Deliora Dies!

"Smash!"

"Ice-Make: Infinite Blade Leaves!"

After driving back Deliora's attack once again, Gildarts and Ur stood side by side, staring solemnly at the enemy before them.

Deliora stood ahead of them, seemingly unharmed. Carlton Hines and the Dark Magic Group's priest, Yaroc, stood on the roof beside it, watching the battle between Deliora and Gildarts without expression.

Even Gildarts and Ur were panting after fighting Deliora for some time. The pressure Deliora placed on them was simply too great—not to mention that two Ten Saints-level mages were watching them from the side.

At that moment, Laxus's Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Roaring Thunder drew everyone's attention on the battlefield. Then, after Asmodeus's voice fell silent, Gildarts and Ur were invigorated. They knew Allen and Laxus had defeated their opponents.

"Ur, we can't let the younger generation look down on us!"

"Yeah! You're right! Let's get serious!"

After their brief battle together, both of them understood the other's fighting style. The brawny Gildarts was stronger in close combat than at range, while Ur's ranged abilities far surpassed her melee skills, so they divided their roles smoothly.

"Ice Make: Spinning Great Lilies!"

Several lily-shaped ice constructs suddenly appeared around Deliora. They spun rapidly around it at astonishing speed. These lilies seemed to possess a life of their own, continuously firing razor-sharp ice leaves at Deliora. Each leaf shimmered with a chilling gleam.

However, faced with this airtight assault, Deliora remained completely unmoved. It did not pay much attention to the attacks, merely waving its hands casually, as though those lethal ice leaves were nothing more than soft snowflakes. A crisp cracking sound rang out, and all the lilies turned into countless fragments that scattered across the ground in the blink of an eye.

By then, Gildarts had already taken advantage of the opening and rushed to Deliora's front. Deliora naturally sensed the threat at such close range. Its sharp claws, which had been hanging loosely at its sides, suddenly stretched out. With a fierce rush of wind, they raked toward Gildarts at lightning speed.

While sprinting forward, Gildarts swiftly raised both hands high. Blinding magical light bloomed from his palms. With a low roar, he shouted, "Disassemble!" The claws striking toward him instantly broke apart into a cluster of tiny, delicate chicken feet.

Although he had successfully resolved the crisis before him, Gildarts knew perfectly well that this disassembly magic could not last long. Therefore, he did not dare relax for even a moment. He quickened his steps and continued closing in on Deliora.

Just as Gildarts was about to reach Deliora, it suddenly opened its enormous mouth and spat a stream of black flames toward him.

Gildarts reacted by nimbly dodging to the side. However, despite his swift response, he still failed to evade the black flames completely. The edge of the fire grazed his left arm. In the next second, a piercing pain shot through him. Gildarts lowered his head and saw that his left arm had been badly burned, the flesh around the wound turned inside out. He could only temporarily use his magic to suppress the injury.

At that moment, Ur, who had been waiting for an opportunity nearby, seized the opening. She formed a hand seal, then shouted, "Ice Make: Ice Prison!" Before her voice had even faded, the ground began to shake violently. A massive, hollow-centered block of ice rose from the earth like a towering iceberg. In the blink of an eye, Deliora was firmly trapped inside the enormous ice prison.

But Deliora clearly would not remain imprisoned so easily. It swung its sharp claws with all its strength and slammed them into the ice trapping it. With a crisp crack, the incredibly sturdy ice prison began to develop fine fractures, which spread rapidly across its surface.

Gildarts knew he could not let this opportunity slip away. During the opening, he quickly drew a deep breath, struggling to steady his disordered breathing from the injury. Once he had readjusted himself, he charged forward again like an arrow leaving the bow. This time, he concentrated all the magic in his body into his right fist. The instant the ice prison shattered, he leaped high into the air and roared, "Ura Hades: One Heaven!"

With that roar, Gildarts's right fist carried tremendous force as it slammed into Deliora's body.

With a thunderous boom, a massive, horrifying hole was blasted through Deliora's abdomen. After punching through Deliora's body, the spiral-shaped attack, which possessed tremendous penetrating power, destroyed the street and houses ahead of Gildarts.

After suffering such a devastating blow, Deliora let out a pained howl and staggered as it began to fall.

Just as Deliora was about to hit the ground, Carlton Hines moved. He raised a hand lightly, and magic of the same origin as Deliora's flowed into its body. Deliora's listless aura instantly recovered, while its wound began healing at a visible speed.

