As the rescue team was making its way through the trees of the dense tropical forest, Natsu seemed to be the only one truly knowing where he was going and his two companions were just following him blindly. Although Wendy was pretty okay with that, it didn't sit too well with their white-furred teammate.
"Did we really have to go through these woods? Couldn't we have walked along the beach instead?" the feline complained.
"Tell me, Carla. There's something I've been wondering. Are you a princess or something?" the pinkette asked without stopping or looking back at his interlocutor.
"No. Why do you ask?" the cat responded in curiosity and confusion.
"I don't know. Maybe because you always behave like one?" Natsu mocked which caused the white cat to blush in embarrassment, especially when she heard her blue-haired partner giggle in amusement. "But to answer your question, going around the beach would have taken too much time."
"I don't feel like what we are doing right now is particularly time-efficient." Carla argued, wanting to get back at the pink-haired mage for his earlier remark.
Just as she said that, the trio came upon the wooden wall surrounding the only village on the island.
"You were saying?" Natsu asked with a raised eyebrow and an amused smirk, taking a lesson in trolling from his old friend Mavis.
After they walked around the structure for a bit, they finally found its only entrance and noticed the sign on it. Although, Natsu merely scoffed at it, Wendy felt a lot more intimidated by its aggressive message.
"Are you sure we should ask them for information? What if they don't want to be bothered?" she asked her older sibling.
"Well, considering the others took this mission without Makarov's approval, it means that these villagers didn't receive a notification that someone had accepted their request but let these three take it anyway. So frankly, I really don't care if they don't want to be bothered." Natsu explained while banging on the large door.
After a short time, the two same guards that answered the previous group appeared from above the barrier of logs.
"Who are you?! What do you want?!" one of them yelled.
Their attitude was already getting on Natsu's nerves but he decided to maintain his composure. For now at least. "We're Fairy Tail mages who have been sent to-" he tried to explain but got cut off.
"Other mages from your guild have already accepted our request and are working on it as we speak. Now scram." one of them nonchalantly dismissed and waved before both of them walked away.
"How rude!" Carla exclaimed.
Although Natsu didn't say anything, he couldn't agree more. His fists clenched at his side and his eyes slowly turned from onyx to crimson as his anger grew. "I don't have time for games." he commented, mostly to himself. He then raised his hand towards the door and it started emitting a bright purple light. After that, he raised his hand again, this time much more abruptly, and the heavy door magically got lifted as if it weighed nothing and then stayed in the same position on its own.
After the trio crossed the giant fence and were now inside the village itself, they were met with various spears, forks, and all sorts of sharp tools pointed at them threateningly. Wendy and Carla didn't like that all that much but Natsu, whose eyes had returned to normal, didn't seem faze by it in the slightest. Instead, he merely snapped his fingers and the door fell back down with a heavy thud, startling the inhabitants and making them take a step back.
The only person in the village who neither appeared scared nor threatening towards the newcomers was its chief, Moka who made his way towards them. When he was standing in front of the pink-haired mage, he made a hand gesture to his people and they lowered their weapons.
He then turned back towards the strangers and spoke up. "I apologize for the cold welcome but these are difficult times for us."
"And I apologize for the rather abrupt entry but we have a serious situation on our hands." Natsu replied, to which the village chief nodded.
"Yes. My guards have told me you were from the Fairy Tail guild?" the mayor asked.
"We are. And we know that other members of our guild have come to take care of your request but the thing is that they took on this job without permission. And since it was classified as an S-class quest, our guild master sent us to make sure they wouldn't get hurt. To do that, we need you to tell us what exactly is going on." the pinkette explain.
"I see. Well, it all started…"
A few minutes later, the dragon siblings and the flying feline were walking in the same direction as their guildmates had left, which also happened to be the general direction from which they saw the rat being…launched. The two females of the group were quite disturbed by the revelations that had been made by Moka concerning the mission, especially when he and his villagers showed them what the curse effects were.
Wendy had been trying to appear as brave as she could. But she wasn't very good at pretending, especially to the person who had partially raised her. "What's wrong Wendy?" he asked.
After a short pause of hesitation, the young girl finally answered him. "I…I was just wondering…Do you think we can help these people?"
Smiling a bit, Natsu rubbed his sister's head like they had both become accustomed to, bringing her comfort and reassurance. "Don't worry, sis. We'll find a way. We are both Dragon Slayers and Fairy Tail mages, remember? We specialize in doing impossible things." he responded in an optimistic and almost enthusiastic tone which was effective in making the blue-haired girl regain confidence and even made her smile a bit as well.
When the interaction between the two siblings was over, another, more discreet, started. 'Although, we won't be helping them the way you think.' the pink-haired mage thought.
'What do you mean?' the spirit in his head asked curiously.
'These people's problem isn't that they have turned into demons, its memory loss. They're natural demons.' he explained, shocking the blonde.
'Are you sure?' Mavis questioned in disbelief.
