55Howdy, y 'all! So obviously I'm back with another chapter, if yah didn't notice. It's time for part 2 of my Galuna Island arc! Sorry for the wait folks. I had to think over some plot stuff, and it took longer to decide then I thought it would. One more thing. I realized I forgot to actually give a height for Erdan. Well to put it simply, he's nearly as tall as Laxus. You'd have to get them to stand back to back, in order to see a difference. That's really all there is to say... enjoy!
As morning finally came, our team of misfit wizards were beginning their investigation. "What a wonderful day." Erdan said. All that alcohol last night putting him in a good mood.
"Yeah, wonderful for you maybe." Lucy grumbled.
"Are you still mad?"
"You punched me in the face! WHAT ELSE WOULD I FEEL?!"
He raised his hands in defence. "To be fair I did help you get to sleep like I promised. Plus, I healed your swollen face with my magic when you woke up. So I'd say we're square."
"Makes sense to me." Natsu stated plainly.
"Nobody was talking to you!" She told him. "Also, add extremly rare healing magic, to the every growing list of weird things about Erdan."
"I still don't get that. In Tamriel, healing magic was pretty common. Hell, the was an entire school dedicated to healing arts! It wasn't as widely respected as destruction but it was definitely still there." the familiar sound of a bell rang as everyone looked back, to see that Lucy had once again summoned Horologium. Only this time, she opened his compartment and climbed in herself.
"You think there is another way we can lift the curse?" asked the pyro wizard.
"Not like we have much of a choice. The villagers may think the moon is cursed, but everyone else likes it. And destroying it may really mess things up." Grey told him.
"Your right! Without the moon the tides would get all messed up, and the sky at night would be pitch black."
"Plus salmon would go extinct. And they're my favorite fish." Happy chimed it.
"Probably wouldn't be a problem, if you all had two of them like we do. One moon having freaks." Erdan mentioned.
"Will you all shut up! We don't know what's lurking out here, so we shouldn't draw any attention. The lady demands, impatiently." the celestial spirit told them for his mistress.
"You should walk on your own." Natsu told her.
"Look, this curse is freaking me out. We have no idea what we're up against and I'm scared. She says nervously."
"Are you kidding?! S-Class quests are the coolest!"
"I bet I could probably just freeze that stupid curse."
"Well, what I've found is that a good couple of whacks from my sword usually get's rid of these kinds of things. If not then a shout should fix it."
"You guys are idiots. She retorts disparagingly." from the tone in his voice Horologium thought the same thing.
Out of the blue everyone felt the ground shake. As well as the sound of large foot steps coming towards them. Looking behind them, everyone was flabbergasted to see what looked like a giant rat, wearing some type of maid outfit.
"What are you waiting for?! Beat it up you guys! She yells frantically."
Bringing his hands together, a rush of cold air burst out of Grey's hands. "Ice-Make: Shield!" a large barrier of ice formed out of thin air. Blocking the weird breath attack this thing was using. Unfortunately, all this "attack" turned out to be was it's, incredibly, bad breath. So the shield didn't actually stop it.
"Ah! Gross!" the three men yelled out. Natsu being effected worse then anyone due to his heightened sense of smell. Lucy and Happy had been hiding inside the clock spirit, however the smell was so bad. It forced him back into his own realm. Exposing the two inside to the smell.
The rat proceeded to laugh at their misery. Just as the others were about to make a break for it, Erdan rushed forward and sank his sword into it's leg. It's laugher was then replaced with a scream of pain. Looking down at him, the rat was not too happy. Sucking in, it was about to unleash another breath. That is until a fireball shot into it's mouth.
"Shut your Akatosh damn mouth!" The Dragonborn told it before continuing to slash at it. Emboldened by their friend, Natsu and Grey joined in.
"Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" the pyro called out as he punched it in the head.
"Ice-Make: Lance!" Grey called out, as a barrage of lance shaped ice, hit various parts of the rat's body.
"Yol Toor Shul!" and with that the battle was over. The giant rat fell on it's back, unconscious.
"Oh, yeah!" the three cheered.
"I think we should keep moving." Lucy suggested. "Don't want to run into more of these things. " She shivered at the thought.
"Yeah, cool. Just give me a minute or two." Erdan said, as he held out his sword. Already trying to calculate how much leather he was going to get from this rat.
"We have a job to do yah dope! And I don't know about you. But I'd rather finish this, as soon as possible." She didn't want to take too long, and end up like the villagers.
"I SAID WAIT A MINUTE!"
"What are you even-"
"AAAARRRGGGGHHHH!" they heard the rat scream as blood began to fly.
