Façade

by Blessism

Being a Wizard Saint and council member is a big feat, especially when you're in the most ludicrous guild in history. Jellal and Erza find it hard to come to terms with each other, especially when problems start arising in wake of new enemies. Read along as these two encounter awkward situations with the rest of Fairy Tail. Heaps of angst and comedy.

9. Deliora

Façade

Chapter 9: Deliora

---

After returning from the eventful breakfast, Simon, Erza, and Jellal entered the guildhall, with Erza carrying her colossal amount of ingredients and armours with her.

Jellal was the only one able to confront the guild master when he was this grumpy. Though, Makarov found Natsu's antiques more amusing than anything else, so he couldn't possibly wonder why the guild master was furious right now. "Master, why the long face?"

"Bring those brats back home right now!" shouted Makarov, causing everyone to whisper amongst themselves.

Jellal looked at him quizzically, but if he had to make a guess, Makarov was referring to Natsu, Lucy, Gray, and Happy.

Mirajane filled Erza in on the mission while Jellal watched the old man shout at nobody in particular. He was cursing at Laxus' arrogance, Natsu's foolishness, and Jellal for not coming back sooner. "Where were you all this time!?"

"Crocus," he said. Maybe now Makarov would remember the purpose of the trip.

While Makarov sputtered nonsense to Jellal, Mirajane explained everything to Erza. The entire guild was watching the guild master, afraid of falling victim to his tantrums.

Mirajane sighed, "So, there you have it. That's why he's angry. Laxus refused to fetch them, so Gray went after them, but he never returned."

Erza slammed her palm against a bench table, resulting in a hard slap with the clattering of her armoured hand. "They'll be punished gravely for going against the guild rules."

Cana continued drinking from a barrel while everyone else tried reassuring Erza with small noises of approval.

Jellal grabbed her wrist, restraining her movements. "I think you're overreacting. They can deal with their punishment after they return."

"I can handle this myself, just watch me bring them back." Reassured Erza, as she dragged her luggage to a corner. It blocked part of the bar, but it's not like anyone was sitting near it. The closest person aside from the barmaid was Cana, who wasn't bothered by Makarov's fury. She was too intoxicated to even think properly.

With a hiccup, she said, "Erza's going to go haywire when she sees them. Do something Jellal. She's going to-"

Everyone searched around to find the mage gone with Erza. Mirajane smiled, "I guess he's one step ahead of you, Cana."

---

"It's…you." Gray's realization hurt him more than it should've. To see Lyon in the flesh, trying to undermine Ur's efforts to kill Deliora. His former peer was now an enemy—a threat to him, Fairy Tail, and the villagers around here.

The Fairy Tail mages along with Lyon's subordinates encountered each other in the temple after overhearing Sherry discuss the plans with Yuka. They'd been awfully careless, but cunning with the years of planning the demon's revival.

Lyon gave a curt smile. "It's been quite a while, Gray."

Lucy and Natsu watched in confusion as the two ice mages exchanged glares. Lyon was mildly interested in how Gray found him after long years of fishing for Deliora and finding out how to revive him. Fate was a cruel mistress.

"What are you doing here?" Gray asked, holding his breath to hear the evil deed Lyon committed. Every word sickened him, especially knowing that he wasn't capable of saving Ur years ago that he resorted to lying.

His former friend dryly laughed, "I'm surprised you haven't heard of it, especially since I'm fixing your mistakes from the past. One could say I've been leading my people to our wish."

"Wish?"

Lyon frowned, circling the mages and revealing some of his own people. He looked like an eagle circling his prey, "Think back to ten years ago when Ur died. To be more exact, when you killed Ur, our beloved master." The coldness of his voice didn't match the pretty words used to honour Ur's death.

But Gray knew he wasn't honouring their master's sacrifice, he was ridiculing her.

Confused, Lucy turned to Gray to confirm the statement. "Gray, is it true? Did you kill your own master?"

"Silence!" A cage appeared around Natsu and Lucy, who jumped at the sudden weight surrounding them. Lucy rubbed her hands together, trying to warm herself up. Natsu was unresponsive, eyeing Lyon with a malicious intent. Happy hid behind Natsu as the temperature started decreasing. Lyon continued, "I regret ever becoming your friend. A murderer, you of all people, Gray. I will not tolerate whatever happened to Ur. Therefore, I will kill Deliora myself, and surpass her."

Gray cautiously approached him. "You can't surpass Ur! Not even she could kill Deliora. Please Lyon-"

"You have no right to speak about me like that. Not after what you've done."

