Chapter 20 – Galuna Island Part two
Gray raced towards whoever was stupid enough to try and free Deliora. They didn't understand what they were dealing with. That demon was called the Demon of Destruction for a reason. He left a trail of destroyed towns, cities and bodies. There were countless people who had been left homeless and without their families due to him. Deliora was a mindless beast whose only purpose was to bring death.
He had been blinded by vengeance once. He couldn't see past what he had lost to Deliora to the family that he had managed to create out of the ashes of his destruction. Ur was strong, stronger than anyone he had ever met. She had lost her daughter and she still found the strength to move forwards. She gave her life to seal that demon away. Her sacrifice was because of him but he wouldn't let anyone taint what she had done. It was his selfishness and his blindness that led her to make the decision she had taken but he would not let her sacrifice go in vain.
He reached the inside of the temple and saw another purple magic circle inside the temple. It sort of made sense that the ritual would probably be happening higher up. He was about to take off towards the roof of the temple when Juvia grabbed onto his arm.
"Let me go. I have to stop this." He cried out as he pushed Juvia away harshly.
Juvia was stunned for a moment until she remembered Lucy. Her friend had warned her that Gray was still young and searching for himself. He wasn't ready to be with someone because he didn't know who he was as a person yet. Right now, in this moment Juvia understood what Lucy meant because now she was looking at a lost little boy.
A boy who had lost his town, friends and family to a demon that no one could stop. He was just a boy who had been found and taught by a woman that he greatly admired and respected only to lose her as well. She could see the angry little boy who wanted to hurt the monster that had taken everything from him. She could see the boy who went up against something that he could not defeat only to be saved once more by the same woman.
She saw regret and helplessness because he had wanted to die as well. He went after the demon knowing that either he would somehow manage to kill the demon or the demon would kill him. He had once made peace with that decision until someone stepped in front of him and certain death. He blamed himself. Now the man that he had become was losing himself to the same emotions. He was pushing away those who cared for him because he felt unworthy of that love.
Never before had Juvia ever understood another person the way she could see Gray in this moment. It was more than the fact that she saw his past in his eyes. She was able to see every bad thought he ever had in his mind. She was able to see his guilt and remorse but she could also see the man he would become. He was strong because he would bear his sins. He would not crumble in the face of his past because she wouldn't let him face it alone.
Juvia clenched her jaw. She wouldn't let him so she grabbed onto him again. Gray was shouting again and Juvia couldn't help the tears that came to her eyes. Her heart ached for the lost little boy who had lost everything twice. However it was time to grow up, she wouldn't let him throw his life away. Gray gripped her shoulders and shouted again. Juvia raised her hand and slapped him across the face.
"Are you calm now Gray-sama?" questioned Juvia.
Gray looked at the blue haired woman in front of him. He was lost and confused and now his cheek was stinging from the force of her slap but he did realize that he was calm.
"Juvia doesn't care what you think you need to do or who you think you are. Juvia knows who you are and Juvia will come with you. Juvia will stand by your side to fight against your demons but only if Gray-sama is thinking rationally. Juvia will not let Gray-sama walk to his death."
Natsu was going to punch Gray in the face until he noticed that things were sort of tense between him and Juvia. They were having some sort of moment. He couldn't understand why Gray was losing it now. He was pretty sure the only time that Gray really went off the rails was when he realized that it was Lyon behind this drama but now he seemed terrified and angry all at the same time. He wasn't thinking clearly and the last time he got his ass kicked by Lyon because he couldn't think properly.
Natsu frowned the only thing that was different was the fact that they knew someone was trying to unseal Deliora and make sure it was alive. The last time they found out about the moon drip ritual was when Gray was dealing with the fact that Lyon was the one behind everything. Gray now had an idea of what these people had come here to do and his anger was blinding him.