"Oh shit! It's still alive?! Usually, they'd be dead if I hit them enough! Ah, well I'll finish you off SO JUST STOP SQUIRMING!" a large glob of blood hit Grey in the face. Causing the ice-make wizard to vomit.
After what felt like too long everyone continued on their way. The Earthlanders faces, slightly drained of colour. Erdan however was humming contently. Wearing a smile big enough to rival Natsu's usual grins. "Ah come on guys. It wasn't that bad."
"Not that bad?!" Lucy hollered. "You skinned that thing alive!"
"In my defence I started when I thought it was dead. And it would have been a lot sooner, had it not moved around so damn much."
"Let's just not talk about it and get back to our job." Grey suggested, flatly. Still recovering from the shock a little. Eventually, the group managed to find an old, worn down temple.
"This place it massive!" Lucy exclaimed.
"Yeah, and it's falling apart." Natsu continued.
"I wonder how old it is?" Grey wondered.
"I swear there had better not be any undead deeper in! Getting real tired of Draugr, in every fucking ruin I explore!" Erdan complained. Natsu then noticed something on the wall.
"Hum? What are those?"
"They're moons yeah dingus." our favorite Dragonborn pointed out.
"It makes sense. Galuna used to be called the island of the moon." The ice wizard said.
"A moon island and a moon curse, plus weird moon symbols? I'm starting to notice a pattern here." Lucy noted.
"Looks like we may have to destroy the moon after all. I'll start warming up my voice." She only sighed in responce.
Natsu, who had stopped paying attention, started to stomp on the floor. "Man, this place is a wreck. The floor doesn't even seem safe to walk on."
"Well, don't go stomping on it!" however, Lucy noticed a bit too late. Because immediately after, the floor gave way. Sending everyone into a freefall.
"Natsu, you idiot," Grey yelled. "look what you did!"
Just before hitting the ground, everyone heard. "Feim Zii Gron!" followed by rocks pilling onto them. A moment later, one of them shifted as Natsu's head popped out.
"Hey! Is everybody okay?" he asked frantically.
"I'd be better if you hadn't knocked down the floor!" the blonde retorted, glaring at her pink haired friend.
"Here's a thought. If you used your brain a little more, MAYBE YOU WOULDN'T CAUSE SO MUCH DESTRUCTION!" his rival yelled at him. "Hold on... where's Erdan?"
Looking around, they indeed could not see him. A second later Lucy felt rocks move under her. "Here I am!" speak of the devil and he shall appear! Erdan's head just shot out of the rocks! However, due to the exact place his head popped out from. Lucy's big chest ended up right in his face.
"Now this is something I could get used to." his muffled voice told them, as she shrieked from embarrassment.
"WATCH IT PERV!" She yelled before punching his head. But with his helmet still on, all she did was hurt herself. "OUCH!"
Everyone looked up to the massive hole they fell from. "Happy, do you think you could fly us back up?"
"No, sorry." the cat responded.
"So we're underneath the temple." Grey muttered to himself.
"Oh wow! It's a secret cave! Let's go check it out!" Natsu cheered as he ran off.
"Would you quit running around like a crazy person?!"
The rest of the gang followed him. Thankfully they found him not too far ahead. He was staring up at something, and they soon found out what. Sitting in the middle of this huge room was a giant chunk of ice. Inside said ice was an equally, giant demon! It was covered in grey scales, with claws and fangs, although it didn't seem alive or conscious.
"By Stendarr's beard." was all Erdan said. I mean, what else could be said? He'd never seen a Daedra that big.
"That's impossible." Grey whispered, stepping forward with absolute shock and horror written all over his face. "It's Deliora!"
"We can see it's a Daedra there buddy." Erdan told his friend. But he didn't even register his words.
"You know this thing?" Natsu asked. The sight of Grey losing his composure like this was very rare.
"T-there's no way..." he didn't hear this either as his arms were now shaking.
Lucy grabbed his shoulders. "Grey, try to calm down."
The ice wizard took a deep breath, but his eyes had a haunted look to them.
"Can you tell us about it?" Lucy asked gently.
"It's Deliora, the Demon of Destruction."
"Demon of Construction?" Natsu asked.
"Destruction." Happy corrected.
"Why do you keep calling it that?" Erdan asked them.
"But why is it here?" Grey asked nobody in particular.
"Am I just not here?"
"It doesn't make any sense."
Erdan didn't know what a demon was. Is it some kind of animal? But despite whatever they were talking about, he wouldn't be surprised if this Daedra had something to do with the curse. Things tend to get crazy whenever Daedra get involved. Especially their princes. "I'm guess Deliora is this things species. Or maybe it's personal name?"
