes, this shall suit me fine. I appreciate your hospitality."
"Um...of course…"
Meanwhile - ERA
"Ultear...Ultear...ULTEAR!"
"YES! Sorry, what was that Siegrain?" Ultear asked.
"Pay attention...Ever since Salamander left you've been completely distracted. If I find out you're betraying me for the fairies…"
"You should give little old me some more credit, Siegrain," Ultear replied, glaring slightly. "Besides, you admitted yourself that he knows all about the tower. I wouldn't be surprised if he already knew about the little group you put together…"
"And what if he does?" Siegrain snapped. "We have more than enough power to keep him down if we combine our strength. No matter how powerful he is, he can't win against all of us."
"Is that so…? Heavens…"
"I told you not to call me that."
"I think Earth and Sky could do it together, though I think they would die in the process…"
"That's why we have Nu Wa…"
"She may be the guardian, but you know very well she stands no chance against a dragon."
"I think you misunderstand, Ultear, I have no need for the dragon's head. I will open the door to the heavens to return this earth to its rightful rulers. The gates of Hell are blocked and the true Dragons are all but extinct...It's high time the angels take what was always theirs to begin with."
"I have always admired your lofty goals, Siegrain. Now if you'll excuse me…"
Back on Galuna Island - That Evening
"The Cold Emperor will see you now, N," Yuka spoke, entering the room.
"About time, I was about to come find him myself…" Natsu grumbled back, rising from his sleeping mat and following Yuka out the door. "So, tell me a bit about this 'Cold Emperor' of yours."
"I think we'll need a bit of information on you first, N," Yuka replied flatly, clearly having been given strict instructions on how to handle the situation.
"Very wise indeed...It is no wonder that he was able to amass a group such as this one."
The two continued to walk down the hallway, Natsu long since having removed his restraints, though Yuka either didn't notice or didn't care. They passed many other cult members, each wearing a black robe and a hood, with masks covering their faces. Eventually, they arrived outside the temple, where awaiting them was another large group of cultists, Toby, Sherry, and a tall man wearing a blue high-collared tunic, a white cloak, and a mask hiding the top of his face with horns extending from either side.
"So this is the man I've been hearing about…" he said as Yuka and Natsu stopped. "Now as much as I'd love to know about my group here, I'm afraid it doesn't matter. Deliora will be freed tonight, so if you're here to stop me you are far too late."
"Ah, you misunderstand, Cold Emperor," Natsu replied. "I simply wish to work out an agreement between us. You get to free Deliora, and I get what I want."
"Are you threatening me?" the masked man asked threateningly.
"No, you misunderstand, Cold Emperor. See, I wish to free Deliora as well. However, I must ask, why do you intend to free him? Seems peculiar for a mage of your caliber to attempt to free one of Zeref's ultimate demons."
"You better mind your tongue...I will free Deliora in order to slay it," he replied.
"Well, I think we'll get along just fine. I think it's high time I make my offer, don't you?"
The Cold Emperor narrowed his eyes at Natsu.
"You see, I also wish to slay Deliora, however, I do not care in the slightest how he dies. I two associates waiting for me in his chambers for my return, and-"
"You better have a damn good reason for this…" he growled.
"Calm yourself, horn head. As you are clearly aware, Deliora is currently confined within the spell known as Iced Shell. As you may not be aware, there is more than one way to remove it. I intend to remove the seal, saving the life of the caster and freeing the demon. Once I finish, you may do with the beast as you like, though my group will be there to assist you."
"You can't possibly be serious! Even if there was another way to undo Iced Shell, it wouldn't be possible with just one mage! Besides that, you have absolutely no magical power! Are you even a mage?"
"Perhaps you'd like to follow me, though you'd best be prepared to fight a demon of this size…"
"You underestimate my capabilities...The only mage on Earthland who could possibly defeat Deliora is me! I shall defeat him!" This got a cheer from the rest of the cult members.
"I see...Well, I suppose I'll have to see if you live up to your reputation myself. Shall we go meet my associates, and give you a demon battle?"
"And why should I trust you?"