Gray was losing it because he knew what was happening with the demon. He didn't know who he was going to face yet but he was still charging in head first. It was almost like he didn't care if he made it out to the other side. He almost forgot how much of a martyr Gray could be thinking that his death wouldn't matter as long as he accomplished his goal.
Then Juvia slapped him and Natsu bit his fist so that he wouldn't start laughing like a loon. He couldn't wait to tell Lucy what her influence on Juvia had led too. The Juvia that he had known would never had done something like that but at the same time he could literally see Gray coming back to his senses.
He resisted the urge to chuckle, even now Juvia was his strength. Natsu wondered when Gray would figure it out. Then again he hadn't realized jack shit about Lucy until the very last second. Natsu was proud of Juvia. She was no longer following behind Gray blind to his faults. She saw them. Natsu was sure that she always had. She just never had the courage to call him out on it until now.
Gray blushed as he stared at her and then dropped his head in shame. He had run off alone with no idea what he was getting himself into on an S-class request. That was rookie mistakes and it was also begging someone to kill him and toss him off a cliff for being an idiot.
He had come here with his friends. His decisions had consequences and he had to think a little more clearly before someone got hurt. Before someone else made the same choice Ur made to protect him from himself.
"I'm sorry and thank you Juvia." He mumbled to her and Juvia smiled gently.
"Juvia knows that this hard for Gray-sama but Juvia will not abandon Gray-sama. Let's see if we can find out who is behind this shall we?"
Juvia walked forward with her head held high almost as if she were radiating confidence. Natsu strolled up to him and raised an eyebrow, "I thought I was supposed to be the hot head."
"Shut up fire freak." He mumbled and Natsu instead of letting their insults decline into a fight chuckled and started climbing the stairs, "Come on and be quieter would you? I hear people up there."
Meanwhile Erza and Lucy were waiting behind the rocks to see who would approach. Erza watched Lucy out of the corner of her eyes. Lucy was very knowledgeable about a lot of rare magics. However Erza realized that it wasn't just magic that she understood. She had a vast knowledge of history and languages. Lucy admitted when they first met that her father never wanted her to be a mage and she had not been trained in magic from a young age.
Lucy had been raised as an heiress which meant that she had access to nearly any book she would have wanted. She learned the history of magic and languages because it was the closest thing that she would find which was related to magic. Natsu had been the one who taught her how to fight and her spirits taught her magic. She was doing very well in this mission so far.
"I'm telling you someone beat up Angelica." Cried out a stranger.
The two women shared a look as they stared at the three people in the cave. There was a woman with pink hair, a man with dog ears and another guy with a spikey blue hair. Erza didn't catch the full conversation but she did hear the pink haired woman refer to someone named 'Reitei' who seemed to be the boss of this whole operation.
The man with the blue hair frowned at the demon in the ice, "I still say we should investigate that red magic circle."
The man with the dog ears growled, "Reitei doesn't care about it as long as the ice melts and frees the demon."
The woman with pink hair frowned for a moment, "It's probably just part of the ritual. Lets go, there's nothing here."
The man with the blue hair walked away muttering about the different colors of the magic circles and how none of the research he had done spoke about another magic circle. He also sounded like he was mad that they wouldn't let him investigate the other tunnels.
Lucy and Erza waited for them to leave before they spoke, "This Reitei person seems to be the person who started the moon drip ritual however they do not know about the sacrifices."
Lucy frowned, "How could they not know? I mean they had to have been here for some time now. If they come down here all the time to check on the ice wouldn't they have noticed it before?"
Erza shrugged, "That magic is some of the worst kind out there. It doesn't work unless you willingly sacrifice your own life and even then it still might backfire on you. We found one set of enemies however I do not believe that they fully understand what is going on here either. It seems like whoever they work for does not care about anything but the success of freeing Deliora."
Happy had been hiding in a smaller cave further into the tunnels. He waited for the strange mages to pass him by and then he flew back to Erza and Lucy.
"They're heading back to the top of the temple." Said Happy.
