Chapter 11
Makers Might
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
"Magic"
Flashback
Location / Date / Time Change
"This is the end! Iced-" Gray started to cast the spell. But before he could finish...
"Shut up!" Natsu ran over and punched him in the face, surprising Lyon.
"What the hell are you doing, Natsu!?" Gray asked.
"Don't just barge in here and think you can steal the scene with a bunch of fancy talk!" Natsu shouted his answer. "Get to the back of the line."
"Back of what line!?" Gray shouted back.
"I was here first so that makes this my fight." Natsu reasoned with a grin.
"The hell it is!" Gray said as he stood up. "The second I got here, I said leave him to me."
"Did you ever hear me say 'sure, go ahead'?" Natsu asked as Gray's face turned into an angry sneer. "What? You wanna hit me now?"
Gray rushed over and grabbed Natsu's scarf in anger. "I don't care who said what! I have a score to settle with him, you understand!? And I'm ready to die to do it!"
Natus grabbed Gray's wrist and locked eyes with the Ice Wizard. "So you're gonna end this by dying? How's that gonna settle it? Sounds to me like you're still running away." Gray's eyes went wide in shock as the temple began to shake. "What now?"
Demons Chamber
"Jeeze, it's so boring down here." Lake complained as he kicked her feet off the edge to Deliora. "Well, at least you're a good listener. I can just bounce off ideas and you won't swat them down." She stopped talking to the frozen demon when she felt the ground shake. "What's going on up there?"
Outside the Temple
"Do not falter!" One of the cult members shouted as they pointed to Erza, Lucy, and Happy. "We must stop all those who would uphold the Cold Emperor!" The mob around the three wizards cheered as the ground began to shake.
"What's that sound?" Erza asked as Lucy looked around.
"No way!" Lucy's eyes went wide as the three watched temple slowly began to sit up straight.
"The temple just untilted itself!?" Happy asked in shock as the temple stopped moving.
Throne Room
"This isn't fair!" Natsu complained as he kicked the ground. "Laki and I worked so hard to wreck this thing and now it's just gonna fix itself!?"
"It's worse than that." Gray told the pinkette. "Now the moon light is gonna shine on Deliora."
"So sorry to interrupt." Zalty ran back into the room.
"Zalty... I should have known." Lyon spoke to the masked man.
"The sun was starting to set, so I took the liberty of straightening the temple for you." Zalty told Lyon.
"That weirdo fixed this whole temple by himself?" Gray asked shocked.
"How did you do that!?" Natsu shouted to Zalty, who turned and laughed at the dragon slayer.
"Now that everything is fixed, I'm off to take care of the Green Woman." Zalty turned around and ran out of the room.
"You gotta get through me first, you hear me!?" Natsu sprinted after Zalty.
"Natsu!" Gray shouted, making Natsu stop.
"I'm gonna give him a million ass-kicking." He told Gray. "You handle that ice guy. And don't disgrace the name, got it? Not yours."
"I know." Gray nodded as they both said the same thing. "Fairy Tails." They shared a smirk before Natsu resumed running after Zalty.
"My, my. What a noisy bunch." Lyon said unphased by the whole sight.
"Tell me something, Lyon." Gray started speaking again. "When I was prepared to freeze us both, did you expect Natsu to stop me like that?"
"No..." Lyon confused. "In fact, I never imagined him to be foolish enough to come near a spell like that."
"So you were just gonna stand there and get frozen?" Gray asked.
"Yup." Lyon nodded. "Because someone on my side would come to rescue me. You, on the other hand, would be finished for good."
"I should have known." Gray mumbled out.
"Even if I were to be encased in ice, my allies are just as devoted to the cause as I am." Lyon smirked as he told Gray. "And as long as we're on this island, they can use Moon Drip to free me."
"I was too rash." Gray said as he looked to his feet. "That means Iced Shell is completely useless here."
"Even so, you still want fight me?" Lyon asked. "Don't fool yourself. You could never defeat m-"
"That's enough." Gray interrupted Lyon's bravado.
"What!?" Lyon uncrossed his arms in confusion.
"Just give up on Deliora." Gray told him.
