That night, a sudden, thunderous crash jolted everyone awake.
"Waaaah!"
Natsu startled and rolled off his wooden bed, slamming face-first into the floor. He clutched his nose, still bleary-eyed but tense all over.
"Wh-what happened?! Are we under attack? Is there a fight?!"
"Aye~" Happy sat up beside the bed, rubbing his eyes with a disgusted look. "Natsu, you got your drool all over me."
"What on earth was that noise..." Lucy sat up groggily too, rubbing her temples.
Blanc sat up on his wooden bed and shook his foggy head, quickly regaining his senses.
Only Gray was already standing off to one side, his face dark. He pointed overhead and shouted a warning.
"Shut up, you guys! Look up!"
Only then did everyone raise their heads.
At some point, the ceiling above Deliora had split open. A powerful, circular beam of light poured through the gap, shining straight onto Deliora's head.
Gray had already rushed beneath the ice. He looked up toward the source of the moonlight, his body taut.
"It's started! Those people must be behind the moonlight over Deliora!"
"Let's head up!" Gray turned around. "We need to find where the moonlight's coming from!"
"Yeah! Just what I wanted!" Natsu instantly flared with fighting spirit.
Everyone charged up the stairs to one side. When they reached the main entrance they had come through, they found that a large hole had opened in the center of the temple too.
But the source of the moonlight was even higher, so they kept climbing toward the temple roof.
When they finally stepped onto the open, grassy rooftop, a low, eerie chant reached their ears clearly.
Natsu and Gray, who were charging ahead, were just about to shout when Blanc swiftly grabbed both of them by their collars and pressed a