After registering the thought of Gray being falsely accused, Natsu started causing a commotion in the cell. "You're an even bigger jerk than Gray! I'll teach you to never imprison me again. FIRE DRAGON ROAR!"

The cell eventually melted and Natsu casually strolled out, grinning ear to ear as Lyon slowly lost his composure. The ice wizard spun on his heel and signalled for his subordinates to attack.

"Yuka, Sherry, deal with them."

The two wizards appeared in front of them, one a girl with cherry pink hair in a black dress and the other with braided bluish hair and bushy eyebrows.

Natsu and Lucy ran fled the temple with Happy following them close behind. Sherry started using the ground beneath them. Just as she expected, the two tripped and face-planted onto the ground. The man named Obra started using magic, but Natsu stood up with a tad of dirt on his nose.

"Fire Dragon: Wing Attack!" Natsu yelled as the flames headed straight for the man who stood there.

But nothing happened because Yuka had a shield which nullified a magic user's spell. He blocked the attack, surprising the Dragon Slayer.

"Natsu!" cried Happy, rushing to the boy's side, who panted heavily.

"You see now, you can't use magic on me. Give it up, Salamander." Lucy noticed that Natsu's renowned reputation was not only limited to Magnolia. These people stranded on an island even knew him.

And to think these nobodies would tire him out like this.

"Then I guess I have to do it the old-fashioned way." He stuck his hand inside the barrier, clenching his jaw and eyes. When he found the attempt successful, Natsu grinned.

"You fool, sticking your bare hand into a vortex barrier. And even then, you can't use magic inside of it."

Natsu was getting electrified, but in retaliation, he stuck his face into the waves of electricity. "That's right, I can't use it inside, but I can still use my magic outside the barrier." He gathered a huge portion of his fire magic behind him, "FIRE DRAGON TALON!"

Yuka was sent flying with the incoming attack from behind Natsu. But just as he fell down with a single attack, Natsu stumbled backwards. The aftershock of the attack sent shivers down his spine. His knees bucked against the ground and he ground his teeth to make the pain more bearable.

Lucy waved a golden key in the air, preparing to face off with her opponent. "Open, gate of the Golden Bull, Taurus!"

Taurus emerged from the ground with his axe, greeting Lucy as if they had all the time in the world. "You look so beautiful today, Miss Lucy."

Sherry raised an eyebrow at Taurus' statement, "Seriously? Your spirits say things like that?"

"I don't make him say it!" retorted Lucy, bewildered by the Celestial Spirit's habits.

Sherry's lips slowly curved into a victorious smile, "You know, I can control inanimate objects. That includes your Celestial Spirit. Now Taurus, kill this girl."

"Yes, ma'am!" Taurus started swinging his axe in Lucy's direction.

She rolled over and kicked her feet until dust clouded his vision. Lucy lifted herself off the ground and hopped back and forth, teetering underneath the axe in an unsuccessful movement to escape the grasp. "What do you think you're doing!?"

Taurus pulled at his arms. "I-I don't know, I'm sorry Miss Lucy!"

Lucy closed his gate and panted heavily from the attack. "How can you control my spirits? They're not even-AH!"

Sherry used the ground as a rug so Lucy would lose her balance, also causing Taurus to swing inaccurately at the ground. Eventually, Lucy tripped on her foot and landed headfirst into the dirt. "Natsu..."

The Dragon Slayer didn't respond to the plea despite his sharp ears. And Gray wasn't in any better of a position, falling unconscious from the battle with Lyon.

"No. We can't…lose."

Lucy's vision blacked out.

---

Gray gingerly stirred in his slumber, wrapped in bandages and surrounded by the townspeople. He could smell the medicinal herbs in the form of oil. His skin was smooth because the townspeople anointed him with the natural remedies. When his eyes opened, many villagers gathered around him and sighed in relief, leaving him alone with his comrades in a hut.

"You don't think Erza's coming after us?" suggested Lucy.

Natsu disagreed, yawning. "Nah, probably Simon or someone will be next in line."

"But what if that someone is Erza?"

To this, the rosy-haired man nervously chuckled. "Then…then we're all doomed!"

"B-but Jellal will help us, right?" optimistically suggested Happy. Lucy snorted at the ridiculous prospect, proposed by none other than the cat.

"You think he'll help you? Please, you always made fun of him and Erza. There's no way you're going back alive."

Gray absentmindedly reached for the shirt hanging beside his bed, pulling it over his head as Happy shivered at the revelation of Erza's appearance. "What's going on? Did you guys win?"

Natsu groaned, "More like they kicked our butts. Luckily I found you before you bled to death. That Lyon guy is a good opponent, maybe I should give him a try."

