Fairy Tail: You call this Celestial Magic?!

Chapter 313 Past Events (Please Subscribe!)

"This guy"

Moen's fingers unconsciously rubbed his chin as he carefully examined the enormous ice sculpture before him. Wisps of icy cold air seeped from the surface of the ice, further lowering the temperature of the already chilly underground space. The massive block of ice shimmered with a ghostly blue luster in the dim light.

The “Deliora” was in a ferocious posture. It stood upright and its body was extremely large. Its menacing appearance instantly gave Moen a strong sense of déjà vu. This image was just too similar to the beast king that Elfman had taken over!
"Deliora is a demon created by Zeref. Is it possible that when Zeref created demons, he drew inspiration from the appearance of some powerful magical beasts? Like that Beast King?"

Moen's inquisitive voice echoed in the cold air as he slowly walked around the massive ice sculpture, his boots making a soft "crunch" sound on the gravel.

"It's entirely possible."

Moen provided the answer himself, while the remaining three people and the cat were clearly unable to answer the question, as it was far beyond their comprehension.

"Uru."

Looking at the frozen demon "Deliora," Gray's expression was pained, and his voice trembled with suppressed emotion. He clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white and his nails almost dug into his palms.

Looking up at the huge block of ice, within the thick, solid ice, Gray seemed to see that gentle yet powerful figure, like a mother. Pain and longing intertwined in his eyes, making his eyes slightly red. The chill emanating from the ice sculpture seemed to have seeped into his heart and into his mind.

Both Moen and Gray were looking at the massive block of ice that sealed the demon, but their focus was almost entirely different.

Unfortunately, Moen was ultimately watching from an outsider's perspective, while for Gray, it was all part of the story.

"What do we do now?"

Natsu scratched his head, looked at the distressed Gray, then at the large block of ice, and then at Moen, unsure of what to do. He did notice the change in atmosphere, but all he could think about now was completing the mission.

"How can Deliora, which is underground, receive moonlight?"

Lucy frowned, her face full of confusion. She paced back and forth curiously, carefully examining the huge space deep underground in the temple. Dim light leaked through unknown gaps in the ceiling, barely illuminating the outline of the ice sculpture. The air in the cave was filled with dust and a cold smell.

"Look up, can you see the sky directly?"

Moen smiled and pointed upwards, indicating that everyone should look above the location of "Deliora".

When Moen said that, Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and Happy all came over. They looked up and saw a huge, irregular opening in the cave, like a skylight cleaved by a giant axe. Through it, they could clearly see a small patch of the deep night sky, dotted with a few small stars.

"Really? So they're going to shine the moonlight down from here?"

Lucy immediately realized this. The "Moon Drop Ritual" was the key to breaking the "Absolute Freeze." The moonlight from the "Moon Drop Ritual" had to shine on the large block of ice to break the spell, and the large hole above the head was clearly there for that purpose.

“That’s right, this location is actually the center of the entire temple. Once the Moon Drop ritual is activated, moonlight will shine down from the opening above the temple and eventually fall on Deliora.”

Moen went on to explain that he had figured out the whole ritual.

"If we just demolish this temple, they won't be able to perform the rituals!"

Natsu punched his fists and jumped up excitedly, revealing his signature bright, destructive smile. Fiery magic surged around him, bringing with it a wisp of heat.

"In a sense, that's fine too."

Moen chuckled, responding with a slightly teasing tone to this typical "Naz-style solution."

If the moonlight can be blocked from reaching the target, the ritual will naturally fail. Destroying the temple and blocking the moonlight is also a solution.

“Where’s Leon? Where is he? We have to catch him.”

Gray chimed in, saying that he felt the culprit had to be dealt with, otherwise simply demolishing a temple would be useless and only a temporary fix.

They could easily rearrange the setup, or even move "Deliora" out altogether. This "temple" isn't necessary for holding the ceremony; the real problem is who will be holding the ceremony.

"No rush, they'll definitely come. We'll just wait here for them to come."

