Finally, I managed to talk sense into her.
It seems I've picked up a bit of the Guild Master's power of persuasion after all.
Looking at Ultear, who had lost her will to fight, Gray let out a long sigh of relief. Although he had unlocked his second magic source and his strength had skyrocketed, if Ultear really wanted to leave, he truly had no way to stop her.
Freezing his self-inflicted wound with ice, Gray looked at the silently weeping Ultear and suddenly felt a bit at a loss.
What was he supposed to say in this situation... While Gray was still struggling with how to speak, Ultear wiped her tears and said, "I am currently a Mage of 'Grimoire Heart'. Our guild has allied with 'Tartaros', and our target is Tenrou Island."
"What?!"
Gray was shocked. After the Oración Seis was wiped out, the Balam Alliance didn't lay low; instead, they were launching an attack on Fairy Tail?
Interesting. He wondered if "Grimoire Heart" and "Tartaros" could handle it.
Should he suggest to the Master to change the S-Class Promotion Exam to whoever defeats the most enemies wins?
Seeing that Gray wasn't panicking but instead had an itchy-to-fight expression, Ultear was somewhat confused. "You don't seem very surprised?"
"How many people in our guild do you think have unlocked their second magic source?" Gray gave a confident smile.
Ultear understood. "So many people have unlocked their second magic source... What a grand gesture. That old fellow from the Mildian Magic Academy actually helped you all this much."
"What are you talking about? The person who helped us unlock our second magic source is named Hope. He was the defender during our guild's trial at the Council last time."
Ultear's mouth twitched slightly. She didn't really want to hear that guy's name, so she changed the subject. "The Dark Guilds have two goals in coming to Tenrou Island. First is to find the legendary Black Wizard Zeref..."
"Zeref?!"
Gray's exclamation interrupted Ultear. This time, he could no longer suppress his shocked expression and quickly pressed, "Is he really on our island?!"
Ultear nodded. "The black-robed man your companion took away is Zeref."
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Gray shook his head like a rattle. "That person's magic power was so weak he was no different from an ordinary person. How could he possibly be the Black Wizard?"
Ultear had no choice but to tell him about Zeref's condition.
Thinking that he had actually let Loki take such a "murderous monster" who could explode at any moment back to the camp, Gray was on pins and needles. He had to go back immediately.
Just then—
"Oh my, oh my."
"It seems our little friend wants to go home."
A low, raspy voice rang out abruptly.
Alarm bells rang in Gray's mind. He instantly leaped backward. A dark purple beam of magic energy grazed his shoulder, corroding several trees behind him into pitch-black residue.
From the shadows of the forest, a slender and enchanting figure emerged.
She wore a mask and a deep-V bodysuit. Her hands and feet resembled avian claws, and her entire body emitted an ominous aura. She didn't look human at all.
Ultear recognized the newcomer at a glance: a high-ranking officer of Tartaros, the leader of the "Nine Demon Gates"—Seireiten Kyoka!
"What are you doing here?!"
Kyoka glanced at Ultear. "How disappointing. To think the leader of the'Seven Kin of Purgatory', second only to one in 'Grimoire Heart', would turn into a traitor."
"But this gives me a perfect chance to turn you into a demon. Ultear, I really want to hear how moving your screams will be under severe torture~"
"Don't ignore me! You bastard!"
Seeing Kyoka being disrespectful to his senior sister as soon as she arrived, Gray took a fierce step forward. Ice bloomed beneath his feet, and frost spread through the air.
However, in the next second, Gray suddenly couldn't see anything.
Not just his vision—his hearing, smell, touch... even his sense of taste all vanished. His entire being felt as if it had fallen into an endless void, unable to move.
This was Kyoka's 'Enhancement Curse', which could enhance herself or a target. Gray had fallen victim to her 'Deprivation of the Five Senses'.
Unable to feel the world, with only internal fear and despair growing, most Mages would break down within minutes, their bodies and minds slowly eroded by darkness.
"Let's start with you."
Kyoka's figure drifted like a ghost toward Gray, who was frozen in place. Her claw-like fingertips flickered with a dim purple light, aimed right at his heart.
"Stop!"
A clear shout erupted along with a piercing cold wind.
Ultear struck her fist against her palm. The temperature of the air in front of her plummeted, and countless sharp ice lances condensed out of thin air, shooting toward Kyoka like a rainstorm.
"Hmm? You can use Shaping Magic too? It seems the intelligence was inaccurate." Kyoka looked slightly surprised, but her eyes were full of contempt.
Having enhanced her own speed, her figure flickered eerily through the rain of ice lances, easily passing through the ice spikes that were strong enough to pierce Stone.
By the time Ultear reacted, the demon's claws had already gripped her neck, lifting her slightly.
'Time Arc' does not work on living beings, so naturally, it couldn't affect Kyoka, who possessed a physique far surpassing that of a human.
As for 'Ice-Make'? Magic of this level was far too boring for a high-ranking demon like Kyoka.
Kyoka looked at the struggling Ultear, a cruel smile curling on her lips. She casually tossed her to the ground and pointed her right index finger lightly at Ultear's body.
"Enhancement Curse—Pain Amplification, one hundredfold."
"Argh—!"
Ultear felt as if she had been struck by lightning, her whole body suddenly arching.
Although her body hadn't received any physical blow, the intense pain from her nerve endings felt as if she were being sliced by a thousand blades, like every bone was being crushed.
Cold sweat instantly soaked Ultear's back. She clenched her teeth, but she still couldn't stop the groans of agony from leaking through the gaps in her teeth.
This was the terror of having pain enhanced a hundredfold; even a tiny bump would cause unbearable agony due to the magnification.
"Honestly, you should have just watched quietly."
Kyoka shook her head, her gaze from behind the mask falling back onto Gray. "Since this human could make you turn traitor, he must be very important to you. I'll just turn him into chunks of meat and take him back to feed the Plutogrim."
She walked slowly toward Gray, her steps elegant yet lethal. Her enhanced, hard claws swung down fiercely.
However, Ultear was one step faster, blocking the way in front of Gray.
Even under hundredfold pain, she could still move, though just reaching the front of Gray had exhausted almost all of her strength.
Looking at the approaching demon claws, Ultear turned and used her last ounce of strength to push Gray away.
She had done too many wrong things; her death would not be a loss.
But you must live on, Gray.
For Uru, and for me... Ultear closed her eyes. Just as Kyoka's claws were about to touch her body, an ice rose quietly bloomed on Gray's back.
Endless cold air instantly transformed this tropical land into a world of silver and frost.
A hand gripped Kyoka's wrist, preventing her from taking another step.
A woman with short, neat dark hair, wearing a jacket and trousers, who looked remarkably like Ultear, looked at the shocked Kyoka.
"What do you think you're doing to my beloved daughter and disciple?"
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