Erza had been investigating the tunnel to the left while Lucy and Happy waited for the other mages to arrive. She found footsteps leading out into the forest and away from the temple. These people had come from the opposite direction. Happy confirmed the direction they took once they left which meant her theory was correct.
Erza frowned, "There are two groups here. One group is using the moon drip ritual to melt the ice to free Deliora but the other group is funneling life energy to the creature trapped inside the ice. The group using the moon drip hasn't left the temple from the looks of things. They haven't even bothered to check the other tunnels which means that the other group must know that they're here."
Lucy nodded her head, "It would make sense. The group using the blood sacrifices were able to operate without being seen. They know that someone is using moon drip on Deliora. For some reason they don't want anyone to know that they're here or that they're using their own magic on the demon. They're ensuring that when Deliora is freed it will be at full power."
Erza didn't like how many things they were dealing with on this mission. She couldn't help but feel a little glad that they brought this many people with them. It would seem like they had many enemies to deal with until they could save the villagers.
As far as she could tell there were at least a group of four people involved in the moon drip ritual. They sought to melt the ice that encased the demon for a reason that was unknown to them. Then there was a second group of an unknown number of people.
If Natsu was correct then there were a lot of people in that group. People who were killing themselves and letting their life force drain into that demon. Erza wasn't even sure if it what they were doing was possible. Any account of blood magic was burned by temples and priests a long time ago. The little information they did have revealed a number of different results.
This second group of people had gone through a lot of trouble to make sure that no one realized that they were there. They were dealing with two groups of people trying to release a demon without any idea to what they wanted to do with said demon. They had come across many different types of magic as well but none of it explained why the moon turned purple.
"Why would they not work together? Both groups seek to release the creature from the ice so why would one group hide what they're doing from the other group." Erza asked the question out loud wanting to see if Lucy had any theories.
Lucy bit her lip, "We can't answer that until we talk to one of the leaders here. If we can find out why one of these groups want to free the demon maybe we can figure out whats happening on this island. The others went upstairs and they're heading in the same direction. We need more information and sneaking around isn't going to get us anywhere anymore."
Lucy, Erza and Happy met up with Gray, Natsu and Juvia at the top of the temple. The two groups compared notes until Gray clenched his jaw so tight that Lucy could have sworn his teeth must have cracked. The man in the mask that they were referring to as Reitei ordered the three other mages to go and destroy the village.
"Lyon." Hissed out Gray and without thinking he jumped up and sent out an ice spear towards the man.
Lyon jumped backwards, easily avoiding the spear and taking off his mask. He snarled at Gray and Lucy could see the madness in his eyes. She wondered how the hell he ended up like this. If all Gray ended up with was a weird stripping habit then she was glad Fairy Tail got the sane student of Ur. To her it seemed like Lyon was drinking from the crazy cup for a bit too long.
"Well I didn't think I would find you here Gray. Its been a while hasn't it?"
The question almost sounded friendly until he threw out his hand and encased Erza in ice. Gray tried not groan out loud. He lost his cool and now Erza was in danger. If he hadn't been so impatient they could have come up with a plan. His hands iced over as he created ice spikes on the floor, forcing Lyon to jump out of the way. When he landed, Gray exploded his ice covering the floor.
"Natsu get Erza out of here before he destroys the ice." Called out Gray putting a shield in front of his friends.
Erza frowned and tried to requip only to find her magic sealed, "I can get out of this Gray."
Gray shook his head, "Lyon is the elder student of Ur. He can explode his ice like me but with you encased in it your body will shatter with the ice. Natsu get her out of his magic range."
Natsu nodded, grabbed onto Erza's hands and sent of a stream of fire from his feet which allowed him to fly. He couldn't keep it up for long because it burned though his magic but it would get them out of the way for now.
Erza narrowed her eyes as Natsu headed towards the bottom of the mountain. She decided to leave Lyon and his friends to Gray and the others. She pointed in the direction that she believed the second group of mages would be in and told Natsu, "Head that way. I think there's more enemies there."