"What nonsense are you spewing now?" Lyon asked annoyed. "Your threats aren't working, so now you turn to begging? Your guild must have an excellent dentist to pull your fangs. Or maybe you are just a coward?"
"Lyon..." Gray started. "Listen to me. Ur is still alive." Lyon's eyes went wide at Gray's words. "Iced Shell doesn't kill the caster. It turns their body into the ice. The ice sealed around Deliora, the ice you've been trying to melt, is our master. She's not dead. She lives on as that ice." Lyon just stared at Gray with a blank expression on his face. "I'm sorry for not telling you earlier, but Ur made me promise."
Her words returned to his head. "If he found out the truth, he'd waste his life away trying to undo the spell. Then it'd be a waste of my sacrifice."
"Gray..." Lyon started walking over to Gray.
"Lyon, it's over." Gray continued. "There's no reason to go through with this any-"
He stopped talking when Lyon rammed a sword made of ice through his side. "You pathetic fool." Lyon smirked as Gray fell backwards with the sword still in him. "You're wasting your breath. I already know all that. That's not Ur. That's nothing more than a chunk of ice."
Gray rolled onto his knee and clutched his stomach in pain. "You-you knew?" He tried to stand but quickly fell back down.
"Knowing is one thing, believing is another." Lyon told prone Gray. "If you honestly believe that Ur is that iceberg, you're an even bigger fool than I thought you were."
"You knew the truth..." Gray growled out with hate in his eyes. "But you still did this?" He mustered the strength to stand as he clutched his stomach.
"So what?" Lyon missed Gray gritting his teeth. Next thing he knew, Gray punched him in the face, knocking him into the wall. "Impossible! How are you able to stand with that wound!?"
"I've had enough..." Gray growled. "I wanted to save you, but I give up now."
"You want the title of best student?" Lyon asked as he stood up. "Sorry, but I'm on a schedule and I'd rather not waste my magic energy on the likes of you."
"Then we'll just use our fists." Gray stated as he raised his.
"You want to fight me without magic?" Lyon chucked. "That's fine with me." Gray charged forward ready to strike, but Lyon calmly punched him in the wound. "Aim for your opponents weak spot and strike with everything you got. Ur taught us that, remember?"
"You don't have the right to speak her name!" Gray growled as he turned around to punch again. "And I won't let you!" He tried to punch Lyon, only to have the armored knee slam into his gut.
A Floor Below
"Get back here, you mask wearing weirdo and tell me how you fixed this temple!" Natsu shouted at Zalty who just laughed back. "If you won't tell me, then I'll just have to beat it out of you!"
Zalty stopped running and turned around, raising his hand to the ceiling. A gray magic seal appeared above his hand and a second later, a circular chunk of the ceiling began falling towards Natsu. "That's all you got!?" Natsu asked as he kicked the piece of stone into small bits. Zalty just smirked and waved his hand in front of his face and the fragments floated back up to the ceiling and reformed the hole.
"There, you have your answer." Zalty said as Natsu stared at the ceiling. "That's how I fixed the temple after you and the Green Woman so rudely tilted it."
"What kind of crazy magic is this!?" Natsu shouted to the masked man.
"If you really must know, I dabble in a brand of lost magic." Zalty explained. "Meaning that its strength and side effects are so powerful that it's nearly been completely erased from history."
"Seriously?" Natsu asked amazed.
"Your Dragon Slayer magic is no different." Zalty added before teleporting away.
"Where'd you go!?" Natsu asked annoyed. "Get back here and fight me!" He started to sprint only to trip over something. "What gives?" He looked at his feet and his eyes went wide. They had sunken into the floor and were now stuck in it.
"As you can see, my magic can also be used to trap foes." Zalty bragged as he walked out from behind a pillar.
"This ain't gonna hold me for long!" Natsu tried to raise his hands to break the stone, only to find them stuck in the floor as well. "Aw, come on!"
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to trim some trees." Zalty chuckled as he disappeared again.
Natsu tried to squirm his way out but it wasn't working. "Crap. Laki!"
Throne Room
Gray was getting beaten like a rag doll by Lyon who hardly had a scratch on him. "How pathetic." Lyon taunted. "Your fists are as weak as your magic."
