On the beach of Galuna Island, four figures, battered by the waves, lay on the soft sand.
"Cough, cough..."
Lucy was the first to wake, spitting out a few mouthfuls of seawater, and groggily sat up.
"Where is this?"
The surroundings were unfamiliar. Dense jungle swayed not far away, and the air was filled with a salty, fishy smell.
"Natsu! Gray! Happy!"
She frantically nudged her companions who were still unconscious beside her.
"Yo! We made it!"
Natsu flipped over and jumped up, his eyes shining with excitement as he looked around.
Gray slowly sat up, silently wringing out his soaking wet shirt, calmly observing his surroundings:
"Looks like we're lucky. We weren't washed up somewhere strange. This should be Galuna Island."
"Aye... I'm covered in sand." Happy mumbled, shaking his body.
"Speaking of which, what exactly happened with that old man?!" Lucy remembered the old man who had suddenly disappeared.
"Aye... Could he really be a ghost?" Happy shivered.
Just as the four were discussing their next move, several kilometers away on another part of the coast, Ryoma leisurely stepped onto the beach.
Unlike the disheveled quartet, he was completely dry. He had used Ice Magic to form a protective film around his body as he approached the island, perfectly repelling the seawater.
"Finally here."
Ryoma stretched his wrists. "Continuously using Sea Stride Magic is quite tiring."
He looked up at the sky. The sun was setting, and the horizon was already tinged with a faint red.
"According to the time, those guys should have arrived too. But given their method, it'll probably take them a while to find the village."
He was not in a hurry to meet Natsu and his group. Instead, he strolled casually into the island's interior, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
"Moon drip..."
He softly uttered the name, a faint smile appearing on his lips.
"The ritual to unseal Deliora."
"Ur was at least Wizard Saint-level. That Lyon... where does he get the confidence to think he can defeat a demon that even she had to seal at the cost of her life?"
He shook his head, his tone slightly mocking. "Should I call it naive, or pure arrogance?"
Meanwhile, Natsu and his group were struggling through the jungle on the island.
"This island is really big..."
Lucy complained breathlessly, "We've been walking for so long, why haven't we seen the village yet?"
As they continued to advance, the sky had completely darkened.
However, to everyone's shock, when night fell, the moon in the sky emitted an eerie purple glow.
"Wh... what is this?" Lucy's eyes widened. "Why is the moon purple?"
"Could it be... this is the island's curse?" Gray murmured with a solemn expression.
"Aye... So scary... such a weird moon..." Happy shivered, "It feels creepy."
Under the eerie purple moonlight, they finally saw lights flickering in the distance.
"The village!" Natsu excitedly pointed ahead. "We finally found it!"
The four quickened their pace and soon arrived at the outskirts of the village.
Then, things proceeded like in the original story.
After hearing the villagers' explanation, Natsu thumped his chest.
"That won't happen. We'll find a way."
Upon hearing Natsu's assurance, the village chief immediately bowed and pleaded, "There is only one way to break our curse, the moon. Please destroy the moon."
Natsu and Gray were very surprised to hear this request.
"Destroy the moon?!"
...
Natsu and the others rested in the accommodation arranged by the villagers.
As they organized their belongings, they were troubled about how to complete the quest.
"How... how is that even possible?" Lucy couldn't help but murmur.
As everyone was bewildered, no one noticed that in the shadows outside the village, a pair of eyes was quietly watching.
"Just as the plot dictates." Ryoma's lips curved slightly.
"These poor demons still believe they are cursed humans. It seems Lyon's moon drip ritual is quite effective."
He jumped down from the tree, deciding to secretly follow Natsu and his group for now.
Although he knew the plot's direction, witnessing it firsthand was still very interesting.
Ryoma murmured, "They should meet Lyon and his group tomorrow, right?"
He turned and disappeared into the night, preparing to find a place to rest. The drama was just beginning tomorrow.
At dawn, the purple moonlight finally dissipated.
Ryoma opened his eyes from a towering tree and lightly jumped to the ground.
He had rested here last night, not too far nor too close to the village, allowing him to observe the situation without being discovered.
"It seems those villagers have already returned to human form."
He looked towards the village, vaguely hearing the sounds of people moving.
"Next, Natsu and the others should start investigating this island."
Ryoma stretched and decided to act first. Instead of slowly fumbling around with Natsu and the others, it would be better to go directly to the ruins to see the situation.
Rhe advantage of knowing the plot was here. He knew exactly where the moon drip was being collected.
"Lyon should be in the ruins on the mountaintop in the center of the island."
Ryoma walked inland, analyzing as he went, "The place where Deliora was sealed... I should find it soon."
After about an hour of walking, Ryoma arrived at a relatively open area.
In the distance, an ancient stone architectural ruin came into view.
"Found it."
It was a very ancient-looking ruin, with ancient runes carved into its stone walls, emitting faint magical fluctuations.
More importantly, Ryoma could feel a strong magical aura coming from deep within the ruins.
"This magic... it's strong."