The five of them then heard footsteps coming their way. Four went to hide behind some rocks. Erdan however whipped out a vile, filled with white liquid.
Two people walked into the cave. One of them way a fairly short young man with spiky blue hair, a green coat that went down to his knees and the thickest Akatosh damn eyebrows anyone had ever seen. The second was also a man, but all he wore was a pair of blue pants, no shirt. The weirdest thing about him though was that his face somewhat resembled that of a dog. Almost like they had somehow combined. He even had a pair of dog ears sticking out of his shaggy brown hair.
"The voices seem to be coming from here." Mr. Eyebrows said, then sighed. "I hate being awake during the day."
"So, Toby, were you effected by the Moon Drip? I mean, you got those pointy ears."
"I already told you, they're a fashion statement, you jerk!" his friend, called Toby, replied. Causing him to chuckle.
"I was just teasing you."
"Well you don't have to be so mean about it." Toby grumbled.
"Moon Drip," Lucy whispered. "could that be the name of the curse?"
"Yuka, Toby, something absolutely terrible has happened!"
A young woman suddenly walked in. She had violet-pink hair that was tied into pigtails, and wore a short, pink and black dress with white lace around the edges. She also wore black thigh-length boots and a scarf looking thing that looked like long feathers.
"What is it, Sherry?" asked Mr. Eyebrows, know known as Yuka.
"It's Angelica," Sherry said mournfully, while tears freely flowed down her face. "she's been killed, and I'm so very sad."
"You're moping because something killed your stupid pet rat!?" Toby barked.
It was then Erdan knew. That rat thing was theirs! And now her pelt was his.
"Angelica is not a rat," Sherry said fiercely. "she's a brave hunter, prowling the jungle to protect use. She is... was... love."
"These guys are a bunch of weirdos," Lucy whispered. "especially the chick with the pet rat."
Natsu narrowed his eyes at the trio. "Judging by their smells, they're not from around here."
"And they don't seem to have the demon curse." Happy pointed out.
"Intruders, you say?" Yuka's voice got everyone listening again.
"And it's almost time to start collecting moon light." Sherry sighed. "This is truly a tragic day. This news will displease the Cold Emperor. To help brighten his mood, we should find and eliminate these intruders. Yes, we'll give them, love."
"What's with this chick?" internally asked the Fairy Tail crew, minus Grey.
"Agreed." said Yuka with a with a sadistic smile. Toby only nodded.
All of a sudden, the three heard what sounded like someone talking far back into the cave, and rushed towards the voice.
"Nice job Happy." Lucy said, as the cat in question flew over with a rock in his paws.
"Actually I didn't do anything. I was going to throw a rock down that way, when I heard a voice." He explained.
"Then who...?"
"That was me." answered the disembodied voice of Erdan. Looking around, they didn't see him.
"Erdan? Where are you?" She asked.
"Beside you." looking beside herself. She didn't see anything. Reaching out her hand, she felt the hard and bumpy bones that comprised Erdan's armour.
"Wow! Your invisible?!" Natsu asked excitedly. "Teach me! Then I could totally get back at Erza." he proclaimed while swinging his fists.
"Afraid I'm like this because of a potion. Never learned the actual spell." immediately after saying that, the potion wore off. Returning our Drunken Dragonborn to the visual spectrum.
"I hope you don't use those things for anything pervy." the blonde remarked. Erdan only gave her a cheeky smile.
Natsu sighed. "Man, this mission just keeps raising more questions."
"Aye," Happy agreed. "like, who's this Cold Emperor."
"Don't know. But for the sounds of it, he's probably our main bad guy." Erdan deduced.
Grey, meanwhile, was still off in his own little world. "Deliora… what could they want with it? And how the hell did they even bring it here?"
"Was it hidden somewhere?" Lucy asked.
"It was sealed in a glacier up on the northern continent. Over a decade ago, this immortal demon tore through Isvan. Countless people lost their lives. The woman who taught me to use my magic, my master Ur, gave up everything to seal it away."
Grey's fist trembled as cold air, radiated off it. "I don't know if it has anything to do with the curse. But what I do know is that it doesn't belong here. This Cold Emperor, we have to find out who it is! If they tarnish my master's legacy, they're gonna regret the day they were born!"
After a few moments, Lucy asked the question on everybody's mind. "Do you really think this demon has something to do with the curse?"
"I wouldn't be suprised if it did." Grey answered. "That thing may be encased in ice, but it's still alive."
"Alright! Give me a crack at it. I ain't afraid of no stinking demon!" Natsu said. Being his normal battle hungery self. All of a sudden Grey punched him in the face hard enough that he was knocked off his feet. Looking pissed while he did so.
