Gray didn't say much. He knew Takeshi was very powerful, even having slaughtered Dragons, but he hadn't seen firsthand how strong a Dragon was. However, he had seen how terrifying Deliora was, so he wasn't sure if Takeshi was more formidable than Deliora.
The most crucial thing was, why did those guys bring Deliora here?
Gray was frustrated. "Damn it! I can't figure it out at all. Who moved Deliora here, and why did they move it here?"
Natsu pointed to the stairs not far away that led upwards and said, "That's simple. We just need to go after the group of people from earlier."
As long as they caught those people, they could force them to reveal their reasons for doing this.
Gray said, "No, wait here until the moon comes out."
Natsu was stunned when he heard this. "The moon... it's still daytime. I'll die of boredom. Besides, Takeshi gave us until nightfall to complete the mission. If we haven't finished by then, we'll never complete it."
"Both the island's curse and Deliora are related to the moon. The villagers said there would be a beam of purple light here at night, and that group of people also mentioned they would soon collect the Moon's Magic Power. This must be the key location related to the curse. Once it's night, we'll clearly understand the cause of all this."
As Gray spoke, he looked at Takeshi, as if seeking his opinion.
Takeshi spread his hands. "I already said, I'm leaving this matter for you all to decide."
Lucy heard Gray's analysis and nodded in agreement. "That's right, I'm also very curious about what's happening and what those guys are planning to do."
"Then it's decided."
Natsu retorted, "No. I'm going to chase them."
"Two to one, the opposition is invalid."
Natsu said, "There's also Happy."
Happy stood next to Lucy and awkwardly raised his little paw, saying, "I agree too."
"Traitor."
Natsu hadn't expected his companion, whom he had raised since childhood, to betray him. But since things had come to this, he could only wait here.
Takeshi sat cross-legged to the side and began practicing Sun Breathing. He had only been practicing Sun Breathing for half a year, and it was only recently that he had barely managed to master Total Concentration: Constant. He still needed to continuously refine it.
Lucy, seeing Takeshi's posture, couldn't help but be curious. "Takeshi, what are you doing?"
Takeshi answered, "I'm practicing a breathing technique."
"Breathing technique?"
"It's a method to enhance physical fitness through breathing."
"Really? Can you teach me?"
"No. You can't learn it."
"Stingy.'
Happy explained, "It's true you can't learn it. Takeshi taught everyone before, but no one could learn it."
Lucy retorted, "What if I'm that one in a million who can learn it?"
Happy quipped, "Sometimes I find, Lucy, you're really shameless."
"What did you say, you stinky cat?" Lucy grabbed Happy and pinched his cheeks.
Lucy and Happy played and bickered for a while, and soon a wave of sleepiness came over them. Several people lied down and fell asleep.
Time passed silently, the sun set into the sea, night fell, and the moon slowly rose from the horizon.
Rumble!
A sound of something moving appeared, startling the sleeping individuals awake.
"What's that sound?"
"Is it night already?"
"Look at the ceiling."
At this moment, everyone looked up at the ceiling and saw that a hole had suddenly opened up. A beam of purple light shone from the hole onto Deliora below.
"Purple light? Moonlight? This must be the purple light pillar the villagers spoke of."
"Why is the moonlight shining on Deliora? This is definitely not a coincidence."
"Let's go, we'll find the source of the light."
"Okay."
Takeshi slowly opened his eyes at this moment and glanced at Deliora. Then he stood up and slowly walked up the stairs.
Since he had already accepted the mission, he might as well do it perfectly.
Natsu and the others quickly ran up the stairs. When they reached the next floor, they found that the light was shining down from an even higher floor. They went up floor by floor, finally reaching the very top of the ruins.
"What is that?"
The several people looked forward and saw a group of mysterious robed figures chanting unknown incantations, performing some kind of ritual. The moonlight in the sky was continuously drawn down by the ritual, forming a purple light pillar, which then passed through layers of ruin rooms and shone onto Deliora at the very bottom of the ruins.
"What are they trying to do by shining the light on Deliora? Are they planning to resurrect the demon underground?" Lucy guessed.
"Impossible. Iced Shell cannot be melted." Gray immediately denied it.
He had inquired with the Guild Master, and Iced Shell could not be melted.
"Then what are they doing?"
"Wait. Someone's coming."
The several people crouched down and saw the three people who had appeared during the day walking towards them. In addition to the three from the daytime, there was also a man wearing a horned helmet.
"Damn it, I didn't sleep during the day, and now I'm so sleepy. And we still haven't found the intruders."
Yuka and the two others had searched all day, going through the ruins and the surrounding area, but they hadn't found the intruders.
"Are there really intruders?"
Sherry said to the man wearing the horned helmet, "This is a sad thing, Sub-Zero Emperor-sama, we found intruders during the day, but they seem to have escaped. I cannot show my love."
"Intruders, huh..."
"Sub-Zero Emperor-sama." A short man wearing a mask greeted Sub-Zero Emperor.
"Zalty, you've shown up too."
"I'm here to witness this historic moment. I don't want to miss it."
"Hmph! How are the preparations for Deliora's resurrection coming along?"
This Zalty fellow was mysterious. Three years ago, he approached Sub-Zero Emperor and told him that Deliora could be resurrected with Moon Drip. Although Sub-Zero Emperor didn't know what the other party wanted, it was good if Deliora could be resurrected.
Zalty replied, "At this rate, Deliora will be fully resurrected either today or tomorrow."
"It'll be soon. Although I don't particularly like bloodshed, at such a crucial moment, I don't want intruders to cause trouble here. There should be no one on this island except for the village on the edge. Go and destroy that village for me." Sub-Zero Emperor issued the command to the three.
"Yes."
Sherry and the others received the order and immediately took action.
"What?"
"It has nothing to do with the villagers."
Natsu and Lucy immediately became anxious when they heard this.
Gray's expression changed dramatically. "That voice... no... it can't be."
"I can't hide anymore!
"The intruders you're looking for are right here!"
Natsu finally couldn't hold back and jumped out, shouting.
At the same time, he spewed a dazzling flame into the sky, drawing everyone's attention to their location.