'I know a demon when I see one. All of us, Etherious or natural, have the ability to transform into human form. For some reason, they do it subconsciously every morning until sunset but because they don't do it by choice, the transformation is incomplete. As for them forgetting the truth about themselves, I'm guessing that is the real effect the purple moon has on them.' Natsu explained.
'If that's the case then…could the same thing happen to you?' the First Master of Fairy Tail asked in obvious concern for her friend.
'It's almost impossible. Either this is a real curse, in which case I'm immune to it or it is not and my high magical power will protect me.' the pinkette reassured her.
'What do you mean by "real curse"? There are "fake curses"?' the ghost continued asking.
'Kind of. "Curse" is a bit of a broad term used to describe any supernatural power with negative effects on one person or multiple people but there is a clear distinction between a true curse and a magical curse. The former is what I created: a power that feeds off of the negative emotions all over the world. While the latter uses Ethernano like any other form of magic, the only difference is what it does with it. Even my brother's curse is noting but an extremely advanced magic spell. Otherwise, I would have been able to lift it long ago.'
'Never mind him.' Mavis said with unusual disgust and anger in her voice, something Natsu didn't miss. He was about to ask her about it when another voice rang through his ears.
"Big brother, look." Wendy called out, pointing at the entrance of the temple.
"Well done, Wendy." Natsu congratulated with a smile which made the girl blush a bit.
When the trio stepped inside, the first thing they noticed was the gaping hole that was where the floor should have been.
"I don't think they went that way." Carla stated.
"Well, you obviously don't know them very well." the pink-haired mage noted with a chuckle, making both female look at him curiously.
"Why do you say that?" the Sky Dragon Slayer questioned.
"Because I suspect that is exactly the way they went. And I'd even be willing to bet they are the ones who turned the ground into a pit." he responded, not trying to hide his amusement. "Carla, can you carry Wendy down this hole?"
"I can, but I won't be able to come back for you after and I can only carry one person at a time." the white-furred feline clarified.
"Don't worry about me. Just do it." Natsu instructed.
With a nod, Carla summoned her wings and grabbed her partner by the back. She then flew down the hole and they soon disappeared in its darkness. After a short while of examining the room, Natsu looked back down at the hole and simply jumped in it.
At the bottom of the pit, Wendy and Carla were looking up, waiting for the third member of their group to come down. Their eyes widened and they were more than surprised to see him falling down. They didn't really know how to react. But luckily, they didn't have to at all for when he got close to the ground, he used his newly acquired Sky Dragon Slayer Magic to float in the air and slow his fall down, something Wendy herself wasn't capable of doing yet. By the time he reached the ground, he had slowed down so much that his landing was so smooth and quiet, it felt more like a leaf falling from a tree.
Looking at his teammates' astonished faces, the pinkette couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "Come on. There is only one passage, so let's take it." he said, motioning for them to follow him which they did with a nod.
A few minutes earlier, the other trio from Fairy Tail was standing in the room to which the said passage led. They were all silently staring at what it contained in shock. Until one of them broke said silence.
"B-But it can't be…" Gray muttered in terror and disbelief.
What they were incredulously staring at was a massive, dark blue, humanoid Demon. It had a large torso and two large arms that ended in scaly hands. On the left and right part of its torso as well as around his neck, it was covered with a series of spikes. In addition, the demon had two large legs, whereas the feet resembled the ones of a bird, with additional spikes on the back. Its hair was mane-like in shape and it flew down to the nape of its neck. The creature had a pair of horns that pointed upwards, jutting from a plate on its forehead. It also had large pointed teeth as well as two hollow eyes. However, it was completely encased in a massive block of ice, even bigger than it was. Moreover, this ice was exceptionally beautiful because unlike the usual transparent ice, this one had blue and green reflections and shone a little.
"This is Deliora." Gray stated as he slowly walked towards it. "B-But how? How is that possible? Why is it here?! Why the hell is it on Galuna Island?!" His tone was steadily increasing from shock to rage as he was talking.
"You know that thing?" Happy asked.
"Gray, clam down please." Lucy pleaded and he followed her advice by taking a few deep breaths.
Just as they were a bout to continue their conversation, they heard footsteps coming in their direction and quickly scattered and hid behind boulders all throughout the room.
At the same time, Natsu, Wendy and Carla were about to enter the aforementioned room when they too heard the same thing and stopped in their tracks to stay hidden in the tunnel for the time being, not even having the time to peep inside.
After some time, two figures entered the room.
The first one was a lean-built, mildly muscular young man of average height with distinctive animal features: he had a pair of canine ears sitting on his head, a small dark nose and a lower face which was colored differently from the rest of his body, bearing resemblance to a canine muzzle. He had shoulder-length, straight brown hair, large round eyes with black pupils and dark eyebrows. Both of his biceps were adorned by tattoos. He was bare-chested but wore an extremely loose pair of pants with mildly torn hems, held up by a long belt covered in many rhombs, with the part left out from its plain rectangular buckle hanging down. Such pants bore a large, dark shield-shaped logo emblazoned on the right knee. He also had a red collar covered in hollow studs circling his neck, and donned a pair of simple dark shoes, each adorned by a light, stylized footprint.
