Along the way, Gray recounted the past events concerning Deliora.
Gray's voice choked. "Ur used the forbidden magic—Iced Shell."
His voice was filled with pain. "That is magic that sacrifices the caster's own body, transforming it into ice that never melts, forever sealing the target. Ur... she used her life to become the ice that sealed Deliora."
Hearing this, Lucy and Happy both gasped.
To sacrifice oneself to protect one's disciples, what a great resolve.
They then understood Lyon's true purpose from this information.
In Lyon's heart, his master Ur was the most powerful Mage, and he always wanted to surpass her, but Ur was no longer there. So he wanted to prove himself by defeating Deliora, whom Ur had failed to defeat.
Erza looked at Gray's back, her originally stern gaze becoming complex. She now understood why Gray was so persistent.
This was not just a mission, but also carried his master's life.
"So, your master isn't truly dead, but has become that ice?" Erza asked.
"Mm."
Gray nodded. "So, I absolutely cannot let Lyon unseal Deliora."
Indeed.
Ryoma, who had been following behind, understood that Ultear, with her bug-like Arc of Time, couldn't restore that ice to its original state.
Arc of Time can return an object's state to the past or push it to the future, but it is ineffective on living creatures other than plants.
Ur's body had turned into ice, the essence of her life merging into it. That ice, in the definition of magic, might be a "living being." Therefore, Arc of Time had no effect on it.
Ryoma sighed to himself. The wonders of magic in this world truly were everywhere.
It was just a pity that there was no way to restore Ur to her original state now. Once this magic was dispelled, she would be completely dead.
Just as everyone was lost in their thoughts, they finally passed through the dense forest and reached the platform at the top of the mountain.
The scene before them stunned everyone.
A huge ancient temple ruin came into view, but the main structure of the entire ruin was now tilted at a strange angle to one side, as if it could collapse at any moment.
"This... this is..." Lucy's mouth hung open.
Erza looked at the toppled ruin and said, "This style of destruction... I can't think of anyone else besides that idiot."
Gray looked at the situation before him and breathed a slight sigh of relief. "At least now the moonlight won't shine on the sealed Deliora."
This at least bought them some time.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Dozens of dark figures suddenly darted out from the shadows of the ruins and from behind the surrounding rocks, surrounding them.
All of these people were wearing unified clothing, holding various weapons, and exuding malevolent magical power fluctuations.
"Fairy Tail, we've found them."
The leading man grinned. "You are not allowed to obstruct Zero-sama."
"These guys!"
Gray's expression darkened, and he got ready for battle.
Erza stepped forward, blocking everyone, and a powerful surge of magic instantly erupted from her.
"Leave this to me. Go, Gray! Go and have a proper showdown with Lyon."
"Erza..." Gray hesitated.
Ryoma nodded. "Go ahead, Gray. We'll handle things here."
"You all..."
He no longer hesitated, nodded heavily, and bypassed the enemy's encirclement, rushing towards the interior of the tilted ruins.
"Let's go too."
Lucy took out her Celestial Spirit keys, ready to fight.
However, just then, a cold and strange magical power, far surpassing all the miscellaneous soldiers present, suddenly descended.
A figure wearing a strange mask and ridiculous clothing appeared silently on one side of the battlefield. He just stood there quietly, and the air of the entire battlefield seemed to solidify.
Ryoma's heart suddenly constricted.
This guy... so strong!
Erza also noticed this uninvited guest immediately. She instantly divided some of her attention to be wary of him.
"Zalty..."
One of the henchmen recognized the newcomer and respectfully called out.
The strange man called Zalty ignored everyone. His gaze, or rather, the gaze beneath his mask, passed through the chaotic crowd and locked onto Ryoma.
Damn, is she targeting me?
Ryoma instantly felt his scalp tingle.
He could feel that Ultear's attention was completely focused on him, it was the concentration of a hunter eyeing their prey.
No, she is too dangerous.
If he were to make a move here, Erza and the others would have to deal with the henchmen while also being distracted by him, which would surely lead to a bitter battle.
An idea flashed through Ryoma's mind.
He swayed, instantly disappearing from his spot, rushing towards the depths of the forest away from the main battlefield, trying to lure Ultear away as much as possible.
"Ryoma!" Lucy cried out in alarm.
"Don't worry about him! Trust him!" Erza shouted loudly, her twin swords swinging even faster.
"Let's deal with these guys first!"
Ryoma moved swiftly through the forest, with Ultear following him like a shadow, at an astonishing speed.
At the same time, Ultear used her Arc of Time, constantly obstructing and attacking Ryoma with the help of various environmental elements.
Ryoma could only continuously dodge. Trying to condense an ice wall to block was useless, as he had experienced it before.
As he approached step by step, Ryoma felt like a fish on a chopping board, completely helpless.
Ultear's magic made things too restrictive for him, or rather, most mages.
Just as Ultear was about to make another move, she suddenly stopped and looked back sharply in the direction of the ruins.
A powerful magical power fluctuation came from that direction, it seemed something unexpected had happened.
She let out an inexplicable hum from beneath her mask. She glanced at the disheveled Ryoma on the ground, seemingly weighing something. Ultimately, she gave up on continuing to attack Ryoma.
"Consider yourself lucky, kid."
Before her words finished, her figure transformed into a distorted light and shadow, instantly disappearing.
"Hoo... Hoo..."
Ryoma collapsed to the ground, the feeling of surviving a catastrophe leaving him utterly exhausted.
For a moment there, he truly thought he was done for.
He prepared to go back and check on Erza's situation.
However, the moment he took a step, an incredibly familiar, yet terrifying sensation suddenly erupted from the depths of his soul.
It was the power that had brought him through to other worlds.
Buzz—
The entire world seemed to have been paused. Flying leaves froze in mid-air, the sound of the wind abruptly ceased, and the chirping of insects in the forest instantly vanished.
He looked at his hands in horror. That power was uncontrollably gushing out from within him, tearing open a pitch-black rift in front of him.
The other end of the rift was a deep, boundless vortex of time and space, spinning with countless points of light. An irresistible suction came from the vortex, pulling at his body.
"Damn it! Is this thing completely random?"
His body was slowly dragged towards that unknown time and space, and his consciousness began to gradually blur.