Gildarts and Ur's expressions changed at the same time.

"Hmph. Did you really think you could defeat my masterpiece so easily?" Carlton Hines sneered.

Ur gritted her teeth and formed another hand seal. "Ice Make: White Rose Garden!"

A road of ice formed beneath Ur's feet and extended toward the house where Carlton was standing at astonishing speed. In the blink of an eye, the ice road reached the building. The instant it touched the house, it underwent a tremendous transformation.

Exquisite ice constructs resembling real roses sprang up from the rooftop beneath Carlton and Yaroc like mushrooms after rain. The petals of the ice roses formed spirals and gleamed with a cold light. As though alive, they thrust fiercely toward the two men.

Facing Ur's assault, Carlton snorted. "You actually think you can take on the two of us alone? Do you think we're pushovers? You really have underestimated us!" At the same time, Yaroc, wearing an iron mask, thrust his staff forward. Magic shimmered at its tip, and in an instant, a magical barrier appeared from thin air, firmly shielding him and Carlton within.

Ur's attacks crashed against the magical barrier, bursting into countless dazzling sparks, yet they could not break through its solid defense. Yaroc, however, did not stop there. He manipulated his staff and abruptly fired several magic bullets containing immense energy toward Ur.

Seeing this, Ur slapped both hands against the ground and shouted, "Ice Make: Shield!"

As her voice fell, a thick ice shield rose in response and stood firmly before her. The several energy bullets smashed into the shield, each one piercing into it. Even so, the energy bullets failed to break through the shield's defense.

Thus, Gildarts searched for an opportunity to kill Deliora in one strike, while Ur kept Carlton and Yaroc occupied. Deliora was somewhat too slow when facing a warrior with maximum mobility, so Carlton could only keep constant watch over its condition to prevent Gildarts from killing it instantly. Yaroc, meanwhile, did not want to reveal too many of his trump cards here and continued holding back. The two sides remained locked in a stalemate until Allen arrived with Ultear on his back, accompanied by Laxus.

When Gildarts and Ur saw Allen and Laxus arrive, delight appeared on their faces. Carlton and Yaroc, however, furrowed their brows. They had not expected Asmodeus to lose so quickly. Judging by the current strength of Allen's group of four, Deliora would not be able to hold out. The calculating Carlton and Yaroc exchanged a glance and understood each other's intentions. While Allen and Laxus had only just arrived and had yet to launch an attack, Carlton and Yaroc instantly withdrew from the battlefield.

Allen did not stop them. The most urgent task now was to eliminate Deliora, then quell the chaos in Irkutsk.

At that moment, Ultear poked her head out and asked Ur curiously, "Mom, where are your clothes?"

"Huh? When did that happen?"

Only then did Ur realize that she was wearing nothing but her undergarments. At some point, the rest of her clothes had been removed by Ur.

Allen saw Ur's clothes lying nearby. He walked over and handed them to Ur, returning Ultear to her at the same time. Then he said, "Leave the rest to us. Ur, go rest on the side for now."

Holding Ultear and her clothes, Ur nodded somewhat blankly. Although she did not know why Allen's arrival meant she no longer had to fight, she had no objections to spending more time with Ultear.

Allen and Laxus walked over beside Gildarts. Allen grinned and whispered to him, "Old man, you saw someone taking off her clothes and didn't even remind her? You really got an eyeful!"

Gildarts instantly flushed red. "I was fighting too! How was I supposed to pay attention to clothes? Besides, I thought it would make Ur stronger!" As he spoke, Gildarts grew increasingly indignant.

Allen said with a laugh, "I'm curious. If your daughter found out you were this kind of father, I wonder what she'd think."

Gildarts replied casually, "I'll worry about that after I have a daughter."

Allen chuckled without saying anything. Just as Gildarts was about to continue, Laxus interrupted them. "You two, Deliora is looking this way."

"Then let's kill it!"

Allen instantly used Full Body Reception: LordKnightmon and charged forward. Gildarts and Laxus followed close behind.

Deliora seemed to possess the power of a Ten Saints-level mage, but that was mainly because of its abnormal defense and high magic resistance. Its attack power was actually average. Now that Allen and Gildarts, who possessed overwhelming offensive power, were here alongside the rapidly growing Laxus, Deliora failed to resist for even three minutes before Allen pierced its head with Gram.