One week later.
On a train bound for the Kingdom of Isvan.
Outside the carriage windows, the world was blanketed in snow. The train, cutting through the wind and snow at high speed, seemed to be heading toward a silvery-white world completely covered in ice.
[We have arrived at the terminal station for the Kingdom of Isvan. Passengers, please disembark in an orderly manner and proceed to the transfer station to change trains.]
Although the Kingdom of Fiore and the Kingdom of Isvan were all-weather strategic partners on the continent of Ishgar, and both operated under the alliance of the Magic Council ERA, they were ultimately controlled by different regimes. Therefore, there were no direct trains crossing between the two countries. Passengers wishing to travel between them had to transfer at the border station.
"Excuse me, sir, are you alright?"
After all the other passengers had left the carriage, a conductor in a black uniform helped a young man who was severely motion-sick and pale-faced slowly disembark from the train.
"So uncomfortable."
This motion-sick passenger was none other than Ide, who had chosen to "return home" after receiving Susan's cry for help.
To reach the Kingdom of Isvan and subjugate the Demon Deliora as quickly as possible, Ide had resolutely chosen to travel by train despite his condition.
"Would you like me to get you a glass of water?"
The conductor continued to serve Ide patiently.
"No need for the trouble. Just let me rest for a bit."
Ide waved his hand gently at the kind-hearted conductor. His gaze crossed the platform to the snow-covered mountains in the distance, and he whispered, "It's been a long time since I've been back here."
"Sorry to bother you."
Ide closed his eyes, sensing the cold air and the joyful magic particles in the atmosphere. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly as he looked at the conductor beside him and asked.
"Please go ahead."
The conductor maintained his service smile.
"Do you know where Deliora is right now?"
Ide asked with a smile.
"Eh?!"
"Which Deliora are you referring to?"
The smile on the conductor's face froze slightly.
"Uhh."
"Is there any other Deliora besides the Demon Deliora?"
Ide asked the conductor.
"Why would you ask about such a dangerous existence?"
The smile on the conductor's face vanished completely, replaced by a flustered expression. He really couldn't understand why Ide would ask for the location of the Demon Deliora!
Deliora was a Great Demon recorded in the Books of Zeref, the Black Wizard. Its power was boundless; it could reduce an entire town to ruins in an instant. It was an incredibly dangerous and terrifying existence.
"To subjugate him, of course."
Ide smiled and said matter-of-factly.
"I... I don't know Deliora's location..."
The conductor was stunned. He had heard that the Demon Deliora had slaughtered the entire subjugation squad sent by the Magic Council ERA.
Under such circumstances, was there really someone in this world bold enough to go and subjugate that terrifying existence?!
"That's a pity."
Confirming that the conductor didn't know Deliora's whereabouts, Ide sighed helplessly.
Ideally, finding Deliora seemed harder than actually subjugating him.
"If it's the Demon Deliora, I heard someone spotted him in the mountains about thirty miles north of here. That information might be helpful for your subjugation."
Just as Ide was lamenting that this mission might not be as easy as he thought, a gruff voice suddenly sounded in his ear.
Ide turned to look and saw a bearded middle-aged man with a pipe in his mouth, puffing away while sharing news about Deliora.
"North, huh?"
"Thanks a lot."
"This information is very useful to me."
After thanking the man, Ide strode into the wind and snow, disappearing from the train platform.
"Sta... Station Master."
After Ide left, the conductor realized something. He looked at the middle-aged man with the pipe and asked softly, "Should I really have told that young man about Deliora? He's so young, he shouldn't..."
"You're wrong, Henry."
"If I'm not mistaken, that young man just now is definitely an extraordinarily powerful wizard."
The Station Master shook his head gently at the conductor. In his heart, he prayed for Ide: "I hope you can successfully subjugate the Demon Deliora."
"Phew."
Thirty miles wasn't far, but it wasn't close either for the current Ide. Trudging through the deep, bottomless snow against the howling blizzard, by the time he reached the location the Station Master had mentioned, the sky had already darkened. To avoid getting lost in the snowy mountains, Ide had expanded his Observation Haki to its maximum range.
Yes, Ide still didn't know why, as a master who could use Observation Haki to search dozens of miles around, some people still managed to get lost.
Zoro: "Who are you implying?!"
About five seconds later, Ide locked his gaze toward the northeast and whispered, "I finally found you, Deliora."
In a small town about twenty kilometers away from Ide's position in the deep mountains.
"ROAR!!"
The originally peaceful town was suddenly shattered by an ear-piercing roar.
Squad after squad of soldiers bearing the Magic Council's emblem appeared in the town, screaming nervously, "Run! Deliora is coming!"
"BOOM!!"
Before the soldiers could finish speaking, a demon over ten meters tall, glowing with deep blue light and radiating infinite oppressive pressure, appeared at the edge of the town. A terrifying beam of light shot from its mouth, blasting away the soldiers who tried to approach it.
The demon was too strong; these ordinary soldiers couldn't even get close.
This was the Great Demon recorded in the Books of Zeref, the Black Wizard, assigned a subjugation level of '10 Years' by the Magic Council ERA. A terrifying existence that absolutely could not be defeated by anyone less than a Ten Wizard Saint—Demon Deliora.
Instantly, firelight illuminated the entire town. The demon's roars, people's screams, pleas for help, and the soldiers' angry shouts mixed into a chaotic cacophony that echoed endlessly over the town.
"Gray, run! The demon is here!"
Among the fleeing townsfolk, a middle-aged man with short black hair was running for his life, dragging his young son with one hand and his beautiful wife with the other.
At this moment, the child named Gray was clearly bewildered. He had never experienced such a cruel event. His mind went blank, relying on biological instinct to move his legs and run madly until he saw a ball of white light gradually swallowing his vision.
"Gray, you must survive."
At this critical moment, Gray seemed to hear his parents' whispers. Just as he was about to be swallowed by the light, his father and mother used their bodies as a human shield, protecting him underneath them.
"Father, Mother?"
Gray's eyes reddened, and helpless tears flowed down his face. He prayed to the heavens, "Someone, please save us!"
"BOOM!"
Just as Gray prayed, the light capable of shattering everything descended.
In this moment, Gray felt utter despair.
However, one second passed, two seconds passed, three, four, five seconds passed. The pain Gray and his parents expected never came.
This puzzled Gray's parents. A trace of confusion flashed in their eyes. They turned around in bewilderment to look in Deliora's direction, and then they saw a scene that would shock them for the rest of their lives.
Under the moonlight, Deliora, who had been rampaging arrogantly just a second ago, was now frozen into a statue of ice.
Even more shocking to Gray's parents was that a young man in a black trench coat had appeared atop the ice-bound Deliora's head without anyone noticing.
"BOOM!"
With a wave of the young man's hand, an azure magic circle enveloped the entire town. Surging cold air poured from the circle, freezing all the wounded people present, forcibly locking the life force of all those on the brink of death.
"How would you like to die?"
After doing all this, the young man looked down at Deliora beneath him and spoke coldly.