In Brago, Deliora's mountain-like body loomed over the entire city. The inverted V-shaped horns on its head glinted coldly in the darkness.
Gray's eyes were bloodshot, like a beast that had lost its reason, as he roared and charged recklessly toward Deliora.
"Ice-Make..."
Deliora didn't even deign to give him a proper look, or perhaps simply didn't notice him at all. It casually lifted a foot and stomped down. Seemingly effortless, the stomp instantly generated a terrifying shockwave that shook the heavens and the earth!
Gray was blown away by this unmatched force, smashing heavily into a ruined wall.
Ur arrived on the scene at that moment. Her hands quickly formed seals, and in an instant, roses made of condensed cold air rose from the ground, rapidly enveloping Deliora's massive body completely.
BOOM—!
However, the ice seal was as fragile as glass, easily shattered by Deliora. It opened its gigantic mouth filled with sharp fangs, and a blinding white laser beam erupted from it, slicing the entire city in half.
"It's even stronger than the intel suggested," Ur frowned slightly, but even witnessing such exaggerated destructive power, the determination in her eyes remained unshaken.
Gray staggered to his feet, lifting his head with difficulty.
"Why... why did you come?"
"Because I have an idiot disciple who came here," Ur chuckled softly, then reached out her hand to Gray.
Seeing her movement, Gray instinctively covered his head. But the next moment, what he felt was an extremely gentle touch.
Gray's heart trembled, and his eyes reddened slightly, but he still tried to maintain his last bit of stubbornness.
"I won't go back with you! I'm going to avenge my parents!"
Ur slowly withdrew her hand, looking at him with a complex gaze.
"So you thought you could win, that's why you ran here without a word?"
Gray lowered his head, his body trembling uncontrollably, betraying the most fragile fear deep in his heart.
"I... can't win." He forced the words out with difficulty, admitting his own weakness.
The moment he faced Deliora, he once again clearly felt the insurmountable gap between them.
All his desperate training during this time hadn't reduced the terrifying difference in power between him and that horrific beast one bit.
He felt like he probably would never be able to defeat that monster in his entire life.
Looking at Gray like this, Ur spoke calmly, "I will take care of it."
With that, she turned to face Deliora.
The behemoth seemed oblivious to Ur's previous attack, continuing to rampage through the city as it pleased, destroying everything around it.
Against a monster that defied common sense like this, ordinary magic would no longer work.
The only way was...
"Don't do it. Deliora is a target for the three of us too."
Tike stood up straight, his gaze burning like a torch, locked onto the monster ravaging the city.
(Wait...)
In that instant, the aura emanating from the giant beast made Tike's expression change drastically.
"Mom?"
The reason he called out was that Tike smelled a scent on Deliora that should have belonged to his mother.
(My mom is some demon of Zeref's? And she's this big?)
This absurd thought exploded in Tike's mind instantly, making him shudder involuntarily.
"You've got to be kidding."
Tike muttered under his breath, sniffed carefully again, and actively rejected this utterly ridiculous possibility.
(No, it just has some magic power similar to Mom's, mixed with a scent that's similar but not quite right.)
Tike felt like he had smelled this specific scent somewhere before, but he couldn't recall exactly when or where.
"Forget it." Tike decided to abandon this headache-inducing train of thought. He turned to Gray and asked, "Where's the person who brought you here?"
Tike had tracked them here based on the residual traces of space magic, originally hoping to meet the woman who was his mother.
As a result, apart from Deliora, he couldn't find any other living creature emitting that special scent.
Gray was slightly stunned. He was about to shake his head when a dull ache suddenly started in his head. Clutching his head, he sounded uncertain.
"I came here alone... right?"
"..."
Tike could smell that Gray wasn't intentionally hiding anything; he genuinely couldn't remember clearly.
Was his memory really that bad?
Or... had someone tampered with his memory?
This was extremely suspicious, but there was a more pressing crisis to deal with right now.
"Gray, do you still have magic power?" Tike asked directly.
Gray nodded, but his eyes were filled with powerlessness and despair.
"So what? We can't beat a monster like that."
Lyon was extremely dissatisfied with his defeatist attitude and shouted, "Stop talking nonsense! Did you forget that silver-haired woman? Ur took care of her easily too!"
"It wasn't Mom, it was me."
"It wasn't Ur, it was a passing wizard."
Tike and Gray's voices rang out almost simultaneously, causing them to look at each other in dismay.
Lyon completely ignored both of them and continued yelling, "You're still talking nonsense! How could Ur need help from outsiders? She can definitely take down a monster like Deliora easily!"
Ur sighed, looking at Lyon with a gentle yet meaningful gaze.
"Lyon, didn't I tell you before? There's always someone stronger. If you go to the western countries, you'll find countless wizards stronger than me."
Even though Ur herself said this, Lyon still refused to believe it. His eyes reddened slightly, and his voice trembled. "No... that's not true. Ur... Ur is the strongest! Otherwise, what has all my training been for..."
It was a child's stubborn attachment to his idol, a blind faith in power.
"Once you surpass me, you can just find a higher goal..."
"I don't want to!"
Lyon wouldn't listen to Ur's reasoning at all. He rushed forward, nearly roaring, his hands skillfully crossing into a signature pose.
Seeing this, Ur's pupils constricted slightly.
"That stance is... where on earth did you learn that?"
"Because you refused to teach me powerful magic, I read the grimoires in the library." Lyon couldn't hide his excitement. "Iced Shell! You used this magic to defeat that woman, didn't you!"
"I told you I did it."
"I told you it was a passing..."
Gray shut his mouth just in time, avoiding another clash with Tike.
Lyon, however, continued to be immersed in his own world, his body erupting with shocking magic power.
"Since no magic works on Deliora, I'll use this magic to freeze it completely!"
Seeing that Lyon wouldn't listen to her at all, Ur had no choice but to harden her heart and freeze him, forcibly interrupting his spell.
Only after doing this did Ur slowly reveal the reason for her actions.
"Iced Shell uses the caster's life as the price to freeze the enemy completely in eternal ice. Once used, it means the demise of the caster themselves."
Tike nodded in deep agreement.
"Indeed, we shouldn't let Lyon use such dangerous magic."
"But..."
Ur turned her gaze forward. Deliora, attracted by the magic power Lyon had just released, was moving towards them.
"As Lyon said, this is the only way left to defeat that monster."
So, she had to...
"You're not allowed to use it either!"
Realizing Ur's intention, Tike immediately shouted to stop her. Then, he took off his shirt on the spot and handed it to Ultear, who was standing beside him.
Ultear subconsciously took the still-warm clothing. After a moment of surprise, she couldn't help but glare at Gray.
Gray's mouth twitched slightly, feeling somewhat innocent.
See? This weird habit of stripping anywhere was all thanks to Ur's training methods. Now he wasn't the only one infected with this ailment.
"It's really not your fault," Tike said seriously. "I don't have that kind of weird habit; I just can't bear to ruin this shirt."
As he spoke, his finger slowly pointed to the left side of his chest. His voice was unusually calm, yet carried a shocking resolve.
"The heart is probably around here. Use your Maker Magic to create a weapon and stab it in."