The second one was a short, slim young man distinguished by his extremely brushy, squared black eyebrows. His eyes, too, were black, while his hair, initially arranged in a number of spikes pointing upwards (with a particularly large one topping his forehead), was, unusually, bright blue. He sported a green coat reaching down to his knees, sporting black sections in correspondence to the sleeves' outer part (each of such sections going up to the high collar) and on the sides' lower parts, below the plain dark belt with a rectangular buckle which, together with the two vertically striped, overlapping hems placed on the front, kept the garment closed. His pants were dark and loose (getting more fitting in correspondence to his ankles), while his plain shoes were light-colored.
"The voices seemed to come from around here." the shorter man said. As they were walking through the room, he spoke up again. "Hey Toby, are you sure you weren't exposed to the Moon Drip? You look kinda funny."
'Moon Drip…' both minds in the same head thought simultaneously.
The man comment seemed to displease his comrade greatly. "I ALREADY TOLD YOU: THIS IS A FASHION STATEMENT, JERK!"
As they were arguing, a third person entered the cave. This one was a woman with blue eyes, pink hair, large breasts, and a curvaceous body. She had her hair tied in pigtails, a choker tied into a ribbon, a purple and pink short spaghetti dress with light pink trimmings, black leggings, and high-heeled sandals. Her dress appeared to have two long and thin wings at the back.
"Yuka, Toby, something terrible has happened." she declared with a sad expression.
"What is it now, Sherry?" the blue-haired man asked in annoyance.
"Angelica has been attacked by savages and now, she's hurt."
"You make all this fuss over your stupid rat?!" the dog-man yelled in anger.
"She is not a rat. She is…love." the pink-haired girl stated.
'What the…' Natsu wondered.
'…heck?' Mavis finished, her own thoughts on the same line as her friend's.
"Then it is confirmed. There are definitely intruders on this island." Yuka announced.
"And we lack time to go search for them now because it is almost time to collect the moonlight again. This would greatly bother the Cold Emperor. We should get rid of them before they cause too much trouble. And since they have seen what we are working on, we'll have no choice but to offer them eternal rest. To offer them…love." the woman established.
"You mean death, right?" Toby asked with a sweat drop.
'This girl has some serious issues.' Fairy Tail's first master stated as their new enemies was leaving the room.
'No kidding.' Natsu agreed as he turned the corner and finally saw what was in the room. 'Oh…. Oh, shit.'
Wendy was about to follow him but she bumped into his back when he instantly stopped in his tracks.
Without noticing them, Lucy, Gray and Happy came out of their hiding spots too.
"Now, Gray, can you tell us about that thing?" Lucy requested.
"This is Deliora,-" the ice mage began explaining but was cut off by a familiar voice behind him.
"-the Demon of Destruction." Natsu completed as he completely stepped into the room, followed by his sister and her partner. When the former saw the subject of their conversation, she got really sacred and grabbed her brother's hand with both of hers. As a response, the older sibling, squeezed her hands with his in reassurance.
"Natsu!" both Lucy and Happy exclaimed in surprise. But Gray merely narrowed his eyes at his guildmates' sudden appearance.
"W-What are you doing here?" the Celestial Spirit wizard asked hesitantly.
Her question made the pinkette look at her like she was the most stupid person in the world. "What do you think? Did you really believe no one would notice you stealing an S-class quest? Or did you think Makarov wouldn't do anything about it? And Happy stop hiding behind that rock. You know I know you're there."
Right after, said blue cat indeed came out of his hiding spot, looking embarrassed at being caught. "Hey Natsu. How have you been?" he asked sheepishly. His demeanor completely changed when he noticed the other feline in the room. "Oh hey Carla!"
Much to his dismay, the white cat only huffed and turned her head away from him, rather upset she had to be dragged all the way to this stupid island because of him.
Gray was the next person to speak up, with an angry and threatening tone in his voice. "If you even think about bringing us back, forget it. At least, I'm not going anywhere."
After looking down with an amused smirk for a few seconds, Natsu gave his sister's hands one last gentle squeeze before walking towards Gray. "As a matter of fact, I didn't come to bring you back." he revealed, making everyone's eyes widen in surprise. "Sure, it is what Makarov sent me for. But only because he assumed I could catch up to you before you accepted the mission. Since that didn't happen, I'm simply going to make sure you don't get killed completing the job."
"W-Wow. Thank you." Lucy said, surprised by his reaction.
"I wouldn't be too glad, Lucy. If I don't punish you for your reckless mistake, it simply means Makarov will. Or worse…Erza will." Natsu clarified with a smirk as Lucy and Happy felt a cold chill run down their spine.
