At dawn, the purple moonlight finally dissipated.
Lorne opened his eyes from a towering tree and lightly jumped to the ground.
He had rested here last night, not too far nor too close to the village, allowing him to observe the situation without being discovered.
"It seems those villagers have already returned to human form."
He looked towards the village, vaguely hearing the sounds of people moving.
"Next, Natsu and the others should start investigating this island."
Lorne stretched and decided to act first.
Instead of slowly fumbling around with Natsu and the others, it would be better to go directly to the ruins to see the situation.
After all, the advantage of knowing the plot was here; he knew exactly where the "moon drip" ritual was taking place.
"Lyon should be in the ruins on the mountaintop in the center of the island."
Lorne walked inland, analyzing as he went,
"The place where Deliora was sealed... I should find it soon."
After about an hour of walking, Lorne arrived at a relatively open area.
In the distance, an ancient stone architectural ruin came into view.
"Found it."
It was a very ancient-looking ruin, with ancient runes carved into its stone walls, emitting faint magical fluctuations.
More importantly, Lorne could feel a strong magical aura coming from deep within the ruins.
"This magic... it's indeed strong."
Lorne narrowed his eyes, "But this guy has been dead for a long time; now only a remnant body remains."
He did not approach rashly but walked around the ruins once, carefully observing the surroundings.
Soon, Lorne discovered several hidden lookout points.
Lyon's subordinates were on guard at these positions, wary of potential intruders.
"Five people in total... none of them are too strong."
Lorne silently assessed, "It seems Lyon is very confident in his plan, even his defenses are so lax."
He found a high vantage point with a good view and quietly hid.
From here, he could clearly see the entrance to the ruins and the movements of the guards.
After roughly understanding the situation around this temple ruin, Lorne prepared to go deep into the temple to personally witness the demon sealed by Absolute Zero.
He gradually went deeper into the temple's underground, arriving at a relatively open underground world.
In the center of the underground, within a deep pit, was a huge block of ice. The ice was crystal clear, but inside it, a terrifying and monstrous giant creature was sealed.
The monster had a horned head, a tall body, and strong limbs.
Even when frozen, an ominous and evil aura almost overflowed from it.
Lorne closed his eyes, raising his magical perception to its limit, carefully probing the huge block of ice.
A moment later, he opened his eyes, with a look of understanding that it was as he expected, and a hint of imperceptible pity.
"Sure enough... Deliora has been dead for a long time."
The terrifying aspect of Absolute Zero was not only its ability to permanently seal a target but also its continuous deprivation of the sealed one's life force until their complete demise.
What was inside the ice now was merely Deliora's vast lingering resentment and magical remnants from the long years.
An empty shell without a soul, only instinct and hatred remaining.
"Lyon, oh Lyon, what you painstakingly wanted to resurrect is just an empty shell. What you wanted to surpass is a demon that has long been dead. How... how ironic."
Lorne gently shook his head.
Just as he was about to investigate further, he suddenly felt some movement.
An extremely subtle but exceptionally powerful magical fluctuation flashed across from the other side of the ruins.
Lorne's body instantly tensed, and a chill rose from the bottom of his heart.
"This feeling... it can't be wrong!"
His gaze sharply shot in that direction, "It's 'time' magic... Ultear!"
The Council's undercover agent, a member of the Dark Guild Grimoire Heart, Ur's daughter.
This woman's appearance instantly raised the complexity of the Galuna Island game by several levels.
"She's indeed here too, disguised as Lyon's subordinate, wanting to use them to unseal Deliora, and then..."
Lorne's brows furrowed, "A troublesome character has arrived."
He immediately dismissed the idea of going out to disrupt things now.
Ultear's strength was unfathomable; before having absolute certainty, exposing himself to her sight would be unwise.
"Let's observe the situation first. It's most suitable to let Natsu and the others be the ones to stick their necks out."
Lorne re-concealed himself, like a cold statue, quietly waiting for the show to begin.
"Boom—!!!"
Just as Lorne was considering whether to withdraw, a collapsing sound came from the cave passage outside.
Lorne estimated that Natsu and the others had found their way here. He didn't want to meet them yet, so he had to retreat.
"What is this?"
Natsu asked, confused, looking at the ice-sealed Deliora.
And Gray, upon seeing the ice block and the demon within, was struck as if by lightning, standing motionless on the spot.
His pupils suddenly constricted, and his body trembled uncontrollably.
"This... how is this possible!"
"Deliora..."
He squeezed the name through his teeth, every word carrying deep-seated hatred.
...Why is it here? It's impossible; this guy can't be here."
Gray couldn't help but clench his fists, taking a few steps towards Deliora.
"Do you know this guy?"
This guy was Gray's lifelong nightmare! He was the demon his master, Ur, sealed with her life.
And Gray clearly remembered this demon being sealed on the Northern Continent, so why was it here?
"Deliora, the Calamity Demon!"
Just as the group was discussing, more footsteps were heard.
They were clearly drawn by the commotion Natsu and the others made. The three people and the cat quickly hid to eavesdrop on information.
Especially after hearing about the "moon drip" and some plans.
Natsu and the others also planned to wait until night to see what these people actually intended to do.
Lorne had no choice but to wait with them until nightfall.
As night descended, the entire ruin suddenly began to shake.
Just then, a strange purple light emanated from above.
Lorne's gaze was instantly drawn to the scene in the center of the ruins.
There, a huge magic circle was slowly operating, absorbing and converting the purple moonlight energy.
Then, like drops of water, it fell one by one onto the huge ice block in the center.
He could feel that the moon drip ritual was indeed taking effect; the Absolute Zero's ice layer was slowly melting at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye.
However, it probably hadn't fully started operating yet, which is why it was difficult to detect.
Feeling this situation, Natsu and the others quickly got up and rushed to the highest point of the ruins.
"Lyon is truly an idiot."
Lorne couldn't help but shake his head, "Does he really think he can defeat Deliora with his own strength? Ur was a Ten Wizard Saints-level Mage back then, and she had to sacrifice her life to seal this guy."
Just as Lorne was thinking, sounds of fighting came from the distance.
"They're here." He perked up, "It must be Natsu and the others."
----------------------------------
I've already posted 40 new chapters on Patreon!
If you like the story and want to reaad more, please visit my patreon. Every support is very meaningful!
[patreon.com/Kazenova223]
Thank you very much!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"