Erza guided Lucy and Happy through the forest into a small clearing just ahead of the temple. They were searching for Gray, who had long since run ahead of the group. Lucy tilted her head upon seeing the ruins through the trees, matching the tilt of the structure.
"Um, is it just me or does the temple look a little crooked?"
"What happened to it?" Happy asked, mimicking Lucy's motion.
"This must be Chaos's work. Who else would do something in such an unsightly manner?"
"Remind me again why we need to be here? Clearly Natsu nor Gray need our help since they both left us in the dust." Lucy whined, flopping down onto the dirt.
"Yeah!" Happy floated onto Lucy's head.
Before Erza could respond, heavy bristling came from the surrounding jungle. Erza was the first to react, kicking Lucy and Happy away as spinning blades rained down on the spot the pair sat moments earlier. With a yelp, Lucy tumbled into a rock, Happy landed on top of her. She grabbed her keys as a large brigade of masked fighters emerged from the bushes; weapons drawn.
"We've finally found you, Fairy Tail. We will not allow you to interfere in the Cold Emperor's plans!"
"Lyon's minions?" Lucy summoned Taurus and unclipped the whip from her belt as Erza requipped a gleaming rapier. And a battle broke out.
Meanwhile, Natsu exited the temple unsatisfied with the outcome of his encounter with Lyon. He quickly ran into Gray, who was charging towards the ruins at top speed.
"Chaos! What happened in there?" The ice mage skidded to a stop in front of his senior.
"Knocked some sense into your little friend."
"Really?" Gray looked at Chaos with disbelief. How does he do this so easily? Gray looked at the tilted ruins in front of them and scowled. "Lyon's not gonna stop, Chaos. The minute he has enough strength to stand he'll be right back with his lackeys and Deliora will be freed. Ur will die." Natsu glanced back at the crumbling structure and frowned.
"So, she's not dead?" The dragon slayer raised a brow. His icy companion shook his head.
"After I made the stupidest mistake of my life and challenged Deliora, my master used Iced Shell to seal him away. A spell that turns the castor's body into an unmeltable ice, trapping their opponent in a cold, eternal prison."
"Interesting. Ah, that might change things..." Chaos replied, scratching the back of his head. Suddenly, the ground below them began to tremble, the temple beside them reverting to its original upright position. "Shit."
The two Fairy Tail wizards rushed into the temple. Lyon was up and pissed, Zalty having returned to his side.
"Let us begin the Moon Drip Ceremony, Cold Emperor."
"I can't tell if this move is bold or cocky. You fixed the temple?"
"An opportunity I had to take while the great Chaos Dragon was preengaged." Zalty snickered as he teleported himself and Lyon out of the ruins.
"Lyon..." Gray clenched his fist.
"Come on, Fullbuster." Natsu shot off in a direction as Gray hastily trailed.
"You know where they went?"
"I've got a good nose," Natsu shrugged. "And the small one smells like a Boscan whore."
"Huh."
"Cancer!" Lucy shouted, turning a golden key. A crab-man materialised and cut down a wave of soldiers with a large pair of scissors.
"This feels suspiciously easy," Erza observed. "Are there no wizards among this group?"
The two fairies and their furry companion easily managed to wipe out the small army. Even Happy became a bit of a menace, dropping rotten fish on unsuspecting enemies and snickering as he did so. The few enemy mages hidden in the horde were no match for the great Titania, and Lucy's spirits had no trouble mowing down any persistent stragglers.
The calm after the storm didn't last long, however. Before the trio could plan their next move, the ground began to tremble.
"What's happening?"
"This can't be good." Erza drew her sword as a deafening roar sounded throughout the island. Lucy and Happy dropped to the ground immediately, hands flying over their ears. Erza's gaze narrowed in the direction of the disturbance.
"What the hell was that?"
Natsu and Gray burst into the cave just in time to see the last drop of Moon Drip fall onto the frozen demon.
"What did you do?!" Gray shouted, forming a blade of ice.
"Fuck- who's doing the ceremony?" Natsu seethed, having completely overlooked the missing dogman.
"Hahaha, you're too late Fairy Tail! The time is upon-" Zalty was cut off by a flaming fist to the face and was sent spiralling into the stone wall of the cave.