"Well, I have two reasons. If you want to think you even have a chance against Deliora, surely you could handle little old me should I decide to betray you. Secondly, let's say I'm not lying and can free Deliora any time I wish...You may not want to be caught off-guard by something like that, would you?" Natsu glared.
"You seem rather confident...I don't believe you can free the demon alone, however, I shall allow you to lead me to your fellow associates. Should you betray me...I'll kill you without a second thought. Yuka, Sherry, Toby! Come with me.
"Ar!"
"I'll do it for love!"
"What a group…"
The five mages left, walking through the temple and down a long long set of stairs into the chambers of Deliora. There he remained, the massive prison of ice encapsulating the ultimate demon of destruction himself.
"So where are these associates of yours?" the masked man demanded.
"Calm yourself, Cold Emperor...Gray! Erza! Come out!" Natsu called, walking towards the rocks they had hid behind previously.
"Did you say…" he started.
"What took you so long?" Gray groaned, getting up.
"Thank goodness you're ok!" Erza exclaimed, slamming his head into her breastplate.
"You really need to learn how to hug properly, Erza...You know that?" Natsu grunted.
"I believe you've mentioned it…" Erza smiled, releasing him.
"I'd like you to meet the ones in charge of this 'cult' of whatever it is they call themselves. Yuka, Toby, Sherry, and the Cold Emperor."
"Greetings, I apologize for the secrecy, but I look forward to working together," Erza told them bowing slightly.
"Whoa, what are those eyebrows…" Gray muttered to himself.
"Well, well, well...if it isn't Gray…" the Cold Emperor smirked.
"That voice…" Gray whispered, shocked.
"Did you know I was going to be here or was this all just a coincidence?"
"Lyon!" Gray growled as he removed his mask, revealing a spiky head of silver hair.
"It appears you two know each other. Gray?" Natsu asked.
"We were both Ur's students…" he said. "Why were you trying to free Deliora? You should know what will happen!"
"Because you killed my dream, Gray! You killed Ur! How else am I supposed to surpass her if she isn't even here anymore! So I decided to do the one thing she failed to do, free Deliora from his prison and kill him!"
"You'd defile Ur's legacy just to prove you're better than her? You're one-hundred years too early for that, Lyon!" Gray roared.
"As I recall, you were the first to run out to fight Deliora far too early! That's why Ur's dead in the first place!"
"But Ur's not dead!" Gray shouted back. Lyon's eyes widened for a moment. "She's not...dead...she just told me to tell you she is. Because if you knew, she thought you'd spend your whole life trying to free her. Ur is the ice...by melting the ice, you're killing Ur…"
Lyon started to laugh, slowly at first, and then heartily. "Don't you think I know that? I know everything there is to know about this spell! You honestly believe she's still alive? After ten years? She may be the cage, but that doesn't mean she's alive!"
"As much as I enjoy your little rivalry here," Natsu interrupted. "I thought we were here to slay a demon."
"I'm here to ensure you don't interfere with my plans, and I have a feeling Gray plans to do just that…" Lyon retorted.
"On the contrary, Gray wishes to free Deliora to save his master. I assume you'd be happy to do the same? Reunite with the woman you intend to surpass?"
"That's impossible! I already told you, Ur is dead!" Lyon shouted.
"Well, allow me to fill you in...you see, Iced Shell was first created by the Ice Dragon Queen Glacia…" Natsu explained the origins of Iced Shell and introduced himself as the Dual Salamander, the White Fire Dragon King.
"You expect me to believe that you are a dragon king? And that somehow Iced Shell was a spell formed by a dragon centuries ago?" Lyon asked.
"I do. Besides, what if I fail? What if I am lying? You simply have to dispose of me and then finish with your original plan."
"Lyon...if there is even the slightest chance to bring her back…" Gray said softly, looking down. "Please...I know that I killed her...I need to do something to fix that mistake…"
"You've always been one to live in the past, Gray. While time moved forward, you stay the same."
"I shall free the demon you wish to slay, as well as your teacher, in exchange for you allowing our group to assist you in defeating Deliora," Natsu explained. "So how about it, Lyon...Do we have a deal?"