"Impossible, impossible!!" Shock filled Ultear's face beneath her mask as she listened to Xi Feng. She kept repeating that it was impossible before finally shouting at him, "How could there possibly be magic that brings the dead back to life in this world?!"
"..." After those words left her mouth, however, Ultear fell silent. After all, she had indirectly admitted her identity.
Enveloped in a burst of light, Ultear returned to her original appearance and her provocatively curvaceous figure.
"Tsk, tsk." Looking at Ultear, Xi Feng shook his head. "You really will do anything to get what you want."
"Hmph." Ultear answered him with a cold snort. They had met many times over the past few years and knew each other fairly well. She understood what Xi Feng meant.
"There's no magic in this world that can bring people back to life. Are you messing with me?!"
"I don't know whether anyone else has it. All that matters is that I do."
"That's impossible!!" Hearing Xi Feng confirm it again, Ultear's expression changed once more. A trace of burning desire appeared in her eyes. If word of this magic got out, the entire continent would go mad over it. But when she looked at Xi Feng, that desire died away.
"Tia, have you made up your mind?" Xi Feng thought little of the desire that flashed through Ultear's eyes. Magic that resurrected the dead really could drive people mad. Hadn't Zeref first dabbled in magic governing life and death to resurrect his dead younger brother?
"Do whatever you want!! That'll give me the chance to kill her myself." Despite her words, anticipation and excitement lingered in Ultear's eyes. She desperately wanted to ask Ur why she had abandoned her back then.
Seeing Ultear's reaction, Xi Feng gave a dry chuckle. Whatever she said, she still cared deeply about Ur. She simply couldn't let go of why Ur had "abandoned" her.
Raising his right hand slightly, Xi Feng unleashed a powerful surge of magic. With Makarov and Gildarts's help over the past few years, he had unlocked his Second Origin, greatly increasing his magic power.
Under Ultear's mildly astonished gaze, a golden chalice appeared in Xi Feng's right hand. Its noble yet eerie presence fascinated her.
The Cup of the Underworld appeared in High School DxD as Valerie Tepes's Sacred Gear. A God-Slaying Sacred Gear consisting of three chalices, it was said to have been used at the Last Supper and to hold Jesus's blood. It could overturn the natural laws of life, reversing or distorting it to grant others a degree of immortality, heal them, or resurrect the dead.
Looking at the chalice in his hand, Xi Feng turned somewhat pale. Although he had unlocked his Second Origin, projecting an object that overturned the laws of life still consumed an enormous amount of magic.
But the moment his Projection succeeded, Xi Feng also learned the price of using the Cup of the Underworld. Unlike the Noble Phantasms he had projected before, it required more than magic power alone.
After glancing at the Cup of the Underworld, Xi Feng said to Ultear,
"The Cup of the Underworld. An object that can overturn life itself and resurrect the dead."
"How can something like that exist?"
Ultear stared at the chalice in Xi Feng's hand, her eyes filled with disbelief and shock.
"Something this unnatural does exist, but I'm the only one who can use it," Xi Feng said leisurely as he looked at the chalice. He truly was its only possible user. After all, he was the only person in the world of Fairy Tail who could project it.
"Is that so?" The burning desire in Ultear's eyes faded considerably at his words. Then she considered keeping Xi Feng under house arrest so she could study it and learn to use it herself. But she dismissed that thought as soon as it arose.
"I'll resurrect Ur now."
Unaware of what Ultear was thinking, Xi Feng glanced at her, then channeled his magic to resonate with the chalice.
Before Xi Feng and Ultear's eyes, the Cup of the Underworld emitted a dazzling light. At the same time, Deliora's body began to glow.
Motes of light slowly gathered beneath the chalice, eventually taking on a human shape.
Looking at the person before her, Ultear felt a jumble of emotions: anticipation, happiness, anger, sorrow, and everything in between.
"Hm?" Ur slowly opened her eyes. The unfamiliar surroundings filled her with confusion. Hadn't she perished together with Deliora? Why was she here?
"Whoosh..." A breeze brushed past, making Ur feel a slight tickle. Looking down, she discovered she was completely naked. "Ah!" she cried, hurriedly covering herself with her hands.
Just then, a piece of clothing suddenly landed on her. Ur froze for a moment and raised her head. A handsome, black-haired man had appeared before her without her noticing.
"Who are you?"
Ur questioned the man before her, puzzled. She felt a strange connection to him.
"Hello, Ur. I'm Xi Feng, a Mage from Fairy Tail."
Chapter 44: Deliora Resurrected?
"A Mage from Fairy Tail?" Ur paused at Xi Feng's words. It seemed she had heard of the guild.
"Where am I? Didn't I...?"
"It's a long story, but you should know you've been brought back to life."
"Brought back to life?! That's impossible!" Ur was utterly stunned. As far as she knew, magic could accomplish almost anything, but not everything-bringing the dead back to life, for instance. Especially when she hadn't even left a body behind.
"Impossible or not, aren't you standing here talking to me?" Xi Feng shrugged helplessly.
"But..." Ur didn't believe in magic that could resurrect the dead, yet she herself was living proof. For a moment, she didn't know what to say.
"Hm?" Just then, Ur noticed the young woman standing behind Xi Feng. Seeing that familiar face, excitement welled up inside her. She couldn't help walking toward Ultear. "Is... is that you... Tia...?"
As Ur approached step by step, Ultear panicked, unsure what to do. When Ur drew close, she shouted,
"Stay away from me!!"