"Grey just punched Natsu!" Happy proclaimed.
"I'm guessing that's pretty common." Erdan assumed.
"What the heck man?! What you hit me for?!"
"I don't want you or your fire anywhere near it! If that ice melts and Deliora if revived, there isn't anything any of us could do."
"Bet I could kill it." Erdan thought to himself.
"Come on man. Do you really think a chunk of ice that big would be so easy to melt?" Natsu reasoned. He stopped for a moment to consider his friends words.
"... No."
"Hey, are you okay?" Lucy asked him.
"I'm the one who got punched for no reason! Watch your temper man!"
Happy appeared from behind a rock. "Please, your one to talk."
"Many years ago, my master, Ur, cast a powerful spell on this demon called Iced Shell. Sealing it in a form of ice that can't be melted. It's so powerful, that even the most powerful flame spells have no effect on it." Grey explained.
"Then why bring it here?" Erdan asked. "If the stuff can't melt, why go through the trouble?"
"I don't know."
"Well maybe they didn't know? Maybe they brought it here to try and melt it." Lucy theorized.
"BUT WHY WOULD THEY DO THAT?!" the ice wizard snapped.
"Uh, I have no idea." She was a little scared by Grey's demeanour.
"We need answers. Let's go find those guys." Natsu said.
"No!" Grey told them.
"We're going to stay till the moon comes out."
"The moon! But it's the middle of the afternoon!" Natsu complained.
Erdan however pointed out, "Actually bud, it's not even the afternoon yet. We got up pretty early. So it's more like ten thirty-ish."
"Even worse!"
"I don't care! Look, I have a feeling that this curse and Deliora are somehow connected. Plus I heard those guys from earlier talking about collecting moonlight."
"I heard that too." Lucy told him. "Guess waiting till nightfall, is the only way we're going to learn anything."
"I'M NOT WAITING! We have work to do!" the pyro yelled. Despite his protesting though, he fell asleep in like five minutes.
"Well that was fast."
"Aye."
While everyone waited, they tried to keep themselves occupied. Which mainly consisted of them sitting on rocks, while trying to keep boredom away. All except Erdan who was examining Deliora. More specifically the ice around it.
"Geez, I'm so bored." The blonde moaned.
"Aye." Happy agreed. Grey had been quiet the entire time. Obviously deep in thought. Lucy then decided to see what her newest drunken friend was up to.
"Yo Erdan! What're ya doing?"
"Examining the ice."
"Ok... Why are you examining it?"
"Well from what Grey described, this stuff reminds me an awful lot of something from back home." he then pulled out a blue rock of some kind. However, upon closer examination, it turned out to be some kind of weird ice.
"This stuff is called Stalhrim. It's a special magic ice that doesn't melt, and is stronger then steel." both she and the cat stared in awe at the substance.
"That stuff sounds amazing. And I guess I can see why the Iced Shell would remind you of it."
"Yeah. Now let's see how similar they really are." putting the Stalhrim away. He immediately pulled out a pickaxe. It was black in colour, had weird markings all over it and looked very old, ancient even. Everyone immediately knew what the Dragonborn was attempting to do. Even Grey took notice. However, they all doubted it would actually do anything. I mean if the stuff could resist any conceivable fire spell, surely an old pickaxe would fail to break it. Hell it would probably break itself.
"Crack!" everyone's eyes went wide as a piece of the ice did in fact break off. Grey immediately got up and bolted towards Erdan. Delivering one heck of a right hook. This caused him to stumble a bit.
"YOU GET THAT THING AWAY FROM HER!" he screamed at him.
"Geez man! I just wanted a small piece! Also, what did you mean by "her"?" he asked, while putting the chunk of ice and the pickaxe, behind his back.
"I... I..." Grey didn't answer. Instead he walked back over to his rock and sat down again.
Walking back over to were Natsu was. The blonde, the cat and the boozer talked a bit. "Overreact, much." Erdan complained.
"Aye." Happy agreed. "But what was with calling that demon a she? I thought Deliora was a guy."
"I have a sneaking feeling Grey wasn't referring to the demon." Lucy theorized. She then gave Erdan a knowing glare. "And just what were you thinking, trying to break that ice? What if that thing got out?!" the thought of having to fight Deliora terrified her.
"Even if it did I've beaten Daedra before. This one is just a bit bigger then normal, is all."
"Yeah, sure buddy." She said deadpanned.
"But I have!"
Suddenly, and idea popped into Lucy's head.
