"Pfft!!"
Gray's body was covered in wounds, blood staining the ice beneath him.
"Hahaha!! Wonderful! That look on your face twisted by pain is perfect!! After I kill you, I'll slaughter Leon, then one by one destroy every single person precious to you!!"
"Stop it!!!" Gray roared, eyes burning with fury. "Stop using my father's body—my father's voice—to say such disgusting things!!!"
He thrust his hands forward, molding ice. "Ice-Make: Hammer!!!"
A massive hammer fell from the sky, but Silver opened his mouth wide and swallowed it whole.
"Useless! Nothing you create with ice will ever work on me! Now—taste the storm of the Ice Demon!!!"
Whooooosh!!!
A raging blizzard poured from Silver's mouth, engulfing Gray completely.
"Ahahahahaha!!"
But through the swirling snow, Gray's voice roared back:
"Even if my body breaks—I'll defeat you with my own hands!!!"
Gray stood tall, battered but unyielding.
"You still don't understand," Silver sneered. "The chance of you defeating me is 0%. Let me show you true Ice-Make magic!"
"ICE-MAKE: War Fortress!!!"
Gray slammed his palms onto the ground. From the ice rose a massive fortress, bristling with cannons.
"Ohhh… such beautiful magic," Silver chuckled. "Almost a shame to destroy it."
"Fire!!" Gray shouted.
BOOOOM!
Hundreds of cannon barrels roared, launching a barrage straight at Silver.
Silver smirked. "Pointless. As long as it's ice… I—"
His words cut off with a scream. "Uaaaahhhh!!"
The shells exploded around him, not with ice, but stone.
"That's right," Gray growled. "I encased rocks in ice! These aren't ice-magic attacks at all!"
Silver's expression twisted. "…Clever brat. But without those cannons, your little trick won't work!!"
"Silver World!!!"
A wave of freezing magic swept out, coating everything—including Gray's fortress—in solid ice.
"Now you can't use attributeless attacks anymore," Silver boasted.
But Gray only smirked. "You just sealed your own fate."
"What…?"
"This is the same magic you used to freeze Sun Village," Gray said coldly. "And because of my blood, I can reshape your ice into my own weapons!!"
Silver's eyes widened. "What did you say?!"
Gray roared, channeling all his magic. "Even if your power is greater—my will won't lose to you!!!"
The frozen fortress shifted, reshaped by Gray's magic into a massive cannon.
"ICEMAKE: Magic Cluster Cannon—JUPITER!!!"
The gigantic barrel locked onto Silver.
"Fire!!!"
BOOOOOOOM!!!
The cannon erupted, blasting a colossal shell of pure destructive force at Silver.
"Don't underestimate me!!" Silver roared, thrusting both palms forward. "Even non-attribute magic is still magic! If I freeze everything, nothing can touch me!!"
The impact shook the battlefield. A blinding explosion of white ice fog engulfed everything.
Silver's laughter echoed through the mist. "Hahahaha!! I may have amplified the blast with my own power, but it's still my magic! I can't lose to my own ice!!"
But as the smoke cleared, his laughter died.
"What—?!"
Gray had already acted. All around Silver, dozens of ice crossbows materialized, their bolts glinting like steel.
"It's over."
"Whoooosh!!!"
The barrage rained down.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The bolts pierced Silver's body. He staggered, eyes wide, before collapsing onto the ice.
"…Nice job," Silver rasped, coughing. His voice softened.
Gray clenched his fists. "Damn it… what are you saying?! You're not Deliora—you're my dad!!!"
Silver was silent for a long moment before whispering:
"…Yes. Once, I was your father. But I'm no longer human… nor a demon. I'm already dead. I died… seventeen years ago."
Gray's eyes widened. "Dead…?!"
Silver nodded weakly. "Tartaros had a necromancer… who experimented with corpses. I was one of them. Just another body picked up and reanimated. But somehow, I endured. Perhaps… so I could take revenge on the demons who destroyed our lives."
Gray's breath caught.
"Even while bound to Tartaros, I struck from the shadows, killing demons wherever I could. Sun Village… that was my mistake. I thought its flames were demons."
His voice faltered.
"But all of this… was to weaken Tartaros. To prepare for its destruction. Still… when I saw you alive, I realized something. My hands are stained too deeply. I have no right to stand by your side—or your mother's."
Gray trembled. "So… you're just going to die like this…?"
Silver smiled faintly. "I'm already dead. I only want this to end. Your mother… Mika… she's been waiting for me a long time. I can't keep her waiting any longer."
Tears blurred Gray's vision. "…Even so… you're still my father."
"No…" Silver whispered. "What father would drag his son into a fight like this?"
"Dad…"
"Don't hesitate, Gray. Finish me. And then… kill the necromancer. He's already controlling the corpse of a Council judge. He's remotely activating Face. Soon, all magic across the continent will vanish."
Silver's eyes met Gray's one final time.
"Do you want Fairy Tail to disappear?"