Chapter 31
Warmachine375-
I never said Teclis would be the one chosen. I merely said I would consider them.
Yes, may as well. Also, they don't have to because the daemons of Chaos will just kill Tartaros because of their different goals. (Tartaros serving Zeref and the chaos daemons serving the Chaos Gods. And the Chaos Gods will want to have Zeref's soul for all eternity for a variety of reasons.)
The Opportunist- No Gotrek please. And no plans for Drycha, at least anywhere in the near future.
Austin- Again, I disagree they go that far. Angelica is clearly not Skaven. At best, they can ask Sherry where she got it with hidden intentions, but that's about it because, let's be honest, no Skaven would ever attempt to make a normal rat. Ever. Not even for infiltrations because they already have ninja rats that do all that. But yeah, the horned rat will probably do that concerning Diederick.
Slaanesh- All the females. Ichiya and his boys.
Khorne- Natsu, Elfman.
Nurgle- Probably Mavis. Elfman possibly too? I don't know. There don't seem to be many Fairy Tail characters that are compatible with Nurgle. Everyone else simply has a better compatible God over Nurgle.
Tzeentch- Levy, Gray, Yukino, and Meredy.
Of course, there will be infighting between them on who gets what. Because Khorne will also want Erza and Kagura because of their fighting prowess and Tzeentch would want Mavis for himself because of her magic and the power of Fairy Heart as well. Actually, all of the Chaos Gods would want Fairy Heart because of its power.
Naestra
Rubbing Gray's back, Naestra spoke up.
"You must really love this Ur if you're reacting this way." Said Naestra.
"I did." Said Gray as he kept crying into Naestra's chest. "It's also my damn fault she's dead. If I hadn't been so stupid and reckless, she would still be alive and well." Although that was true, Naestra wasn't going to say it out loud. Gray was suffering enough as it.
"I may not know this Ur, Gray, but I believe she would be fine to sacrifice herself for you if it meant that you would live." Said Naestra. That caused Gray to look at Naestra. Initially, he was a bit angry at what she said, but the tranquil look on her face made him stop.
"What do you mean by that?" Asked Gray, tears still flowing down his eyes. Naestra just let out a small smile before she began wiping the tears away, her slender fingers expertly wiping them off.
"She loved you, Gray." Said Naestra. "From what you told me, she loved you and would have gladly sacrificed her so that you would live, even if it's because of you that she had to make the sacrifice in the first place. Why? Because she loved you that much that she cared not if it's your own fault or not. She would want you to continue on living, even if that meant her death." Naestra was soon finished cleaning Gray up and began placing the boy on her legs. "That's what people do for their loved ones. Even if some people may not understand why she sacrificed herself or blame you for her death, she made her choice in sacrificing herself for you, Gray because she loved you that much Gray. What people can blame you on, however, is making that sacrifice meaningless."
"What do you mean?" Asked Gray as Naestra stroked his hair.
"Gray, even though you were freed from dying by Ur's sacrifice, you can squander that sacrifice with your actions." Said Naestra. "I doubt Ur would have sacrificed herself if you turned a dark path or let yourself be bothered by Deliora to the point that you would hurt your friends." Gray looked up at Naestra as she said this. He wanted to retort that Natsu wasn't his friend, but refrained, knowing that Naestra was right. "Gray, tell me, would Ur want you to lash out at everyone because of Deliora and what it did to you or would she want you to fight to protect your friends from inflicting the same pain you felt long ago on them?" Gray, in shock, looked at Deliora for a moment before looking back at Naestra. Once again, he saw Ur's face plastered on Naestra before he shook it away, revealing the slim and beautiful face of Naestra.
"Guess you're right." Said Gray, looking away in shame for a moment. "But how can I move on from Deliora when it killed both my parents and my mentor? The latter of whom I let get killed for my own life. How?"