Gray charged forward with his fist ready to strike, but Lyon kicked him into the wall. "You know..." Gray panted out. "the way we're fighting right now... It reminds me of someone else I use to spare with as a kid."
"This is the end!" Lyon shouted as both of them charged forward, ready to strike, but Lyon had the advantage of fewer scrapes so he launched Gray into the ice wall, making it shatter.
"Get up!" Natsu voice rang in his head as his mind wandered.
A younger Natsu was on his butt behind the guildhall, covered in scrapes. Walking over to him was a younger Gray, also scrapped up, but without a shirt on.
"Come on, get up!" Natsu taunted despite being on the ground.
"You're the one who needs to get up, not me!" Gray pointed to Natsu.
Off to the side, Makarov and a younger Erza watched with interest. Next to them, a younger Laki was covering her eyes at the damage Natsu had taken.
Both charged forward and once again, Natsu was on the ground. "Sorry, but you lose." Gray panted out. He turned around as Natsu sat up.
"Hold it." Natsu stood to up, wobbly but erect. "This fights not near over, Gray."
Gray stared at Natsu before a smirk graced his face. "If that's the way you want it..." Both roared as they charged towards each other.
Gray was panting heavily as he leaned against the cracked wall. Lyon was also painting before he smirked at the downed wizard. "I told you. You could never defeat me." He turned around and started to walk away.
"Wait." Lyon stopped when he heard Gray's voice reached his ears. He turned around to see Gray struggling to stand, but on his feet. "This fights not over yet."
"I should have sliced your throat when I had the chance!" Lyon shouted as they charged each other. They threw hooks at each other, but Gray ended up stronger, knocking Lyon into the wall behind him.
"You wanna beat me, then step up your game!" Gray shouted as Lyon charged back at him and punched him in the face. "I didn't give up against Natsu, and I won't against you!" He head butted Lyon, only to have a knee smashed into his chin, sending him reeling. "I'm not gonna lose, you hear me!" Both swung punches and kicks at each other, mirroring how Natsu and Gray fought as kids.
"I'm not gonna lose!" Natsu shouted as he took a punch to the face.
"Well, you're gonna have to, 'cause I'm gonna wanna win!" Gray shouted back.
"You're going down!" Both shouted at each other.
Gray took a punch to the gut before he tackled Lyon. "I won't lose! You're going down!"
"You can never defeat me!" Lyon shouted as Gray raised his foot in a straight kick, knocking Lyon back further.
Natsu and Gray struck each other with opposing hooks, hit each others cheeks and knocking them to the ground. Both laid on the ground panting as Laki ran over to Natsu.
'I remember looking at the sky that day.' Gray thought to himself as Lyon flew towards the wall. 'I don't know why, but it was so blue it made me angry.'
Outside the Temple
"Do you notice anything odd, Lucy?" Erza, now holding a gigantic ax, asked.
"Yeah." Lucy nodded. "Even though there are a lot of these guys, they aren't that strong in magical abilities."
"Exactly." Erza said. "By my count, there are only five wizards among them."
"Aw, that means I have to go easy on them." Happy bragged.
"Yeah, keep telling yourself that." Lucy mumbled.
"Do you think you can take care of them yourself?" Erza asked.
"Leave it to me." Lucy smirked as she pulled out one of her golden keys. "Open, Gate of the Giant Crab - Cancer!" The spirit appeared, scatting some kinda song.
"Have we met before?" Erza asked, trying to remember the Oshibana station fight.
"Indeed we have." Cancer said as he dropped to a knee and pulled out a bouquet of roses. "And as always, I'm at your service, miss."
"I though you always said baby!?" Lucy shouted in annoyance. "And what's with the miss!? And aren't you supposed to be my spirit!?"
"Someone's jealous..." Happy sing-songed out.
"I am not!" Lucy shouted at the cat. "Take 'em down, Cancer! But don't kill them, okay?"
"You got it, baby." Cancer said as he snapped his scissors. "I'll clean up this mess." He charged at the mob, scissors ready to strike.
Throne Room
"The Cold Emperor..." Lyon panted as he leaned against the ice wall. "Beaten in battle... By the likes of you... I won't stand for it!"