Gray didn't seem enthusiastic about Natsu rivalling Lyon. "That shouldn't be our concern right now. He's about to revive a demon, and it's all my fault."

"Demon?" mouthed Lucy, eyes wide with surprise. Learning about the others' pasts had suddenly interested Lucy, especially since half of them didn't know their parents. "Deliora is a demon from the Book of Zeref. I can imagine Lyon did it to complete what Ur couldn't; killing the demon."

"But isn't your master dead?"

Lucy wasn't sure if that was a question she should've been pressing on about. But Gray wasn't really affected by it. He had shed the tears he needed to when he first laid eyes on Deliora.

"Dead isn't the right word. More like…she turned into ice."

Natsu became interested in the conversation, "Ice? So she was able to stop the demon? By turning into ice?"

Gray nodded, "Nobody could slay the demon, so Ur used a spell called Iced Shell. This allows the user to trap another person or thing inside the ice. Except, the person who performs the spell becomes the ice."

"That's suicide!"

"I was told not to tell Lyon, that's why he thinks I killed Ur. Lyon didn't witness it, so the next day, he assumed I murdered her."

Lucy sighed, "I'm sorry to hear that."

"I don't need pity, all that matters is that we stop the resurrection of Deliora." He shifted his weight on his legs and got up, adjusting the necklace beneath his shirt.

"You're right. I'll go find that girl and Natsu can deal with the eyebrows dude. Meanwhile, you can stop Lyon. After we all fully recover, okay Natsu? Uh, Natsu?"

Lucy scanned the room for her friend. "He had the audacity to walk away from a very important plan!?"

"Lucy, I think you should go look for him. I'm not feeling so well," Gray winced in pain as he tried to get up, but he ended up on his pillow with a wheeze.

Lucy nodded and left the house to go to the shores of the island with Happy. Her instincts told her Natsu would be near the water, trying to find Yuka in the hopes of getting revenge.

"Well well, if it isn't the girl who should've been dead by now," greeted Sherry. Lucy stopped running and planted her feet on the ground firmly. "To be frank, it was a courtesy on my part to not have killed you. Fairy Tail was easily obliterated by us. With you alone, you don't stand a chance against me."

"Uh oh," said Happy.

"I won't fall for the same trick twice," assured Lucy.

"I was just going easy on you. I can control more than one inanimate object simultaneously, and that includes your celestial spirits."

Lucy ignored her comment and got out a specific key, placing it near the water, "Open gate of the Water Bearer, Aquarius!"

Aquarius came out of the water, glaring at Lucy. Immediately, her beady eyes trailed to Lucy, trying to intimidate the Wizard. "Can't you summon me some other time? I was on a date with my darling."

The blonde pointed at Sherry, "Save the sappy talk for later. Right now, we have to defeat her!"

Aquarius stubbornly remained in her spot, crossing her arms. She didn't acknowledge the command nor care about it. Lucy accusingly pointed a finger at her. "Listen, I don't have time to deal with your stuck-up attitude. She's the enemy, not me!"

Sherry chuckled, "Do you not remember what I said? I can control your Celestial Spirits. Now Aquarius, kill this stupid girl!"

The spirit summoned waves and waves of water in her urn, "I was already planning on doing that!" the water hit Lucy first, who was struggling to swim in it.

"A fitting end for the Celestial wizard, hah!… wait, what?" Sherry could see the waves coming towards her at a higher magnitude.

"AH!" The mage coughed as she lay on the floor, drenched in water beside Lucy.

"That girl was an even bigger brat than the blonde bimbo." Aquarius smiled in content before disappearing.

The two mages got up and started pummeling their fists at each other in thin air.

Lucy growled, "You made the biggest mistake of messing with a Fairy Tail mage."

"No, I will win. A weakling like you doesn't stand a chance." Sherry lost her footing and stumbled into Lucy, who used their close proximity to her advantage.

"No, you won't, HAH!" Lucy elbowed Sherry to the floor.

The mage dramatically fell to the floor, arm outstretched. "No, how could this happen? What will I say to Lyon? This was all done in the name of love!"

Lucy recovered from the dizziness and tried walking ahead with the help of Happy. "Yours is a twisted love."

Then, she made out the giant rat coming towards her. Lucy shrieked loudly as Angelica jumped in the air with her giant tutu clinging to her fur. She tried getting out of the way, but her legs gave out from Aquarius's attack. But the rat never landed on her like she expected. Happy beamed with joy as Erza slashed the giant beast in mid-air.

Her dramatic entrance astonished Lucy. "Erza?"

Her relief slowly faded when she remembered the purpose of the powerful mage's trip.