Gray, for his part, was still too caught up in what was going on to fully register what Natsu had just said. However, when he turned around, he saw something that made him pay a lot more attention to said pinkette. Indeed, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when he saw that Natsu was now right in front of the giant ice containing Deliora and was reaching out his hand to touch it.
He freaked out and his anger skyrocketed as he started running towards his pink-haired guildmate, ready to attack from behind in order to stop him. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, YOU PIECE OF SH-"
He didn't get to finish his insult as his entire body was swept away by an exceptionally strong gust of wind. He was only stopped when his back hit a rock, no doubt leaving a massive bruise on it.
Looking up, he was slightly scared to see a certain blue-haired Dragon Slayer glaring down at him from an elevated position. Even though she was several years younger than him and significantly shorter, the situation they were currently in was quite intimidating for him. "Don't. Ever. Do. That. Again." she threatened slowly to which the dark-haired mage dumbly nodded.
As for Lucy and the two cats, they would do nothing but stare at both of them in shock. The blonde and blue feline because a little had actually overpowered Gray with ease, granted he was caught off guard. And the white one, because of the ferocity emitted by her partner.
All the while, Natsu had had his eyes closed in concentration, analyzing the strange ice and what it contained. He was so focused on this task that he was completely oblivious to what had happened behind him. It wasn't in vain however as he made a few interesting discoveries. When he was done, he opened his eyes, lowered his hand and turned around. When he did, he noticed the rather strange and unusual situation. Mainly because his beloved little sister was actually glaring at someone, which he didn't even know she was capable of. "What's going on?" he asked.
His question got everyone out of their daze. But, it was his blue-furred partner who answered him. Unfortunately for accuracy. "Gray yelled at you and Wendy went mad."
Carla facepalmed at her fellow kin's stupidity, while the Sky Dragon Slayer's fierce expression was replaced by one of embarrassment and a blush quickly developed on her cheeks. She was sure her brother was going to berate her for what she did according to the blue cat.
However, Natsu, for one, knew perfectly well that Happy's reports couldn't be trusted and, for two, was much more interested in Gray's weird behavior. As a result, his gaze turned towards said ice mage while crossing his arms and asked. "What's up with you? You're acting…weirder than usual."
After sighing, Gray got back to his feet and slowly made his way closer to the ice-encased demon. "I'm sorry it's just…it's Deliora. I don't understand what anyone would want with it. Nor how they were even able to find it. It was sealed away in the Northern Continent. About 10 years ago, this monster killed countless people in Isvan. And he would have killed many, many more if it hadn't been for my master, Ur. She managed to seal it away, and thus stopping it but at great cost. I don't know if it is related to the curse on this island, but I don't care either way. Whoever they are, if they tarnish my master's legacy…I'll make them pay!" As he was talking, his tone progressively got angrier and his magic started to manifest in response.
Happy's next comment didn't help to lighten the mood like he was hoping it would. Not one bit. "Don't worry. Even if it gets freed, Natsu will just defeat it in one attack like he did the last time."
"DON'T BE SO STUPID!" Gray yelled in rage. "He might have killed Lullaby easily but Deliora is many times more powerful. There's no way anyone could beat it with a single spell. If it can be defeated at all. If the ice melts and it is revived, there's no way we would be able to stop it." he revealed, increasing his teammates' worry.
'Is that true?' Mavis asked, skeptical.
'Yes and No. It is indeed a lot more powerful than Lullaby but it might is also just be the stupidest Etherious ever created. So while it may be hard to kill with brute strength, it is fairly easy to trick. It doesn't really matter either way anyway.' the pink-haired mage answered.
'Why not?' the blonde spirit asked in surprise.
'It's dying.' Natsu revealed, shocking his old friend.
However, before she could question it, the other blonde girl spoke up. "If that's the case then…how did your master manage to stop it?"
At this question, Gray looked down in sorrow and, for some reason, guilt. But he answered nonetheless. "She cast a spell called Iced Shell on it, effectively enclosing it in an ice that can't be melted. Even the flames of Hell themselves wouldn't scratch the surface."
'Moon Drip.' both Natsu and Mavis thought simultaneously.
"I don't get it. Who would bring this monster here and why?" Gray wondered aloud.
"Well, there's an easy way to find out : go find these guys from before and ask them." Natsu suggested.
"But…what if they don't want to tell us?" Wendy asked shyly.
"Wasn't planning on giving them a choice." her older brother answered with a sly and somewhat sadistic smile which, surprisingly, didn't make the blue-haired Dragon Slayer freak out but, on the contrary, motivated her.
It didn't matter in the end though. Because another person in the group was firmly against the idea. "No!" Gray refused. "Those guys said something about collecting moonlight. So, we are gonna wait for the moon to come out and see what it does."
Not long after, Happy had fallen asleep. Natsu and Wendy were sitting side by side and talking about Dragon Slayer Magic and its uses in a corner of the cave with Carla passively listening to their conversation. Gray was sitting in front of the giant demon and its ice prison, staring at it, deep in his thoughts which revolved around his past with Ur. As for Lucy, she was just bored out of her mind.