"Happy, Lucy and Juvia go after those three and protect the village. I have a score to settle with Lyon."
Lucy tapped into her ability to fly using the Gemini star dress and flew towards the village. Juvia was about to get a lift from Happy when she told him to wait for her for a minute.
Gray jumped over the shield, his hands ready to attack when Lyon trapped him inside an ice make: diamond cage.
Juvia attacked him with water nebula buying Gray time to get out of the cage. Juvia grabbed Gray's arm and put her forehead to his, "Stop blaming yourself Gray-sama. Accept the past and move forward, it is the only way Gray-sama will be able to save him now. Live onwards because Fairy Tail needs Gray-sama. Juvia will be waiting for Gray-sama to come home."
Once she was done she turned to Happy who flew her in the direction that Lucy was headed in. She knew that Gray wasn't thinking clearly which meant that he would lose the fight. However she hoped that he would hear her words and remember that he couldn't leave them.
Lyon scoffed, "You live on so shamelessly Gray even though you know its your fault Ur is dead."
Gray finally focused on the present. This life of his was protected by his parents and then by Ur. He hadn't asked for it. He didn't want anyone to die for him or to save but they did. He couldn't throw that away because that meant throwing away their sacrifices. He would live for the sake of the people that he had loved and lost and for those who were waiting for him to home.
Gray attacked Lyon with ice geyser and shook his head, "I do as Ur asked me to do. She told me to go west and that there would be many powerful mages here. I joined a guild and I grew stronger. I promised her I would live and so I do. You tarnish her sacrifice."
Lyon went nuts attacking him with ice eagle and then gorilla. Gray jumped over the gorilla and got hit by the eagles. He nearly forgot that Lyons magic was dynamic which meant it could move. He shook off his shirt and grimaced at the bruises that those eagles left.
"My dream was to become stronger than Ur. You ruined that when you killed her but now I have grown stronger than Ur. I will defeat the monster that she couldn't and I will surpass her." Shouted Lyon and Gray sighed. He remembered Lyon was the one who always wanted to get stronger. Gray never understood his obsession with surpassing Ur.
He iced over the floor and then caused several ice walls to appear as Lyon moved backwards, "Don't think so highly of yourself. You don't even use both hands when creating anymore."
Lyon growls at Gray and sends a snow dragon to attack him while boasting, "I am now above such school boy antics."
Gray shakes his head at Lyon while dodging the snow dragon, "You say I killed Ur and you are right. It was my choices which led her to use iced shell. Master Makarov told me that the ice could not be melted because for as long as it was whole Ur still lived. Her body became the ice and if you melt it then you'll be the one who kills her."
Lyon unleashes a blitz claiming, "That hunk of ice isn't Ur. I don't care about it. All I care about is making sure that I surpass Ur."
Gray felt the shaking beneath his feet and he knew that they were running out of time to stop the ritual. Gray shielded against the attack when Lyon attacks with a snow tiger. Gray imprisons the tiger and shakes his head Lyon, "One handed creations are out of balance. They will fail you when it matters most. That is what Ur taught to us."
Gray hit him with Ice cannon and managed to win the fight when the roar of Deliora was heard throughout the entire island.
Lucy landed in the village with Juvia not far behind here. She remembered that Sherry and the others would choose to try and drop poison on the village. However she remembered that the Chief would refuse to leave his sons grave and to be quiet honest Lucy didn't have the patience to deal with him right now. There was something happening on this island that they had no idea about and it terrified her. People had already died and she knew that Lyon had nothing to do with it.
Juvia landed next to her with a tiny frown on her face. She was worried about Gray but for some reason Lucy was sure that Gray wouldn't lose to Lyon. It wouldn't turn out the same way it had the last time. She needed him to kick some sense into Lyon because they had bigger problems to deal with here.