"You can't." Said Naestra, causing Gray to look at her in shock. "At least, not all of it. That pain will never go away. Not unless you're willing to remove the memories of such events from your mind, but I doubt you would want that." Gray nodded fervently at that. He didn't want to lose any memory of his parents nor Ur, even if some of them were quite tragic. "Then that case, you'll just have to come to terms with what happened years ago. It'll be hard, I assure you, but, if you need the help, then know that I'll be there to help you out. Along with your friends in the guildhall. For isn't that the way of this guild? To help our fellow members with whatever problems they have?" Gray looked at Naestra before looking down.
"Yeah." Said Gray after a minute. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He then looked at Naestra. "But, I'm serious about Ur's legacy. Not just because of what she meant to me, but because of what happens when Deliora is free. That demon is beyond powerful. Those idiots have no idea what they're going to unleash in this world again."
"Agreed." Said Naestra, looking at Deliora. Even though she hadn't seen Deliora in action before, she can tell from Gray's reaction to it that it was a powerful monster. That and the fact Ur sacrificed herself to imprison it must have meant it was strong. "But there are several questions that remain. How do they intend to release him? And why would they do so?"
"If we have any that live, we'll ask them." Said Arahan before bringing out a knife. "Before we kill them, of course." Naestra frowned at that and so did Gray.
"Seriously, you're so kill-happy." Said Gray, unhappy with what Arahan said. "Not everyone that you go up against deserves to die, you know." Arahan glared at Gray for that.
"Oh, but these fools do." Said Arahan. "You said yourself. Deliora is powerful and these fools intend to release it on the world again. Such foolish deserves death, wouldn't you agree? Or would you rather spare them, even if it means they'll one day return to disgrace your master's sacrifice?" Gray gritted his teeth at that, angry that Arahan brought up Ur in such a manner. Although he wanted to make those that wanted to release Deliora pay for even attempting to do so, he didn't want to kill them. He was against killing, just like everyone else was barring Naestra and Arahan. Before the argument can continue, Naestra interrupted them.
"Enough." Said Naestra, scolding her sister. "Leave Gray out of this, Arahan. If he doesn't wish to kill anyone, then let us respect it, even if they're disgracing the legacy of his master." Arahan scoffed at that, muttering under her breath, but otherwise remained silent.
"Thanks." Said Gray, causing Naestra to nod. "You know sometimes I wonder how you two are sisters. You two argue so much that I wonder how you two are sisters." He recalled one argument the two had that went on for literal hours one day in the guild, fire coming out of both of their mouths as they counterargued with each other. But then on the very next day, they were only arguing for a few minutes with only a little fire. They're so confusing. Naestra smiled at that.
"You say that, yet you do the same thing with Natsu as well. Granted with far less intensity compared to myself and Arahan, but you two still assist one another when either of you requires it." Said Naestra.
"Yeah, I guess you're right on that." Said Gray with a smile. "Still, seems kind of weird you two are sisters."
"I suppose it's worthy of that, at least." Said Naestra, causing Gray to let out a chuckle. "But going back to the questions. Is it actually possible for the ice from an Ice shell to be melted?"
"*Sighs* That's what Makarov told me when I asked about it." Said Gray. "He also told me that, if it's ever melted, Ur, or what's left of her, will die out."
"I see." Said Naestra, looking at the ice. "So there must be a way that none of us know about. One that's difficult to obtain if Deliora is responsible for the curse on the village." Gray nodded at that in agreement, although he didn't like the idea that there was something that can melt the ice for a whole lot of reasons. Looking at the ice, Naestra suddenly told Gray that it's time to rest. He may need it if they wished to stop the Cold Emperor from reviving Deliora, which he agreed to. Once Gray went to sleep, Naestra looked at Arahan in annoyance.
"Sister, if Gray wishes to not kill anyone, let us respect it." Said Naestra. "If you wish for him to kill, then you need to provide a better argument than that." Arahan scoffed at that.
"Sister, you know as well as I that the power of daemons is something not to be trifled with. Even if this Deliora is not a Chaos daemon, it's still one and that means it's a being of great power." Said Arahan, arguing with her sister. She was much too soft with the other members of their guild, especially the teenagers. When was she going to realize that those fools need to learn that killing their foes was much easier and better than sparing them? "Don't you agree that alone is worthy of death?"
