Lucy looked down—only to realize she was once again sitting on Kaien's face. No wonder the fall didn't hurt… she had a very unfortunate cushion.
"Yaaah—!!"
Her face flushed bright red as she jumped up, covering her butt in embarrassment.
Kaien rubbed his face and looked at her seriously.
"I really don't want to smell that."
He didn't understand why this kept happening. Every time they fell, Lucy somehow ended up face-planting him. And he truly, truly didn't want to smell it—it was suffocating.
"You perv!!" Lucy shrieked, her face still red. She socked him in the face with a punch. "That's sexual harassment!!"
Meanwhile, Gray looked upward. "This seems to be right beneath the ruins. Weird that there's such a big hollow space down here."
"A secret cave!" Natsu shouted, eyes gleaming. "If we're down here anyway, let's explore! There's gotta be something awesome hidden inside!"
"Hey, don't go charging off again—we're here to break the curse—"
"Whoa—!!"
Gray's warning was cut off by Natsu's sudden cry. Kaien and Lucy halted at once.
"What is it?"
"This… what is that?!"
They all stared ahead, eyes wide. A massive monster was sealed in a block of ice.
Gray's pupils shrank the moment he saw it. His expression twisted into panic, eyes flooded with unspeakable fear.
"Deliora!!!"
"Huh?" Lucy, Natsu, and Happy blinked in confusion.
Kaien, staring at the frozen beast, was also surprised—but only by its size. "Delio… you know this thing?"
"No… no way! It can't be here! That's… that's—"
Gray was completely shaken. Kaien glanced at him and said calmly, "Gray. Breathe."
The sound of Kaien's voice helped him regain a sliver of composure. Though Kaien often seemed unreliable, nearly everyone in the guild saw him as an anchor—a stabilizing presence. His words carried weight.
Lucy stepped forward, concerned. "Gray, are you okay? What is this thing?"
"Deliora. A demon of disaster. It's exactly like back then… How did it end up here?"
Gray was shaken to his core. Deliora shouldn't—couldn't—be here.
Just then, footsteps echoed from deeper inside.
Kaien twitched an ear. "Someone's coming."
The group quickly hid behind some boulders to observe.
Soon, two figures appeared. One tall, one short. The tall one had a dog-like face, shirtless, wearing jeans. The short one had thick eyebrows and wore a blue-and-white coat.
"Sounds like someone was talking around here."
"Uh-huh."
"It's daytime… I'm sleepy."
"Uh-huh."
"Are you a dog or something? You've got dog ears."
"What?! These are accessories, okay?! Understand fashion much?!"
"I was just joking, jeez. No need to get mad."
"Hmph!"
Just then, a gothic lolita-styled girl walked over, wearing thick makeup and a melancholic expression.
"Yuka, Toby, I bring you sorrowful news—Angelica was attacked."
"That was just a rat!!"
"She is not a rat! Angelica is a hunter who runs through the shadows! That's what love is~~!"
Lucy couldn't help but mutter, "What a weirdo…"
Natsu stared at the trio. "They're not from the village. They smell different."
Natsu's nose was extremely sensitive—he could easily tell people's scents apart.
Yuka frowned. "Intruders?"
Though he found it absurd that Sherry named the giant rat Angelica, the rat was stationed there as a guardian. If Angelica had been attacked, and someone was talking nearby, then it likely meant the intruders had entered the ruins.
"We're nearly done gathering Master Moon's light. This is truly sorrowful. Before Sub Zero Emperor finds out, let's drive them out… before Lord Moon awakens."
"Indeed."
"Uh-huh."
"If they've seen Deliora, we can't let them leave alive. Let the intruders sleep forever—that's what love is."
"That means kill them!"
As the trio bantered, their footsteps faded away.
Kaien and the others emerged from their hiding spot.
"Why did we even hide? Should've just grabbed them and made them talk, right Kaien?"
Kaien waved his hand lazily. "Don't ask me. I said it already—you guys are doing this S-Class mission, so the decisions are yours. If I step in, it counts as my mission."
"Then never mind!"
No way he was letting this chance at an S-Class mission slip by.
"Damn it… why'd they bring Deliora here? And how did they find the original seal site?"
That reminded Natsu of something. "Wait—Gray, you know this monster?"
"This thing used to be sealed in the northern Gilthina ice mountains. Ten years ago, it was wreaking havoc in Eastborne. It's immortal. My teacher, Ur, gave her life to seal it in ice."
He clenched his fists. "I don't know what Deliora has to do with this island's curse, but it should not be here."
"Sub Zero Emperor… whoever that is, if they dare disrespect Ur's name, I won't forgive them!!"
His eyes sharpened with fury.
"Do you think this curse has something to do with that demon?" Lucy guessed. After all, all the villagers had transformed into demons—it felt like they might be Deliora's spawn.
"Very possible. And this demon… it's still alive."
"Then let's beat it!" Natsu shouted, slamming his fists together. "Maybe that'll lift the curse too!"
WHAM!
"Uwah!"
Just as he finished talking, a fist smashed into his face.
"Gray, you jerk! What the hell?!"
"Fire Mage! Get away from it!! What if your heat melts the ice and wakes Deliora up?!"
"Is the seal really that fragile?!"
Gray froze—then blinked in realization. Yeah, that was a bit of an overreaction. The seal had been cast with Ur's Ice Shell. Even the fiercest flames wouldn't melt it.
Kaien patted Gray's shoulder.
"Alright, calm down. I get it—this thing probably gave you a pretty bad trauma as a kid. But as long as I'm here, even if it wakes up, I'll just kill it again."
It was just another demon from Zeref's book. For him, this would be easy work.