"You need to evacuate the village now." Said Lucy and the chief started ranting about destroying the moon. Juvia's eyes narrowed at the man who had already turned into his demonic form.
"You will be quiet and do as Juvia nakama demands. Your son would never forgive if you died in front of his grave." Snarled out the blue haired woman.
The chief refused to back down so she punched him into unconsciousness. She picked him up and turned to his people, "There are many strangers on this island. They brought a demon from the books of Zeref here. They seek to set him free and they will destroy the village in the process. Go take him and hide in the forest. Once we deal with the people on the island we will deal with the curse."
Lucy stared at the blue haired woman in front of her. She knew that Happy was snickering somewhere behind them while munching on a fish but she had never seen Juvia like this. She was strong and confident and Lucy couldn't help but feel proud of her. She always knew that Juvia was strong but she had never shown that strength. She was always lost in her own world filled with jealously and possessiveness towards Gray.
However in this moment Juvia was trusting Gray to win his fight and he had left her to protect the village. That meant that Juvia would not let anything or anyone stand in the way of her beloveds wish. Lucy was so proud of the woman in front of her. Unfortunately she didn't get the chance to let her know because Sherry and her friends were back and they bought the bucket filled with poison.
The village was cleared out and Lucy bit her lip as she pulled out her whip, "I'll take the girl and the rat. Think you can handle those two guys?"
Juvia already spread her legs and got ready to dish out some punishment, "Juvia can handle this much."
The pink haired girl giggled, "Do you hear that? They think they can take us on."
Lucy just raised an eyebrow, "Who are you guys?"
"Sherry, Yuka and Toby, we were once members of the guild Lamia Scale. However now we serve Lyon-sama." Explained Sherry and Lucy just shook her head.
"Lets get this done. I need to find my husband." Muttered Lucy and Sherry went a little crazy muttering something about love and how Lucy didn't deserve it.
Lucy called out Loke and pointed to the rat. There was a large flash of light and the rat was left unconscious thanks to Loke. Sherry took control of Loke and Lucy forced his gate closed.
Sherry created a rock doll and Lucy changed into her Taurus star dress. She went through the rock, set her whip on fire and wrapped it around Sherry's neck. She plant her feet and used earth wave while Sherry was wrapped up in her whip. She was left unconscious in a crater and the rat was out cold.
This island was officially giving her a creepy feeling and she was not playing anymore. She wanted to find her team and she wanted to be standing next to Natsu where she knew everything would be alright. By the time she returned to the village Toby was unconscious. It seemed like he had poisoned himself on his own claws somehow. Yuka on the other hand was trapped in Juvia's water lock. It didn't take much longer for him to fall unconscious.
"Are you okay Juvia?" asked Lucy.
Juvia nodded her head. She had a few scrapes and bruises. She had trouble getting past Yuka's nullifying magic however she was able to catch him off guard and wrapped him in her water lock. It didn't take her much longer to take down Toby. That guy was an idiot and she was able to trick him into injecting himself with his claws.
"What should we do now? Should we look for the others or wait here?" asked Juvia.
Before Lucy could come up with an idea they heard a terrifying roar that spread out throughout the entire island. Deliora was awake. Lucy panicked he shouldn't have woken up so soon.
Deliora should have had at least one more day trapped in the ice and at least six more hours under the moon drip before he could be freed. Either they came here late or for some reason the ice melted faster than it did the last time.
On the other side of the forest Erza and Natsu landed on the outside of the temple. Erza still encased in Lyon's ice and unable to requip out of it struggled to walk properly. Natsu gathered heat into his hands and melted through certain parts of the ice until it finally crumbled and freed her.
Erza noticed Natsu frowning at the ice around their feet and asked, "Is something wrong?"
Natsu just shrugged, "Gray's ice is stronger than that but I smell a lot scents here. They don't smell like they belong on this island."