"We don't know their reasoning for trying to free Deliora, Arahan." Argued Naestra. "These people aren't like those that worship Chaos, at least from what we've seen. I will not refrain myself from killing them if it means that we must do so, but I will not force Gray or the others to kill unless the situation calls for it." Arahan scoffed in disgust at that.
"Just like our son, you hold everyone back." Said Arahan, glaring at her sister. "When will you realize that killing our foes is the only course of action to take?"
"And when will you realize that sometimes it's better to spare our foes than simply killing them all?" Asked Naestra back. Sighing, she told Arahan that they'll discuss this later. For now, they have to remain quiet lest someone may hear them. Scoffing again, Arahan, nonetheless did what she was told and went back to simply guarding. With her sister placated, for now, Naestra looked at the sleeping Gray and began stroking his hair.
"With some luck, you and the others will not be forced to kill anyone." Thought Naestra as she stroked his hair. "Though if the situation calls for it, I fear that we may need to force you to do so. I pray to Isha that wouldn't be the case." Eventually, she stopped stroking Gray's hair and instead went to guarding with her sister. As she stood watch, she thought back to the group of people they saw before and wondered what their reasons were for freeing a demon. Logic dictated that it was to use its powers for something sinister, but, for reasons unknown to her, she felt that wasn't the reason. Whatever it was, they better pray that they wouldn't be forced to face Arahan as she always intended to kill her prey without mercy or even offer a peaceful resolution to a conflict.
Later
Gray was sleeping relatively soundly when someone began to shake him to wake him up.
"Gray, it's time to wake up." Said Naestra as she stirred the ice mage awake. Groaning a bit, Gray got up and looked at Naestra.
"Something came up?" Asked Gray groggily as he rubbed his eyes a bit.
"Of course, you fool." Said Arahan as she looked at Gray with a sneer. "It appears that the purple moon is doing something to your demon." Fully awake now after that comment, Gray would have retorted back when he saw Deliora was bathed in purple light from the opening above it.
"Is it from the moon?" Asked Gray as he got up, looking around to see Natsu, Lucy, and Happy were up and awake as well.
"Yes." Said Naestra before Arahan could retort. "It just happened, and we figured this is what the group meant when harvesting moonlight."
"Has to be." Said Lucy. "Let's go up to make sure." Everyone agreed to that, and so they ran out of the caverns to see what was actually happening. After finding a way out of the caverns that led them back to the ancient temple, they saw that the light was coming from the very top. Needing to get closer, they then reached the top of the ancient temple. Upon arriving they saw a group of people wearing ceremonial robes that a crescent moon symbol. Surrounding a hole that reached the caverns where Deliora was, the group of people spoke some sort of chant in an ancient language none of them knew. As they chanted, a series of magic circles formed in the air, which concentrated the violet moonlight into the hole.
"There actually gathering moonlight?" Said Gray as he started at all this in shock as they hid behind a fallen column, the group of robes-wearing people too busy chanting to notice them.
"What are they doing?" Asked Lucy as she watched all this happening, unsure how to comprehend all this. "Anyone know anything about this?" Staring out at the ritual happening, Naestra looked at Lucy and asked her if she had any celestial spirits that knew anything about this. Confused at the statement, Lucy asked her why.
"Because I believe they may shed some light on the situation for us." Said Naestra. "They're ancient, so that may mean they know something about what these cultists are doing. So, may you please summon one to inform us of what's going on?" Nodding her head at that explanation, Lucy did as she was instructed and quietly summoned a spirit. The spirit she summoned was a humanoid female wearing a blue dress and pink bonnet. Wielding a harp, the spirit was about to speak when Lucy shushed her up.
"Sorry about this, Lyra, but we really need you to be quiet." Said Lucy while placing her hands on the spirit's mouth. Blinking in confusion, Lyra was about to ask what was going on when she noticed what was happening with the group of robbed individuals.