I totally forgot we broke guild rules. That's why she's angry right now.

"Lucy," Erza greeted in a not-so-friendly way. "I assume you know why I'm here. You do, don't you?"

"To take us back?" Lucy replied much slower than she liked, bracing herself. "Promise you won't hurt me?"

Promise you won't hurt me?

Promise you won't hurt me?

The idea became a distant whisper, committed to memory. Happy was just about to fly away until Erza swiftly grabbed him by the tail.

They both gulped at the impending punishment.

Going back to the hut wasn't a pleasant trip, especially since Titania was angry. Lucy filled her in on everything in the meantime, about the curse, Lyon, and Deliora. But none of that was her concern. She was looking for Natsu. When they reached the temporary camp for the villagers, Erza tied the both of them against the wooden beams meant for structure support.

"Erza, what are you doing here?" Gray watched as the two struggled against the ropes. He had a hard time getting up from all the injuries.

She grabbed her sword and pointed the sharp end to his chest. "You three have betrayed Master Makarov. Stealing an S-Class quest is a huge offence, this won't go unpunished."

Gray stood up against her, slightly intimidated despite his advantageous height. "But Erza, these people need our help!"

"Lucy filled me in on everything well enough. However, this request is in every other guild. I'm sure other S-Class wizards will be to complete it. You three are not qualified."

"If you know everything, how can you be so heartless?"

Erza mustered up the nastiest glare at him, "What did you say?"

Happy cried out from his position. "That's no way to speak to the Great Erza!"

Lucy averted her gaze and irritatingly eyed the flaps of the tent. "You little suck-up."

"Lighten up, Erza." Everyone turned to the entrance, where Jellal came into view with Natsu, who was being dragged by his shirt. Jellal released him, then grabbed Erza's blade and set it down, much to her disappointment. She didn't move, but her eyes spoke volumes to him.

"Jellal, they went against what Master said. They've only brought shame to our guild. Or is it your intent that they're not to blame?"

"They will receive their punishment in due time, but don't walk away from this. These people need our help, all personal feelings aside."

Erza didn't relent, looking away with him with a sour look plastered on her face. Slowly, her brown orbs flickered up to his hazel ones, and she could see him smile. This only added to her confusion. "I know you think it's wrong, but we'll deal with their punishment later. We're just going to finish what they started." He turned to the other guild members. "On another note, all of you owe her an apology for going through the trouble to fetch you."

She opened her mouth to protest. "Jellal, that isn't necessary."

"Seems only fair to me." He prompted.

Lucy, Natsu, and Gray all mumbled, "Sorry."

Jellal wasn't exactly satisfied with it. "A little more emotion wouldn't hurt, but I guess that will suffice."

"Sorry and thank you Great Erza!" exclaimed Happy when Erza sliced the bindings with a few swings of her sword. To this, Lucy bit the inside of her cheek. She was still stiff, wondering if Erza wanted to use that sword on her instead of the rope.

Gray studied the villagers trying to rebuild their once glorious village. The camp was temporary, and they hadn't expected such a destructive force to take away everything. Though, there was still no telling who caused the widespread destruction. "Well, do you have a plan Jellal?"

"Naturally," he said, taking pride in their high expectations.

Erza planted her hands on her waist, "I'll execute the plan, then."

"Little Erza is keen on getting the credit for the quest, huh?"

"What? I said nothing of the sort!"

Jellal mused, "So I've heard. Not to worry, you play an important role in my scheme, so let's get down to the basics. There'll be two groups; one will stop Deliora and the other will break the curse. Erza, Natsu, and the Celestial wizard will try to break the curse. Meanwhile, Gray and I will confront Deliora. Happy can stay here to keep a guard on the camp in case there's any threat."

The thoroughness of the plan stunned Lucy. "Wow, you thought this through to the end."

"To succeed, it's important to plan accordingly."

Erza nodded, "I guess it's settled then, let's go Natsu."

"C-can I go with Jellal?" he asked, afraid of being in Erza's presence.

"No," replied Jellal, "Erza will need your help."

Gray followed behind Jellal as they ventured off to the temple. Meanwhile, Erza was going to investigate the issue with the so-called humans.

"Just how much do you know about Deliora?" asked Gray as he seized his still injured arm.

"Enough to know who's behind Lyon's actions." It was a vague response, but it piqued Gray's interest.

"Lyon's doing this to surpass Ur, my previous master."

"Not really. He wouldn't use such drastic measures if it weren't for his right-hand man."

"Which is..."

He didn't intend to avoid the subject, but that's what it seemed like to Gray. "Have you ever heard of Ur's daughter?"