Moen wasn't in a hurry; his gaze was still fixed on "Deliora".

"As for Deliora, I'll send it away first."

With a thought, Moen donned the majestic Gemini Gold Cloth. He also had a solution for this mission: simply take Deliora away. Without Deliora, the ritual would lose its meaning.

"Another dimension!"

Moen stretched out his arms, crossed them in front of him, and then swung them outwards with a sudden burst of powerful magic. The space was torn apart by his hands like a fragile piece of cloth, and a deep, dark spatial rift with unstable purple-black lightning flashing at its edges appeared out of thin air above the ice sculpture.

"Boom!!!"

With Moen's continuous and stable output of magic, the crack rapidly expanded, like the gaping maw of a monster, eventually completely swallowing the huge block of ice that sealed the demon "Deliora".

The ice cubes crunched and groaned under the pull of the spatial turbulence, then were instantly sucked into the deep darkness and vanished without a trace.

Moen's shrewd move banished Deliora to the distant Edola, meaning the "Lunar Drop Ritual" will likely never reach Deliora across the world.

"Stop!!! What are you doing?!"

A sharp shout rang out, and several eagles made of ice shot out from the shadows of the temple with a whooshing sound and a chilling aura, their target being Moen, who had just finished casting a spell.

The one who released the magic was a man wearing a hideous metal helmet that covered most of his face, leaving only his nose and mouth exposed. His eyes, hidden beneath the helmet, were fixed on the spatial rift that had just closed.

Even through the metal visor, his violently heaving chest and distorted lips clearly conveyed his overwhelming rage and unbelievable shock; his entire body trembled slightly from the extreme fury.

"Where's Deliora?!"

The helmeted man roared, unable to believe that Deliora had simply vanished!
Beside the helmeted man stood a man, a woman, and a creature that looked like an upright walking dog. The expressions on the faces of the man, woman, and dog were indescribably complex.

They gritted their teeth, their eyes filled with intense resentment, but even deeper was an unconcealable fear in the face of absolute power. Especially after seeing Moen's iconic [Golden Cloth], their bodies even involuntarily shrank back, clearly recognizing Moen.

"Ice Form - Ice Shield!" Facing the swarm of ice eagles rushing towards him, Gray dashed to the side of Moen and slammed his palms into the ground, unleashing a burst of magic power!

"Crack!"

A thick, hard, and enormous snowflake-shaped ice shield rose from the ground, precisely blocking the path of the flock of ice eagles.

"Bang bang bang!"

A series of impacts rang out as the ice eagle crashed into the ice shield, shattering into countless ice crystals that scattered in all directions, filling the underground cave with a chilling atmosphere.

"Gray! What have you done?! Where is Deliora?!"

The helmeted man, Leon, roared furiously, his voice hoarse with rage. Moen's act of banishing "Deliora" had undoubtedly shattered all his plans and hopes.

"And who are you people?!"

Natsu jumped out without fear, his fists blazing with flames, and shouted at the four people in front of him. The blazing flames dispelled the chill and illuminated his battle-ready face. Finally, Natsu had found the people who had come to fight him.

"That must be Leon, Gray's senior."

Lucy observed carefully, and she made a quiet but certain judgment: the same "ice-shaped magic," the obvious connection, made the helmeted man's identity crystal clear.

"Leon! Why did you do this?! Why did you release Deliora?! Uru sacrificed his life to seal her away!"

Upon seeing Leon appear, Gray became very excited and immediately questioned him loudly, pointing to the location where "Deliora" had originally been.

"Hmph, why did Uru sacrifice himself?! Wasn't it all because of you?! You overestimated yourself, ignored advice, and ultimately caused Uru's death!"

Leon was equally furious, and his accusations were clearly more damaging because it was indeed true that Gray bore a great deal of responsibility for Ul's death. If he hadn't insisted on challenging Deliora, Ul wouldn't have been in such a hasty confrontation with Deliora.

"."