"Oh no, I think those people are trying to use Moon Drip on something." Said Lyra, causing everyone to look at the spirit.
"This moon drip." Said Naestra as she processed this. "What is it exactly?" Lyra looked at the elf, blinking in surprise at her hooded figure before speaking.
"Well, it's a powerful type of dispel magic that uses light from the moon to dispel anything." Explained Lyra. "With just the right amount of moonlight, anyone can use this magic to dispel any type of magic." Upon hearing that, Naestra widened her eyes at the implications of that as well as Gray. If what Lyra said was true, then those people chanting were trying to dispel Ur's final spell.
"But they can't!" Said Gray. "The Ice from and Ice Shell can't be melted at all." Lyra, once again, looked confused before Lucy explained the situation to her. That caused Lyra to nod before explaining.
"That's not technically true." Said Lyra. "While Ice Shell does indeed create ice that can't be melted with normal means, magical or otherwise, the power of Moon Drip can dispel it if one gathers enough moon energy in one spot." Upon hearing that Gray scowled, angry at what he just heard as well as the idiots that were trying to free Deliora.
"How dare they try to free Deliora." Said Gray as he glared at the group of robed idiots in front of them, still oblivious to them. "Don't they know how dangerous it is?!"
"Doesn't matter." Said Arahan as she aimed her bow at one of the cultists. "We learned what they're planning on doing, now let's stop it before they can make it a reality." Before she can launch an arrow, Naestra stopped her.
"Wait, someone's coming." Said Naestra before ordering everyone to hide and stay quiet, having heard someone climbing up the steps of the temple to reach the top. Looking to where she heard the noise, Naestra and everyone else saw a man with silver hair approaching the site of the ritual. Wearing a cape and a horned helmet, the identity of the man was a mystery to all of them, but they all guessed who he was.
"I'm guessing that's the Cold Emperor, huh?" Asked Lucy, causing Naestra to nod, especially when she saw the woman called Sherry walking up to the helmeted man and speaking up.
"Cold Emperor." Said Sherry as she gave the man a bow, though the helmeted man didn't react to it. Instead, the man asked a simple question.
"How long until Deliora is revived?" Asked the Cold Emperor to Sherry. Gray widened his eyes upon hearing that voice. That voice. It sounded almost like…
"It'll probably be tonight at most, or perhaps even tomorrow..." Sherry tried to explain this to the Cold Emperor when her compatriot Toby interrupted her as he made himself known along with Yuka.
"Which is it?!" Toby yells as he glared at Sherry. Yuka just sighed at that before speaking up.
"I advise that we speed up the process, great Cold Emperor." Suggested Yuka. "I have detected a magic anomaly in the atmosphere building up. It could interfere with our preparations tomorrow."
"What?" Asked Naestra, but no one heard her but Arahan. The Cold Emperor, pondering on what Yuka said, eventually agreed with him.
"Very well, we'll spend more hours generating moon drip tonight." Said the Cold Emperor.
"That voice." Thought Gray in shock. "It almost sounds like…" His train of thoughts was then interrupted by Sherry.
"I'm afraid there is darker news, Emperor." Said Sherry with a level of sadness that made Lucy think she was insane. "There had been intruders during the day, but we failed to locate them. *Sighs*I can't speak of ~love like this."
"Intruders?" Asked the Cold Emperor with a scowl. "Did they see Deliora?"
"I'm afraid so it's possible, Cold Emperor." Said Yuka, causing the Cold Emperor to speak up.
"We worked for so long to achieve our goals, and now we are so close to achieving them." Said the Cold Emperor. "I don't wish to spill blood, but if it we must do so to achieve our goals, then no one must get in our way." He then turned to Sherry. "The only place with human life is the village at the other end of the island. Go there and destroy that village." That caused most of the Fairy Tail guild members to widen their eyes in shock and horror. Arahan growled and tried to aim her bow, but Naestra stopped her. They needed more information. Sherry, Toby, and Yuka nodded at the order.
