"Deliora?!"
Ur's voice echoed through the empty cave, her sharp gaze sweeping over everyone present, trying to find answers on their faces.
Gray's body trembled even more violently. He wanted to tell her it was all over, wanted to tell her how much he missed her. But those words were like ice stuck in his throat, making it impossible for him to breathe or speak.
"Ur..."
Finally, a voice almost drowned in tears squeezed out from his lips.
Ur's body stiffened abruptly, her gaze instantly focusing on the black-haired young man.
She looked at him, at that face that was both familiar and strange.
The outline of the stubborn, crybaby, yet always pretending to be strong kid from her memories slowly overlapped with the tall, straight figure of the young man before her, whose eyes held a hint of weariness.
So much time had passed.
"Gray..."
Ur's voice softened, trembling with a hint of disbelief.
Just then, Erza, supporting her weak body, stepped forward and quickly explained what had happened in the most concise language.
From Lyon's ritual to their arrival to stop it, and then to Ryoma using some kind of magic.
"That demon called Deliora has disappeared."
She pointed to an inconspicuous pile of grayish-black powder on the ground.
Ur was silent. She looked down at her hands, then at the pile of powder on the ground, which symbolized the end of the calamity.
Finally, her gaze fell back on Gray. She saw his red-rimmed eyes, the complex emotions of ecstasy and excitement mixed on his face.
Everything... was real.
She was back, and Deliora was dead.
Meanwhile, Ryoma, who was leaning back and resting, frowned slightly.
Something was wrong.
The feeling of his body being empty and his magic power being drained was very uncomfortable, but besides the emptiness, he also felt a strange anomaly.
It was like a bottle that was originally full of water. Now the water was poured out, but the capacity of the bottle itself seemed to have grown a little larger.
No... it wasn't just that.
Ryoma carefully sensed the changes within his body.
He suddenly realized that the consumption of Space-Time Corridor was far more bizarre than he had imagined. All their magic power combined was simply not enough to support such terrifying time reversal.
Reversing a magic cast with the life of a Wizard Saint-level Mage, rewinding a full decade of time—this required more than just that bit of magic power.
What filled the insufficient part?
It was time.
It was like the time he had experienced in other worlds, swallowed by the space-time vortex, as if it didn't exist on the Fairy Tail world's timeline.
This magic had stored that time without his knowledge, and then, just now, burned a portion of it as fuel.
Ryoma could clearly feel an invisible, intangible, yet truly existing power, quietly settling deep within his second origin—that silver-white brand.
That was the remaining time.
And the reserves were... quite substantial.
This discovery made Ryoma's heart skip a beat. This power might be his biggest trump card for having traversed worlds.
While Ryoma was immersed in his great discovery, the atmosphere on the other side had softened considerably.
Ur walked up to Gray, reached out her hand, and somewhat awkwardly yet nostalgically ruffled his short black hair.
"You've grown up, Gray."
Her voice was very soft, but it was like a warm current that instantly broke through Gray's last psychological defense.
"Ur!"
He could no longer hold back, and like a child, he threw himself into Ur's arms and cried loudly.
Ten years of longing, regret, and pain all turned into scalding tears at this moment, soaking Ur's jacket.
Ur gently patted his back, her eyes also welling up with tears, but more than that, there was a gentle relief and comfort of having found something lost.
Erza, Natsu, and Lucy watched from the side, all with knowing smiles on their faces.
How wonderful.
After a long while, Gray's emotions slowly calmed down.
Ur's gaze passed over him to Ryoma and the others.
When she saw the familiar emblem on Lucy's hand, her eyes flickered slightly.
"Fairy Tail..."
She let go of Gray, a gentle smile on her face. "You have some good companions."
Her gaze finally rested on Ryoma, with a hint of genuine admiration and gratitude.
"To be able to reverse even Iced Shell... what incredible magic."
"Speaking of which..."
Ur seemed to recall something and continued, "I teamed up with a Fairy Tail Mage once."
"Oh?" Natsu immediately became interested.
"Who was it?"
Ur recalled, "His name was Gildarts, a very generous and powerful guy."
"Gildarts?!"
Erza, Natsu, Lucy, and even Gray, who had just calmed down, all exclaimed in unison.
That name was legendary in Fairy Tail.
The strongest man in the guild.
"Ur, you... you teamed up with Gildarts?!"
Gray's eyes widened. He had never heard Ur mention this.
"Mm, it was just a chance encounter a long time ago." Ur smiled and didn't say much more.
But this news was already enough to shock Natsu and the others into speechlessness.
Ryoma was also a bit surprised. He hadn't expected Ur and Gildarts to have such a connection.
He stood up and walked to Ur, extending a solemn invitation. "Ur-san, since you're back, would you be interested in joining Fairy Tail?"
...
Meanwhile, in a vast, dark, eerie space entirely constructed from some unknown black metal.
The air was filled with a nauseating magical aura.
Ultear knelt on one knee on the cold ground, her head bowed deeply, reporting to the figure shrouded in darkness on the high seat.
"...Master, that's the situation. The plan failed."
The figure made no sound, but the invisible pressure made the entire space feel heavy.
Ultear's body trembled slightly as she continued, "Everything was going smoothly, but then a huge variable appeared. A Mage from Fairy Tail named Ryoma."
For the first time, her voice carried an uncontrollable hint of surprise and confusion.
"His magic power... at the last moment, it erupted with a colossal amount comparable to a Wizard Saint. And, he used a magic I've never seen before. It was like Arc of Time, but also somewhat different."
"My Arc of Time seemed to be easily overridden, even erased, in the face of his power."
After a long silence, the figure finally moved.
It was an old man with white hair and an eyepatch over his right eye.
The Master of Grimoire Heart, Precht, the second Guild Master of Fairy Tail, or rather, now known as Hades.
He slowly opened his eyes. There was no anger in them, only bottomless inquiry and intense interest.
"Oh?"
He let out a hoarse, aged voice.
"Able to override Arc of Time..."
"Interesting."
Hades stood up from his seat and paced a few steps, the entire dark space trembling with his movements.
"Does this world still contain lost magic that I am unaware of?"
He looked at Ultear, his tone calm but with an undeniable command. "Go, investigate this young man named Ryoma."
"I want to know everything about him, especially that power of his."
(End of Chapter)
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