Chapter 67

Cold as Ice


"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"Magic"

Flashback

Location / Date / Time Skip


Erza stared in shock at the two Dragon Slayers' sudden arrival. "I don't understand… what made you come here?"

"That letter you sent us." Sting answered, setting Minerva down next to some rubble.

"Speaking of that letter…" Lector mumbled from the side. "I don't want to be rude, but…"

"It was really weird." Frosch declared, embarrassing Erza.

"We would have arrived sooner, but it took sometime to decipher it." Rogue finished.

Sting chuckled before turning back to Minerva. "M'lady, please come back to the guild with us."

His request brought tears to her eyes as Mard Geer chuckled. "Go wherever you like, I shan't stop you. But where you leave to, you will still be in a world without magic."

"Face has been destroyed." Erza snapped back.

"One was demolished." He replied, shocking the red head.

"Hold on, does that have anything to do with those creepy statues we saw on our way here?" Sting questioned.

"One hour…" Mard Geer stated. "That's how long it will take before over 3000 bombs rend all magic from this world forever."

"He's bluffing." Minerva declared. "You couldn't control even one Face remotely. What makes you think you can set off thousands at once?"

"If I remember correctly, the chairman should have the authority to allow remote control." Mard Geer chuckled.

"Then your underlings shouldn't have killed him." She snapped back, shocking Erza.

"Tartaros has a necromancer among its ranks." Mard Geer replied. "He's controlling the dead chairman and having him activate Face from the control room as we speak."

"Erza, go and shut them down." Sting declared, cracking his knuckles. "Leave this to us."

"You two take care of M'lady, Lector and Frosch." Rouge added. "We'll deal with him."

"Some humans are really amusing." Mard Geer chuckled. "Do you really think simple humans can defeat the king of hades?"

"I do!" Sting and Rouge charged into the fight, the blonde throwing a punch. Mard Geer dodged the fist as Rouge snaked behind, throwing a kick. "Go! Now!"

"Be careful! He's extremely powerful!" Erza warned as she picked Minerva up and carried her away.

"Not as strong as Natsu." Sting chuckled as Lector pulled Frosch back by the tail.

"I know you wanna help, but we can't do anything here!" She declared. "Just trust them."

Mard Geer waved his arm and forced the two back as Sting gathered magic near his mouth. "White Dragon Roar!" A massive laser shot out aimed at the demon. Mard Geer waved his hand and force the attack to the side.

Rogue rose up from a shadow behind him, black energy gathered around his arm. "Shadow Dragon Slash!" Mard Geer caught his fist and threw him aside before waving his hands. A rose of energy shot out in a spinning pattern, blasting both the humans and the rubble back.

Mard Geer stood in the center of the blast, watching the dust settle. "I don't like that petty humans handle Dragon Slaying 'Magic'."

"Yeah… and I don't like how you hurt our friends." Sting snapped back, anger in both his and Rogue's eyes.

"Now I can understand why Kyouka likes to play with humans." Mard Geer chuckled. "Your ideals and actions are led by emotions. And you don't realize your weaknesses. You're absolutely ignorant, so foolish that you're almost lovely."


With Gray

Far away from the battle, Gray stood staring at Zero, who was leaning against some rubble. "3000 Face bombs…?" Gray repeated in shock. "The council built one hell of a weapon. So did you bring me here just to tell me that?"

"No way." Silver chuckled, pushing himself away. "I just hoped I could see the despair on your face."

"Unfortunately, that doesn't work." Gray snapped back.

"Too bad… I thought simply killing you would be boring." Silver confessed.

"You know me, don't you?" Gray questioned.

"Yeah, really well." The armored man nodded as the two glared at each other.

"I also know your face… and your voice." Gray declared. "I know them, but you're a different person. Who are you?"

"You've probably already guessed it." Silver chuckled. "I'm your father."

"That's not possible!" Gray shouted back. "My father is dead! I saw him die with my own eyes!"

"My name is Silver Fullbuster." The armored man chuckled.

"You're LYING!" Gray fired a swarm of ice swords forward. Silver waved his hand and the ice shattered before catching a punch. Purple ice shot out and blasted Gray back. "My father can't be alive!"

Silver laughed hard as Gray stood back up. "NOW you're reacting like I imagined!" He chuckled, shattering the ice. "It's true that I'm your father, but the story isn't just about me. I'm someone much more important to you, someone you were destined to fight."


With Erza and Minerva

"Do you know where the control room is, Minerva?" The red head asked, carrying the demon.

"It's hard to say…" She confessed. "The way was destroyed when everything hit the ground."

"Someone is coming." Lector spoke up.

The four looked over to to see four figures coming over. "Erza!" Happy shouted before he and Slate raced over.

"Happy, Lily, Slate." The red head smiled as the tallest figure came into view.

"Erza? What are you doing with Minerva?" Brianna asked in surprise.

"It's a long story." She chuckled back as Minerva pushed herself off. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for Nicholas, duh." Brianna replied. "I found these three walking around and stuck with them."

Minerva stared at the shroom on Happy's head before ripping it off, making them both scream. "This is one of the Nine Demon Gates." She declared. "He'll probably know where the control is."

"We less than an hour until Face is activated. Let's hurry." Erza ordered.


With Gray

"The hell are you talking about?" Gray asked before getting blasted backwards by Silver's attack.

"Where should I start?" He questioned himself. "First of all, I'll tell you about this body. This body is a vessel, a corpse that I found. All members Tartaros are demons from the Books of Zeref. Likewise, my real form isn't human either, but this is much easier to move around in.