Erza nodded her head, "I noticed tracks leading out of the temple. While Gray and the others deal with Lyon I thought it would be best if we found out who else is on this island."
Natsu nodded and Erza tried to follow tracks into the forest until she couldn't see them anymore, "Is there any scent here that you can track? I can't see the tracks anymore."
Natsu shook his head, "Too many people to find a scent but we can follow the sound."
Erza closed her eyes and strained her ears. She couldn't hear anything other than the sounds that you typically find in a forest, "Natsu what do you hear?"
Natsu grabbed her hand and started tugging her in a direction, "A guitar. I hear a guitar."
They walked for a few minutes before Erza was finally able to hear the faint sounds of a guitar wailing. She grimaced at the sound. To her it sounded like noise not music. She was pretty sure that if there were windows on this island the glass would shatter. As they got closer to a cave she could feel the ground tremble from the vibrations of the music underneath her feet.
Natsu and Erza looked around the campsite. There was a fire pit not far from the entrance of the cave and a couple of sleeping bags on the ground. It looked like someone had set up their camp here but Erza didn't see anyone. The music continued and it came from inside the cave. They knew that there was at least one person inside the cave.
"There are three people here. I can pick out their scents. Its strong here but there are also others." Said Natsu as Erza looked around the perimeter of the camp site.
Erza looked at him, "What do you mean three people?"
Natsu shrugged, "I think they're bringing people here and then taking them to the temple. The three scents that are here have been here for a long time now. They've been staying on the island. The other scents are fainter and then covered by blood."
Erza narrowed her eyes towards the cave, "They're keeping an eye on the ritual and they keep bringing willing sacrifices to the island. As long as the moon drip ritual is activated they will keep sacrificing people to the demon."
Before they could say something there was a loud screech which hit them from the back. Natsu and Erza went flying through the bushes that they were hiding in and landed in front of the cave. A man of average height with long black hair stood in front of them. He had a large hooked nose and hairy eyebrows pointing upwards in spikes. He wore dark eye makeup and had a tattoo on his chest reading 'skeletoy' with shoulder pads and arm bands with spikes on them.
Natsu didn't recognize him and he was pretty sure that he never fought this guy. Erza just stared at him, he had blasted them out of the bushes using his guitar.
"Well now what do we do with you?"
Before either one of them could reply a woman with pink hair and green eyes walked out of the cave. The woman wore a white kimono and she seemed very calm and relaxed.
"You do nothing. I will deal with them." She said and Erza stared at the two people.
"Who are you people? What is your purpose here?" asked Erza and the pink haired woman turned and stared at her.
The woman stared at her for a few minutes until her lips curved into a smirk, "Could you be the Titania, Fairy Tails Queen Erza Scarlet?"
Erza didn't say anything even though she didn't know why people insisted on calling her by that title, "I am Erza Scarlet."
The woman laughed, "Well now this has gotten pretty interesting. We were hired to come here and ensure that nothing interrupted the ritual."
Natsu shuffled a little on the ground and stared up at her, "For what and who are you?"
The woman shrugged delicately, "I am Ikaruga, the leader of Trinity Raven."
Natsu just stared at her with a lost look on his face but Erza recognized the name, "You're a member of the dark guild Death's Head Caucus. Who hired you and for what purpose? Your team specializes in assassination requests. Why would you stay for so long on this island?"
Ikaruga frowned for a moment, "I will admit the job has been dreadfully dull so far. However we were ordered by our master to stay here until the demon is freed."
Erza narrowed her eyes, "You master? What does your guild have to do with what's happening here?"
Ikaruga shook her head, "You misunderstand. Our master owed a favor to a man that your guild has now put into jail. He knew that demon had been sealed away due to him being in a position of power until your guild destroyed him. The magic council knew that the Demon went missing however they kept it quiet believing that no one would be able to undo iced shell."
Natsu stared at her. This never happened before and he finally remembered this dark guild. They had been employed by Jellal when he went nuts at the Tower of Heaven. They were missing a member currently but they weren't supposed to be here yet.
