Atlas Frey's face looked somewhat grim.
This 'eternal flame' was undoubtedly his flame, and not just a flame, but also contained a part of his remaining soul.
The soul's power was very weak, but it left him quite a bit of information.
For example, 'he' turned out to be the creator of this village, the guardian deity of this place.
The reason for creating this village was that one day, 'he' grew tired of the endless war between the coexistence faction and the opposition, so he chose to retire.
Of course, the actual situation was somewhat complicated, with reasons involving Igneru.
In any case, after retiring, 'he' felt a fondness for some nearby giants and helped them establish this Sun Village here.
The reason for this fondness was quite simple—'his' name contained the phonetic sound of Atlas.
Since then, Atlas Frey became the Flame of Giants, and 'he' was revered as the guardian deity by the giants.
'He' spent most of his time in the village, occasionally meeting with old friends like Igneru.
There were rumors about an immortal named Zeref doing something, creating a series of demons from the Jellal's Book.
At the time, Igneru was troubled by his inability to destroy END...
'He' mentioned offering help but was refused by Igneru, and never asked about the matter again.
Later, the battlefield situation of the Dragon Race changed dramatically, leading to the Dragon King Festival. Even though 'he' had retired, he died at the hands of Acronologia.
The giants were helpless against such an enemy and could only try to collect 'his' remains after his fall, constructing altars to worship him for generations.
Unexpectedly, even in death, 'his' flame continued to burn to the present 400 years later.
At some point during this period, 'he' was called the eternal flame due to the long-burning, but he was still considered the guardian deity and worshipped for generations.
Until a few days ago, a man in armor arrived here, claiming to be a Demon Destruction Mage, intending to eliminate this flame he called a demon.
The giants naturally disagreed and picked up their weapons to resist...
Then there was only the silver world in front of him, and 'his' memories stopped abruptly here.
Atlas Frey recounted the things he knew under Natsu's inquiry.
Ice Demon Slayer Mage.
This was the first time everyone present heard this title.
Dragon Slayer, Godslayer, now Demon Slayer—the name suggested it too was a powerful magic.
Moreover...
"A mage specifically hunting demons?" Gray had the biggest reaction to this title.
He believed the strongest Ice Mage was Ultear.
Even Ultear had to risk her life to defeat demons, yet this person hunted demons as a target?
"To act without understanding the target is just..." Lucy remarked.
Kana bluntly added, "It's just being muddleheaded."
Natsu was more concerned about saving people now: "Uncle, do you have a way to rescue the giants?"
"Since it's a request from an old friend's child, well... of course!" Atlas Frey leapt onto the altar and loudly declared, "Awaken, Sun Village!"
Raging flames erupted from his body, shooting into the sky, rolling with heat, as if a small sun had been cast upon the Sun Village.
Nearby, a few people were almost knocked over by the heat waves, while Lucy and Kana explicitly asked Gray for cooling.
As sunlight rises when darkness retreats swiftly, the heat from the flames radiated out from the center of the altar, quickly melting the Ice of Evil Destruction that iced over the village.
Houses thawed, and giants were restored from ice sculptures to living people.
Their eyes showed some confusion, but they were quickly attracted by the warmth behind them.
"What's going on?"
"Where are the enemies?"
"This warm feeling is..."
"It's the eternal flame!"
"No, it's the guardian deity!"
Ancestors once left legends that the eternal flame came from a dragon, now appearing before them at a time of crisis in the village.
Then without a doubt...
"Guardian Deity!"
The newly awakened giants knelt on one knee, bowed: "Thank you for your guardianship, Guardian Deity!"
Everyone couldn't help but cover their ears: "So loud."
The giants' voices were indeed too loud.
"Hmm..." Atlas Frey was not quite used to the title of guardian deity but readily accepted the giants' ceremony.
They were saved by him after all.
It may be due to the influence of that little remnant, but he felt these giants were quite nice now.
He needed to think seriously about his next plan: "Let me have a moment of silence."
He tossed out a cold sentence, squatting quietly at the center of the altar, letting his mind wander.
Freyja seeing the giants safe from the thaw, was so excited...she wanted to run away.
Back then, she had run away from home and now didn't know how to face those who raised her.
Only Kana stopped her timely, encouraging: "It was just a moment of willfulness, how could a father blame his daughter for such a thing?"
"But..." Tears flowed from Freyja's eyes.
The giants noticed the little ones beside the altar, especially the somewhat shy Freyja.
"Freyja? Is Freyja back?"
"Seems like she's grown... but still small."
"Imagine, if this thaw hadn't succeeded, would you not regret it?" Having experienced similar events, Kana pushed her to turn around, "Go ahead, you should have things to say to them, right?"
"Sorry, I snuck out without telling, really sorry," Freyja continued, "But actually, what I want to say first is... I'm back."
The giants boomed with hearty laughter: "Welcome home, our daughter!"
Lucy and Kana somewhat felt a sense of empathy.
Father and daughter, after experiencing a near-permanent separation crisis, reunite safely, it was just wonderful!
Erza, Gray, Natsu, and Hapi could clearly sense happiness between the giants and Freyja, and likewise smiled.
There's no need to elaborate on each other sharing experiences, the giants, to thank Team A, celebrate their daughter's homecoming, and for celebrating the guardian deity's appearance, started a grand feast.
Atlas Frey had yet to decide whether to stay, but felt delighted watching the giants' feast.
He didn't mind extending his wing for Natsu to nibble... of course, nibbling on the flames from the wing, not his actual body.
The lively feast lasted all night, making everyone feel like they were back in the Guild.
The next day, everyone was awakened by Natsu's yelling: "The Council has arrived, run!"
Countless snot bubble giants sleeping on the street popped up confused, sitting upright.
Atlas Frey looked curiously at the seemingly not strong group: "Are they enemies?"
Lahar: "?"