"Then shut up and fight." Gray told him.
Lyon glared at him before turning and raising his hand. "Ice-Make: Snow Dragon!" A dragon of ice materialized and trapped Gray in its jaw. Gray roared in pain before bringing his elbow down onto its face, shattering it and sending him flying to the other side of the room.
Gray clutched his stomach as he looked at Lyon. "I thought we agreed, no magic."
"Did you really expect me to honor a children's agreement?" Lyon asked. "This duel was pointless from the start. Deliora will be revived, and there's not a damn thing you can do about it. It's too late to stop me."
"I won't... stop... trying..." Gray said as he stood up.
"Try all you want, but Zalty is preparing the Moon Drip ceremony as we speak." Lyon bragged as he flung his cape to the side.
"Natsu won't let him." Gray smirked as Lyon stared at him. "And neither will Laki. If you underestimate those two, then you'll definitely lose."
Demons Chamber
"So bored." Laki mumbled as she whittled away on a new piece of 'art'. "I wish something would happen." She looked up at Deliora and her eyes went wide. "No, it can't be... Moonlight? But me and Natsu tilted the temple. It should be shining to the side!"
"You two may have tilted it, but I reversed all of the damage." Laki turned around to see Zalty smirking. "And now, Deliora will be revived."
"Not if I can help it!" Laki ran over, brandishing her 'art', but Zalty just raised his hand and the peice turned to dust. "What the?" She took her eyes off Zalty, allowing him to kick her back.
"I'm afraid your magic is useless against me." Zalty said as he jumped up to an elevated platform, above Laki. "Unfortunately, the Moon Drip isn't very powerful since there's only one person doing the ceremony."
"One person?" Laki asked. "There was a whole cult doing it last night."
"I'm afraid they're preoccupied with your friends." Zalty explained as water started pouring off the ice. "But it doesn't matter, we've already gathered plenty of moonlight. We just need to give it a little nudge to finish the job, like this." He waved his hand and a large portion of the ice melted. "Deliora will be revived, and there's nothing you can do about it."
"Sorry, but that won't happen." Laki said. "Gray is gonna beat Lyon, I'm gonna beat you, and Natsu will beat up whoever is doing the ceremony."
"I wouldn't count on Salamanders assistance." Zalty smirked. "After he and I had a little talk, I took him out of the fight."
"You what?" Laki shouted. "You must have cheated! There's no way Natsu could ever lose to someone like you!"
"Oh, did I strike a cord with you, Green Woman?" Zalty asked, making Laki blush.
"S-Shut up!" She shouted before turning around and running to the exit. "I gotta help Natsu."
Zalty raised his hand and a circular chunk of the ceiling fell, blocking Laki's path. "I'm afraid you're not going anywhere." Zalty said as he walked over to the edge of his platform. "I've always wanted to kill a maker mage, and now you've given me the perfect chance."
Outside the Temple
"Well done." Erza told Lucy as the defeated layed around them. "Now let's head to the temple."
"Wait..." Lucy spun around and came face to face with an older cult member being supported by a younger member. "We won't let you interfere with the Cold Emperor..."
"Those headpieces..." Erza observed. "You people are from the city of Brago. And you want revenge."
Demons Chamber
"Ha ha ha!" Zalty laughed in triumph as the ice around Deliora melted faster.
"Wood-Make: Harvester of Souls!" Laki shouted as she ran over and tried to slice the masked man, only to have him jump out of the way.
"Are you sure you want to use maker magic against me?" Zalty asked as he waved his hand and the scythe turned to dust.
"It's the only way I know how to fight!" Laki shouted as she used her Violent Approach spell to send spiked balls at Zalty.
"I'm starting to think it was a mistake trapping Salamander." Zalty said as he turned the balls to dust. "With his fire magic, he might have actually helped the ice melt fast."
"Shut up about Natsu!" Laki shouted as she tried to punch Zalty in the face, only to have him dodge the fist. "Besides, if it could be melted with fire magic, you wouldn't have gone to all this trouble. Keep bluffing, but once Natsu breaks free, he'll stop the Moon Drip and put an end to your scheme."