"I wish I could fall asleep as easily as him." she said to herself while eyeing the sleeping cat. Soon enough, she got an idea of what could help her pass the time. "Oh, I know! Open Gate of the Lyre! Lyra!" she called out while holding up one of her silver keys.
In a flash of light blue, another one of Lucy's spirits was summoned. This one appeared to be a young girl. She had waist length hair that curled at the end, and wore a pink bonnet on top of her head. Her cheeks had round blush marks, and she wore a long dress with heart prints by her waist. She wore leather shoes as well. She had small white wings and a large harp on her back.
Although Gray and Happy were completely oblivious to the commotion, it had gotten the dragon siblings' attention.
"Big brother, what is Lucy doing?" Wendy asked curiously.
"I don't really know. She is probably looking for something to do in some way." the pinkette shrugged.
"Hey Lucy! It's been a while!" Lyra greeted enthusiastically with an energetic wave. Her behavior then made a whole U-turn. "Why do you never call me? It's almost like you've forgotten about me." she whined.
"On the contrary, I remember. I remember that our contract stipulates I can only summon you three days a month." her summoner countered.
"Are you sure about that? It doesn't sound right. Anyway, is there anything you'd like me to sing in particular?" the Celestial Spirit asked, trying to change the subject.
"No. Anything you want." the blonde girl responded.
Lyra then took out her harp and started playing it while singing a beautiful but very sad-sounding song. It had different effects on everyone. None in Happy's case. Lucy closed her eyes and smiled in appreciation. Carla observed her while she was singing with a small but sincere smile. Wendy rested her head on her brother's shoulder. Said pink-haired mage was looking off into the distance, reminiscing about his time with Igneel, Zeref and the short but very pleasant one with Mavis. Although they did bring him a part of sadness, he didn't go as far as to cry over them. Unlike Gray, whose tears were now streaming down his cheeks as he was gritting his teeth.
As the song ended, his teammates finally noticed it.
"Hey, Gray, are you okay?" Lucy asked in concern.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine." the ice mage lied.
"Lyra, maybe you could sing something a little more…joyful?" the Celestial wizard suggested.
"Now you tell me?" the singer criticized.
Several hours later, Lucy, Wendy and Carla had joined Happy in dreamland, only leaving the two ice mages to keep watch. Natsu would have gone to his awake guildmate to talk to him, if it hadn't been for a certain blue-haired young girl who thought it'd be a good idea to fall asleep while sitting on his lap, resting her back and head on his chest. Just like she used to do before they parted ways, centuries ago. And since Natsu didn't have the heart to push her away or wake her up, he just let her be.
All of a sudden the entire cave started shaking violently, waking all of them up.
"What going on?" Lucy asked while rubbing her eye.
Before anyone could answer, a giant beam of bright purple light shone down through the ceiling and right onto the ice enclosing Deliora.
"W-What's that?!" Happy questioned, sounding scared and panicked.
"Purple light? It must that moonlight thing." Gray theorized.
'Are you thinking what I'm thinking?' Mavis asked her host.
'Inevitably. You're in my head.' he sarcastically answered.
Before the First Master could rebut (which she very much wanted to do), Natsu's sleeve was tugged by his little sister. "What do we do now, big brother?"
Looking up at the light once more, the pink-haired mage quickly came up with a plan. "We go up. Whoever is casting that spell is going it from above."
With a nod, the group hurriedly ran, or flew, up a stairway that led them to the temple's roof. There, they saw a dozen people in long dark robes with masks, gathered in a circle around the purple beam of light and chanting an unknown incantation. The aforementioned light seemed to descend all the way from the moon. Seeing this, they hid behind a pile of rubble that used to be a stone wall.
"It looks like these people are collecting the moonlight with some spell." Wendy noted.
"And shine it on Deliora." Lucy completed.
"But, what for?" Carla wondered.
"To unseal it." Natsu answered, making everyone's head snap in his direction, especially Gray's.
"W-What do you mean?" Happy hesitantly asked.
"They are casting a spell called "Moon Drip". It's a very old spell but it is strong enough to melt the ice surrounding it." the pinkette continued.
"This is nonsense! The ice of Iced Shell can't be melted!" Gray protested in outrage.
"Sorry Gray but you're wrong. It can. Not through conventional means but given enough time, Moon Drip can break any magical spell." his pink-haired guildmate revealed, shocking them all and making the dark-haired mage get even angrier.
"Those idiots! They have no idea what they are doing!" he exclaimed and was about to jump and attack them but was stopped by Lucy's next observation.
"Wait! I think someone is coming this way." she said.