"What is it with you fuckers and monologuing?" Natsu growled, shaking the cinders from his hand.
"This is it. I've finally won. After all these years, transporting Deliora from Brago, gathering allies and knowledge. It has finally paid off. Three years alone of concentrating moon power, thank you for your noble sacrifice, Galuna!" Lyon cackled and rejoiced as he directed a cluster of ice shards towards his childhood comrade.
"You wasted three years of your life on this pointless crap? That's a new level of stupid!" Gray blocked Lyon's attack with an icy shield, both spells cancelling the other out.
"Pointless? How dare you? What have you done differently, spending ten years playing house in some light guild?" Lyon got back into ice-make stance, waiting for an opening on his opponent. Gray barrelled forward, thrusting a blade of ice at Lyon who dodged with ease, swinging a newly formed weapon of his own at Gray.
Agh, talk about dramatic. Natsu thought. The two ice-makers battled tenaciously in front of the rising monster as the Chaos Dragon troubleshooted the situation. Deliora's icy prison was melting quickly, and everyone around him was stupid. Zalty was out cold, and surely Gray had enough will to overpower his already injured opponent. But what of the demon?
Lyon was getting angrier with every blow. His attacks had dropped from strategic placements to blind firing. Gray easily deflected every heartless strike with an ice wall, sending Lyon into a bigger fit of rage.
"Why won't you let me do what needs to be done?!" The Cold Emperor shouted.
"I put my faith in what Ur told us, Lyon..."
"In the western countries, there are a ton of wizards stronger than me. Maybe one day you'll see for yourselves."
"I went west! And I found Fairy Tail. I found out what Ur said was right, there are a ton of wizards stronger than her."
"I'm sorry, boy. I don't think I can help you. Iced Shell is based on the will of its castor. That will is absolute, and an outsider cannot melt the ice."
"Seriously? You have all these strong wizards and you're telling me not one can free my master?"
"There may be plenty ways... but if you were to melt that ice, you'd be killing her. Why don't you come back with me? My guild is a warm place to stay."
"I don't need warmth."
"Everyone needs warmth, my boy."
"You could've been there with me, Lyon. We could've grown stronger and surpassed Ur the right way, together! The fact that you'd kill her for some twisted superiority complex-prompted fantasy makes me sick."
"Talk all you want, I don't care! My entire life has led me to this moment. The moment where I will kill Deliora, surpassing Ur once and for all!"
"You're sick!"
The ground began to tremble, and both mages went rigid.
"Sorry to interrupt this reconciliation, but Deliora's free." Natsu sighed and pointed at the monster as it let out an ear-splitting roar.
"Yes!"
"No!"
Time seemed to halt as those conscious in the room watched the monster begin to pull itself out of its remaining confinements. Lyon slowly rose to his feet, a manic grin spreading across his face but doing little to mask the copious amount of fear in his eyes. The commotion seemed to wake Zalty as well, the small man sat up on the floor and stared at the demon. Natsu couldn't get a read on his emotions.
Then there was Gray. Natsu's focus shifted just in time to see his junior reposition into a stance he didn't recognise. But the sudden surge in magic energy was evident, and it sure as hell wasn't coming from the Cold Emperor, who remained paralysed.
"I will seal Deliora." Gray spoke softly as mana ridden icy mist began to rise around him. Every nerve inside Natsu convulsed as a cold blue magic seal appeared beneath Gray, and he spoke the words of a spell Natsu had only recently learnt of. "Iced Shell."
The cavern went black. All became silent. The cold air thinned, and the mist began to part.
Mist? No, steam.
Visibility was restored to reveal the Chaos Dragon standing in front of his guildmate, covered in flame as he tightly grasped the ice user's arm, effectively cancelling the reckless spell.
"Chaos!" Gray shouted, dropping to punch the floor in a fit of wrath.
"Are you stupid?" Natsu grilled, inspecting the symptoms of frostbite on his own hand.
"Are you?" Gray rounded on the dragon slayer. "You just ruined the one chance we had at stopping this!"
"How's dying gonna settle it? This is a demon of Zeref. He can resurrect. You're gonna kill yourself for nothing."
"You-"
"Lord… Zeref…" The deep, booming voice of the demon rumbled into reality. Tremors reverberated through the cave at the new sound. Everything froze.