Ryoma narrowed his eyes. "But this guy has been dead for a long time. Now only a remnant body remains."
He did not approach rashly but walked around the ruins once, carefully observing the surroundings.
Soon, he discovered several hidden lookout points. Lyon's subordinates were on guard at these positions, wary of potential intruders.
"Five people in total... none of them are too strong."
Ryoma silently assessed, "It seems Lyon is very confident in his plan, even his defenses are so lax."
He found a high vantage point with a good view and quietly hid. From here, he could clearly see the entrance to the ruins and the movements of the guards.
After roughly understanding the situation around this temple ruin, Ryoma prepared to go deep into the temple to personally witness the demon sealed by Iced Shell.
He gradually went deeper into the temple's underground, arriving at a relatively open underground world.
In the center of the underground, within a deep pit, was a huge block of ice. The ice was crystal clear, but inside it, a terrifying and monstrous giant creature was sealed. The monster had a horned head, a tall body, and strong limbs. Even when frozen, an ominous and evil aura almost overflowed from it.
Ryoma closed his eyes, raising his magical perception to its limit, carefully probing the huge block of ice.
A moment later, he opened his eyes, with a look of understanding that it was as he expected, and a hint of imperceptible pity.
"Sure enough. Deliora has been dead for a long time."
The terrifying aspect of Iced Shell was not only its ability to permanently seal a target but also its continuous deprivation of the sealed one's life force until their complete demise.
What was inside the ice now was merely Deliora's vast lingering resentment and magical remnants from the long years.
An empty shell without a soul, only instinct and hatred remaining.
"Lyon, oh Lyon, what you painstakingly wanted to resurrect is just an empty shell. What you wanted to kill is a demon that has long been dead. How ironic." Ryoma gently shook his head.
Just as he was about to investigate further, he suddenly felt some movement.
An extremely subtle but exceptionally powerful magical fluctuation flashed across from the other side of the ruins.
Ryoma's body instantly tensed, and a chill rose from the bottom of his heart.
"This feeling... it can't be wrong."
His gaze sharply shot in that direction. "It's
time magic... Ultear."
The undercover agent in the Magic Council, a member of the Dark Guild Grimoire Heart, Ur's daughter.
This woman's appearance instantly raised the complexity of the Galuna Island game by several levels.
"She's indeed here too, disguised as Lyon's subordinate, wanting to use them to unseal Deliora, and then..."
Ryoma's brows furrowed. "A troublesome character has arrived."
He immediately dismissed the idea of going out to disrupt things now.
Ultear's strength was unfathomable. Before having absolute certainty, exposing himself to her sight would be unwise.
"Let's observe the situation first. It's most suitable to let Natsu and the others be the ones to stick their necks out."
Ryoma re-concealed himself, like a cold statue, quietly waiting for the show to begin.
Boom!
Just as Ryoma was considering whether to withdraw, a collapsing sound came from the cave passage outside.
Ryoma estimated that Natsu and the others had found their way here. He didn't want to meet them yet, so he had to retreat.
—
"What is this?" Natsu asked, confused, looking at the ice-sealed Deliora.
Gray, upon seeing the ice block and the demon within, stood motionless on the spot. His pupils suddenly constricted, and his body trembled uncontrollably.
"This... how is this possible?"
"Deliora..."
He squeezed the name through his teeth, every word carrying deep-seated hatred.
"Why is it here? It's impossible, this guy can't be here."
Gray couldn't help but clench his fists, taking a few steps towards Deliora.
Natsu asked, "Do you know this guy?"
Deliora was Gray's lifelong nightmare. He was the demon his master, Ur, sealed with her life.
Gray clearly remembered this demon being sealed on the Northern Continent, so why was it here?
"Deliora, the Calamity Demon."
Just as the group was discussing, more footsteps were heard.
They were clearly drawn by the commotion Natsu and the others had made. The three people and the cat quickly hid to eavesdrop on information.
After hearing about the "moon drip" and some plans, Natsu and the others planned to wait until night to see what these people actually intended to do.
Ryoma had no choice but to wait with them until nightfall.
As night descended, the entire ruin suddenly began to shake.
Just then, a strange purple light emanated from above.
Ryoma's gaze was instantly drawn to the scene in the center of the ruins. There, a huge magic circle was slowly operating, absorbing and converting the purple moonlight.
Then, like drops of water, it fell one by one onto the huge ice block in the center.
He could feel that the ritual was taking effect. Iced Shell's ice layer was slowly melting at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye. However, it probably hadn't fully started operating yet, which is why it was difficult to detect.
Feeling this situation, Natsu and the others quickly got up and rushed to the highest point of the ruins.
"Lyon is truly an idiot."
Ryoma couldn't help but shake his head. "Does he really think he can defeat Deliora with his own strength? Ur was a Wizard Saint-level Mage back then, and she had to sacrifice her life to seal him."
Just as Ryoma was thinking, sounds of fighting came from the distance.
He perked up. "They're here. It must be Natsu and the others."