Gray froze. He opened his mouth but couldn't make a sound. His face turned deathly pale, and his eyes were filled with pain and self-reproach. This was the poisonous thorn buried deep in his heart, tormenting him day and night.

Seeing Gray's predicament and inability to retaliate, Natsu, Lucy, and Happy were a little anxious. They couldn't afford to lose face! But they didn't know how to respond.

“Even without Gray, Ul would inevitably have to confront Deliora. Given her personality and character, since she was already in that area, she couldn’t possibly stand by and watch Deliora wantonly destroy the town.”

In the end, it was Moen who spoke up, defending Gray with a firm and undeniable voice.

"."

Leon opened his mouth, unable to refute the words. Moen's words were like a bucket of cold water, briefly extinguishing some of his anger.

His clenched fist loosened slightly, his shoulders slumped, and his voice became low and hoarse:
"Without the two of us, she might have been able to face a more composed situation and perhaps avoid her death. After all, she's always been so strong."

Leon's words revealed the same deep-seated pain, but only for a moment before he closed himself off again.

"Uru is not dead! The ice that sealed Deliora was Uru!"

Gray glared at his senior, Leon, and corrected Leon's statement. His belief was unwavering, and he had always firmly believed in this.

"Removing the absolute ice is to erase the last trace that Uru left on the world."

Gray gritted his teeth. He wasn't actually afraid of Deliora being released; at worst, he would use Absolute Freeze to seal the demon back in.

His agitation stemmed from his inability to tolerate the disappearance of the last traces of Uru; those solid ice crystals should not have been melted.

"Don't be silly! Gray, a dead person is a dead person! Turning into ice is just your own imagination! Do you think saying this will change the fact that Uru died because of you?!"

Leon responded to Gray's statement with a barrage of insults.

He was enraged again by Gray's words, his voice becoming violent once more. He waved his arms and cursed Gray for being naive, weak, and only capable of deceiving himself with such absurd reasons.

"These are all things that Uru told me herself when she used Absolute Freeze. She said she would turn into ice to protect us."

Gray looked serious. When Uru used "Absolute Freeze," Leon was unconscious, so he didn't hear Uru's last words, but all of this really happened.

"Ice Form: Great Ape!"

Faced with Gray's story, Leon completely lost patience for the conversation. He let out a low growl and swung his arm forward with a sudden motion!
Magic surged forth, and a massive, ferocious ice ape made of thick, cold ice instantly materialized before him.

The ice ape let out a silent roar, swung its huge, icy fist, and with a biting wind and an overwhelming momentum, smashed it down on the area where Gray, Moen, and the others were. The air in the temple seemed to be frozen by this huge ice fist.

"I must release Deliora. I must kill Deliora with my own hands, and defeat Deliora, whom even Ul could not defeat. Only in this way can I prove that I have finally surpassed Ul and become a more powerful mage than her!"

Leon roared. He had been chasing after Uru's back all along, but Uru was ultimately defeated by this "Deliora". He could no longer prove himself to Uru, so he could only prove himself by defeating "Deliora"!
"Ice Design: Icy Fountain!"

Gray showed no weakness, his eyes now as cold as ice. He slammed his palms heavily on the ground again, and instantly, the ground trembled violently where the ice ape's thick lower limbs stood.

"Boom!"

With a deafening roar, as if a dormant spring had been awakened, a raging torrent of ice shot into the sky like erupting volcanic lava. The immense impact instantly shattered the mighty ice giant ape into countless ice crystal fragments.

Both of them use "ice-shaped magic," but one releases it with both hands while the other uses one hand. Compared to Gray, Leon's ice is lighter in color. Gray's ice shapes are mostly "still life shapes," while Leon's are mostly "animal shapes." Although they are from the same school, they each have their own unique characteristics.

"These are all things from the past."

Watching the interaction between Leon and Gray, Moen couldn't help but sigh, these two fellow disciples were indeed a love-hate relationship.

(End of this chapter)