Indeed, a slim man of average height made his appearance. He was wearing an imposing outfit which hid his identity and sported a large white cape, with a wide collar, golden edges and fur trimmings over the shoulders, held closed by belt, adorned by a stylized snake with rectangular coils, and its corresponding buckle, with more belts and buckles, placed away from one another and below the first, being left untied. Below this cape, he had a blue, high-collared tunic with golden edges, reaching down below his knees, with the part coming down from below the simple belt tied around his waist having an opening in the front. The tunic sported a large, dark cross-like design on the back, and was worn over a dark shirt. The outfit also included baggy dark pants tucked inside armored greaves, composed of different plates and sporting knee caps, and an ornamental helmet obscuring most of his face. Bearing resemblance to a skull, this helmet sported a front part which covered the man's upper face, revealing his mouth and nose, with a line of sharp teeth beneath it, and his eyes not being visible from the eye slits of the mask, which was adorned by a spiraling motif. The helmet also came equipped with striped horns pointing frontwards and with a large crest made of spiky fur, falling on his back. Toby, Yuka and Shelly were behind him.
"All that search, for nothing. What a waste of time. We didn't even find a trace of the intruders." the blue-haired man complained.
"We aren't even sure that there are any!" Toby angrily screamed at him.
"Intruders, you say?" the masked man, who seemed to be their leader, finally spoke up. "How close are we to reviving Deliora?"
"We should be done by tonight or tomorrow." Sherry answered.
"Which is it?!" the dog-man yelled again.
"Then these intruders are of no importance. Nevertheless, if you see them, kill them." the mysterious man ordered.
As he was talking, Gray was getting more and more shocked and confused.
"It's possible they were some of the villagers who live on this island." the pink-haired woman theorized.
"Either that or they hired some outside help. Whatever the case may be, they are the ones responsible for this disturbance, so destroy the village and kill them all." their leader ordered.
"What?!" Carla said in shock.
"But it's not their fault." Lucy remarked.
"We have to stop them." Wendy declared.
"I never wished for bloodshed, but they brought it on themselves." the masked man announced.
"That voice…no way…" Gray muttered to himself so low only the two Dragon Slayers heard him. His voice didn't stay low for long however. Indeed, as his shock was replaced with rage, he jumped out of his hiding spot, revealing his presence. "What do you think you're doing?!" he yelled at them, catching their attention.
This action made the white-furred cat of their group facepalm. "What an idiot."
Although they maintained their composure a lot more, Natsu and Lucy's thoughts were on the same line.
"What do we do now, big brother?" the Sky Dragon Slayer asked, acknowledging him as the decision maker of their team.
"Well, there's no point in hiding anymore." the pink-haired mage simply answered as he too stood up, allowing their opponents to see him. He was followed suit by his little sister, then by Lucy, Happy and Carla.
Sherry then spotted the guild mark on Wendy's shoulder and gasped upon recognizing it. "I know that symbol…they are from the Fairy Tail guild."
"The villagers must have hired them." the shorter man present theorized.
"Don't worry about them and focus on the task I have given you." their leader ordered. "Whether they meant to or not, they got in my way and need to be punished for it."
"Why you!" Gray yelled and started running towards their enemies. "Stop this madness, right now!" he ordered while slamming his hands on the ground. A wide trail of ice then came out of his hands and rapidly advanced towards the opposing group, freezing the floor along the way.
Surprisingly, the masked man did the same thing but with a single hand. The two attacks then met head on, thus stopping each other and then exploded, sending small shards of ice everywhere.
When this happened, Natsu instinctively sidestepped so that Wendy was behind his back and extended his arm to the side. His Ice Dragon Slayer Magic made him immune to the ice shards so behind him was the safest place to be right now.
"This guy is an ice wizard too?" Happy asked in disbelief.
"I knew it was you, Lyon." Gray growled in anger, shocking his teammates. Except for Natsu who merely raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
"You know him?" Lucy asked in a low tone but was either unheard or ignored.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?! And what gives you the right anyway?!" the Fairy Tail ice mage asked in outrage.
"Gray, it's been so long since we last saw each other." his adversary calmly remarked.
"Why would you of all people try to revive Deliora? You know how dangerous it is."
"Did you come here knowing it would lead to us meeting again? Or is this all just a coincidence? No matter, the result shall be the same regardless." the enemy leader stated, unfazed.
"You know this man, Cold Emperor?" the blue-haired man questioned.
"I will take care of these intruders on my own. The three of you will go and inflict my wrath on the villagers as I have ordered." he forcefully instructed as his only response.
"Yes, sir." the three of them said at the same time and started running away.
"Great. That's just great." Natsu sarcastically remarked.
"What are we going to do now?" the blue-haired young girl asked, looking at the pink-haired mage and waiting for his answer.
"We know where they are going, let's capitalize on it. Happy. Carla. Take Lucy and Wendy back to the village. The four of you will defend it. I'll stay here with Gray and take care of that one." the pinkette instructed, pointing at the man now known as Lyon at the end.
"Aye." "Understood." both feline said.