Gray clenched his fists, "Yeah, Ur's been searching her for all these years. But…she never found her. What's the point of bringing her up?"

Knowing Gray, he was oblivious to the fact that she was still alive. "Nothing, this was just recent news to me."

They reached the temple after the lengthy walk through the forest. The temporary shelter was farther away from the temple compared to the village. Inside the wide corridor, a masked man with untamed aqua green hair greeted them. He was holding a crystal ball. "So you really came, he-heh."

Jellal signaled for Gray to continue on without him, "You can take care of Lyon, I have some unfinished business."

Gray didn't question it and followed his orders, running ahead as the strange mage watched him leave. Though, Jellal didn't think it was the best idea for Gray to confront Lyon with all those injuries.

Jellal started, "I see you've put my knowledge of Deliora to great use, Ultear."

The mage felt threatened, defending themselves. "That is not my name, I don't know who you're talking about."

Jellal continued narrating his side of the story fruitfully. "You weren't at the council's meeting today, so I'd figure you took the day off for your ultimate plan. You think Fairy Tail poses a threat, don't you?"

"W-what nonsense do you speak of?"

"I wouldn't have known, but your frequent absence on the council gave away your scheme. You might've not been aware, but I've been monitoring your conversations with your guild master. Hades, was it?"

She transformed back to her own appearance, trying to maintain a poker face. "I should've known it was nearly impossible to deceive you, Jellal. So what gave it away?"

"I don't trust many people to begin with. The chairman did a terrible job in trying to cover your actions, especially when you were held accountable for sneaking into a forbidden library according to eyewitnesses," Ultear stiffened at his discovery. "Don't look so surprised, I'm the first to know about anything that happens. Both of you seek the primordial magic of Zeref, isn't that correct?"

"How do you know that exists!?" frustrated, she attempted to attack Jellal by throwing the orbs in his direction. With ease, he dodged them. He didn't bother using his magic.

"I've been studying the Black Wizard myself, what else would you expect? Though, you're mistaken to think Zeref is linked to primordial magic."

Ultear stared at him quizzically, "What other explanation is there for the origin of magic?"

"Ah, if you want to discuss magical theory, save it for later. After all, if you haven't studied it properly, how can you possibly debate such a complex topic?"

"Tell me!" multiple orbs appeared around Ultear, going straight for the Wizard Saint. Jellal destroyed a few, and dodged the rest, unwilling to give her an answer.

As realization dawned upon her, Ultear assumed he knew more than he was letting on about. "So you've known about the Seven Purgatory Kin?"

"The entire council knows about Grimoire Heart. They're part of the Balam Alliance, comprising your guild, Oracion Seis, and an unknown group called Tartaros. Though, I must say, it took me a lot of time to acquire that information."

Ultear couldn't mask her surprise; the Magic Council put a lot of effort in discovering the alliance, which was to be kept a secret. Had they also known about all the other dark guilds operated by them? They already dissolved Eisenwald, and it wouldn't be long until Grimoire Heart would fall victim. "Now that you have all this information, what will you do?"

"You don't belong on the Magic Council, and I will change that. All it will take is a word from me, and they'll put you behind the bars." Ultear swallowed hard, to which Jellal continued. "But if you quit, I won't see a reason in revealing anything to them."

"I don't have a choice in the matter, do I?"

"But you do; either get arrested or flee the Magic Council."

A distant yell and quick footsteps approached them. Ultear sneered at Jellal, "It seems quitting is my best option." She turned to leave, but Jellal stopped her.

"One more thing, restore the village. It doesn't take long to find out your Arc of Time is the reason the village is in shambles."

She disappeared in a matter of seconds, giving no sign of a reply. She'd do it, Ultear knew that if she didn't Jellal could do whatever he pleased with his intel on the dark guilds.

One nuisance was replaced by another, running through the halls of the temple. "JELLAL!"

It was Natsu running straight for him, expecting to take him head on. The Wizard Saint stepped aside, and he ended up butting his head against the wall. "Natsu? You're supposed to be with Erza."

Ignoring what Jellal said, he grabbed onto Jellal and shouted, "No way man, I called dibs on Lyon! That's way more important than Erza."

Natsu ran towards to middle of the temple where Gray and Lyon were fighting. Natsu held his arms back and used his fire as a boost as he carelessly ran along the halls. There were many flights of stairs remaining, but thanks to their magic, the both of them reached Gray rather quickly.

Gray crossed his arms above his head, feeling the ice surround him and engulf his entire being. Lyon took a shaky step back, feeling the power of the spell comparable to Ur.

No, it surpassed her.

A powerful spell that would take the caster's life. Jellal reached out to him, "Gray, stop."

