The seemingly aloof and cold 'Ice Emperor', Lyon Vastia, stood like a statue at the temple entrance.
But beneath that frosty exterior, his mind was absolutely wild, spinning a melodramatic soap opera that would put any playwright to shame.
It was a good thing Ankh had no idea what Lyon was thinking.
If he had known that the silver-haired mage was mentally picking out wedding venues and debating whether to invite the Magic Council to the reception, Ankh would definitely have complained—or perhaps slapped him.
This guy's imagination and chaotic thought process were exactly the same as those of a certain future guild member, Juvia Lockser.
If you put the two of them together, they could form their own surrealist theater troupe with just the two of them as the cast and audience.
Ultear, standing beside him, felt a chill that had nothing to do with ice magic.
She glanced at Lyon and frowned.
He was looking at her with a... disgusting gaze.
'What is wrong with him?' Ultear wondered, inching away slightly.
'Has this guy frozen his brain silly? Why is he looking at me with those teary, sparkling eyes?'
And so, the two mutually misunderstanding senior and junior stood guard, waiting for the inevitable arrival of the troublemaker, Natsu Dragneel.
"They are here," Ultear stated suddenly.
She didn't wait for a response. In a shimmer of magic, her appearance shifted, returning to the disguise of the masked, hunchbacked Zalty.
She needed to maintain her cover to manipulate Natsu away from the main altar.
"I will handle the Fire Dragon Slayer," Ultear said, her voice distorted by the mask. "You handle Gray."
Lyon nodded firmly, his eyes burning with renewed determination.
He waited eagerly for Gray, wanting to teach a lesson to his annoying junior.
'I lost to Senpai because she is Ur's flesh and blood,' Lyon reasoned internally.
'That is acceptable. But if I can't beat Ultear, how could I possibly lose to Gray? I will show him the difference in our resolve!'
Confident Lyon remained unaware that he was about to face a second humiliation from his own arrogance—and a beatdown from a righteous gang of Fairy Tail mages.
...
Deep underground, within the cavern of the frozen demon.
BOOM!
The ceiling shook, dust filtering down from the stalactites.
Ankh heard the muffled sounds of Natsu destroying structures outside, followed by the distinctive hum of the Arc of Time repairing them.
"The dance has begun," Ankh muttered, looking up.
A beam of concentrated, purple Magic Power pierced through the opening in the cavern roof.
The Moon Drip.
Under the eerie, unnatural glow of the purple light, the "indestructible" divine ice sealing Deliora finally showed signs of yielding.
The temperature in the cavern rose sharply.
The ice, which had withstood hammers and fire for a decade, began to sweat.
Rivets of water trickled down the massive block.
Then, streams.
Watching the ice transform into water, Ankh stepped forward. He didn't let a single drop hit the floor.
"Titan Gravity."
He extended both hands, his magic washing over the cavern. He manipulated the gravity field around the melting ice, catching the water in mid-air.
As the Moon Drip continuously exerted its power, the sealing ice gradually turned completely into liquid.
But instead of forming a puddle, the water floated, dancing in the air like a massive, undulating serpent of pure blue life force.
With the ice removed, the contents were revealed.
Deliora's ferocious features appeared bit by bit. Its massive, muscular body emerged from the receding frost, its terrifying beast-like eyes fixed intently on Ankh.
It looked like a resentful ghost staring at its liberator.
However, Ankh couldn't be bothered to glance at this vicious corpse.
"You're in the way," Ankh muttered.
As Deliora's towering body was fully exposed to the air, losing the support of the magical ice, gravity took its toll.
The demon had been dead for years, its life force drained by the Iced Shell.
CrrAAACK.
With a sickening sound, the demon's body began to crumble. It collapsed into dust and chunks of gray flesh, piling up on the floor like a broken statue.
Ankh ignored the demon entirely. His focus was solely on the floating river of water above him.
This was the moment.
The Iced Shell was unique.
The ice created at the cost of Ur's life wasn't just frozen water; it was highly condensed, magical matter. Ordinary Mages couldn't even chip it.
To collect it all without spilling a drop would usually require the combined efforts of a dozen mages.
But Ankh had a trick up his sleeve.
"Time to bring out my big treasure," Ankh whispered, a greedy glint in his eyes.
His lips curled into a smirk.
While his left hand continued manipulating the gravity field to keep Ur's essence suspended, his right hand began to glow with a golden light.
"Requip."
As the light faded, a crystal vial about forearm-length fell straight into his palm.
It was crystal clear, stoppered with a heavy cork made of enchanted wood.
Its transparent surface was engraved with intricate golden rune patterns, resembling a transparent vase edged in gold.
It radiated an aura of ancient, expensive magic.
"The Vial of the Endless Sea," Ankh introduced the item to the empty room.
