"Ah! It was almost time to collect the moonlight, too," Chelia lamented.
"Let's hurry up and find them, then deal with them before Lord Zero Emperor finds out!" Toby said.
"Yeah!" Yuka agreed.
"Let's go!" Sherry said, preparing to leave.
"This is such a pain!" Xi Feng said thoughtfully to the others.
"Yeah, let's watch a little longer!" Lucy said, looking at Xi Feng.
"Let's just make them talk!" Natsu stood up, his face brimming with fighting spirit.
Gray also rose and followed behind Natsu.
"Ugh! I can't stand you two." Lucy covered her forehead and sighed.
"Carla, don't worry. I'll protect you, so there's nothing to be afraid of." Happy flew straight to Carla's side and tried to charm her, but she only rolled her eyes at him.
"Who's there?" Yuka, who had been about to leave, suddenly looked toward Natsu and the others.
"Weren't you just saying you wanted to deal with us?"
Xi Feng looked at Yuka and spoke calmly.
"You're the intruders?!" Yuka frowned at Xi Feng's group of five people and one cat.
"Tell me. Why is Deliora here?" Gray asked the three of them coldly. If Xi Feng and the others hadn't been there, he would have already lost control.
"This monster was sealed in an iceberg on the Northern Continent. Ten years ago, this immortal demon wreaked havoc in the Isban Region. Ur, the master who taught me magic, sacrificed her life to seal this demon away. I don't know what it has to do with the curse on this island, but it can't stay here. Zero Emperor, who the hell are you? If you're trying to tarnish Ur's name, I won't let you get away with it."
Gray clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, staring at the frozen Deliora with murderous intent.
Chapter 42: Fellow Disciples
"Of course we're doing it for Lord Zero Emperor. We're going to undo the seal." Yuka's eyes burned with fervor at the mention of Zero Emperor.
"What?! Do you have any idea how dangerous this monster is? And you're going to undo the seal?!" Gray's face twisted with rage. Cold air slowly seeped from his body, lowering the temperature around them considerably.
"I won't let you trample on Ur's dignity!"
"But who was it that got Ur killed in the first place?" Another male voice rang out. Xi Feng and the others then saw a masked young man walk in, accompanied by a short, masked old man.
"Lord Zero Emperor!" Yuka and the other two were startled by his arrival and hurriedly said, "We're sorry for disturbing you, Lord Zero Emperor."
"It's fine." The masked man they called Zero Emperor shook his head, not seeming to mind at all.
As Xi Feng and the others studied Zero Emperor, Gray was the most shocked. He hurriedly demanded, "Who are you? What do you know?!"
"Has it been so long that you've forgotten me?" Zero Emperor removed his mask, revealing a handsome face.
"My fellow disciple, Gray!"
"What?!" Natsu, Wendy, and Lucy couldn't wrap their heads around his words, their eyes darting between the two.
"Do you have any idea what you're doing, Lyon?!" Gray demanded, glaring at him furiously.
"Of course I do. As long as I defeat Deliora, I'll surpass Ur. Hahaha!" Lyon burst into arrogant laughter.
"Are you insane?!" Gray roared. "I'll stop you in Ur's place!"
"You have no right!" Lyon shouted back. "You're the one who got Ur killed!"
"I... I..." At Lyon's words, Gray looked down at his hands. Tears instantly filled his eyes and streamed endlessly down his cheeks, leaving him unable to speak.
"No matter how many times I say it, nothing changes. You're the one who killed Ur. If you hadn't been so foolishly arrogant and challenged Deliora back then, Ur wouldn't have had to sacrifice herself, you idiot!" Lyon roared, overcome with emotion.
"Gray's crying." Lucy looked at Gray's tear-streaked face.
"Aye," Happy replied.
"Yeah. I've never seen Gray cry before." Wendy's bright eyes were full of worry.
"Damn it! How dare he make Gray cry!" Flames rose from Natsu's hands as he tried to charge at Lyon, but Xi Feng grabbed him before he could move.
"Xi Feng, let go of me! I'm going to make that guy pay!"
"Let the two of them settle what happened in the past themselves." Xi Feng shook his head at Natsu.
"Natsu, don't be reckless. Listen to Xi Feng! If Gray can't hold on anymore, we can still save him then!" Lucy regained her composure and tried to persuade Natsu as well.
"Natsu, behave yourself."
"Aye."
"Tch, you're nothing but a musclehead."
"Even hearing you mention her name now makes your arrogance and ignorance sickening." Lyon looked at the tearful Gray and launched an attack without the slightest regard for their old bond.
"Aah!" Lost in his memories, Gray cried out in pain. He hadn't noticed Lyon's attack at all and took a direct hit from his magic.