"You sure seem to have a lot of faith in someone who views you as a replacement." Zalty said, kicking Laki back.
"What?" Laki asked as she skidded back.
"I know all about the death two years ago at your guild." Zalty bragged. "She was closer to Salamander then you can ever hope to be, and he's just using you to take her place."
"Shut up!" Laki shouted in anger as she charged her magic and unleashed a flurry of wood-make spells at the masked man, who just waved his hand and turned it all to dust. "Wood-Make:" Laki started to cast another spell, but dropped to a knee due to a lack of magic power. "Damn it, why now?"
"Ha ha haha!" Zalty started laughing. "I knew I could trick you into using all your magic! Now this is going to be so much easier." The whole temple then shock as the ice around Deliora melted faster.
Throne Room
"I don't like this." Gray said as the temple shock. "That didn't sound like Laki or Natsu."
"The ceremony is finally nearing completion." Lyon smirked as blood trickled from his lip. "The ice around Deliora is melting away."
'Ur...' Gray thought in horror.
"There's nothing you can do now." Lyon said. "I told you you couldn't defeat me. And now you and your friends have failed." He swung his arm and a frozen mist surrounded him. "How long I've waited for this moment... For ten years I've been gathering knowledge and recruiting followers. Eventually, I found this place: an island where you can collect moonlight. Galuna."
He raised his hand and frozen eagles rose from the mist and flew towards Gray. "It wasn't easy transporting Deliora from Brago. And the Moon Drip has taken three years."
"You mean you've wasted thirteen years of your life on this stupid dream!?" Gray shouted as he raised his hands and created his shield, blocking the birds from hitting him.
"Stupid!?" Lyon was infuriated as his magic power raged around him. "How dare you mock me, you who spent the last ten years in some guild, peddling your life away!?" A massive eagle rose in front of him and sailed towards Gray, who jumped out of the away.
"Because I put my faith into Ur's words!" Gray shouted as Lyon remembered her words.
"In the western countries, there are a lot more wizards who are more powerful than me." Ur said.
"So I went west, and found myself in Fairy Tail. She was right, the guild was so full of powerful wizards I couldn't believe it." Gray told Lyon.
10 Years Ago
Fairy Tail Guildhall
"I'm afraid I can't help you with that." Makarov told a young Gray who had hoped to find a way to revive Ur. "The Iced Shell is based on the will of its caster will. And since that will is absolute, a third party cannot melt the ice."
"You're telling me with all these amazing wizards here, you can't do it?" Gray asked.
"Hmm, there is one way..." Makarov started before shaking his head. "On second though, that's not a good idea. Melting the ice practically means your killing your master."
"Now that I think about it, the master was probably thinking about the Moon Drip." Gray said as he glared at Lyon. "I'm really disappointed to learn that after everything she did for us, you'd kill her without a thought. You make me sick."
"I don't really care about how you feel." Lyon said back. "I have lived for this day. Our master is long dead, so as her students, what can we do to surpass her!? Think Gray!?" He raised his hand and coated it in an ice gauntlet that looked like a wolfs head before launching towards Gray, swinging wildly. "Deliora is the only way! I will surpass her by beating what she could not!"
"I admit it's ambitious..." Gray said as he dodged the wolf's head. "But I think you've missed the point along the way!" He raised his hand and swung an ice sword, shattering the gauntlet. "Someone as blind as you could never surpass Ur, not in a hundred years! Wake up, Lyon!" He swung his blade, shattering another clone.
"Fooled you, didn't I?" Lyon asked from behind Gray as he created another seal. "Ice-Make: Snow Tiger!" A massive tiger of ice exited the seal and leaped towards Gray.
Gray just stared at the tiger before jumping above and slamming his hands together. "Ice-Make: Prison!" He shouted as a cell of ice trapped the tiger beneath him as he flipped to the other side. "You see this, Lyon? This is what you are. A pitiful beast lashing out against a world he doesn't know."
"Complete nonsense!" Lyon shouted as he waved his hand. "I'll make quick work of that cage of yours." The tiger tried to force its way out but couldn't break the cage. "What?"