"I know what will cheer everybody up! Open Gate of The Harp Constellation: Lyra!" after the usual puff of smoke, and bell sound. Standing before them was a young woman with waist length strawberry blonde hair that curled at the end, a pink bonnet also rested on top of her head. Her cheeks had round blush marks, and she wore a long dress with heart prints by her waist. She wears leather shoes as well. She has small white wings and a large harp on her back.
"Oh wow, it's so good to see you again Lucy!" Lyra proclaimed happily.
"Hey Lyra!"
"Say, why don't you call me out more often? I'd love you help you out more. But you ignore me meanie."
"Meanie, hu? Your the one who told me your only available three days a month." the spirit gasped.
"Are you sure about that?"
"Great another weirdo." Happy muttered.
"So what do you want me to sing Lucy? Any requests?" Lyra asked.
"Nope. Choose whatever you want."
"Do you know any songs about fish?!"
"Yeah, yeah. You can sing all your fishy songs later." Erdan interrupted. "First Lucy, I want to prove to you that I have killed Daedra before."
"That's not what I mean- AAAAAAHHHHHH!" she and Happy both screamed when Erdan pulled out something grotesque. It looked like a heart, but there were more arteries and it was deep red.
"See, daedra heart, boom! Ripped it right out of a Dremora's chest." he told them proudly.
"WHY DO YOU CARRY BODY PARTS AROUND WITH YOU?! FIRST THE RAT SKIN, NOW THIS?!" Lucy hollered in disgust. Even Lyra wasn't looking so hot.
"For crafting, duh. Do you not carry that kind of stuff?"
"Of course I don't! Now just put that thing away!"
"Alright, alright." as he turned to sit on a nearby rock something weird happen. It was incredibly subtle, but he felt the heart gave a single weak beat. What's even stranger was that it did so just as it passed by Lyra. He shot a quick glance to the heart then the spirit, before putting the organ back into his inventory.
"If you need me, I'll be right here." he said as his eyes went cloudy again.
"Ah geez. There he goes again." she complained.
"Your friend is a bit of an oddball Lucy." Lyra said flatly.
"That's everyone in this crazy guild."
After many hours the cave suddenly filled with purple light. Waking up everyone who had been sleeping. This was also about the time Erdan snapped out of his trance. "What the heck is going on?!" Happy asked.
"Look!" everyone looked up and saw a stream of purple light shin on Deliora.
Erdan squinted his eyes, as he recognized it. "Wait, isn't that moon light?"
The group made their way out of the cave and climbed up the stairs. Getting onto the roof, everyone saw a bunch of people in robes and masks preforming some sort of ritual. Moon light beaming down into a purple magic circle.
"What are they doing?" asked Lucy.
"Heck if I know." answered Natsu.
"I see so that's what their doing." Lyra, who had not gone back to her own world, muttered. It was loud enough for the others to hear and their attention turned to her.
"Do you know this spell Lyra?"
"Yes although I have never seen it used. It's called Moon Drip."
"Moon Drip?"
"Yes. It's a spell used to gather and focus moon light. Most likely they're using it, to try and melt the ice surrounding that demon in order to revive it."
"BUT THEY CAN'T!" Grey countered, baring his teeth. "The Iced Shell can't be melted!"
"I'm afraid that's not entirely true. While it is very strong, concentrated moon light can break any spell."
"Oh no." Happy said frightfully.
"Those idiots!" Grey growled. "They've never witnessed the power of Deliora!"
"It's possible that what happened to the villagers is a byproduct of this spell." Lyra continued. "They may not have been targeted intentionally. Consintrated moon light can have all sorts of effects on ones body."
"I'll make them pay!" Natsu swore before getting a swift elbow to the face, by Lucy. In order to stop him from just charging in.
"Someone's coming." True to her words someone did approach. He wore a blue outfit with a white cloak, armoured leggings and a demonic-looking helmet. Yuka, Sherry and Toby followed behind.
Erdan, being the master blacksmith he was, thought the armour looked shabby and mainly for show. However he did like the look of that helmet. The cloak too.
"Maybe I should get one." he thought to himself.
"What a waste," Yuka said, "I wasted so much sleep, and all for nothing. We searched all day for the intruders, but we never found a trace of them."
"Maybe there wasn't any!" Toby yelled.
"I'm afraid I have some bad news, Cold Emperor." Sherry said to the masked man. "We thought we had an intruder earlier today, but we couldn't find any. We cannot speak of love in this situation."
"Good. All this talk about love is weirding me out." Erdan whispered.
"Shh!" Lucy shushed him.
"Intruders?" the Cold Emperor said in a flat voice.
Natsu and Erdan noticed how Grey stiffened when he heard the voice.
"Has Deliora been awakened?" the Cold Emperor questioned.
"It should be either tonight or tommorrow, sir." Sherry answered.
