Lucy looked down and realized she was sitting directly on Kael's face—again. No wonder she hadn't felt any pain after falling from that height; she had the perfect, unintended cushion.
"Yaaah—!"
Blushing deep crimson, Lucy clutched the back of her skirt and scrambled to her feet as fast as humanly possible.
Kael sat up, rubbing his nose with a look of pure exhaustion. He stared at Lucy, completely deadpan. "I really didn't need to find out what your laundry detergent smells like from that close."
He didn't know why he kept ending up as Lucy's personal landing pad, but it was getting ridiculous. Between the lack of oxygen and the awkwardness, he was reaching his limit.
Lucy's embarrassment instantly flipped into fury. She wound up and landed a solid punch on his jaw, her teeth sharp like a shark's. "That is sexual harassment, you jerk!"
Ignoring the bickering, Gray looked up at the jagged hole above them. "This place looks like a cavern directly beneath the ruins. I don't even get how a hole that big formed up there."
"A secret cave! Since we're already down here, let's go explore!" Natsu shouted, his eyes wide with excitement. To him, a hidden cave meant secrets, treasure, or—more importantly—something to fight.
"Hey, stop messing around. We're here to find a way to break the cur—"
"Whoaaa—!!"
Natsu's exclamation cut Gray off mid-sentence. Kael and Lucy stopped arguing and followed Natsu's gaze.
"What is it now?" Lucy asked, then froze.
In the center of the massive chamber stood a nightmare: a gargantuan demonic monster, its terrifying form perfectly preserved inside a colossal block of ice.
The moment Gray saw it, the color drained from his face. His pupils shrank, his breath caught, and sheer, unfiltered terror—like a shadow from a past he'd tried to bury—took over his features.
"Deliora...!"
"Huh?" Natsu blinked, confused. "Deli-what? You know this thing?"
"Impossible... It's impossible for it to be here!! That's... that's..." Gray spiraled, his hands trembling as he stared at the frozen demon.
Kael glanced at him, his voice dropping into a calm, steady tone. "Gray. Breathe. Calm down."
Kael's voice worked like an anchor. Even if he could be lazy and annoying at times, everyone in the guild instinctively looked to him when things went bad. His words carried weight.
Gray took a shaky breath, though his eyes never left the ice. Lucy stepped closer, her voice soft with concern. "Gray, are you okay? What exactly is that thing?"
"Deliora," Gray whispered, dread thick in his voice. "The Demon of Destruction. It looks exactly the same as it did back then... How did they move it all the way here?"
He was reeling. This was something that should have stayed buried in the frozen wastes of the North, never to be seen again.
Just then, the sound of steady footsteps echoed through the cavern.
Kael's ears twitched. "Someone's coming. Hide. Now."
The group quickly ducked behind a cluster of large rocks, keeping low as they watched the newcomers.
Two men walked into the light. One was tall and shirtless, wearing jeans and sporting a pair of fuzzy dog ears. The other was shorter, with thick, blocky eyebrows and a blue-and-white windbreaker.
"I thought I heard someone talking over here," the shorter one said.
"Wuf," the tall one grunted.
"Are you still sleepy? It's the middle of the day."
"Wuf."
"Are you actually a dog? And what's with those ears anyway?"
"I'm not a dog! These are accessories! You get it? Accessories!" the tall one snapped, clearly annoyed.
"It was a joke. Was it really worth getting this worked up?"
"Hmph!"
A girl dressed in a Gothic Lolita style, her face covered in heavy makeup, walked over to join them. She looked genuinely distressed. "Yuka, Toby... I have tragic news. Angelica was beaten up by an unknown intruder."
"That's just a giant rat!" Toby yelled.
"She is not a rat! Angelica is a hunter of the night! This is love~~!" The girl—Sherry—pressed her hands to her cheeks dramatically.
From behind the rocks, Lucy whispered, "Great. More weirdos."
Natsu narrowed his eyes and sniffed the air. "They aren't from the village. They smell totally different."
"Intruders?" Yuka frowned. Even if Sherry's naming sense was questionable, the giant rat was a guard meant to keep people away from the ruins. If it had been taken out, someone was definitely lurking nearby.
"We are almost finished collecting Lord Moon's light," Sherry said, her voice turning cold. "How tragic it would be if Lord Lyon found out we let someone slip in. We must drive them out before the moon rises."
"Agreed," Yuka nodded.
"Wuf."
"Since they've seen Deliora, we can't let them leave alive," Sherry added, her eyes flashing. "Let the intruders sleep forever. This is love."
"No, it's murder! Kill them!" Toby shouted as the three of them started walking away, their footsteps fading into the deeper tunnels.
Once they were gone, Kael and the others stepped out from their hiding spot.
"Why did we have to hide?" Natsu complained, punching the air. "We should've grabbed them and made them talk! Right, Kael?"
Kael waved him off lazily. "Don't look at me. Like I said, this is your S-Class mission. You make the calls. If I step in and solve everything, the mission credit goes to me, not you."
Natsu winced. "Fine... we'll do it ourselves."
Gray, however, wasn't thinking about mission credit. He stared at the ice, jaw tight. "How did they find the sealing site? And why bring it here?"
"Gray," Natsu said, finally noticing his intensity. "How do you know this monster?"
"This thing was originally sealed inside a glacier on the Northern Continent," Gray explained, his voice strained. "Ten years ago, it leveled the city of Isvan. It was an immortal disaster. My teacher—the woman who taught me magic—Ur... she sacrificed her life to seal it away with a forbidden spell."
He looked at the others, eyes fierce. "I don't know what this has to do with the island's curse, but it shouldn't be here. And whoever this 'Lyon' guy is... if he's trying to mess with Ur's legacy, I'll never forgive him!"
"Wait," Lucy said, piecing it together. "The villagers turn into demons... and they look a lot like this thing. The curse has to be connected to Deliora."
"It's likely," Kael added. "And believe it or not, that demon is still alive inside the ice."
Natsu grinned, slamming his flaming fists together. "Alright! Then the plan is simple: we beat the demon, and we break the curse!"
Bang!
"Uwaah!"
Natsu took a direct hit to the face, stumbling back.
"Gray! What was that for?!"
"Stay back, you fire-breathing idiot!" Gray roared. "If your heat melts the ice and Deliora wakes up, we're all dead!"
"Is the seal really that weak?!" Natsu yelled back.
Gray paused, realizing he'd overreacted. This was Iced Shell—the ultimate sealing magic. Not even the hottest natural fire could melt it. He was just... on edge.
Kael walked over and patted Gray's shoulder. "Easy, Gray. You're wound way too tight. I know this thing is your childhood nightmare, but look at me."
Kael's eyes were calm—dangerously confident. "As long as I'm here, it doesn't matter if that thing wakes up. If it comes back, I'll make it die again. Properly, this time."
To Kael, a Demon from the Books of Zeref was a threat, sure—but it wasn't an invincible one. Not for him.