"Single handed spell casting is unbalanced." Gray said as he jumped from the top of the cage. "Your creations will only let you down when you need them the most." He slammed his hands together and crafted a shoulder mounted cannon. "Ice-Make: Ice Cannon!" He pulled the trigger and launched concentrated ice at Lyon.
"You won't beat me!" Lyon shouted. "Ice-Make: Ape!" He crafted his creature in front of him, but the blast of ice forced through it and blasted Lyon, destroying the wall behind him.
"Ur taught us that, remember?" Gray asked as the cannon dissipated. Lyon was too weak to answer and collapsed to the ground. Gray sighed before clutching his stomach in pain. "I should have sealed this wound up sooner." He said as he coated his chest in ice. He looked out the window as a deafening roar shook the temple and created waves on the sea.
The Floor Below
"Its so loud!" Natsu complained since he couldn't cover his ear. "I gotta help Laki." He tried to break out but the stone wasn't budging. "Come on, Natsu. If you can melt glass, you can melt this." He concentrated his flames to his limbs and soon the stone turned a molten red and he pulled his body parts free. "Alright." He stood up and started sprinting. "Now, just follow that guy's scent. Hang on, Laki!"
Demons Chamber
"Ow!" Laki covered her ears as Deliora's eyes glowed red and the ice around his face cracked, letting it raise its head. Laki looked up and stared in horror at the revived demon.
"Yes! It's free!" Zalty shouted in triumph as Deliora let out another roar. "It's finally free!"
Throne Room
Gray stared at the roof as the second roar shook the temple. "I could never forget that sound..." He muttered as he clutched his fist.
"Deliora..." Lyon whispered from his back.
'They did it?' Gray asked himself. 'They actually revived Deliora? I have no choice then. I have to use Iced Shell.'
Temple Lobby
"What was that noise?" Lucy asked Erza. "Sounded like some kind of monster."
"Maybe it was just your stomach, Lucy." Happy suggested. "It's been a while since you've eaten."
"I know you just kidding, but that's really annoying." Lucy said as she glared at the cat.
"Do you think that sound might be this Deliora everyone seems to talk about?" Erza asked, not having seen the monster.
"But that would mean... They brought it back to life!" Lucy shouted in fear.
"Hey! I've seen that light before." Happy shouted pointing to the purple seal on the floor. "That's the Moon Drip."
A second roar shook the temple again, leaving Lucy petrified. "It must be..." Erza mumbled to herself.
"Lucy, you really need to eat something." Happy said.
"And you need to shut up before I hurt you." Lucy snapped back.
"That may be the demons roar, but the Moon Drip ritual is still going on." Erza interrupted their squabble to explain. "Which means Deliora is not revived just yet, so we still have a chance. Let's go!" She sprinted towards the stairs going up, leaving Lucy confused.
"Erza! Deliora's below us!" Lucy shouted to the red head.
"If we can stop the Moon Drip, we can stop the revival!" Erza shouted back. "Hurry!"
Demons Chamber
"This is bad." Laki said as she backed away from the demon. "I've got to go find Natsu." She turned around and got smacked in the face by a lacrima orb that flew over to Zalty.
"You're not going anywhere, my little Green Woman." Zalty chuckled as the orb hovered around him. "I told you I've wanted to kill a maker mage, and I'm not about to let the opportunity go to waste." He sent the orb flying towards Laki.
"Fine. I'll just take you out first." Laki said as she channeled what little magic she had left. "Wood-Make: Violent Approach!" She created a spike ball that shattered the orb on impact. Zalty raised his hand and the orb repaired itself and slammed into Laki's gut. "I thought I broke it."
"I have the ability to manipulate an objects time." Zalty explained. "Meaning I can take the crystal back in time to before it was destroyed."
"So that's how you destroyed my spells." Laki said as she clutched her stomach. "I've never heard of any magic that can do that."
"The Arc of Time is categorized as a lost magic." Zalty continued. "As such, it's extremely rare and quite powerful. Why don't we see what happens when I throw this crystal ball into the future?" The orb flew past Laki, who looked over and was struck from every angle by multiple orbs. "Infinite Sphere!"