"Which one, girl?!" Toby asked impatiently.
"The time has almost come." he said with a smile. "If do you see those intruders again, kill them. I don't want anyone getting in my way."
"It must've been the villagers." Sherry summarized. "They're the only other people on the island."
"Then go destroy the village!" the Cold Emperor commanted.
"Yes, sir." all three said at once, bowing before their master.
Everyone felt like their blood had turned to ice. This guy was a willing to murder everyone in the village, on the grounds that they might have seen the frozen monster?!
"What?!" Natsu snapped angrily.
"B-but..." Lucy looked worried. "the villagers had nothing to do with this!"
"Yeah, we have to stop them."
The Cold Emperor smirked. "It's a shame there has to be bloodshed."
"That voice..." Grey murmured. "no... it can be..."
"Screw it. I'll save the sneaking for thieves and elves." as Erdan jumped onto the rock they all had been hiding behind, the sound of his armour alerted the bad guys. But before they could do or say anything, Erdan took a deep breath and roared. He didn't use any words of power like before. Instead it was just a raw, primal roar that didn't sound human at all.
Even though most didn't picked up on it, Natsu did. That roar carried the unmistakeable essence of a dragon! One hundred percent confirming for him what Erdan had told the guild. It also caused him to cover his ears, along with his friends. Least they all go deaf.
Not only was it loud, but it actually shook the entire temple! As well as knocked everybody in front of him on their asses. Stopping the ritual in it's tracks.
"Ahrg!" Toby screamed as he rolled around on the ground, while clutching his ears in pain. "Too, loud!"
"If you wanna party then we're the ones you want! Be warned though, I always party hardy." the Dragonborn boasted.
"Guess stealth is out of the question at this point." Lucy stated as she got up. Her ears still ringing. "Warn us next time you dolt!"
"I wanna help too Lucy!" Lyra said. "Want me to sing?"
"No, I want you to go back." She deadpanned.
"Ahh... your no fun." Lyra said, holding her cheeks. In a puff of pink smoke, she vanished and returned to the spirit world.
As the villains recovered from their slight case of tinnitus, Sherry spotted the guild mark on Erdan's arm.
"I know that mark, they're from Fairy Tail!"
"What?" Toby asked. Still not being able to hear.
"Interesting, those villagers must have gone to the magical guilds for help." Yuka surmised.
"Don't worry about them." The Cold Emperor replied calmly. Despite his clear disorientation. "Go eradicate the village."
"What?!" Lucy gasped.
"But why." Natsu asked, equally suprised.
"Anyone who stands in my way deliberately or not is my enemy." The masked man stated, clenching his fist for emphasis.
"Have it your way." Erdan said sternly as he drew Leech Fang, before rushing them along with Natsu while Grey jumped into the air.
"I'm gonna stop you here and now!" Grey cried. As he landed, he slammed his hands into the ground creating a shockwave of ice that forced the Emperor and his lackeys to jump back.
The Emperor, however, summoned an icy blue magic circle in his right hand. When he landed, he slammed his hand against the stone ground, creating a wave of his own that was equally as powerful as Grey's. The two ice-walls met head-on and cancelled each other out.
"He's an ice wizard too?!" Happy shouted, shocked.
Grey stepped back as he glared daggers at the masked villain. "Lyon." he growled.
"Lyon?" Lucy repeated.
"What kind of stupid name is Lyon?" Erdan mocked.
"Lyon," Grey continued, his voice filled with frustration and anger. "how could you? Do you have any idea what you're doing?!"
"Oh, Grey." the now identified man, said nonchalantly. "It's be quite a while, hasn't it?"
Lucy and Happy gasped, surprised the two actually knew each other.
"Why would you revive Deliora?!"
"To think that you were one of the wizards sent to this island to help those poor villagers." Lyon said, ingnoring his question. "Did you come here knowing you would find me? Or is this all just a coincidence? Not that it makes any difference to me."
"An acquaintance of yours, Cold Emperor?" Yuka asked.
"Do as you were ordered. I'll handle the intruders myself."
"Yes, sir!" two of them said.
"What?!" Toby asked again. Sherry grabbed onto his hair, before they dashing off.
"Hey, get back here!" Natsu yelled, running towards Lyon.
"No! Natsu, don't get near him!" Grey warned. With panic in his eyes.
Lyon didn't even bother to look at him. Instead, he merely raised his hand, and a sphere of spiked ice engulfed the Dragon Slayer's torso, upper arms and thighs.
"Natsu!" Lucy cried out.
"Happy, get Lucy out of here!" Grey yelled.
"Aye!" the cat sprouted wings and picked her up by the back of her shirt. Despite her protests.