"!!" Ur stopped in her tracks at Tia's words. Tears streamed down her face as she covered her mouth. "It really is you, Tia... sob... Thank goodness... My daughter's alive... sob..."
"You..." Ultear had been about to demand why Ur had abandoned her, but Ur's reaction left her stunned. This was nothing like what she had imagined.
"Roar!!" Just then, a deafening roar rang out, drawing everyone's attention.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Gray and Lyon's battle had shifted from ice magic to hand-to-hand combat. They traded punches without dodging, meeting every blow head-on.
"Lyon! Snap out of it!! Do you want to kill Ur all over again?" Gray swung his fist into Lyon's handsome face.
"Cough... cough... If it weren't for you, would Ur have gone after Deliora? Do you know?! My only dream was to surpass Ur and defeat her!! I won't give up. I'm going to defeat Deliora!" Lyon fell to the ground and coughed a few times, then suddenly charged Gray and punched him in the stomach.
"Ugh..." Gray fell to the ground clutching his stomach, his body covered in injuries of all sizes.
"I know Ur died because of me, and I'm going to make up for it. I won't let you lay a finger on her!" Gray roared as he got to his feet and charged Lyon.
"Thud... thud..."
"Stay out of it! This is my business!"
"You idiot! Think about what Ur taught us."
"Ah... cough... pfft... You're the one who killed Ur and destroyed my dream. What right do you have to talk about her teachings?"
"I know I caused Ur's death. I've never denied it. But so what? I still remember that she was smiling when she left us. She sacrificed herself so both of us could live." Tears flowed down Gray's face. Holding back his sobs, he kept attacking Lyon.
"Hahaha... I won't give up!! Do you know how I've lived all these years? Everything was for unsealing Deliora and defeating him. I'm going to prove I've surpassed Ur! You have no idea what I've suffered all these years!! A bastard who lived comfortably in a guild has no right to judge me!" Lyon roared, his handsome face twisted.
"Stop dreaming! You know how terrifying Deliora is. You can't beat him. You're only alive because Ur sacrificed herself!!" Gray felt as though his whole body was falling apart, but sheer willpower kept him standing.
"You have no right to judge me!! Ice Make: Wolf Hand!" Lyon roared. A magic circle formed in his hand, and a wolf's head appeared as he charged Gray.
"You don't know anything, yet you have the nerve to claim you'll surpass Ur!! Ice Make: Reaper Scythe!" As Lyon charged, a magic circle instantly formed in Gray's hands, and an enormous ice scythe appeared.
The moment Lyon reached him, Gray swept his scythe across him. But as the blow landed, Gray sensed something was wrong.
"Solid Script True Magic: White Tiger!"
At the same time, Lyon's cold voice sounded behind him. An enormous ice tiger formed in an instant and came hurtling toward Gray.
Gray remained alert, however. As the ice tiger pounced, he dodged with a backflip while gathering magic in both hands. An ice cage trapped Lyon's tiger.
Even as he landed, he didn't forget to taunt Lyon. "Is this your Solid Script True Magic? A pitiful beast that knows nothing of the world."
"Shut up!! I'll smash that little cage in an instant!"
Gray's taunt infuriated Lyon. He kept driving the ice tiger to destroy the cage, but it accomplished nothing.
"One-handed Solid Script True Magic lacks balance. You can't unleash your full power when it counts," Gray said quietly. Raising both hands toward Lyon, he shouted, "Ice Cannon!!"
With a boom, the magical cannonball struck Lyon head-on, devastating their surroundings as well.
As the dust slowly settled, Lyon stood covered in wounds, staring blankly at Gray. He murmured Gray's name before collapsing.
"This is what Ur taught us," Gray said quietly, looking down at Lyon. Despite his words, his own body was utterly exhausted.
"Roar!!!"
"!!!!"
Just then, however, Gray heard an all-too-familiar sound.
"That sound!! I'd never forget it!! Damn it, I'm still too late." Listening to that familiar roar, Gray clenched his fists tightly as a resolve began to form in his heart.
Lying on the ground, Lyon also widened his eyes at the sound. Then he shakily climbed to his feet and laughed.
"Hahahaha, my... my chance to surpass Ur has finally come! Deliora!!"
"Lyon!!" Hearing his fellow disciple, Gray punched him straight in the face.
"You're still refusing to see reason!!"
"Heh." With no strength left to fight back, Lyon could only let Gray hit him. But he climbed to his feet again and said, "You can't stop me! I'm going to surpass Ur."
Chapter 45: The Already-Dead Deliora
"Deliora!!"
The sudden roar stunned Ur for a moment. Turning to look, she saw the all-too-familiar demon of calamity, Deliora.
At the sight, Ur instinctively stepped in front of them. Turning toward Xi Feng, she said, "You two, get away... Tia..."
But when Ur turned around, only Xi Feng remained. Ultear had already vanished without a trace.
Ur smiled bitterly. From Ultear's reaction earlier, she knew there was some misunderstanding between her and her daughter. She didn't know what it was, and she wanted to find out, but now she might never get the chance to explain. Then she addressed Xi Feng alone. "Thank you for letting me come back again and see Tia. I really wanted to repay you, but I may not have the chance now."
With that, Ur faced Deliora and crossed her hands, using the exact same technique she had used all those years ago. Powerful magic surged forth, and a freezing chill surrounded her.
"Absolute Ice Make!!"
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