"Understood, Cold Emperor." Said Yuka without a hint of regret or remorse at what he had to do. That boiled Natsu's blood a bit.
"We can't let them do that?" Said Lucy as she looked at everyone, shocked at what the Cold Emperor said. "We got to stop them here and now."
"Agreed." Said Arahan before pulling herself free from Naestra's grip and aiming her bow at the Cold Emperor, intending to take the head of the snake now. Just as she was about to launch an arrow right at the Cold Emperor's head, Natsu suddenly got in her way and forced her to aim somewhere else, lest he gets the arrow to the head instead.
"Enough!" Yelled Natsu, getting everyone's attention. "We're the targets you want! Not the villagers!"
"Natsu, you fool." Said Naestra with a sigh before readying her bow and aiming it at the Cold Emperor. But it was too late for her to launch an arrow and incapacitate him as he summoned a barrier of ice between him and the Fairy Tail group. Seeing the mark on Natsu, the Cold Emperor scowled.
"Fairy Tail." Said the Cold Emperor. "Of course they would be here." He then looked at Naestra and Arahan and scowled further. "And they brought some of their finest members with them as well. Sherry, take off with Yuka and Toby now! Take care of the villagers! Everyone else, disperse!" As the robbed men began to use their magic to teleport away, Natsu went in after the Cold Emperor, breaking down his barrier of ice and attempting to take him down. He was about to take the Cold Emperor down when the Cold Emperor suddenly encased him in case. Crashing down into the ground, the frozen Natsu was encased fully in ice, his expression full of rage.
"Natsu!" Yelled Lucy in concern as she saw this. Arahan and Naestra, meanwhile, were unleashing arrows on the Cold Emperor, but the man put up an ice barrier again, blocking the arrows. Gray, meanwhile, was glaring at the Cold Emperor before he summoned his own ice.
"Enough!" Yelled Gray before breaking down the ice barrier with an ice spear he made, which he soon threw at the barrier. "Just what in the hell do you think you're doing, Lyon!?" Hearing that name, caused everyone to look at Gray in shock.
"You know this guy?" Asked Lucy in shock while Happy floated above her.
"I used to." Clarified Gray as he glared at the Cold Emperor, who stood emotionless. "Take that stupid helmet off, right now! You owe me that much, at least, Lyon!" Whatever was going on in the Cold Emperor's head nobody knew, especially when he took off his helmet and revealed a young man with short white hair.
"Gray, I didn't think you would be here." Said Lyon as he looked at Gray with aloofness. "This was…an unexpected event."
"Oh shut the hell up, you traitor!" Yelled Gray as he glared at Lyon. "Why the hell are you planning to unleash Deliora!? Don't you remember how Ur sacrificed herself to save us from that monster!? From my mistake!?"
"I don't have to explain myself to you." Said Lyon, sounding a bit annoyed at being called a traitor, something that Naestra noticed. Arahan, meanwhile, was subtly reaching for a dagger hidden beneath her left vambrace, intending to throw it into Lyon's throat. Gray just had to keep him distracted. "Nor would I expect you to understand. However, I will give you and your companions one chance to leave because of our past affiliations together. Do so, and I promise you'll all leave without any repercussions."
"We cannot." Said Naestra, knowing what Arahan was doing, and she intended to give her the time she needed to execute her plan. "The people here are suffering because of what you're doing. I suppose you know that, yes?" Lyon just looked at Naestra, noting her beauty a bit, before replying.
"Of course." Said Lyon. "It's an unfortunate thing, but if I'm to accomplish my goal, then they must suffer."