"Gray!" Lucy and the others watched Gray fly backward, their faces tense with worry.
"Lyon!" Gray got back to his feet and called his name in a low voice.
"What's wrong? Feeling guilty? Can't bring yourself to attack? Then stay out of my way. I'm going to revive Deliora," Lyon said calmly as he watched Gray slowly rise.
"I won't let you." Gray stared straight at Lyon.
"Fine, then. Let's have a match, for old times' sake! Ice Eagle!" Lyon raised his right hand, and a blue magic circle lit up. Countless eagles made of ice charged fiercely toward Gray.
Gray calmly countered Lyon's attack. "Ice Shield!" Cold air streamed from his hands as he planted them on the ground, and a shield made entirely of ice appeared before him.
But Lyon's molding magic was dynamic. The instant Gray's ice shield formed, the eagles swerved around it and attacked from the side. With a bang, countless ice eagles slammed into Gray.
"You specialize in molding objects with 'static' ice magic, while I mold living creatures with 'dynamic' ice magic. Did you forget that my ice moves?" Lyon laughed wildly as Gray helplessly endured his attacks.
"Ice Hammer!" After enduring Lyon's assault for a moment, Gray leaped forcefully into the air and cast his magic. A massive ice hammer hurtled toward Lyon with a howling rush.
"Ice Ape!" Lyon calmly cast his magic with one hand, conjuring a giant ape made of ice. With a series of crashes, the ape and Gray's hammer destroyed each other in midair.
"Pathetic. You still haven't broken that habit of using both hands for molding magic!" Lyon mocked the battered Gray.
"Ur taught us that molding with one hand is incomplete and throws off your balance," Gray said earnestly, repeating their master Ur's teachings.
"I'm different. My strength surpassed Ur's a long time ago." Lyon looked at Gray disdainfully.
"Don't be so full of yourself!"
"You're the one who's full of himself. I'll throw those words right back at you. Besides, when have you even managed to touch me?"
"Don't think I'm still the same person I was back then. Ice Geyser!" Gray unleashed another powerful attack, sending countless ice spikes surging toward Lyon like a fountain.
"Ice Tiger!" Lyon thrust out his right hand. A magic circle larger than his first appeared before it, and a lifelike giant ice tiger sprang out. It roared and collided with the Ice Geyser.
"I'm your senior disciple, and I'm stronger than you. Ur was once my goal. Surpassing her was my dream, but you stole that dream from me. I thought I'd never be able to surpass her again. But there's one way. If I defeat Deliora, whom even Ur couldn't beat, I'll surpass her. Ice €€!" Lyon conjured a mighty, fearsome ice €€ that radiated an overwhelming pressure as it charged at Gray.
Boom! With a tremendous crash, the ice €€ slammed into Gray and carried him out of the ruins.
"Gray!"
Seeing what had happened to Gray, Natsu and the others cried out and started forward to help, but Sherry and the other two blocked their way.
"We won't let you interfere in Lord Zero Emperor's battle."
"Damn it!" Natsu clenched his fists at their words and was just about to attack when Zero Emperor's voice rang out again.
"You three, ignore them and go prepare the ritual. And kill the villagers on this island! Show them what happens when they try to stop us!"
"Yes!"
Chapter 43: The Cup of the Underworld
"What?!" Natsu and the others were furious at Lyon's words.
"Stop right there!"
As the three hurried out of the ruins, Natsu immediately chased after them.
"Let's go too." Xi Feng frowned and spoke to Lucy and Wendy.
"Right." Both girls nodded and hurried after Natsu.
"You aren't going anywhere." Just as Xi Feng was about to follow, a short, masked old man stepped directly into his path.
"Xi Feng!"
"Xi Feng!"
Wendy and Carla called out worriedly when they saw Xi Feng suddenly being blocked.
"It's fine." Xi Feng shook his head, then said, "You go ahead. I'll be there shortly."
"Okay." Hearing his words, Wendy and Lucy nodded, turned, and left.
"You seem quite confident that you can leave," the short old man said with a sinister air.
"Against someone else, I couldn't say. But..." Xi Feng shrugged, then gave the short old man a sly smile. "Against you, Ultear, I'm very confident."
"..." Ultear's expression didn't change at Xi Feng's words, though he wouldn't have been able to see it even if it had. She was wearing a mask and a disguise, after all. Inside, however, she was deeply shocked. She believed her disguise was excellent, and she had never met him before. How had he recognized her?
"Heh." Regaining her composure, Ultear gave a dry laugh. "What are you talking about? I have no idea."
"Hmm..." Xi Feng smiled at her reply, then said something that left Ultear utterly stunned. "I can bring Ur back to life, Tia!"
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