It seemed like without a job from Jellal they somehow ended up here. However Natsu still didn't understand how they came to this island but it seemed to be because they had put someone in jail. Someone that wouldn't have been in jail when this happened the first time they came to the island however he couldn't be sure as to which enemy she was referring to because the fact was that Fairy Tail had many enemies.
"Who is this man you speak off? Why did he send you here?" asked Erza growing impatient with the woman's answers. She seemed to be giving out her information in pieces and prolonging their conversation just because she wanted too. An annoying woman Natsu resisted the urge to growl at her.
"He told the master where to find a group of Zeref worshippers. They were people who would be willing to sacrifice their lives to his demon. Our job was to simply bring the sacrifices to the temple and ensure that no one interfered with the process."
Ikaruga turned away from them and Natsu slammed a flaming fist into the ground, "Why?"
The woman turned and stared at him in shock. Everyone stared at him in shock as the magic pressure surrounding him grew. Erza felt her eyes widened this pressure was far greater than her own power.
"They wanted the demon alive. Jose knew that iced shell would steal away Deliora's life force. He had been trapped there for over a decade which meant that it was likely he was already dead or clinging onto its last moments. We arrived about six months ago. Our job was simply to ensure that the monster would be at full power once the fool managed to release it."
Erza gasped, "Jose Porla? The ex-wizard saint and Phantom Lord's old master?"
Ikaruga took a breath and centered herself, "Yes. My master owed him a favor for something he overlooked in the past. Our guild was able to operate because he didn't report us. Jose knew that the person who took the demon had a past with someone in the Fairy Tail guild. He wasn't sure but he bet everything that your members would be here. It was a last ditch attempt at revenge."
Natsu wanted to punch himself in the face as the pieces fell into place. Jose would have been a part of the decision to keep the fact that they lost Deliora from the public. Even if he hadn't had an active hand in it, he would have been able to find out. The man had used much of his power and influence as a wizard saint to dig up some information on his enemies. Information that he used to lure them into traps so that he could defeat them.
Jose would have researched Deliora and the circumstances which surrounded the creature being trapped in the ice. Ur had been a powerful mage and the fact that she had two students wasn't a secret. The only reason why no one in the guild really knew was because they never pried into anything that their members didn't want to share.
He would have found out that Gray Fullbuster was one of the students that she taught. When he found out that Lyon was the one who wanted to unseal the demon he thought he would be able to use the information to his advantage. It was a card he never managed to play in the other time line because they had already dealt with Deliora by the time Phantom Lord attacked the guild.
Jose wouldn't have been sure that this card would have worked. He never had a reason to play the card before because he had still been planning his attack on Fairy Tail. When Jude interfered with his business Jose set his sights on silencing the rich man. A man who had run to his daughter who happened to be a Fairy Tail mage which pushed him into a war early. A war that he lost and while in prison he finally played his last card.
He ensured that Deliora would awaken with life. If he was correct then Fairy Tail would get involved when Gray either went after Lyon or Deliora. If he was wrong and Fairy Tail wasn't involved, the magic council would have to put together a team to take down the demon. Fairy Tail was one of the strongest guilds in the country. They would lead the assault on the demon no matter what happened.
Jose was just looking to cause as much terror and chaos as he could while he was locked up. A terrifying roar was heard throughout the island and Natsu just closed his eyes as he listened to that roar. Deliora was free and Natsu could hear him. The demon was awake and full of power.
Erza on the other hand scowled at the two mages in front of them. They had been buying time. They knew that the ritual would be finished today. They kept their attention on them and it allowed the ritual enough time to free the demon.
In three different locations on the island there was only one thing going through the mind of every Fairy Tail mage, 'What do we do now?'
AN- Ok this arc has taken on a life of its own and I cannot stop writing. I hope you guys like the changes I made and here you guys go a quick update.