"Waaah! Is it an earthquake?" Caught off guard, Lucy hurriedly grabbed a tree and asked in panic.
"Aye, something's strange." Happy hovered beside Lucy, watching their surroundings warily.
"No, something's coming up from down there." Natsu straightened at once, his sharp gaze fixed on the center of the clearing where the Moon Drop ritual had taken place.
Moments later, the ground atop the Temple shattered with a crash. Amid flying dirt and rubble, a massive ice crystal slowly rose into view, held steadily aloft by countless moving Giant Wood beneath it.
Beside the ice crystal, Blanc, Ultear, Gray, and Lyon also rose slowly to the surface, supported by the Giant Wood's branches and vines, each wearing a different expression.
"Oh, it's Blanc and the others." Natsu dropped his defensive stance and waved casually.
"You're just coming back up! Why do you have to make such a huge racket?!" Still reeling from the shock, Lucy pressed a hand to her forehead and couldn't help shouting a complaint.
"Because it's faster this way." Blanc caught Lucy's complaint perfectly and answered with a smile.
He ignored the subtle, slightly reproachful looks Lyon and Ultear gave him for hauling them up so roughly with his magic.
With a casual wave, Blanc made the Giant Wood unfurl, releasing all of Lyon's previously bound followers.
Filled with doubts, Gray hurried over:
"So what exactly are you planning to do now?"
"I'm going to make their dreams come true!" Blanc, the master of granting wishes, patted the enormous block of ice before him, then pointed at Lyon and his companions, who had already gathered together.
"Huh?!" A vein throbbed on Gray's forehead. He was starting to lose it, unable to make sense of Blanc's words.
"Didn't you say Deliora's life had already run out? Even if you