Gray suddenly sat up from the bedding. He had expected to be lying on cold stone slabs, but instead found himself in a warm, cozy room.
He vaguely remembered that Natsu had dragged him back here. Still, he couldn't shake off the bitter feeling in his chest—Leo seemed like a completely different person now.
Gray quickly tried to get up. "Ah—damn, that hurts."
His wounds had already received some simple treatment, with medicine applied. Enduring the pain, Gray walked out of the room.
Outside, the three others—plus one cat—were in the middle of a strategy meeting. After all, tonight's operation was critical.
"Can you take me with you?" Gray asked abruptly.
"Don't be a burden. Your injuries are too severe, and I'm not about to let you take that risk."
Noel absolutely refused to let Gray face the enemy in his condition—especially since the opponent's ice magic was slightly stronger than Gray's.
"If you push yourself, you could make your wounds even worse and end up unable to move at all," Noel said coldly.
"How can you say that?"
Lucy could understand the reasoning—it was meant to protect Gray—but she still found the approach a bit heartless.
"Suit yourself," Gray replied.
His eyes sharpened. "This is the path I've chosen. Since I've made that choice, I'll see it through to the very end."
"You've decided?" Noel asked, voice still cold.
"My head is clear. I know exactly what I'm doing—I'm not being reckless."
"There are some things you don't get to say are 'impossible' and walk away from. Some things… you simply must do." Gray's expression was serious as he started toward the ruins.
"Are you sure it's okay to just let him go like that?" Lucy asked from the side.
"Why don't we just move ahead of schedule?" Natsu suggested.
"I'm coming too," Happy volunteered.
"…Fine. But everyone be careful on this mission. I want all of you to come back safe."
Noel's tone had lost some of its earlier severity. He wasn't truly harsh by nature—but as the leader of the team, excessive gentleness was useless. Sometimes sternness was more effective, and it pushed people to grow.
Gray, still injured, didn't move quickly. But the three plus one cat—though they had started later—soon caught up to him.
"You here to stop me?" Gray glanced back at them.
"Of course not—we're going together," Natsu replied, baffled by the question.
Gray looked at Noel, who seemed to agree. Otherwise, they wouldn't all be here following him.
"You should know Zero's goal, right?" Noel asked Gray. Gray was clearly familiar with the man.
"He wants to resurrect Deliora," Gray said through gritted teeth.
"He wants to bring back that demon? For what purpose?"
Noel couldn't comprehend why anyone would want to do such a thing. Wouldn't that only bring disaster? The demon was sealed—wasn't that a good thing? Why release it?
When Natsu heard the word "resurrect" in relation to a demon, he immediately sped up, rushing toward the ruins.
"Is it really safe for Natsu to run ahead like that?" Lucy pointed to the now-vanished silhouette of Natsu in the distance.
Noel could only feel a pounding headache. Why had he been so confident in accepting this mission in the first place?
"Just catch up to him. He does this all the time—it'll be fine," Happy said from the side.
After all, no one knew Natsu better than Happy. The two were practically inseparable.
Boom! From up ahead, a column of fire shot out from a building—almost like some strange spectacle.
Then, the entire building began to tilt and collapse. Noel didn't even have to think—this was clearly Natsu's handiwork.
Unexpectedly, it was actually useful. With the building tilted, the moonlight could no longer shine precisely onto Deliora's head.
Not that Natsu had considered any of that—he was probably just breaking things for the sake of breaking them.
"What the hell is that idiot doing?" Gray muttered.
"What if he melts the ice?"
"Can Natsu's flames even melt ice created by Iced Shell?" Noel asked.
"They shouldn't be able to… but even the slightest chance is unacceptable," Gray said anxiously.
He couldn't face that memory directly—it was nothing short of a nightmare for him.
The closer they got to the ruins, the colder the air became.
"Could Natsu be fighting Leo?" Gray guessed.
"But is Natsu really going to be okay?" Noel was still worried.
"He'll be fine," Happy said with certainty.
"You know more than you've told us, don't you, Gray?" Noel pressed, sensing that Gray was still holding something back.
"Leo's only goal, from the very beginning, has been to surpass Ur."
"And now that Ur is gone…"
Gray hesitated, stumbling over his words.
"So now he wants to defeat Deliora to prove he's surpassed her?" Noel guessed.
"To surpass someone who's already dead… that's probably the only way left to him," Lucy realized aloud.
"But what he doesn't know," Gray said, "is that while Ur did disappear from before our eyes… she didn't actually die."
That was a revelation so shocking that everyone was left stunned.
"I remember now—Iced Shell turns the caster's body into ice, right? It's a kind of material transformation. The person continues to exist, just in another form."
"So that's what you mean?" Noel asked, connecting the dots.
"That's right," Gray confirmed with a nod.
Just then, the wind suddenly shifted—as though something was interfering.
"Wind Wall!"
A massive barrier of wind enveloped the group.
Blades came flying from all directions, striking the wall and clattering harmlessly to the ground.
"Well, isn't this just unlucky. Looks like we're surrounded," Noel remarked lightly.
Figures in black robes closed in from both front and back—they had clearly been lying in ambush for a while.
"Gray, you go on ahead!"
"What do you mean?" It took him a moment to process the words.
"You've got something you have to take care of, don't you? Take care of your own business. Leave this to me." Green magic circles flared into life in Noel's hands.
"I'm staying to help too," Lucy said, drawing the whip at her waist, ready to fight.
"I'll provide support as well," Happy added.
"…Alright." Without looking back, Gray ran toward the ruins.
He had never felt such warmth before—this was the trust of his companions.
Pls drop some power stones supper me at my
PS: Access the complete chapters/series at