"At first I just picked a body with all its limbs, but seems we can't escape fate. You don't know how much I've waited for the day I can kill you. All of that witches pupils, anyone who even knows her name! She trapped me in ice for ten years! My name is Deliora! You can't have forgotten my name, Gray!"

"Impossible…" Gray mumbled, falling over in shock. "Deliora was killed…"

"Thank you, Hell's Core." Silver chuckled. "They brought me back into the land of the living. What, you don't believe me? How about I take the same form I killed your parents in?"

Gray roared in anger before charging again, pure hate in his eyes. "Deliora!"

Silver chuckled before swinging his hand, killing the ice spell instantly. He charged forward and blasted Gray backwards, knocking him off a cliff. Landing as safe as he could, he jumped back up and slammed his hands together. "Ice Make: Cold Excalibur!"

He slammed a massive sword down, only for the demon to laugh in his face and start eating the blade. Gray landed on the ground, he watched as Silver wiped his mouth. "Ice magic ain't bad. It's a powerful weapon in the right hands." He confessed. "Hopefully, i don't have to explain what I am, given that you live with four other Slayers.

"Now taste my Ice Demon Slayer Magic!" The armored man swung his hand and ice slashed Gray, blasting back. "Yes, yes! That's the look of pain I wanted to see! First I'll kill you, then that Lyon kid! Then I'll kill all your friends one by one! Anyone who knows anything about-"

"Stop talking with my father's voice!" Gray shouted back, slamming his hands together. "Ice Impact!" A massive spiked hammer slammed down on Silver, who laughed and ate the attack.

"Man, you are as stupid as you look, aren't you?" Silver chuckled as he pulled his head back. "Ice Demon Rage!" A purple swath of ice shot out and blasted Gray back.

The attack ended and he forced himself back up, clutching his bleeding side. "I will defeat you… with my own hands." He panted out.

"How the hell are you gonna do that when your magic doesn't even work on me?" Silver chuckled.

"Ice Make: Cannons!" Gray slammed his hands to the side, creating a volley of frozen cannons which fired.

"-" A chunk of rock hit Silver in the face, forcing him to stumble backwards. "Clever. You made a weapon of ice and used it to fire other weapons."

"Eat this!" Another volley of fire blasted Silver in the face.

Silver chuckled and waved his hand, freezing the ground over. "Now everything is covered in ice." Silver declared. "good luck trying to find any neutral objects to fore at me."

"I can work with this." Gray chuckled before dropping his hands fo the ground. "This is the same ice that covered Sun Village. I can absorb it and recreate it in my own shape! You slayers might be able to eat your element, but there's one exception!"

Silver went wide eyed as Gray glowed purple before hitting Silver with his own magic. The smoke cleared and Gray looked up, an angry Sliver glaring at him. "It's true that I can't eat my own magic, but ice still doesn't work on me. Have you finally femembered the terror you felt in front of Deliora?"


With Juvia

"His power and skill were acknowledged by the king of Hades and he became a Demon Gate." Keyes told the water woman.

He swung his staff and forced Juvia to dodge the black energy wave. "If he is really a demon slayer, then why is he on Tartaros' side?" She questioned

"Who can say?" Keyes replied. "Maybe our power changed his mind, or perhaps he plots against us. Either way I'm certain that our dread sovereign had reasons to accept the man."He swung his staff and slashed at Juvia. "I can see it. The boy will make the same choice as his master."

'The same choice…' She mumbled to herself. 'Does that mean Iced Shell?'


With Wendy

"What can we do against all these Faces?" Carla mumbled.

Wendy turned to the council member, focus in her eyes. "Doranbolt, how long does it take to go to Magnolia with Direct Line?"

"If we go from here, we'll have to do a few stopovers." He answered. "No less than five minutes."

"Do you want to rejoin the others?" Carla questioned.

"Yes." She nodded. "But not only that. I want Warren to use his magic to call out to all the guilds on the continent. With the power if all the guilds, maybe we can do something about Face."


With Gray

Tumbling back, Gray bounced along the ground as Silver chuckled. "What's happened! You lost all your energy." He kicked Gray in the stomach, making him gasp in pain. "I want your face even more twisted. Feel the fear inside you, human. Look upon this coming calamity!"

He swung his arm and blasted Gray back. "Did you really think you had a chance of winning!? Did you think you could turn anger into power!? This is what despair tastes like. You humans can't win against demons."

Groaning in pain, Gray pushed himself up. "I… still… have to win…"

"Ice doesn't work against me, I blocked physical attacks. You can't win against me with just your feelings." Silver chuckled.

"I still… have something left." Gray declared as he crossed his arms. "Iced Shell!"

"You're bluffing!" Silver shouted back. "It'll use your life! Besides, ice doesn't work on me, remember!?"

"Let's put that to the test!" Gray shouted.

Silver froze him solid, only to find he'd frozen an ice sculpture. From behind, Gray, now with his arm coated in some kind of vambrace, threw a solid chunk of rubble through the torso. Silver stared at the hole as he fell over. "Enough games." Gray declared. "Did you think I wouldn't noticed?"

Silver looked up with a confused looked. "You're not Deliora. You are my dad."


Yeah, how's this for a gut wrench? Seriously, this was a twist I thought I saw coming. Then they pulled the rug out, and then they pulled the rug under THAT out. Add in some tender moments between Minerva and her old guild, and this was really emotional.

I don't really have much left to say about this. See you all next time.

Beta read by General Feng Xiang