With raging emotions, Gray furiously shook his head. He wouldn't, not after Lyon's mockery about Ur. A tear fell from his eye, reminiscing about his master's sacrifice. "I won't, Ur sacrificed herself for me, for the entire town of people. I will follow her footsteps."

"SHUT UP!" his face sharply turned to the side as Gray felt his cheek sting with pain.

Natsu clenched his fists, unapologetic. Gray felt his face before confronting the Dragon Slayer in disbelief. "Natsu..."

"I won't let you go out like this. You can't die on me over some loser like him. Now stand back, this is my fight."

Gray stumbled back and watched him fight Lyon, stunned. He quickly recovered, and his shock turned into rage. It'd been a while since he lost his composure so easily, but that was expected. Natsu has that effect on many enemies.

Jellal left the two so he could find Deliora, who was under the moonlight directly. But before leaving, he informed the three mages to check out Deliora after the fight was over, before venturing deeper into the temple.

When he reached the gloomy ice cave, the remnants of the spell immobilized Deliora from his feet. The Moon Drip had melted away the rest of Iced Shell. "Such as the fate of a beast created by Zeref."

He watched as Deliora roared loudly, trying to claw Jellal, but it was to no avail. The demon fell to its delayed death.

"I was supposed to take on this mission by myself. This resulted from my mistake, after all." He recalled the conversation with Ultear a year ago, sitting unwell with him for the past years.

Ultear entered Jellal's quarters in Era, which was essentially a mini library with books handpicked by Jellal. Many of them were about laws and theories on magic. But there was one person's ideology that always stood out because it opposed the very purpose of life. So, he kept books about that author, which were to come handy for future use.

Jellal didn't look up from his book to acknowledge her presence. "What is it, Ultear?"

She stepped into the room with her arms crossed, "I have something to ask of you. It's about Deliora."

Way to go straight to her point. He looked up at her, catching his interest in the name. "No person would dare mention a demon from the Book of Zeref so easily. What of it?"

"I need information on the demon. He killed my family a while back, and I want to know more about the demon. It destroyed my village, my home, and my family." It wasn't a lie, but Ultear hadn't known that it was ultimately the beast which caused Ur's death.

She sounded so much like Gray; he remembered the young mage joining Fairy Tail and saying something along the lines. He insisted on undoing Ur's spell, but Makarov couldn't do anything about it.

Jellal closed the book he was reading and put it away using his telekinesis. Instead, he got a book from the end of a bookshelf and dragged it into Ultear's hands. "Deliora's been sealed for years on Galuna Island. That demon is no ordinary monster, so it'd be in your best interest to take on some research before visiting it—if that's what you want."

"You expect me to immerse myself in a book about a demon? Not everyone's keen on reading like you, Jellal."

"I was never concerned with your ideals or interests. But that's a lie, considering you've studied lost magic. Wasn't that the Arc of Time, in the largest library in Fiore?"

She remained silent because he knew the answers to his questions. Ultear never read about Deliora. She did not care for the demon's history or status.

"And that is why you never knew Deliora was dead, or that it was Ur who killed the demon." He found it impressive that someone documented Deliora's history and Ur's contribution. She had multiple biographies written about her life after being called a hero, which stirred up speculations about her power. Many agreed Ur would've been one of the Ten Wizard Saints if she were still alive.

---

"That moon drip is coming from the temple. So, did you guys bother checking it out?" asked Erza, interrogating the townspeople. Jellal joined them shortly after Deliora collapsed, while Gray and Natsu were on their way back to the restored village. The unsolved mystery was the restoration of the village, which nobody had known about except Jellal, and he had Ultear to thank for that. And then there'd be more questions after Natsu and Gray would witness dead Deliora. A fitting end to this adventure. But the matter at hand was more complicated for Erza still trying to solve the problem behind the curse. It took her longer than expected after encountering armies of opposing wizards with Lucy.

"No, we weren't able to investigate it." The chief replied, curious of his own reasoning.

"That doesn't add up, why didn't-KYA!" Erza fell into a trap Lucy made to trap an enemy. Never in her lucky stars did she think Erza of all people would fall for it.

Everyone stared in astonishment as she yelled. It was not at all what they expected, the sudden shrill especially shocked Jellal. He wanted to laugh at her for such a feminine scream, but decided against it. Erza would probably have his head for it.

Lucy put her hands to her face at Erza's naivety for falling into the most obvious trap known to man. "I'm so dead meat when she comes out!"

Erza got out with dirt on her knees, which she quickly rubbed off. She then made awkward eye contact with Jellal. "..."