Gray held out his arms and unleashed another wave of ice at the masked wizard who simply held out his right arm and created a domed shield, blocking Grey's attack.
"Alright, out of the way pretty boy! It's my turn." Erdan shouted, before charging. Completely unfazed by this, the evil ice mage raised his arm and attempted the same thing he had done before.
"Tiid Klo Ul!" all of a sudden the Dragonborn seemed to gain a massive amount of speed. He avoided the attack, which shocked both ice wizards. Then, before he could blink, Lyon found himself off the ground, his body spinning backwards. Time seemed to slow as he saw a sword coming straight for his neck. Reacting quickly, Lyon raised his hand and created a thick chunck of ice to block it. It worked although he did still go flying into a wall because of the strength behind the blow. Creating spiderweb style cracks along it.
"Good reflexes." Erdan complemented. "Most don't see that move coming till it's too late."
Lyon groaned as he picked himself up. "YOU INSOLENT LITTLE! Were you attempting to kill me just now?!"
"Well that depends. Would cutting off you head, kill you? Because that is what I was doing." he replied while twirling his sword.
The Cold Emperor was silent for a moment, before he began to chuckle. "Ha ha ha ha! Your an even bigger fool, then that ridiculous armour makes you look. I'm far stronger then you realize. While I admit you gave me a scare, someone like you could never hope to end my life!"
He continued on with his little "I'm better then you" speech, however Erdan had stopped paying attention, the moment Lyon had made fun of his armour.
"Why you little!" he shouted in anger before running up and punching him to the ground. Breaking his helmet, revealing his spiky silver hair and dark eyes.
"Now listen up you little shit! You can mock me, my family, my friends and even my honor if I had any. But nobody, and I mean nobody, mocks my craftsmanship!" Raising his sword high. Erdan brought it down and sank the sharp bone sword into Lyon's left shoulder.
He screamed in pain, before it quickly changed to anger. Taking his right arm Lyon placed it on the Dragonborn's chest before letting loose an- "Ice-Make: Snow Tiger!"
Out of the magic circle came a large tiger made out of ice! The force being released, knocking him backwards and flat onto his back. This also had the added bonus of removing his sword from Lyon's shoulder. What surprised Erdan the most however was that it moved just like a real tiger. Now he was pinned down, with a beast made of ice trying to gnaw at him.
"Yol Toor Shul!" with that shout the entire top half of the ice tiger melted. Leaving Erdan wet, but okay. "Gonna take more then your parlour tricks you little ice bit-"
"Ice-Make: Snow Dragon!" A giant serpentine-dragon appeared underneath him and launched the Nord into the air. It then opened it's jaw, and bite into him.
"Is this all you got?!" Erdan yelled. His voice muffled a bit.
"You have bothered me long enough. Now, be gone!" the dragon spun in place for a bit, before opening it's mouth and sending the Dragonborn flying.
"Cowardly piece of crap! Get back here and fight like a man you milk drinking son of a giant-" Was all they heard before he got too far away.
"Erdan!" Natsu shouted, with worry in his voice, before turning and glaring at Lyon. "You bastard! I'll show you as soon as I get out of this ice. I'll burn you to a-"
Out of nowhere, Grey kicked the Fire wizard over. Sending him rolling down the temple. This confused the other ice mage.
"How cruel. Wasn't he one of you allies?" He questioned while freezing his wound, to stop any more blood loss.
"Please. We both know you could blow up that ice with one spell."
"So you decided to send him out of the range of my magic. That was a very cleaver move. But your an even bigger fool then I thought, if you think you can beat me alone."
"I wouldn't be so sure. From the looks of it, Erdan did a number on that left arm of your. I bet you can't even move it."
As much as he hated to admit it, Grey was right. After what that buffoon did, he couldn't even make a first, much less use his arm in a fight.
"You might as well give up Lyon. You've lost the use of one arm and single handed ice-make magic is too imbalanced."
"If you believe that the lose of one arm is enough to secure a victory, you're dead wrong. And besides, I surpassed our dear master's skill level a long time ago. I can do things nobody else can. Here, let me show you." raising his good arm, a magic circle appeared over it.
"Your going down Lyon!" Bringing his hands together a magic circle appeared behind him.
...
Meanwhile out at sea. A pirate ship was sailing towards the curse island. On board, ever single crew member except the captain was on the ground. Moaning and groaning after the beating they had received.
"Uh... why do you want to go to Galuna Island? Yar, it's scary!" The Captain asked the person that forcefully commandeered his ship.
"Just shut up and steer!" commanded a familiar female voice.
