chapter 11 : Save the master
He arrived there a few hours before dawn and immediately felt strong fluctuations of magical energies and signs of fighting. in the distance as the moon gave off a crimson light.
Gray went there to see Natsu fighting two people and was surprised to see Lyon fighting Natsu with another person, a short, stocky man who wore a maned mask.
« Lyon ?! Lyon, is that you…?! » He asked as he came down and the others stopped the fight to look at him.
Natsu: GRAY!! Damn you're good, these two are pretty good and they give me a hard time. I take the guy with the weird hair and the icicles and you take the guy with the mask, he uses weird magic and-(interrupted)
Gray: Lyon, what are you doing here?! Why are you fighting Natsu ?
Lyon: Look who is there, Gray Fullbuster from Fairy Tail. You have become a very great mage it seems.
Gray: Why are you here in Galuna?!
Natsu: This guy and his gang, they use moonbeams to melt a large ice cube and release some kind of demon... well, that's what he said earlier.
Gray: Wait...what?! (to Lyon) IT WAS YOU ?! YOU ARE THE ONE WHO MOVED UR AND DELIORA.
Lyon: Don't talk about that miserable ice cube when referring to Ur, she died because of you and you are not worthy to pronounce that name. I found the solution to melt this ice and after Deliora is freed, I 'll face him, beat him and prove that I am now superior to our master. This ice has already started to melt.
Gray: You're telling me that the ice where Deliora is trapped in is melting. Our master's soul is locked in this ice, his conscience too.
Lyon: Ahahahah yeah so what?! I also thought she was dead like you told me but I ended up finding out that part of the story but I don't care, I don't believe it and Ur is already gone.
"Wait…you knew…?!" Gray asked as his gaze turned dark and the ambient temperature plummeted to negative.
Zalty: Woohooo it's really chilly. This is a really strong ice magic user.
Natsu: WHAT? ICE MAGIC?
Gray: Natsu, where's the news girl that came with you?!
Natsu: DAMN LUCY!! I left her fight alone when those guys attacked me.
Gray: Go help her.
Natsu: HEY WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!
Gray: Natsu, Lyon and I are old acquaintances and this problem is quite personal. Let me take care of this and go see the news girl , she might be in danger.
"It's true, you're right but you'll owe me for this and you're going to have to explain all this to me afterwards…" He said as he left before starting to shout Lucy's name.
Gray: I promise.
Lyon: What? Do you want to face me ? Do you really think you can beat me ?! You have no idea what I'm capable of now.
"Lyon, you tried to kill our master. You knew she was still there and yet… you didn't even hesitate" Gray said as he slowly walked towards Lyon as rage rose within him and ice began to cover the surroundings.
" OH OH OH ! A fight between former brothers...I should leave" Zalty said in amusement before disappearing but Gray didn't care, he wanted to break every bone in Lyon's body.
"You…how is that possible ?! I'm an ice mage too so why am I cold?! » Completely shocked Lyon asked while shivering from the intense cold (Invel did the same to Gray in the manga).
He immediately summoned his ice eagles towards Gray but as they approached his body, they froze even harder to the point of shattering into miserable icicles.
"I swore to myself not to use this magic again until I bring her back and you WANT TO KILL HER" Gray finished his sentence with a burst of anger that released a strong magical pulse that froze a vast area around them.
" SHIT !! he's about to make me freeze..." Lyon started to panic as the frost covered his clothes, his hair and even his eyelashes but Gray immediately surprised him by appearing in front of him before punching him in the stomach .
He hadn't released his pressure seal but the blow was strong enough to knock Lyon off the ground and he followed up with a punch to Lyon's face that sent Lyon flying.
He walked slowly towards Lyon, revealing his sword which he immediately drew with a terrible desire to kill.
Gray: I'm not going to use ice magic against you, you don't deserve me to use Ur's art against you who wants to kill her.
Lyon: IT'S YOU…IT'S YOU WHO KILLED HER, SHE DIED BECAUSE OF YOU…
Gray: She didn't die because of me, she sacrificed herself for me but you...you are deliberately trying to kill her knowing that she is in this ice.
