After being eliminated, Gray and Loki were called to the guild camp on Tenrou Island by Mirajane to help prepare ingredients for the celebration banquet after the trial.
In the camp, besides the members eliminated in the first round, the five S-class examiners were also there, though among so many people, very few could actually cook well.
So Erza had the girls stay behind and sent all the troublemaking boys out to fish, find firewood, and such.
Gray and Loki didn't expect that while out chopping wood, they would stumble right into a battle between two individuals of unknown origin.
Their eyes were instantly drawn to the black-robed man kneeling on the ground, exuding an aura of sorrow, before they noticed Ultear, who was casting a spell.
Seeing that side profile, a face almost identical to his master's, Gray's pupils constricted.
"Uru?!"
"No, could you be her..."
Ultear frowned, clearly not expecting Mages from Fairy Tail to suddenly arrive, especially since one of them was her mother's disciple.
He stole her mother's love, and now he was getting in the way.
Damn him!
Her movements didn't pause for a second as the light in her hands surged.
Dozens of magic light bullets poured down like a rainstorm, targeting not only Zeref but also enveloping Gray and Loki.
"Ice-Make: Shield Wall!"
Gray reacted instantly, slamming both hands onto the ground, and a thick ice wall rose up, blocking the way for the three of them.
The light bullets struck the ice wall, exploding into dazzling points of magical light. Amidst the flying ice shards, fine cracks spread across the wall under the impact, but Gray seemed not to notice.
"Ultear, why are you here?"
However, the only response he received was Ultear's increasingly vicious attacks.
"Hey, hey, this beauty's way of saying hello is a bit too passionate." Starlight flickered in Loki's palm. "Gray, do you know this woman?"
"She's my master Uru's daughter."
Gray squeezed the words through his teeth, his gaze never leaving Ultear. "But I heard she had long since..."
"Long since died?"
Ultear let out a light laugh, one devoid of warmth and filled only with endless mockery. "Yes, an abandoned daughter would naturally be no different from being dead to her."
"That's not true!" Gray said emotionally. "Uru never abandoned you! I've heard the story from my comrades; it was that man Brain who deceived Uru, making her believe you had died from an incurable illness..."
"Enough!"
Ultear's tone returned to calm, but her slightly trembling body betrayed her restless heart.
Ever since being adopted by Hades, the master of Demon Heart, and growing stronger, how could she not have investigated the former director of the Magic Research Institute who had treated her as a test subject?
With Ultear's intelligence, she had probably guessed the truth long ago.
She just didn't want to face it.
She didn't want to face the version of herself who, after escaping the institute, saw her mother Uru from afar at their home, happy with her two disciples, and turned away because she mistakenly believed she had been abandoned.
If only she had let her mother see her back then... it was so close... but now, whatever the truth was didn't matter anymore; Uru was dead, and she, Ultear, had already embarked on a dark path from which there was no turning back.
As long as she obtained Zeref, she could open the Great Magic World. Then, everyone could be resurrected, and she could return to the embrace she yearned for... Ultear raised her hand, a halo appearing at her slender fingertips.
Loki was about to act but was blocked by Gray. "Leave this to me. Take that man back to the camp and tell Erza and the others that there are intruders on the island."
"Then you..."
Loki hesitated, but seeing the determination in Gray's eyes, he gave a relieved smile. "I'll wait for you at the camp. The soup Mirajane made today looks delicious; if you're late, there won't be any left for you."
With that, Loki dragged Zeref away.
Being forcibly pulled away, Zeref had a somewhat helpless expression. "Are these Mavis's juniors? Why are they as naive as she was? The most dangerous person here... is me."
In the blink of an eye, only Gray and Ultear remained on the field.
"Staying behind to die alone? You really are a fool." Light condensed at Ultear's fingertips, and a beam shot out.
"A fool, huh..."
Gray curled his lip, sidestepping the attack as he slowly took a stance. Ice-blue magic power swirled around his arms. "Maybe I am, but I can't let you hurt the guild members, nor can I let you... continue down this wrong path."
"Wrong?"
Ultear looked as if she had heard something ridiculous. "What do you know? This world has long since gone astray. Only by opening the Great Magic World can everything be corrected! And Uru can come back too!"
"If she came back this way, would she be happy?!"
Gray shouted sternly, "Uru left with a smile! She protected her disciples and followed her own path! She doesn't need to be resurrected by trampling on the lives of others!"
"Shut up!" A cold light flashed in Ultear's eyes.
Gray knew that Ultear's current state wasn't something he could talk her out of; he had to use force. He pushed both palms forward, and a large number of ice spears shot out.
"Ice-Make: Lance!"
"Petty tricks."
Ultear snorted coldly, and the sky full of ice spears vanished into thin air.
Arc of Time could extend or shorten the duration of magic. For Shaping-type magic that creates physical entities, it was an absolute counter.
However, Gray refused to give up and continued to release magic.
"Ice Hammer!"
"Geyser!"
"Death Scythe!"
"..."
"Useless, useless, useless!"
With one ineffective magic attack after another, Ultear couldn't suppress the amusement at the corner of her mouth. Looking at Gray, who was flickering in and out of the ice mist, she mocked, "How did Uru end up training such a fool like you?"
"Die! Flash Forward!"
Instantly, countless light orbs fell like dense raindrops toward Gray in the ice mist, knocking him about.
Following an explosion, the ice mist was blown away, and the figure within was already missing an arm.
However, Ultear's expression changed, because that mangled thing wasn't Gray—it was a one-to-one ice sculpture of him!
She suddenly remembered that a few months ago on Galuna Island, she had also been deceived by a hateful guy using a Wood Substitute as a distraction, approaching through the smoke and then hitting her with a Princess Carry Kill... Oh no!
By the time Ultear realized, the real Gray had already silently reached her side through the dispersing ice mist, landing a merciless Face-breaking punch on her.
Caught off guard, Ultear was knocked heavily to the ground.
Gray smiled slightly. Although Hope was a bit of a jerk, he was generous with his advice regarding magic. He had known the weakness of Time Arc for a long time.
This magic cannot directly affect living beings other than Plants, so the best way to deal with a Time Arc Mage is close-quarters combat.
Gray's earlier frantic skill spamming was to lower Ultear's guard and accumulate enough ice mist to allow him to sneak in.
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