"And what, may I ask, is your goal on releasing a being of great power like Deliora?" Asked Naestra, genuinely curious. It may not seem like it, but it was clear to her that Lyon felt a hint of regret to what he was doing to the villagers. Perhaps, if they played their cards right, they may find a peaceful resolution to the conflict. "Gray told me his past. How you and he were taught by the very person that sacrificed herself to imprison this demon. Why do you intend to undo that?" Lyon was about to reply when he suddenly felt something was awry. Backing of slightly, Lyon suddenly dodged a dagger, courtesy of Arahan tossing it toward him. His neck was nicked slightly by the dagger as it flew away before it hit a rock and remained stuck there. Grasping his neck with one hand, Lyon placed an ice barrier around him as Arahan fired an arrow at him, one of which managed to get past his barrier in time and hit him in the shoulder. Shouting, Lyon looked at his shoulder wound before deciding enough was enough and began casting a spell.
Gray, noticing the spell, yelled everyone to get out of the way before he kicked Natsu away from the temple, sending the ice-encased Dragonslayer straight towards the forest. Happy, also noticing what was happening, grabbed Lucy and flew away while the Twilight Sisters jumped off the temple grounds, sensing the danger. Gray, meanwhile, cast a shell of ice around him to protect himself from Lyon's spell, which sends a wave of ice and snow everywhere, encasing the upper sections of the temple in ice. Once the spell was over, Gray dispelled his defenses to see that Lyon was gone. Realizing that was just used to allow him to escape, Gray punched a sheet of ice in frustration.
"Damnit, Lyon. Just what the hell do you think you're doing?" Demanded Gray as he tried to figure out what his fellow apprentice was doing. As he was trying to figure things out, Naestra and Arahan came back up, having gotten away in time to escape Lyon's spell.
"Coward." Said Arahan, seeing Lyon was gone. Naestra ignored this and helped Gray up.
"Lyon sent his followers against the villagers. We have to stop them." Said Naestra as she looked at Gray, who simply looked down at the floor. Eventually, he nodded in agreement.
"Alright, what's the plan?" Asked Gray as he looked at Naestra, his usual stoicism there, but Naestra can see that it was clearly shaken.
"Clearly kill them." Said Arahan with a sadistic smile. "They intend to attack the defenseless, Naestra. Surely, that would warrant you to kill them with minimal complaint, yes?"
"Normally, yes, but we need more information." Said Naestra. "Try to spare one of them, Arahan. I would prefer they're all alive in case, but if you need to, you may kill them." Arahan, still somewhat disappointed at Naestra's answer, nonetheless was satisfied and quickly left to head back to the village, leaving Gray with Naestra. Looking back at Gray, Naestra told him what she intended to do. "I'll stay here and try to dissuade Lyon from unleashing Deliora. It may not seem like it to you, but Lyon seemed to regret what he did to the village. That alone warrants enough for me to believe that he can be reasoned with." Blinking in surprise, Gray just nodded at that.
"Good luck with that. Lyon always was a stubborn bastard." Said Gray, grateful that Naestra intended to solve this peacefully.
"So is Arahan." Said Naestra as she was about to leave, but was suddenly stopped by Gray grabbing her arm, causing her to look at him in surprise.
"Just promise me one thing." Said Gray with determination, but also pleading. "Stop Lyon from unleashing Deliora. Not just because of Ur, but also because of what would happen if it unleashed. That idiot doesn't realize just how powerful Deliora really is. I may have been a kid when I saw it in action, but that's enough for me to know that none of us can't handle him. I don't think even Erza can beat it nor you and Arahan." Naestra nodded at that.
"I promise." Said Naestra. "I'll also try to spare Lyon as well. But know this, if I have to choose between sparing him or keeping Deliora imprisoned, you know what I will do, even if I have to regret it." Gray understood what she intended on choosing and nodded.
"I understand." Said Gray, feeling a bit disgusted at saying that, but the situation called for it. Deliora can't be unleashed. He refused to allow it. If it did, then…
Realizing that they're wasting time, Gray immediately took off for the village, leaving Naestra alone. Watching Gray leave, Naestra swiftly entered the temple, knowing that Lyon would come back if he wished to free Deliora. As she walked into the temple, she began to make plans if things go horrible in her attempts to convince Lyon to stop his insanity. Regretful as it may be, it was better to be prepared for the worst than to not be at all.