Zero Emperor

Natsu protested, "How do you know I can't beat him?!"

"You just can't! If I say you can't, then you can't!"

"Hah! Looking down on me, huh?! Wanna fight?!"

"Yeah! You think I'm scared of you? Let's fight!"

Ye Yang promptly flicked each of them on the forehead.

Thump! Thump!

"Ow! That hurt!"

"Enough, you two. Especially you, Gray. Ever since you saw that guy, your heart hasn't been calm for a second."

"And you want to take on an S-Class Mission like this? You'd have died who knows how many times already."

Gray could not say a word in response to Ye Yang, because Ye Yang was right.

"Remember, you're not who you used to be. You've grown up. He may have been your childhood nightmare, but no one can stay trapped in their own nightmare forever. Modeling Magic is a magic of freedom. Are you free right now?"

"Maybe you think that guy is an unbeatable enemy, but to me, he's just a slightly stronger monster."

"When you feel scared or afraid, look around you. You're not alone. They'll be your strongest support. That's what companions mean."

Gray looked around at everyone. Seeing their smiling faces, his panicked heart gradually settled down.

"And one more thing: I'm not even dead yet, so what the hell are you panicking for?"

Everyone looked at Ye Yang with exasperation.

Lucy complained speechlessly, "That was such a touching moment, and then you went and ruined it."

Gray kept imagining a battle between Ye Yang and Deliora. No matter how he pictured it, Ye Yang always seemed to win in the end. After all, Ye Yang was the strongest wizard he had ever seen, without question—a monster among monsters.

"Sorry for making you worry."

Thus, they began waiting for the so-called moonlight to gather.

After resting for several hours, it became the first half of the night. Outside, the moon had already risen directly overhead, and the purple moon could be seen through the opening in the cave.

Suddenly, the cave shook violently, startling everyone awake.

A beam of moonlight shone down onto Deliora's head, falling upon Deliora's body.

To everyone's astonishment, the ice sealing Deliora began to melt.

Gray cried out in disbelief, "How can this be?! Ur sealed it with her life! How could it possibly melt?!"

Lucy said, "Are they trying to unseal Deliora?!"

Gray snarled, "Damn it! Whoever it is, how dare they defile my master's name! I'll kill them!"

Natsu looked around but saw no one causing trouble. Then he suddenly spotted a stone staircase along the nearby wall.

"Everyone, look! There are stairs over there! Those bastards must be hiding up there!"

Natsu immediately charged toward the stairs. Seeing this, Gray also ran in their direction.

Lucy wanted to call the two of them back, worried that it might be dangerous, but neither of them heard her.

"Seriously, they're both exactly the same!"

"Ye Yang, what do we do?"

"Relax, Lucy. Those people up there are just a bunch of nobodies. Those two won't be in danger."

As he spoke, Ye Yang slowly walked toward the stairs as well, with Lucy and Happy hurriedly following after him.

"Wait for me, Ye Yang!"

"Aye~"

Soon, the group reached the upper level. Several wizards dressed in black robes stood there, continuously chanting some kind of spell. The magic circle beneath them flashed with light.

As they chanted, moonlight was continually drawn down and fell upon Deliora below.

Seeing this, Gray roared, "Damn it, so it was these people! Do they even know what they're doing?!"

Just as Gray was about to rush out and deal with them, Ye Yang reminded him again, "More people are coming."

Natsu hurriedly pulled Gray back.

Everyone looked over and saw a person wearing a horned helmet, followed by the three people they had seen below.

"Ahh~ We searched everywhere, but we still couldn't find the intruders."

Sherry stared at the person ahead with a lovestruck expression.

"Lord Zero Emperor, we discovered intruders several hours ago, but we couldn't find them no matter what. Perhaps they've already left. Now I won't be able to show my love!"

The man called Zero Emperor slowly spoke. "Oh? Intruders? Don't concern yourselves with them. They're merely a group of nobodies. Our priority now is to unseal this monster. Our dream is about to come true!"

"Don't let such trivial matters affect our mood afterward."

"Yes, Lord Zero Emperor! Oh~ This is all for love!"

When Gray heard Zero Emperor's voice, it somehow sounded familiar. But when he thought of Deliora, he found it impossible to believe.

The moment Natsu saw the boss appear, he could no longer suppress his battle-hungry heart.

"Argh! I haven't fought even once since we got here! Does this even count as an S-Class Mission?!"

Gray tried to stop Natsu, who was about to charge out, but the earlier incident had distracted him. Natsu rushed out directly.

"Idiot, come back! You'll be discovered!!"

Zero Emperor and the others were startled by Natsu's sudden appearance. They never imagined that the intruders they had searched for all this time had been right beside them.

Yuka hurriedly said, "Quick, capture this intruder!"

Natsu looked at the enemies before him with excitement. "So you're the ones who brought the curse to the villagers below, huh? Watch me send you flying!"

Fire Dragon's Roar!

A fierce blast of flames shot straight toward Zero Emperor and the others.

Seeing the oncoming flames, Yuka immediately unleashed his magic.

Wave Barrier!

A pale blue shield instantly appeared before them. The moment Natsu's flames touched the barrier, they scattered into the air.

Natsu stared at them in shock. He had never expected his magic to fail to harm them at all.

Gray and Lucy, who had been hiding nearby, hurriedly ran out. They had also seen how easily the enemy had neutralized Natsu's flames, forcing them to become more cautious.

Yuka looked at Ye Yang, who slowly emerged from the side, then glanced at the guild marks on them.

"You're from the Fairy Tail guild?"

Zero Emperor said coldly, "It seems the people from the village below called them here. We shouldn't have left those villagers alive back then."

Gray glared fiercely at Zero Emperor and roared, "Bastard! Do you even know what you're doing, Lyon?!"

Lucy asked, "Gray, you know this guy too?!"

Zero Emperor slowly removed his mask.

"Of course I know him. He is my beloved junior disciple, after all. Isn't that right, Gray?"