Check out advanced chapters on P@treon: [email protected]/CosmicKaminari
----------
Minerva, having used Spatial Magic to transfer Natsu, no longer had enough Magic Power to cast powerful combat spells. She could only use her remaining strength to kick Natsu toward Deliora before falling downward.
"I'm leaving it to you, Natsu-nii."
"Oh! Leave it to me! I'm all fired up!"
Seeing Minerva caught safely by Cheese, Natsu didn't even turn his head as he wound up his punch. The pitch-black glow of Haki covered his fist, and fierce Dragon Slayer flames burned wildly in the wind.
The rotating crimson Magic Circle emitted a blaze like a dazzling dawn breaking through the night. It even made Deliora feel a hint of threat, prompting him to instinctively defend himself.
However, at that moment, Lucy, Gray, and the others acted with unspoken understanding, exhausting their Magic Power to firmly restrain Deliora's movements.
"Fire Dragon's... Iron Fist!!"
Accompanying Natsu's roar, this heavy blow—imbued with the will of his companions—landed squarely on the Demon of Destruction's brow.
The surging Dragon Slayer flames exploded simultaneously.
Amidst the churning flames, a deep, resonant laugh emerged. Natsu's full-power attack hadn't achieved the desired effect.
"Hahahahaha!"
"I am Deliora!"
Deliora cackled incessantly. "When Lord Zeref created me, he bestowed upon me unparalleled power and an immortal body!"
"Even that woman's forbidden magic, sacrificed with her life, couldn't harm me. What hope do you have..."
His arrogant words abruptly ceased.
A faint cracking sound reached Deliora's ears. He looked in that direction in confusion but found nothing noteworthy.
However, the subtle cracking sounds grew more numerous, irritating Deliora and giving him a headache—a sensation he had never experienced since his birth.
Where is that sound coming from?!
Deliora forced Natsu back with a punch, then irritably looked down, only to see Boss's ashen face, as if he had seen a ghost.
"Hey! What kind of expression is that?!"
"De... Deliora-sama, your... your face..."
Boss stammered, unable to articulate what he was seeing.
Deliora curiously wiped his face with his hand. The motion produced a crunching sound, and then, under Boss's horrified gaze, Deliora "accidentally" broke off half of his own face.
Looking at that half-face covered in cracks like a block of ice about to shatter, Deliora's eyes widened, and the entire demon froze.
Wh... what the hell is going on?!!
I am the immortal Demon of Destruction—how could... how could this happen?!!
This bizarre scene stunned not only Deliora and Boss but also Natsu, who had thrown the punch, and everyone else, who wore expressions of disbelief.
This was the Demon of Destruction who had terrorized Ishgar for a hundred years, yet Natsu's punch had cracked his face.
Was Natsu's fist too powerful?
Or was Deliora's body too fragile?
"Heh heh."
A soft laugh came from the sky. Everyone involuntarily looked up at the demonic Mira suspended in the air.
Mira held a green bamboo flute that had appeared in her hand at some unknown point. She looked down at the crowd below. "Do you know? Noah told me that Moon Drip is a collection of moonlight—the purest divine Magic Power in the world."
"Its effect isn't only to dispel magic but also to temporarily grant life to those on the verge of death, giving them a chance to complete unfinished business."
"Simply put, Moon Drip can give dying creatures a final burst of vitality."
"A final burst of vitality? Doesn't that mean..."
Lucy covered her mouth in surprise. She understood Mira's meaning and why she had ignored the unsealed Deliora earlier.
Deliora's life had already reached its end during his icy imprisonment.
After the seal was broken, what sustained Deliora's actions was the excess Moon Drip that Boss had infused into his body when breaking the seal. This brief surge of vitality, brought by the pure moonlight, quickly depleted as Deliora launched several attacks.
Even without engaging in battle, the unsealed demon wouldn't have been able to exist much longer.
And Deliora had been completely oblivious to all of this.
Because he was already a dead man—his life extinguished by Iced Shell—yet the last vestiges of his consciousness had been preserved within the icy seal.
"It's time to end this."