Jellal looked amused, "One of the oldest tricks in the book and yet, you still fell for it."

"One of these days, Jellal..." she looked away in embarrassment, mumbling incoherently before continuing. "Anyway, why haven't you guys been able to investigate it?"

The chief answered, "Let me explain. We've tried going near the temple, but every time we tried getting near it, we would end up back in the village."

After taking a few moments to put the pieces together, Erza comprehended the entire situation. "Yes, I see. I now completely understand it." Erza concluded in deep thought.

"Huh?" Lucy and Happy hadn't caught on, while the Wizard Saint finally spoke after observing Erza's interrogation.

"That took you long enough," revealed Jellal, much to Erza's irritation and surprise. Irritation won over, since Jellal had all the answers to everyone's questions.

"You knew all along? Why couldn't you just do it?" the sudden revelation made her blood boil. She wanted to get back at Jellal for sitting back and watching her unravel everything slower compared to him. He took pleasure knowing that Erza worked hard for intel he had all along.

"I had prior knowledge about the curse. Being astronomically linked through my magic, I knew the moon bore no fault."

Erza scrunched her nose. Everyone made a mental note of it and stepped away—everyone except Jellal. She was requipping into her Giant Armour, holding out a spear towards his chest. "Thought you'd play smart with me, huh? I'll make you regret that."

Jellal didn't flinch as she expertly manhandled the spear without faltering. "So, is this the wrath of Titania everyone fears?"

Lucy's eyes bulged out of their sockets. "Oh, and you're not scared? Even I fear for you, Jellal! You should know better than to make her mad."

"Agreed!" exclaimed Happy, holding his paw out as if he was standing in solidarity with the Wizard Saint. "I wish you good luck in the afterlife."

Jellal gave a nod as sufficient acknowledgement. "Thanks Happy."

"THAT'S NOT FUNNY!" Lucy screeched, believing Erza would lay a finger on Jellal. She slowly stepped towards Erza, cautious enough to maintain her distance by holding her hands in front of her. "Erza, please don't kill him."

Seeing that Lucy believed Happy and Jellal's teasing, Erza pursed her lips and whirled Lucy into her chest in an iron grip hug. "I would never kill him, Lucy. I didn't think you'd take me for a brute."

"You'd be surprised," whispered Lucy in response. She glanced at Erza to see if she heard the additional statement. Lucy blushed when she looked up. "She's so pretty."

From a distance, Natsu come back just in time, supporting Gray on his back. Erza held her spear out, wielding it proficiently despite the heavy weapon being the size of her.

Erza turned to him, "Natsu, I could use some help."

"Huh?" Gray slumped off his back and was now on the floor, forgotten by everyone.

---

Morning found the mages after partying last night and discovering that the villagers were demons. Lucy still remembered the chills of the shocking revelation. She wouldn't stop sticking close to Erza until they accepted the beautiful nature of the villagers. Then came along Sherry and Yuka, who got a good beating from Erza.

Natsu was biting on his chicken leg, feasting upon the leftover food. There wasn't much left since Natsu ate most of them last night. "Where'd Lovelady and Eyebrows go?"

Happy answered for him, "Like typical party guests, they stuffed themselves and left."

Meanwhile, Lucy was examining Gray's scars while Jellal and Erza were speaking to the villagers.

"Please, take the reward." Urged the chief, handing an envelope with the full reward.

Erza shook her head, "I'm sorry but we can't do that. The job ended up in the hand of foolish wizards who were not qualified to complete it."

The elder came up with another idea after a momentary silence. "What about taking it as a token of our appreciation?"

"When you put it that way, it's hard to say no…but I'm afraid we still can't take it." Many of the women were insistent upon it, praising Erza for being strong and fearless, and everyone had grown infatuated by Jellal's magic.

Natsu groaned loudly, "She didn't take the money."

"But we'd be happy to take that key."

Lucy beamed with joy, "That's right, come to me!"

Lucy was rewarded with a silver gate key, which housed Sagittarius. She aimlessly followed Erza towards the shore, where a gigantic pirate ship was ready to take the voyagers back to Magnolia. Natsu and Gray followed, parading with the villagers at the victory. It slightly bothered Gray that they were demons. Natsu had found it interesting and interrogated them on the way there.

"Ahoy me beauty!" yelled the geezer owning the pirate ship.

"Ahoy…me beauty?" repeated Lucy, much to Jellal's indignation.

"The pirates are fond of Erza." Jellal explained vaguely.

Happy giggled, "I sense a bit of jealousy in your voice."

Lucy grabbed Happy from his tail, "Are you trying to get killed? Oh, and I'm not going on that creepy ship!"