In an instant, Happy grabbed Lucy by the shirt and flew away in spite of her protests. Carla was about to do the same thing with Wendy when she noticed the reluctant look her partner had in her eyes as she was gazing at her foster sibling.
"B-But, Natsu…" she hesitantly voiced her opinion.
Her worries were a bit eased when he smiled at her. "Don't worry, Wen. It's not like I'm getting rid of you or anything and there's just no way that clown will so much as to scratch me. Besides, we can't let those two defend the village alone. Chances are they'd just end up destroying it themselves."
His words finished calming the Sky Dragon Slayer's mind as her afraid look was replaced by the one full of determination she had inherited form him. After she nodded in agreement, Carla summoned her wings and started flying Wendy back to the village.
"I see you have decided to join forces against me. No matter, I shall destroy you both at once if you so wish." the Cold Emperor declared with confidence.
"Actually,…" Natsu began as he made his way to a large stone and sat on it. "It's just going to be the two of you." he revealed, shocking both of them.
"Natsu, what are you…" Gray trailed off, not knowing what to say.
"Look, I don't know what your story with that guy is but there obviously is one, which this is your fight. I'll just make sure you don't get killed." the S-class mage explained
'Sounds oddly familiar for some reason.' Mavis noted in her usual mischievous tone.
Gray was a little taken aback by his guildmate's statement but was grateful for it nonetheless.
Lyon, however, felt insulted by the pinkette's lack of interest to fight him and decided to force his hand. "Oh yeah? Well, if you won't fight, I guess I'll just have to kill you right away then." he declared and extended his arm towards Natsu. A freezing gust of wind then advanced towards the Fairy Tail wizard at great speed but he appeared unfazed by it.
"Natsu, watch out!" Gray warned but was completely ignored.
When it reached him, it did absolutely nothing but make his hair and clothes wave slightly like any air current would, much to Lyon and Gray's shock.
"W-What? How?" the enemy leader asked in astonishment.
"Are you done yet?" Natsu mocked.
His comment made Gray regain his focus. As a result, he joined his hands gathered his magic in them. He then pushed them forward and created a pillar of ice that extended in Lyon's direction.
The opposing ice mage barely managed to created an ice shield with a single hand in time to nullify the incoming attack. This achievement made him regain his confidence. And his arrogance as well. "You might have distracted me long enough for the girls and cats to escape, but it is of no consequence. There's no way they'll ever be able to stop my minions."
His statement caused Natsu to raise a brow, although deep down he was a little angry at the way this man was talking about his sister. For the purpose of not disturbing their fight though, he decided to remain quiet.
"Stop with that god damn superior attitude already, Lyon. You're not. Nor are we Ur's students anymore." Gray said, not trying to hide his anger.
"I know that…only too well." Lyon reacted, taking his mask off. It was now revealed that he had bluish silver hair, most of which were spiky strands that jutted upwards on top of his head, except for some which were kept pointing down and partially covered the upper left part of his face. Lyon's eyes were slanted, with dark round pupils and surrounded by similarly dark lines. He had small, linear, dark eyebrows and donned a small, light-colored earring on his left earlobe, which took the shape of a stylized snowflake. "I know she's gone for good."
"And the last thing she did was saving us by sealing that monster away. And now, you try to destroy her legacy. Are you really that callous?"
"Callous, you say? It's rather hypocritical coming from you. Aren't you the one who killed her and yet don't express any guilt?" the light-haired man provoked which successfully made Gray's blood boil with rage. "She's dead because of you, so you might as well admit it. In fact, I'm surprised you even dare TO SPEAK HER NAME!" Lyon's tone progressively got louder as his own anger grew.
He then extended his hand and created a ball of ice about three times his own size and threw it at his former fellow student who didn't manage to dodge in time and got thrown back until he hit a wall behind him.
This earned him a few scratches and bruises. Nevertheless, he still got back up and resumed glaring at his silver-haired opponent.
"I'm warning you, stay out of my way. Whether you like it or not, I will revive Deliora." Lyon threatened.
"No, you won't. I won't let you." the Fairy Tail ice mage replied.
At this point, Lyon dropped his mask to the ground and his hands emitted a cold wind visible compared to the air around them, indicating he was getting serious. "This will be just like old times, except I've grown much stronger since then. Ice-Make: Eagle!" His spell materialized several eagles that flew towards Gray at high speed.
"Ice-Make: Shield!" the opposing ice mage called out, summoning his usual shield for protection.
However, the birds simply went around or above the defense and all struck the Fairy Tail wizard full force, wounding him significantly.
'Shouldn't you interfere?' the First Master of Fairy Tail asked her old friend, finding his current behavior rather uncharacteristic.
'No. Gray needs this. Win or lose, it's all up to him.'
"In case you have forgotten, while your Ice-Make Magic's sub-specialty is Static Ice-Make which allows you to create inanimate objects, mine, Dynamic Ice-Make, allows me to create living creatures. Which means, my ice has the ability to move." Lyon condescendingly reminded. He then sent another attack at Gray who managed to dodge it this time by jumping in the air.
