Natsu looked at the spot where the masked man disappeared and got angry.
Damn it!
He actually got away!
Just as he was about to take another step to chase after him, his body suddenly stiffened.
Wait...
Ryoma just said... Erza?
A face with crimson hair and stern eyes instantly appeared in Natsu's mind.
"Gulp!"
What if he ran into Erza while chasing that masked wack?
The mere thought of that scene made Natsu's hair stand on end.
Forget it.
His life is more important.
There will be plenty of opportunities to beat that masked bastard later.
The tilting of the ruins caused the magic circle at the top, which gathered moonlight, to lose its target. It seemed the ritual was over.
Natsu withdrew his intention to pursue and instead focused all his attention on Ryoma. He walked around Ryoma twice, scrutinizing him from top to bottom, his eyes filled with surprise and confusion.
"Hey, Ryoma."
Natsu leaned in and asked curiously, "When did you get so strong?"
He had clearly felt that terrifying magic power earlier. The previous Ryoma definitely did not possess such powerful strength.
Ryoma glanced at him, calmly reining in the surging magic power around his body, and the icy chill in the air dissipated with it.
"Oh, that?"
Ryoma's tone was very casual. "How should I put it? Just now."
"..."
Natsu's face instantly fell, and he let out a dissatisfied "Tch."
"If you don't want to say it, then don't. It's not like anyone cares."
This guy loves to keep people in suspense.
Just then—
An indescribable chill, without any warning, shot straight from the base of Natsu's spine to the top of his head. It wasn't cold magic, but a fear stemming from biological instinct, as if he had been targeted by an apex predator.
Natsu's body instantly stiffened, his neck making a "creak, creak" sound like a rusty gear, slowly turning backward.
Then, he saw her.
Not far behind him, a figure in shining armor stood silently. Her crimson hair was still conspicuous in the dim light, and her sharp, sword-like eyes were staring at him motionlessly.
It... it's Erza.
Boom!
Natsu's mind instantly went blank. All thoughts, all notions, were completely consumed by fear at this moment.
Run!
This was the only instinctive reaction left in his mind.
Natsu suddenly turned, his legs bursting with unprecedented strength, and he shot out
However, he had only run two steps when a hand wearing an iron gauntlet grabbed the scarf on the back of his neck.
Natsu's escape came to an abrupt halt, and he was dragged back, his feet leaving two long marks on the ground.
"Er... Erza..."
Natsu was on the verge of tears, forcing a smile uglier than crying onto his face, and two large tears involuntarily squeezed out from the corners of his eyes.
"I... I..."
"What?"
Erza's voice showed no emotion, but just that one word was enough to make Natsu's body tremble violently.
Behind Erza, Gray, Lucy, and Happy emerged.
"Natsu, you're doomed, meow." Happy flew by, gloating.
Erza no longer paid attention to the nearly fainting Natsu. Her gaze swept across the scene, finally landing on the huge block of ice sealing Deliora.
"Is that... Deliora?"
She looked at the grotesque demon outline within the ice, her expression becoming solemn.
Erza breathed a sigh of relief. "It seems we made it in time. We didn't let it truly revive."
Gray's gaze fell on the massive ice block.
When he saw that the ice formed by Iced Shell was still intact, his entire mental defense collapsed at that moment.
"Ur..."
His legs gave way, and he suddenly fell to his knees, tears uncontrollably gushing out and sliding down his cheeks.
It's great... we made it... the seal Ur exchanged her life for... is saved.
A large part of his efforts and persistence until now was to stop the ritual. This was not only to prevent the demon's revival but also to protect the seal Ur had created with her life.
Iced Shell was a forbidden magic that transformed the caster's body into eternal, unmelting ice at the cost of their own life. In a sense, Ur had not truly died. Her life and will had all transformed into this ice, forever suppressing Deliora.
In Gray's heart, even Ur, a powerful Ice Mage, could only seal such a terrifying existence with her life.
Once this ice melted, once Deliora broke free...
Aside from casting Iced Shell again, he couldn't think of any other way to stop this catastrophe.
"Deliora... it's almost dead."
Just then, a calm voice suddenly echoed in the hollow space. These sudden words startled everyone.
Erza, Lucy, and Gray, who was kneeling on the ground crying, all simultaneously turned their gaze to the source of the voice—Ryoma.
"De... dead?"
Lucy's eyes widened, her face filled with disbelief.
"Ryoma, how do you know? That's Deliora!"
The legendary calamitous demon that destroyed countless towns!
Is it really dead just like that?
Ryoma's gaze passed through everyone and landed on the huge ice block, explaining in a flat tone, "This magic power still seems cold and terrifying, but the life force contained within it is already pitifully weak."
"Even without the moon drip, even if no one came to stop it, Deliora would completely die soon."
"You shut up!"
A weak but persistent roar sounded.
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Lyon, who had been defeated by Gray and severely wounded, struggling to crawl over from the other side of the cave, dragging his injured body.
His face was full of unwillingness, and his eyes were fixed on Ryoma.
"Stop spouting nonsense there!"
"As long as the seal is broken, I can defeat it with my own hands!"
"I have... surpassed Ur!"
He couldn't accept it!
He had spent ten years plotting, just to break the seal and then accomplish with his own hands the great feat that Ur, his master, couldn't complete—defeating Deliora.
This was to prove that he had surpassed Ur.
But now, this guy who had appeared out of nowhere was telling him that the goal he had fought for for ten years was already dead?
How could he accept this?
Ryoma looked at Lyon, who was acting like a madman, and sighed softly.
He's really stubborn. He had already completely failed, but he was still unwilling to accept reality.
His gaze shifted from Lyon and fell on Gray, who also had a complicated expression.
Ryoma slowly spoke, his voice not loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears, "Do you really understand Iced Shell?"