On Galuna Island, the ice-sealed altar finally reached its limit.
The Absolute Ice began to shatter.
After years of erosion from the Moon Drip, the internal struggle of the demon, and the impact of the recent battle, the crystal-clear prison that had held for ten years collapsed.
With a cataclysmic roar, Ur's very life and will—the essence that had become the eternal ice—crumbled.
Myriad ice crystals exploded above the altar like brilliant, sorrowful fireworks, scattering into the night air.
"ROOOOAAAAAAR—!!!"
With a cry filled with centuries of resentment, the colossal demon Deliora broke free.
Standing dozens of meters tall, its dark-red skin was stretched over twisted muscles.
On its hideous head, a single eye burned with the purple-black flames of destruction, and its giant, curved horns seemed ready to pierce the heavens.
High above on an ice cliff, Ace, Sakuyamon, and Angewomon watched the descent.
Sakuyamon held a firm grip on Ultear, who remained bound by the golden talismans.
"Do you see? Deliora is revived!" Ultear hissed, her voice trembling with a mix of triumph and spite.
"Your naive Fairy Tail friends... if you don't help them, it will tear them apart!"
"I believe in my companions," Ace replied.
His voice wasn't loud, but it cut through the demon's roars with absolute conviction.
Infuriated by his calm, Ultear struggled desperately, causing the light of her seals to flicker.
Losing his patience, Ace raised his hand and landed another sharp slap on her ass.
Smack!
"Kyahhh—!" Ultear froze instantly.
An indescribable wave of shame and fury rushed to her head, turning her face, ears, and neck a deep crimson.
"Be quiet," Ace said flatly, as if he had just swatted a fly. "A captive should act like one. If you keep making noise, I'll have Sakuyamon use her foxes to help you calm down."
...
Below on the altar, Gray stared at the demon with eyes full of hatred.
His body shook; because of this monster, he had lost his family and his teacher!
"Look out!" Erza shouted, instantly switching into her Adamantine Armor and raising her massive shield.
Gray instinctively cast Ice-Make: Shield, while Lucy hugged Happy in terror.
But the blow they expected never landed.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!!!"
A scorching figure shot through the air.
Natsu, wreathed in incandescent white flames, pushed his Dragon Slayer powers to their absolute limit. He met the demon's descending claw head-on.
BOOM—!!!
The tiny flaming fist collided with the mountain-sized claw.
A terrifying shockwave exploded outward, clearing the remaining ice from the altar.
Like a meteor hitting an asteroid, Natsu was slammed back into the ground, creating a deep crater.
"Natsu!!" Lucy and Happy screamed.
However, the demon's claw had actually been halted.
It recoiled upward, the palm scorched black where Natsu had struck.
A trace of annoyance flashed in Deliora's eye.
It hadn't expected an "insect" to actually shake it.
"Natsu!" Gray snapped out of his shock.
Seeing Natsu struggling to stand and the demon preparing a fatal follow-up, Gray's fear vanished, replaced by a surge of grief and resolve.
"Enough... I've had enough!" Gray roared.
The icy magic around him surged, drawing in the lingering aura of Ur that still hung in the air.
"Lyon! Watch closely! Our Master's magic isn't for running away—it's for protecting those who matter, even at the cost of your life!"
"Iced Shell—!"
Gray prepared to sacrifice himself, just as Ur had done.
"Gray, stop!" Lucy cried.
"Stripper! Are you crazy?!" Natsu yelled, coughing up blood as he scrambled out of the crater.
Just as the frost began to cover Gray's body—Thwack!
A hot fist slammed into the top of Gray's head, breaking his concentration.
Gray turned, stunned, to see Natsu's crimson eyes burning with a clear, firm light.
"Idiot! Who asked you to do that?" Natsu wiped blood from his face and grinned. "Ur used that spell because she was alone! But we're here! Fairy Tail is here! Ace and Erza are here! It's not time for anyone to die yet!"
