Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Fairy Tail

Gray didn't know how long he stood still when he arrived, just staring at the demon. It was encased in ice, just like he remembered, but upon seeing Deliora's face, Gray was a child again. He remembered finding his parents dead, his neighbors dead, his entire home village, destroyed, because of this thing. From there, he'd wandered. As a child, it was probably a stupid thing to do, but he didn't know what else he could do. It wasn't like any wizards had been able to stop Deliora in the past, and back then, he hadn't even known the thing's name. It had just been a monster, and as he wandered from town to town, he told his story. People thought he was an imaginative child most of the time, but he eventually found a group of wizards that mentioned hearing about a high-paying job that came in recently, asking to take care of one of Zeref's demons that had broken free from the Magic Council's seals.

That was when he learned about Zeref's demons and specifically about Deliora. Most of the demons that had been found were sealed away with magic, put into a dormant state long ago by members of the wizard saints centuries in the past. The council had spent nearly a century rounding up all of the demons the legendary black wizard had created and it had taken them less than a decade to devise a spell that put them into a sleep-like state. However, when it came to Deliora, a dark guild had found him. According to rumors and speculation, Grimoire Heart had been the one to target Deliora for some reason. What they wanted was a mystery, but either way, the seal had been broken and his rampage began where it had left off.

Technically, the wizards back then hadn't given him that many details. He'd been a child, not even a wizard at the time. However, research later on gave him the details that he'd missed from their explanation. Back then, he'd just learned that Deliora was one of Zeref's demons that had broken free from the Council's spell. He'd thanked them for the information, but couldn't help but feel anger and a desire to stop that thing before more people suffered like he had. So, he continued his wandering, until he heard rumors about a powerful ice mage living near a small town he was walking through. He got directions and then he was off to find Ur and grow strong enough to face Deliora in battle.

"Are you looking for me? I thought you'd left to find the demons on this island." A voice spoke, pulling Gray free from his thoughts. There, near the base of the frozen form of Deliora and just outside of the glowing purple magic, was the dark wizard from before.

This time, Gray didn't bother asking questions. He had the book, there was a spell being used on the demon, and this entire situation had him on edge. "Ice Make: Lance!" Ice spears flashed outward, spiking towards the man. It seemed to startle him, his eyes widening. Yet, the dark wizard moved quickly, rolling out of the way and looking up to meet his gaze.

"Ice-make magic…so you did come for the job after all." He actually seemed to smile, while Gray glared at him. "Yet, this will not be enough."

Gray didn't care for what he had to mutter. "Ice Make: Bow! Ice Make: Arrows!" In quick succession, he began launching projectiles at the man, narrowing his eyes. This time, however, the man didn't even move. He stood still, letting them pierce through his skin and stab through him. The wizard didn't even flinch and Gray was left staring with wide eyes. "You—you must be an idiot, just standing there and taking an attack—" He broke off, watching as the wizard began removing the ice arrows with a grimace, dropping them onto the ground.

"As I stated before…this will not be enough." The dark wizard finished removing the last one and let out a slow sigh. "I did mention that I was cursed, did I not? Well, at least it educated you to keep your distance…but it does nothing to make you more…desperate, I suppose." His gaze turned towards Deliora, a faint smile on his face. "Perhaps…perhaps he would grow that desperation? You do wear the look of one who knows the potential of such creatures."

"Don't you dare!" Gray ran down from the cliff he was standing on, finding a path to stand on even ground with the man. "Deliora needs to stay like that. My master gave her life to—"

"Your master…Gray?" Gray was starting to wonder if this man just knew all Fairy Tail mages, but he hadn't guessed Gray's name when they met before. "Well…this is ideal, then." The dark wizard smiled, chuckling as he shook his head. "It seems as if he is too weak, so I will have to rely on other methods to motivate you. It'll be interesting to see if I can. After all, you aren't nearly as reckless as I'd hoped you'd be, but when pushed…well, anyone can lose their sense of reason."

Moving quickly, Gray tossed aside the bow of ice in favor of a different spell. "Ice Make: Geyser!" Gray slammed his hands onto the ground, letting ice shoot forward. It spiked upwards underneath the dark wizard, though the stranger frowned at the attack. Before it managed to actually harm him, fire flared up around the cursed man, attempting to melt the ice. Pushing more magic into his spell, Gray attempted to at least keep its form long enough to do something. Yet, the end result was a splash of water against the man and a burst of steam around him.

The wizard gradually became more visible as the steam faded. "You are quite strong. However, I've seen better. You are no winter mage, that's for sure."

"I'm not trying to be stronger than whoever you're comparing me to! I've just gotta be strong enough to stop you."

"Oh, I don't think that's possible like this, really. You just need to be clever enough to realize what it takes to stop me."

Gray paused for a moment, staring at the man. Had he even attacked at all? The wizard had dodged and evaded Gray's spells, but he hadn't once tried to retaliate. While Gray remained tense, he could wait this out, try and bide his time and think of a plan against this sort of an opponent. "Oh yeah? And what makes you so certain I can't overpower you?"