"Yah know, if yah drop us off somewhere you can have the boat. Please, I'm begging yah lady! I've heard that island is cursed and anyone who steps foot on it's soil turns into a demon."
"I will take that chance."
"B-but why do yah want to go there?!" he asked, panic in his voice.
"Because when rules are broken, the guilty must be punished." Erza Scarlet told him. An air of authority surrounding her. All of a sudden, the four crew members that she beat up came running with hearts in their eyes
"She's so cool!"
"And hot too!"
"We don't like rule breakers, either."
"We'll help you find them if you want."
"Sure, now let's hurry." Erza said, nonchalantly.
"Yar, I wanna help too!" The Captain told her. Falling for Erza out of nowhere just like his crew. "I'll brave that scary island for you. Listen up yah scallywags! Raise the sails, and set course for the cursed island of Galuna!"
...
Back with the dueling ice mages, things were really heating up.
"Ice-Make: Lance!" Grey sent a volley of ice spears towards his old friend, who managed to dodge. The battle had taken more out of them then it looked. Lyon silently cursed his limp arm.
"If it wasn't for that fool, he'd be finished by now!" indeed, it's lack of movement was making it harder to counter Grey's own moves. Still, despite the handicap, he was winning.
"Ice-Make: Eagle!" a swarm of eagle shaped ice shot out of his magic circle. Grey tried to block it with his ice shield, when they suddenly changed course. Going over the shield and hitting him. He screamed in pain as they hammered him.
"Pathetic. While your specialty was making inanimate objects, static Ice-Make magic. Mine was making living creature, active Ice-Make magic. Did you forget my ice has the ability to move?"
Gritting his teeth, Grey brought his hand together and slammed them onto the ground. "Ice-Make: Geyser!"
A huge tower of jagged ice shot out of the ground, consuming Lyon along the way. This didn't do much though. The evil ice wizard simply busted out of it. He was about to mock his opponent again, but he had vanished.
"Ice-Make: Hammer!" he heard from his left side. Lyon tried to intercept but thanks to the extra time needed to move, he failed and was hit. Sending him flying and crashing through a broken pillar.
"Give up already, Lyon! Your too badly hurt to fight. You can't win!"
He didn't respond. Instead he gritted his teeth, and slammed his hand down. "Ice-Make: Ape!" a large gorilla made of ice shot out from under Grey. Delivering a heck of an uppercut, which knocked him off his feet. It then used it's other arm to hit him with a strong left hook. Sending him flying.
"Don't be absurd! If it wasn't for your friend, you wouldn't even be able to touch me. It's clear that nothing has changed. I'm still the superior wizard. I was even able to master single handed Ice-Make magic, while you still have to rely on two hands."
Grey weakly got up, his body shaking a bit. "I don't understand. None of this makes any sense! Why are you trying to revive Deliora after all it's done?!"
"As a child I only dreamt of one thing." he answered, in a monotoned voice. "The day I would surpass our beloved master, Ur. But you ruined it for me Grey!" his voice started to show signs of anger now.
"After she died I thought my lifelong dream of surpassing her was dead. Until I realized, there was a way. If I can defeat Deliora, a demon so strong even Ur couldn't beat it, then it will prove that I have surpassed her. My dream will finally become a reality!"
"Listen to me! That thing destroyed everything we cared about. And you want to bring it back, just to prove how strong you are?! That's insane! Please, you can't do this!" that comment immediately caused Lyon's face to contort in rage. He summoned a swarm of ice under his opponent. Which stabbed and sliced into him.
"Please, you can't do this?! Really?!" a horde of ice eagles came next. Ramming into Grey hard enough to knock him onto his back.
"Funny you should say that. If you recall, those were the exact words we said to you, right before you went to fight Deliora! It's your fault Ur died! But you don't seem even the slightest bit remorseful over that fact. I can't even stand you mentioning her name anymore! Begone!"
Another ice dragon burst forth, from his magic circle. Slamming into Grey and sending him off the temple. Taking a few breaths to calm himself. Lyon started making his way back into the temple. Clutching his arm, which was throbbing in pain. Not only from the stabbing, but the massive hit it took a few minutes ago. All the while swearing to get even with that armoured buffoon.
Finished! Holy crap, this was way to long a wait. I am so sorry about that by the way. I hate that it took so long to complete this. I prey I can get the next chapter out sooner.
But beyond that a lot happened. Angelica is dead (and will be strips of leather soon), Lyon was basically crippled and we just learned a very interesting fact about Iced Shell. Guess it's not so invulnerable after all, hu? What will he do with this chunk? Your just going to have to wait and find out. That's all I have to say so make sure to drop a review, thank you all for sticking with me and I'll catch you all next time.