Laki cried out in pain before crafting her scythe and sliced the orb in half. The orb repaired itself and slammed into the back of her head. "Your wood won't help you." Zalty said as the orb flew back towards Laki.
"Shut up!" Laki swung her scythe as the orb moved closer, but the orb stopped moving. "It stopped in midair?"
"Yes, I can also freeze an object in time." Zalty bragged as he rotted the scythe into dust.
"Honestly, I'd be more scared if it could work on humans." Laki said as the orb flew back towards Zalty.
"That's one of its limitations." Zalty said. "It doesn't work on sentient beings. Since Ur turned herself into the ice around Deliora, I can't simply turn back the time on that ice to its pre-frozen state. That's why we're using the Moon Drip."
"Hey, I got a question." Laki spoke up as Deliora's torso began to squirm around. "Why are you doing this? You guys are working hard to revive this demon, only for Lyon to get a boost in ego for killing Deliora. What are you guys gonna get out of it?"
"I just recently joined them, so I can't say for the others." Zalty answered.
"So, why are you doing this?" Laki asked as she wiped her mouth. "What are you gonna get out of this?"
"Straight to the point, eh? I like that." Zalty said before he started laughing. "The Cold Emperor is nothing but a twit with an over inflated view of himself. He's no match for Deliora. That's where I come in."
"But if he can't beat it, we're in big trouble. Unless you plan on defeating it yourself." Laki said.
"Don't be stupid." Zalty said back. "I want to control it." Laki's eye went wide in horror as Zalty continued. "You see, there are powerful spells that let the caster control powerful monsters like this one. With one spell, I'd be the most powerful man in the world because I'd have a demon at my beck and call."
"Wow, that's a lame answer." Laki said back as Zalty stared at her. "I'm sorry I asked. People won't be scared of you, they'll be scared of the demon. You won't be any stronger than you are now."
"I suppose you're too young to understand right now." Zalty chuckled. "But one day you'll realize just how much power means in this world."
Laki channeled her magic as she entered her maker stance. "I've got all the power I need. Because all my friends at Fairy Tail have my back."
"Vanity will ruin that pretty little body of yours." Zalty smirked as he raised his hand to the ceiling. "Ceiling, accelerate thy time and crumble!" The ceiling began to crumble as chunks of stone fell from it.
"I've had it with you and your friends vandalizing this island for stupid reasons!" Laki shouted as the rocks fell around her, kicking dust of the ground. "It's time I put a stop to it!" From the dust cloud shot a spike ball that tore through the orbs before bouncing off the walls.
"How many times do I have to tell you?" Zalty asked. "Your maker magic is useless against me!" He waved his hands, but the ball did not rot away. "What the?"
The ball bounced around before it flew towards Zalty and struck him, sending him spiraling of the platform and into the water. The ball stopped moving and a magic seal appeared behind it, letting Laki fall out. Just as she was about to hit the ground...
"Laki!" Natsu ran in and caught her. "You okay there, Laki?"
"I'm fine." Laki told him, enjoying the feel of his chest on her back. "I just can't believe it work."
"Hey, where is that mask wearing, perfume smelling freak?" Natsu looked around before noticing Deliora. "Holy crap! It's nearly free!"
"Calm down, Natsu." Laki told him. "I thought you took care of it."
Temple Roof
Erza slashed her sword at Toby and knocked him out, ending the Moon Drip ceremony.
"Yay! The Moon Drip should stop now." Lucy cheered as the spell faded away.
"So, this guy was doing it all by himself?" Happy asked as he walked over to the downed dog man.
"Too late!" Toby snapped up. "It's done, you failed. The ritual is done!"
Erza's eyes went wide as a green beam of energy shot out of the temple as a new roar shock the island to its core.
Demons Chamber
Natsu, Laki, and a badly hurt Gray looked in horror as Deliora stood up, free from its icy prison.
He's baack. Now, I know Laki's strategy for beating Zalty seemed strange, but I've seen and read nothing that says she can't merge with anything she creates. Besides, how cliche would it have been to have Natsu run in and save her? Please review, it's how I can improve my stories and learn what you want in this story. Next chapter is the end of this arc. Happy New Year!
Beta read by digemsmack.