Lyon:…
*Gray…no…*
He heard Ur's voice in his mind and he stopped, he couldn't tell if it was real or if it was his imagination but he really heard his master's voice.
Immediately, his breathing became heavy and his eyes became watery. He can't remember how many times he hoped to hear that voice again one day.
« I should kill you now...I should cut your head off for what you tried to do but Ur always wanted us to move forward. She wouldn't have wanted me to kill you...
» He said as he sheathed his sword and left.
Lyon: I...where are you going...?! I don't need your pity...
Gray: You can believe me or not, but your survival now is Ur's will. I'm going to bring our master back one way or another and if you ever get in my way...I will take your life. Go, live your life and join a guild to live properly, it's the bit of Ur's last wish that you can still respect.
He was starting to leave when a loud roar was heard, it was in fact Deliora who had woken up when the absolute ice had almost completely melted.
« Deliora…he woke up!!! » he said before teleporting back to the temple. He arrived at the top where he saw several mages in priest's clothing and Yuka chanting a spell to concentrate the moonbeam and in an instant, they were all frozen except Yuka who sent a wave to remove the freeze.
Yuka: I don't know who you are but my wave can remove any magic, I'm an anti-magic mage.
Gray:…
Yuka: I'm Yuka from-(interrupted)
*BAM*
Gray kicked him flying before then rushing through the temple to its dungeons where he saw Deliora with the last blocks of ice on his legs cracking and he was freed.
"NO…UR…IT'S TOO LATE!! » He said with deep distress looking at the water on the ground, he was in a daze of anger and sadness when Deliora saw him and tried to attack him with a punch but with a gesture from Gray's hand, Deliora's entire body froze as Gray's magical power suddenly increased.
At that moment, Gray's priority was a solution for Ul and Deliora was nothing in his subconscious to the point where her power was terribly greater than before.
He looked at the water and thought of only one thing, only one solution in that moment.
Gray concentrated to the highest point and tapped into the magic of the ice.
Immediately the water in the absolute ice began to freeze and then gather to condense more and more while Gray began to sweat profusely.
This lasted for dozens of seconds and Gray was completely drenched in sweat from the terrible concentration and magic that was being drained into him. Fortunately the seal on his back gave him quick and permanent supplies.
All this mass of frozen water condensed into a human form before molding itself to reform Ur's body.
He used absolute dynamic ice magic to create true life with ice and knowing that his master's soul was still in absolute ice, this would bring Ur back to life in a living body but made of ice.
It was far from the ideal solution but it was an extreme solution that he had thought about for a long time now.
When he finished, the ice statue took on a realistic appearance with textures and colors, it remained inert and stiff but there was no sign of consciousness.
He came closer to examine it when suddenly, Deliora who had frozen began to crack and collapse into pieces, he died right in front of Gray who understood what had happened.
Gray: For all these years...for all these years, absolute ice has absorbed his life force. (looks at the statue) Ur...my nightmares, my darkness...you destroyed them...
"Ur ?! Deliora…he's dead?!!! » Lyon asked weakly as he entered the room.
Gray ignored him and didn't respond.
Lyon: Ur…you managed to bring her back…?!
Gray: I have hope that she will wake up and I will know where you will be later, if she wakes up and wants to see you, you'll tell her yourself everything you have done. For the moment I advise you to go away...far away from me and what I could do to you now.
He said nothing more to Lyon before teleporting with Ur to reappear at the chalet where he installed his beloved master.
He left her there to return to the island where he found Natsu and Lucy who was injured.
The girl was completely shocked to see Gray there, the powerful, handsome and rich magician who was the dream of millions of girls in the kingdom.
Natsu had gotten rid of Lyon's men and upon seeing that Deliora was dead, Zalty (Ultear) left.
To thank Natsu, Gray helped him solve the village residents' problem and rid them of the solidified dust dome of moon drops.
It was quite easy for him to discover the villagers' problem and after dealing with that, he treated Lucy before leaving Natsu and her to be thanked by the villagers. He immediately returned to the cabin leaving Natsu to do the rest.