Gray didn't say much. He knew Kaien was powerful—he'd even slaughtered a dragon. But Gray had never seen a dragon firsthand, so he couldn't be sure just how terrifying they really were.
But Deliora… he had seen what Deliora could do. And he wasn't certain Kaien could outmatch that.
What bothered him the most was why someone had brought Deliora here of all places.
"Damn it! I don't get it at all. Who brought Deliora here—and why?"
Natsu pointed to a staircase leading to a corridor in the distance. "Simple. Let's just chase down those guys from earlier."
If they could catch those people, they could force them to explain everything.
"No. We wait. Until the moon rises."
Natsu looked stunned. "The moon…? But it's still daytime! No way, no way! I'll die of boredom! And Kaien said the mission deadline is tonight—if we don't finish by then, we won't get to finish!"
"Whether it's the island's curse or Deliora, both seem connected to the moon. The villagers said a beam of purple light appears at night. And those people earlier said they're almost done collecting the Moonlight's energy. This place is clearly the key. Once night falls, we'll understand the true cause of all this."
Gray glanced at Kaien, as if asking for confirmation.
Kaien just spread his hands. "Told you. You're the ones handling this mission. It's up to you."
Lucy nodded in agreement. "Gray's got a point. I want to know what's going on too—and what those people are planning."
"Then it's settled."
"No way!! I'm still going after them!" Natsu protested.
"Two to one. Overruled."
"What about Happy?!"
Happy shyly stood next to Lucy and raised his little paw. "I vote with them."
"Traitor cat!!"
Natsu couldn't believe it. His partner, who he'd raised since forever, had betrayed him…
But at this point, all he could do was wait.
Kaien sat down cross-legged and began practicing Sun Breathing. He'd only been learning it for six months and had just barely achieved Total Concentration: Constant. He still needed more refinement.
Lucy watched him curiously. "Kaien, what are you doing?"
"Training my breathing technique."
"Breathing technique?"
"It's a method that boosts your physical abilities through controlled breathing."
"Really? Can you teach me?"
"Nope. You won't get it."
"Stingy!"
Happy chimed in from the side. "No, he's right. Kaien tried teaching everyone before, but no one could learn it."
"Well maybe I'm the one in a million who can!"
Happy muttered, "Lucy, sometimes you're really shameless."
"You stupid cat, what did you just say?!"
Lucy grabbed Happy and squished his face.
The two of them bickered playfully for a bit, but soon, drowsiness crept in, and the group dozed off.
Time passed quietly. The sun dipped into the sea, and night fell. The moon slowly rose from the horizon.
RUMBLE RUMBLE!!
A heavy shifting noise echoed through the ruins, waking everyone with a start.
"What's that sound?"
"Is it night already?"
"Look at the ceiling!!"
They all looked up just as a massive hole opened overhead.
A beam of purple light shone directly down from above—right onto Deliora.
"Purple light? That's moonlight? This must be the beam the villagers were talking about!"
"But why is it shining right on Deliora? That can't be a coincidence."
"Let's find the source of the light."
"Yeah!"
Kaien opened his eyes slowly, glanced at Deliora, then stood up and began climbing the stairs.
He had accepted the mission—might as well complete it thoroughly.
Natsu and the others rushed up ahead. At the next level, they saw the light coming from even higher.
They continued climbing until they reached the topmost floor of the ruins.
"What is that?!"
They looked ahead to see a group of robed figures chanting unknown incantations.
As the ritual progressed, the moonlight above was being drawn downward, forming a column of purple light that passed through each level—ultimately striking Deliora's body at the bottom of the ruins.
"They're directing the light onto Deliora… are they trying to revive that demon?" Lucy guessed.
"Impossible! Ice Shell can't be melted!" Gray snapped. He'd confirmed it with the Guild Master himself—Ice Shell was unmelting.
"Then what are they doing?"
"Wait—someone's coming."
They quickly ducked down. The three people from earlier approached, and this time, they were joined by a fourth man wearing a horned helmet.
"Damn, we didn't even nap during the day. I'm exhausted. And we still didn't find the intruders," one of them grumbled.
Yuka, Toby, and Sherry had scoured the ruins and the surrounding area but found nothing.
"Are there even intruders?" one of them muttered.
Sherry turned to the man with the horned helmet. "This is truly tragic, Sub Zero Emperor. We spotted intruders during the day… but they seem to have escaped. I couldn't even show them my love."
"Intruders… huh."
"Sub Zero Emperor!" a short man wearing a mask greeted him.
"Zalute. You showed up too?"
"Of course. This is a historic moment. I wouldn't miss it."
"Hmph. How's the revival process going?"
Zalute—the strange man who had approached him three years ago claiming that Moon Drip could revive Deliora—replied with a smirk.
"At this rate, tonight or tomorrow. Deliora will be fully revived."
"Finally… it's almost done. I don't like bloodshed, but I won't allow any intruders to ruin this. Outside of the village, no one should be on this island. Destroy the village."
"Yes, sir!!"
Sherry and her group nodded and immediately headed out.
"What?!" Lucy gasped. "The villagers have nothing to do with this!"
"Exactly!" Natsu growled. "Why are they targeting them?!"
Gray's face turned pale. "That voice… No… no way."
"I'm done hiding!!"
Natsu couldn't take it anymore. He leapt out from cover and shouted:
"The intruders you're looking for—we're right here!"
As he yelled, he exhaled a massive blast of flame into the sky, drawing everyone's attention to them.