"Ice-Make: Hammer!" the Fairy Tail guild member yelled, generating a massive hammer which he sent straight at his light-haired adversary.
"Ice-Make: Ape!" the Cold Emperor used just in time for the two spell to collide and destroy each-other. As his opponent landed on the ground, he decided to continue his insulting teasing. "Seriously? You haven't gotten over using two hands to cast your spells yet? How pathetic."
"What do you mean "pathetic"? I'm doing things the way Ur taught us! Casting with a single hand makes the creation incomplete and unbalanced."
"That was true for her. But I have surpassed both her skill and power long ago." Lyon declared confidently.
"Shut. Your. Mouth." Gray ordered threateningly but was ignored.
"And even if I hadn't, we have sparred many times through the years but you never managed to so much as scratch me."
"And you think you're the only one who got stronger?" Gray countered while gritting his teeth and preparing another attack. "Ice-Make: Geyser!" he yelled as he slammed the ground with his hands.
The attack did hit Lyon, creating a tall tower of ice all around him but said man only had a bored expression on his face.
A moment later, Gray's creation exploded from the inside out, shocking him in the process.
"Maybe not. But it doesn't matter either way. I have always been superior to you. And that clearly hasn't changed. Our paths may have changed, but our ranking hasn't." At the end of his speech, Lyon raised his hand above his head and towards the sky. "Ice-Make: Snow Dragon!" He summoned an ice dragon about the same size as a real one that rushed towards Gray and sent him flying in the air. "But knowing I have surpassed Ur isn't enough, I need to prove it. That is why I'm resurrecting Deliora. I'll prove my superiority by doing the one thing she could never do: kill that demon. Surpassing her had always been my dream but you made that impossible. Or so I thought until I realized the answer was right there in front of me. I kill that demon and I will have surpassed her at last, my dream will finally become a reality." As he was speaking, the look in his eyes was getting crazier.
After having listened to Lyon's declaration, Gray got back on his feet and looked at him, clearly mad. "Do you mean to tell me you're doing all of this just to prove how strong you are? You saw what that thing is capable of and yet you ignore it just to satisfy your ego? You're insane!"
Now Lyon was angry too and he showed it by attacking the dark-haired mage repeatedly. "Insane, you say? That's rich coming from you. Isn't that exactly what you did all those years ago? You challenged Deliora, AND UR DIED BECAUSE OF IT! BECAUSE OF YOU!…Now, get out of my sight!"
Lyon's final attack sent Gray rolling down the temple wall until he disappeared into the surrounding trees below.
The light-haired mage was slightly panting, not from fatigue, but from the anger he had expressed. He was reminded of Gray's guildmate presence when he heard a voice behind him.
"Well, from where I stand, you're both idiots." Natsu declared while dusting off his pants as he stood back up.
The Cold Emperor abruptly turned around, anger still visible in his eyes. "You. Now it's your turn." he declared, making his new opponent raise a brow. "Ice-Make: Eagle!"
Natsu just sighed and let all the eagles hit him, not one of them causing even the slightest damage. "Fine. Have it your way. It just so happens that I can do things like that too." he announced and then jumped in the air. "Ice Dragon's Spike!" he called out and his forearm turned into a spike of ice that he aimed not at Lyon, but at the floor he was standing on.
Because of Ur's former student's shock at the ineffectiveness of his attack, he was unable to react fast enough and fell into the hole his enemy had created, disappearing in the darkness of the room below while screaming until a faint thud was heard.
"There. That wasn't so difficult, was it?" Natsu noted to himself after landing gracefully on the temple's roof again. He then started walking towards where Gray had disappeared.
'So much for "making sure he doesn't die".' Mavis mocked, not really meaning it.
'Meh, Gray's fine.' her host countered.
'Wanna bet?' the blonde asked, half joking/half serious.
'You wanna bet on one of your guild member's well-being?' Natsu questioned, surprised by her question.
'Well…yeah.' she admitted.
Natsu then chuckled a bit before responding. 'I'm glad you're back to normal, Mavis. Go on, I'm listening.'
When darkness had fallen, somewhere in the sea that separated Hargeon from Galuna Island, a few unconscious men were lying onto a galleon's deck with weapons dispersed around them. The only conscious man was the one steering the ship, albeit reluctantly.
Turning around, he pleaded to the person standing behind him in a nervous tone. "Please, don't make us go to Galuna Island. We already lost our previous ship and had to steal...I mean borrow this one just last night."
"Just shut up and steer." said person ordered with authority, leaving no room for negociation.
"Why do you want to go there anyway, lady? Rumor has it anyone who sets foot on it will turn into a demon." the beard man asked, sweating bullets in fear.
"I don't care. Rules have been broken and while I do trust Natsu to be able to ensure his guildmates' safety, he is far too lenient to administer proper punishment for such an act." the woman, who just so happened to be Erza Scarlet of Fairy Tail declared.