Mira gently blew into the bamboo flute in her hand.
The flute's sound was soft, like a spring breeze, carrying the notes of a death curse that penetrated the demon's giant body.
In an instant, the Moon Drip within Deliora was removed, causing him to lose all his power and rendering the entire demon immobile.
Without the replenishment of divine Magic Power, the cracks slowly spreading from Deliora's brow immediately accelerated throughout his body like water bursting through a dam.
"How could I die?"
"This is impossible, this is impossible... this is impossible!!"
Amidst desperate and unwilling roars, Deliora's massive body suddenly collapsed, shattering into pieces like a snowman toppled by a mischievous child.
His head rolled, and on his ferocious, vacant face, the demon's eyes recalled the final words spoken by that human female mage nine years ago—the one who had single-handedly fought him before turning into eternal ice, shouting to her disciple behind her.
"Gray, I will put an end to the darkness in your heart."
So that's it. For the sake of your disciple, I was already killed by you in the passage of time.
Human emotions... they are truly formidable... I admit defeat wholeheartedly.
In the year X783 of the Magic Calendar, the moving calamity that plagued the continent of Ishgar—one of the powerful Demons from the Books of Zeref, the immortal Demon of Destruction, Deliora—was completely dead.
Watching the demon turn entirely into dust, Lyon covered his tearful eyes with his hand, but he couldn't stop the tears from flowing.
Gray knelt on the ground, tears dripping down his cheeks onto the earth. His mind was filled with the last wishes his master, Ur, had expressed to him and Lyon nine years ago.
"Step forward... toward the future."
A pure white scale scarf landed on Gray's head. Gray looked up and saw Natsu walking away, his back turned, without a word.
Looking at Natsu's retreating figure while holding the most treasured scale scarf, Gray—though still shedding tears—broke into a heartfelt smile.
I now have wonderful companions, wonderful friends, and a wonderful home.
I have found my future.
Ur, do you see?
While everyone stood in silence, a figure stealthily snuck toward the exit of the canyon. Boss didn't dare look back, fearing discovery by those people.
Damn the Oración Seis. As members of a Dark Guild, they actually teamed up with a Legal Guild to deal with me. I'll report this to the Bishop and let all my Dark Guild comrades know there are traitors among us!
Useless Demon of Destruction, wasting two years' worth of Moon Drip I secretly intercepted, only to release a dead man who couldn't be any deader.
Those hateful Fairy Tail mages. If these meddlesome fools aren't eliminated, they'll surely be the greatest obstacle to our plans... Once I return, I'll ask the Bishop to take action and kill all of you!
"Squeak!!"
Amidst his internal complaints, a sudden squeak from a mouse underfoot startled the already terrified Boss.
Looking at the cute white hamster on the ground, clutching a nut and gazing at him quizzically, Boss sighed in relief, but then anger flared in his heart.
Damn it, a stinking mouse dares to block my path!
I can't beat Demon Mira, but I can't deal with you?!
Boss lifted his foot and viciously stomped down on the white hamster.
The expected scene of a flattened mouse and splashing blood didn't occur. A tremendous force suddenly rose from beneath Boss's foot. That white hamster, which looked like nothing more than a cute rodent, possessed unexpectedly great strength.
The force was so great that it sent Boss flying backward.
Shirayuki picked up the nut she had just dropped on the ground, wiped it on her smooth fur, and thought, If I don't show my power, do you really think I, an S-Class magic beast, am just for show?
Boss's fall naturally attracted attention. While the others were apprehending Boss, the snow cat Cheese immediately spotted his best friend in the dim passage.
"Shirayuki!"
Cheese quickly picked up Shirayuki and carried her back to his companions. "Weren't you with Noah? How did you end up here?"
Shirayuki swallowed the nut in one bite, then spat out a shelled peanut from her magical cheek pouch before squeaking.
"Squeak, squeak, squeak!" (Noah and the others found something very evil in the temple's underground.)
"Squeak, squeak, squeak!" (I'm just an ordinary little mouse—I can't help them much, so I came to check on you guys.)