"Because it is nearly impossible at this point for anyone to manage." He tilted his head. "I've only encountered one form of magic that might let anyone get even close to such a thing…and even that user has never managed to defeat me."

"Well, the good thing about my magic is that it's only limits are my imagination. I just have to be more creative than you are and sorry, but you just don't seem like the creative sort."

"Perhaps not." The man nodded, before holding out Deliora's book. In an instant, it vanished and was replaced with another. "But I am patient, ruthless, and lack the morality of most wizards you'd face off against. If you are not desperate enough to stop me now…I will ensure you become desperate enough to do so." He smiled, as if that was just some amusing little fact, and not a subtle threat. "You have friends on this island, correct? Your concern from before…it is the sort of concern I'd expect from her guild. Well, let's see what happens when we toy around with the nature of the demons here."

Gray didn't know who's book that was, but he knew he couldn't let this happen. He was still near the bow from earlier; lifting it, he quickly took aim. "Ice Make: Arrows!" He shot at the book, knowing that hitting the wizard did nothing. He didn't exactly know what this would do either, but he had to protect Natsu and Lucy, even if they didn't know he was defending them. Multiple arrows pierced through the book, making the other wizard take a few steps back from the force. Even though the book was riddled with holes and arrows, it still didn't tear it from his grip. Gray prepared to take aim once more, realizing he needed more force to get that thing away from this man.

"So, you are willing to kill to protect them. I'm glad that is not an issue for you, or else this would be even more pointless than I thought." Willing to kill? Gray glanced at the destroyed book with a frown, slowly lowering his weapon and halting his magic. The dark wizard smiled, tossing it towards him and letting it slide across the ground. It was hard to see through the holes, but he could see the faint etching on the cover of a name. Lulu. The demon that had been so invested in helping them free her island from that curse, who dealt with her emotions so similarly to himself and reminded him of Ur's smile. Did destroying the book harm her? Kill her? His stomach churned and he clenched his teeth, glaring at the dark wizard.

"I'm not here to kill anyone! I'm trying to protect others. Don't you understand? Deliora will kill hundreds, thousands of people, if you set him free. I don't know what you think you can accomplish, but this isn't—"

"Oh, no, Deliora won't do a thing once he's freed. That much I can promise you." The dark wizard sighed. "Sadly, he's the only one who's seal caused such a fate. It made me curious…to see what was so different about him as opposed to the others. A creative solution indeed, for a branch of magic that draws strength from such creativity." He paused, before shaking his head. "But that is off topic. I was attempting to alter the demons in the village, wasn't I? Let me see if I still have most of their books on hand…"

Making a plan, Gray tossed the bow forward, watching it slide across the cavern ground to rest on the other side of the dark wizard. Adjusting his stance, Gray warily eyed the other man to confirm he had yet to finish requipping another book. He drew on his magic, preparing to stop the man before he could even act.

"Ice Make: Shackles!" Ice shot out, creating chains and binding the dark wizard's hands together in front of him. "Ice Make: Prison!" He leapt forward, getting closer than he was comfortable with to place a prison of ice around just the man's arms, keeping him kneeling on the ground with his hands trapped inside. Now behind the dark wizard, Gray spun around, lifting the bow he'd tossed away. He pointed it towards the entrapped wizard, standing ready to attack. "Got anything better then? Because I can keep this up all night if I have to."

"Have you forgotten what brought us to this island?"

Gray blinked and in an instant, the man teleported free from his prison, landing beside Deliora and shaking his head. Now, he stood within the glowing spell that was being used on the demon. "I brought us here and can use this magic as I please. Don't fool yourself into thinking you can outwit me either. While I am not arrogant enough to think there are none that can defeat me, I doubt a mere child could accomplish such a thing."

Gray was about to change the direction of the conversation, asking what the hell he had done to start melting the ice, but unfortunately they were interrupted. "Black! The Cold Emperor has requested your assistance." Behind them, a man with a mask covering half of his face stood at the entrance Gray had used earlier. "Keep doing things like abandoning our nightly rituals and he will start to think you are betraying him. He has no use for tools that cannot be trusted, you know."

"As I keep saying, there is no purpose to me aiding in the moon drip ritual. One additional person makes little difference at this point."

Gray glanced between them, seeing the masked man smile faintly. "Well, then it may be best if you just leave. He will not be pleased to learn of your treachery…" The man trailed off, his smile fading as he spotted Gray. "And treachery this is indeed, betraying us to another."

"I am dealing with him, Zalty." Black scowled. "And I do not take kindly to threats. I have no need for Lyon at this point, so he can attempt to dispatch of me if he so desires." Black paused, meeting Zalty's eyes with an odd expression. "Stay out of my way and I shall stay out of yours."