Natsu turned back to Deliora.
The demon was gathering a terrifying sphere of evil energy in its eye, but Natsu didn't flinch.
"Listen up, big guy!" Natsu took a deep breath, channeling every ounce of his magic, his trust in his guild, and his hopes for the future into his fists.
"I don't care how strong you are! Ur protected the world with her life! And I, Natsu Dragneel of Fairy Tail, burn my flames to incinerate evil!"
"As long as I can swing my fists—I will never give up!!"
Natsu launched himself like a reverse meteor.
The flames on his hands merged into a single, pure white blazing sun.
It distorted the air as he slammed it into Deliora's chest.
RUMBLE—!!!
A blinding explosion swallowed the altar.
White light fought against black energy until a final shockwave flattened the area.
When the light faded, Natsu was on one knee, his arms charred and hanging limply at his sides.
He was exhausted, but his head was held high.
In the air, Deliora froze.
Cracks began to appear on its dark-red skin. They spread from its eye to its torso and limbs.
Crack... crackle...
Like a weathered stone statue, the demon began to flake away.
There was no blood—only gray, rock-like dust that vanished into the wind.
"It's... disintegrating?" Lucy whispered.
"Ro...ar..." Deliora let out a final, muffled sound before crumbling entirely into a mountain of dust.
In the center of the ruins, all that remained was a puddle of clear, melting ice water shimmering under the moonlight.
It was the last remnant of the Absolute Ice spell "Iced Shell".
Deliora hadn't truly been defeated by Natsu; it had already withered away during its ten years inside Ur's ice.
Natsu's flame was simply the "last straw" that broke its hollow, rotten shell.
"Is it over?" Happy asked.
"Yeah," Natsu whispered, giving a tired smile before falling backward into Gray's arms.
On the cliff, Ace watched the dust settle.
"Deliora was sealed for a decade," Ace said softly. "Ur's ice didn't just hold its body; it purified its soul. Natsu simply gave it a dignified end."
He looked at the melting water seeping into the ground. "Look. Ur's life has returned to the earth to nourish this land. Her protection continues, just in a different form."
Ultear trembled violently.
Tears welled in her eyes, but she bit her lip, refusing to cry.
Her mother's sacrifice wasn't a failure—it was a masterpiece of protection.
Everything Ultear had done to "control" the demon felt pathetic in comparison.
'Ur... you didn't fail the world,' Ultear thought, her heart gnawed by remorse.
'But the only one you failed... was me.'
Ace watched her for a moment.
He knew a decade of hatred wouldn't melt in a single day.
"Sakuyamon, release her," Ace commanded.
Sakuyamon nodded and waved her hand, dissolving the talismans.
Ultear froze, looking at Ace in shock and confusion.
"You can go," he said simply.
Ultear gave him a long, complex look of resentment, confusion, and something softer she couldn't yet name.
Without a word, she transformed into a streak of light and vanished.
"Ace, why let her go?" Angewomon asked softly.
"Killing her won't melt the ice in her heart," Ace replied. "She is Ur's daughter. Let's leave the rest to time."
He turned his focus to the sky. "Now, for the final problem."
The "Moon" in the sky—the purple haze that had distorted the islanders' memories and bodies—was still there.
"Understood," Sakuyamon said, raising her staff.
"Vajra World Mandala!"
"Heaven's Charm!" Angewomon added, releasing a tide of holy purple light.
The two divine forces slammed into the purple membrane.
Like hot iron on ice, the evil mist evaporated into white smoke.
The gloom was dispelled, and the sky returned to a deep, natural blue.
The moonlight turned from an eerie purple back to a clear, silvery white.
Across the island, the "humans" began to glow.
Their forms shifted back into their original demonic shapes.
Their true memories returned like a receding tide. In the village, the chief's son—who everyone thought had died—was actually the boatman who had brought Natsu's team to the island.
He had fled to find help when his memory first returned.
The curse was finally lifted.
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