This bottle was one of the valuable rewards he and Laxus had obtained while executing a ten-year SS-Class mission.
It was a spatial artifact, possessing a pocket dimension inside specifically designed to contain massive amounts of liquid.
As for the maximum capacity of this bottle? Ankh had once tried to drain a small lake with it to test it.
He got bored before the bottle got full.
"Get in there," Ankh commanded.
He pulled out the cork with his teeth and held the bottle up. With a wave of his left hand, he guided the floating river of ice water toward the small opening.
A miraculous scene occurred.
The water, equivalent to a lake's volume, swirled into a vortex.
It poured into the bottle's neck, a continuous, high-pressure stream flowing down, yet the half-meter tall container never overflowed.
The golden runes on the glass glowed brighter with each gallon ingested.
After a few minutes, the massive flow finally finished pouring. The last drop of Ur's essence vanished into the artifact.
Ankh corked the bottle swiftly.
He shook it gently, hearing the sloshing sound of a vast ocean contained within a pint glass. He gazed at the liquid, swirling with a special, pulsing magic power.
He couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.
"Got you," he whispered.
The crystal bottle had extremely strong resistance and could isolate all external magical interference.
It was the perfect stasis pod to contain "Ur" until he was strong enough to perform the resurrection.
Ankh breathed a sigh of relief.
With this step completed, his personal mission on Galuna Island could be considered thoroughly concluded.
As for the remaining S-Class mission that Natsu had taken on privately? The villagers? The moon? That was no longer Ankh's concern.
According to the original storyline, Erza would arrive shortly to destroy the moon's illusion and resolve the issue.
The only downside might be that Natsu and the other two would have to face her wrath upon their return... but that was a sacrifice Ankh was willing to let them make.
Whoosh.
Just then, a dark shadow swiftly flew down the tunnel and landed beside Ankh.
The figure dissolved its transformation magic.
It was Ultear, back in her true form.
She had sensed the massive magical shift underground and rushed over, looking slightly out of breath.
Ultear looked immediately at the crystal bottle in Ankh's hand. Her eyes were complex—filled with longing, fear, and hope.
"So this is..." she whispered, her voice trembling.
Ankh nodded solemnly.
He extended his hand. "Here. Take it."
He handed her the crystal bottle.
Ultear froze. "Master?"
"Hold onto it for me for now," Ankh said casually, as if handing her a bottle of water rather than the soul of her mother.
"I have other things to carry. Besides... I think holding it will put your mind at ease. You can ensure she is safe."
Ultear took the crystal bottle with shaking hands.
She cradled it against her chest, feeling the cold radiating from the glass. She nodded, unable to speak for a moment.
She hoped... that the day her mother would be revived would come soon.
But for now, having her mother close was enough.
Noticing Ultear's demeanor softening, Ankh decided to change the subject.
"You must have encountered Natsu, right?" Ankh asked curiously. "How did it go? You look a bit disheveled. Didn't suffer any losses, did you?"
Ultear shook her head, composing herself. "No losses. Although I couldn't use my full strength or my Ice Make without revealing my identity, I managed to handle him. He is... chaotic."
She brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "His destruction is hard to predict. If it had gone on any longer, I probably would've had to 'flee' to maintain the charade."
Ankh nodded in agreement.
In the original story, Ultear had suffered a minor setback against Natsu because she was holding back significantly.
But now, it seemed Ultear had matured earlier than in the original timeline.
Her control was better.
Then, Ultear sighed helplessly. She looked toward the surface with a pitying expression.
"Also... I sensed Gray arriving," she said, sounding like an elder evaluating a junior. "He is emotional. His magic is messy. He probably isn't a match for Lyon in a one-on-one duel."
Ankh was taken aback for a moment before nodding deeply.
"Agreed," Ankh said. "Logically, Lyon is superior."
He hadn't paid much attention to the outcome of this fight in the original story, but looking at the stats, it made sense.
Lyon's immediate combat power far surpassed Gray's. In any other guild, Lyon could easily become an S-Class Mage.
In Fairy Tail, he would be a top-tier candidate.
If he lost to a guilt-ridden Gray in a fair fight, that would truly be absurd.
"However," Ankh grinned, "Fairy Tail wizards don't fight fair. Lyon is probably about to face a righteous gang-up. Natsu is likely already on his way to punch Lyon in the face while Gray is talking."
Ultear blinked, then chuckled. "That does sound like them."
Ankh stretched lazily, his joints cracking in the quiet cave.
He glanced at the chaotic state of the ruins around them—the crumbled demon dust, the wet floor.
"Let Lyon and Gray clean up this mess," Ankh decided. "We have what we came for. We should get out of here before Erza arrives and decides to lecture us too."
Ultear lowered her head respectfully, clutching the bottle tight.
"Yes, Master."
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