"Then I'll take matters into my own hands." The man raised his hands and Gray thought he sensed magic activate, only for another spell to burst outward faster, from the wizard behind him. Zalty froze and the world became bathed in black and white with nothing moving except for him and Black.

The dark wizard nodded towards him, narrowing his eyes. "Leave. We will finish this later…once you've realized the only true way to stop me."

"And let you melt the ice around Deliora? Not a chance. I'm not letting you kill my master!"

"That's what has you so…?" The man sighed, shaking his head. "Iced Shell has elements of transformation magic - your master is not exactly in a 'living' state anymore. Melting the ice is granting her a different form, but it will not kill her. If you are so inclined to believe this will end her existence, then at least educate yourself fully on the process I'm using to unravel the spell."

"I already read about this damn ritual and know that it will melt her." He glared at the black wizard. "She'll be nothing but water then! Even if I found a way to return her to normal, there'd be no way to know where she was!" Gray had given up on Ur long ago, but after finding the books on this island, he realized he should have never done so. There was so much about magic that he didn't know - somewhere, there had to be an answer on how to save her. He wasn't going to lose that change by letting them complete this ritual.

The man stared at him, narrowing his eyes. "Would you trade places with her?"

"If it meant bringing her back—making up for my mistakes long ago—then yes, I would."

"Promise me, then." The man met his gaze. "I will investigate a method to reverse this spell…a method other than moon drip. In return, I will direct you towards a target, give you a time and you will cast iced shell for me, without question and without hesitation." He paused. "And unlike our previous arrangement, you will follow through. Otherwise, I will ensure you see far more loss and devastation in your life than you can possibly imagine."

Did this man really think he could do it? Either way, it didn't really matter. "If you can accomplish the impossible, and so long as you don't want me to harm my friends, then I'll do it. But I want you to promise me that Deliora won't be left alone either, got it? This demon has caused enough havoc as it stands."

"Deliora is dead." Gray blinked, staring at him with wide eyes. The man smiled, chuckling at his reaction. "And now that we have an agreement, I believe we have work to do together. With someone actually willing to use iced shell, I may be able to make more progress than speaking with Lyon has allowed for." He mentioned Lyon again. Was his former peer somewhere on this island? Gray shook his head, figuring he'd ask about it later. "It might be best to leave, while we have the chance. Zalty…or whoever this wizard truly is, utilizes arc of time magic. It is interesting, but difficult to negate or deter for others."

Nodding, Gray began to make his way back out of the temple. Once they were in the wilderness of the island, Black dropped his spell, walking calmly through the forest again. "Hey, is Black really your name, or just a nickname they gave you?"

The man paused, turning towards him. "Hmm…well, at this point, I suppose there's no harm in you knowing. I'd been rather enjoying being anonymous, but to work together properly, I suppose I should show some reason for you to trust me." He smiled at that. "Though, I don't quite think it'll make you more inclined to do so."

"What? You got a bad reputation or something?"

"To put it lightly, yes." The man paused, while Gray narrowed his eyes. "Are you still certain you wish to know? Ignorance may let you work with less weight on your conscience, after all."

It might, but he'd also be working blindly with a man that knew a lot about magic and was clearly more powerful than he let on. Knowing would be the safer route, even if it made him uncomfortable with this temporary alliance. "I want to know. I'm sick of all the deception and mystery around you and if I'm working with some infamous dark wizard, I'd rather have a heads up."

"Again, that is putting things mildly." The man stopped walking, glancing up at the moon with a faint smile. "My name is Zeref." Gray stopped as well after hearing the name, frowning as he felt a chill under his skin. "I am the one who created Deliora in the first place, the creator of all demons, really. So, I suppose if you have a grudge against him for some reason…you should really be hating me as the one who created him in the first place."

Swallowing, Gray slowly began to shake his head at the man. "Zeref was alive…four hundred years ago."

"I was born then, yes."

"That's not possible! No one lives that long!" Gray took a step closer, glaring at the man as his hands closed into fists.

There was a slight pause. "I am cursed, remember?"

"Cursed to live for four hundred years?"

"To be immortal, actually." That was not quite expected. "Regardless, I'd rather not delve into the details of my curse. As I stated before, I have plans in place for such a thing. What I don't have plans for is your master. You agreed to my terms, so I assume you are aware of how to cast iced shell, correct?"

Gray nodded, taking a slow breath. He was having a conversation with the black wizard. He'd had a conversation with him before and had no idea who he even was. Then again, was there any proof of that? Either way, as much as he wanted to back out now, he realized he couldn't do so. The man had already threatened him before if he didn't stick to his promise and now, he knew just how well he might be able to manage to uphold that threat. So, Gray gradually began explaining iced shell to him, while trying to think of a way to delay this for as long as possible to avoid potentially being in debt to the black wizard.

So, I'm going to have a busy time at work for the rest of the week. As a result, this week's update is getting posted a day early. I do hope you enjoyed! Feel free to review and tell me what you think!