Natsu suggested something even more absurd, "I can swim with you."

"NOT HAPPENING!"

Everyone was on the boat, ready to head back as the villagers bid them farewell. From a distance, Lyon and his friends were watching the ship depart. Natsu's body doubled over the railings of the ship due to his motion sickness.

Sherry was concerned about the aftermath of Lyon's fight with Gray. It changed him. Perhaps he became softer. "Lyon, are you not going to say goodbye to your friend and show him some love?"

"No," he replied, eyeing the ship. He looked up at the clear blue sky and said, "You two were in a guild once. What's it like?"

On the ship, Gray was still in deep thought. "Hey Jellal, if Lyon wasn't the one who suggested the idea to revive Deliora, then who did?"

"It was me," he said with as much seriousness.

Gray narrowed his eyes in disbelief. Jellal never gave him a straight answer, so he disregarded the question. "Okay then, how did Deliora collapse?"

"He was dead to begin with."

Erza stared at him as well, "And how do you know this?"

"As I mentioned before, this was all prior knowledge. I read a lot about the demons created by Zeref. The list of his creations are endless, which isn't surprising. Zeref's been living for four hundred years."

Erza gasped, "How come the Magic Council isn't after him?"

"Because they believe he's dead."

Erza narrowed her gaze at him. "You know better than them! You should hold a press conference."

His lips slowly curved up into a blatant grin. "Did you just imply I'm smarter than an entire council? I'm flattered Erza, especially since it's coming from the person who broke the curse on Galuna Island."

Flustered, she wrung his wrist. Jellal didn't show any sign of faltering at her excruciating force. "You also knew about that, just how extensive is your knowledge?"

"It's not much compared to other people. I still have a lot to learn."

Erza scoffed, releasing his wrist after pulling him closer to her. "You're such a liar, Jellal."

"Am I?"

The captain of the pirate crew approached them, causing the two mages to jump away from each other. He leaned towards Erza, "Such a beautiful lady on my ship. Consider becoming a pirate for us, will you me beauty?"

Erza chuckled at Jellal's reaction and the pirate's suggestion. "At this rate, Captain, you'll encourage the young miss to dress up in the guildhall as a pirate."

"You're just jealous they offered me the position." Erza cheekily declared.

Jellal crossed his arms, "That's definitely not the case. I assure you I'd get seasick if I spent over a day on a ship."

Lucy watched them bicker over the ship and pirates, an unusual topic if asked by Lucy. "Gee, and I thought Jellal was mature for his age."

Happy floated around her while observing the strong wizards. "Well then, you know nothing about him. Jellal's always like this around Erza."

Lucy laughed. "That's the case. I've never seen him so relaxed, you'd think he'd be stricter than Erza considering he's also on the Magic Council."

"Come to think of it, I don't think anyone's seen Jellal angry. He's always been gentle with everyone, right Gray?"

He nodded, "Jellal's the only one who doesn't get caught up in the regular brawls. Then again, anyone would know better than to challenge him because he's a Wizard Saint."

Happy stifled a giggle, "Everyone except Natsu."

Lucy cocked her head to the side, studying Jellal. "Hm, I always thought his title was just for show since he was already a member of the Magic Council...like a formality?"

Happy shook his head. "No, his title's well-earned. He's the fastest person I know."

"That doesn't make him the strongest," concluded Lucy.

"He's stronger than Erza, that says a lot. Besides, they're both popular, I'd say they're the top mages in Fiore." The cat defended, seeing Lucy sigh in defeat.

Gray watched Jellal and Erza with Lucy. "And that is why everyone loves Erza. You gotta admit she's strong for a female. She's...Erza."

"That's the Great Erza!"

"Would you stop that?" Lucy slouched in exhaustion after hearing the same phrase repeatedly. But Happy wasn't wrong, she was definitely famous for her own reasons.

Jellal unofficially joined the confab with Erza, overhearing Lucy say, "Oh, we have more important things to worry about! What's this punishment we face?"

Gray sunk down, mentally preparing himself for the memories. "No, I don't want to go through that again."

Lucy gulped, "What's that?"

Jellal smiled in return. "It's enjoyable to watch if you're not the one being punished."

Erza grinned evilly. "I'm sure it's nothing you can't handle, Lucy."

The blonde mage cried at Erza's assumption. "I think drowning here is a better idea."

Needless to say, the mages waited for the punishment while the Wizard Saint and Titania enjoyed the journey back, exploring the cabin. Lucy already felt seasick, and it didn't help that Natsu was practically spewing his guts out on the edge of the ship.

It was all they could do to enjoy the days going by before another enemy would strike again.