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Time is the Path to Strength	By : Repiece Category: +. to F > Fairy Tail Views: 47113 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 12
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 11
- 12
- 13
Chapter 12: Natsu And Zeref Round Two

"But Erza...something is really happening to this island! We can't just leave without helping these people!" Lucy argued against the strongest woman in Fairy Tail.

"I don't care." Erza stated steadily; standing her ground and never backing down, no matter how much pleading Lucy did.

"Erza..." She muttered and frowned. She then looked over at Natsu and saw him staring out the window. "Aren't you going to say something Natsu?"

"Hm?" Natsu turned his head around. "Not really. I'm not going anywhere though." He told them, making the scarlet-haired knight glared at him.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Natsu...but you're leaving with us." Erza reminded him.

"Nah! Don't feel like it." Her eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

"That wasn't a suggestion." She told him.

"I'm still not leaving." He replied, standing his own ground.

Erza was getting annoyed. "Natsu...I'm sorry, but...you guys broke the rules and you have to pay the consequences."

"Eeeh? But I thought I was qualified to be an S-Class Mage so there shouldn't be any problem, right?" Natsu countered.

"But you declined!" She raised her voice. "If you accepted that promotion then this would be a different story! As of now, you aren't an S-Class Mage so I have no choice to bring you back!" The boy stared at her.

"No!" Erza gritted her teeth in anger.

"Fine then...you leave me no choice...I guess I'll have to bring you back by force..." Erza stood up and prepared herself to fight Natsu.

"Oi...wait a minute...why are you guys fighting about this...?" Lucy asked trying to calm the two of them down.

"Hey Erza...let me ask you something...do you want me to go back to Fairy Tail because this is an S-Class job or because you're afraid of me using 'that'...?" The knight made a noise of surprise at his question. She opened her mouth to answer him, but what could she say? Was she really doing this because this is just an S-Class job? Natsu was stronger. He beat her, proving that he was stronger than her. Yet, why did she keep telling herself that she is doing this because this was a difficult job. That wasn't why she was doing it and she knew it. After what Happy told her, she didn't want to believe it. When she confronted Natsu about it, she knew it was true. She really was doing this so that she could prevent him from using the Dragon Metamorphosis again, thus shortening his life span even more.

"I...I..." She wanted to say something, but she couldn't find the right words to let out. Lucy turned her head from Erza to Natsu, wondering what they were talking about. The tension in the room changed so drastically that she felt like she was barging into a conversation in which she had no right to be a part of. It didn't feel good to her.

"Erza...I know you're worried...but don't be...I won't use it unless I have no choice..." He smiled at her. "So...don't worry about me..." He walked out of the small hut where Gray and Happy were resting in. Lucy watched him as he left before looking back at Erza, whom was looking down to the floor with narrowed eyes and a frown.

'Natsu...I want to...but...I can't...' Erza thought.

"Erza..." Erza looked up at Lucy, snapping her thoughts away when the blonde called her name.

"W-What is it?" She asked, stuttering a bit.

Lucy knew what she wanted to ask her, but something was preventing her from saying it. She wanted to know what the two of them were talking about, but she felt like she was going to trespass over a line that she was afraid of going over. So, instead, she asked Erza a different question, hoping it would make the weird atmosphere go away. "Are we still going back to the guild?"

The orderly knight lowered her eyes and thought about the question; honestly, she didn't want to continue this job. However, knowing Natsu, he wasn't going to head back so easily. She sighed. "No, we'll see this job till the end." Lucy felt relieved that she was offering to help out on this job. "However, when we get back you will have to get punished." The blonde squealed in fear. Erza turned her head to Gray and Happy.

"What happened to those two?" She asked Lucy.

"Happy was...umm...well...he's fine...Gray though..." Lucy frowned. "...he was beaten by one of the enemies who are trying to revive this monster called Deliora..." At that instant, the ice mage opened his eyes and sat up, feeling immense pain all over his body, making him cringe. He looked down to see his torso wrapped in bandages. "Gray!" Said guy turned his head from his body to Lucy.

"Lucy..." He muttered and then turned his head to see someone else in the hut. "ERZA!" He jumped in surprise, his motions triggering more pain throughout his body that he didn't feel, he was too shock at seeing Erza to even notice it. "W-What are you doing here?"

"Nice to see you back up...Gray." Erza told him. "I came here to bring you guys back to the guild, but I decided to stay and complete this job while I'm at it." She explained to him before glaring at Gray. "However, you will be punished when we get back." The poor guy shivered in fear and gulped.

"B-But w-why? The old man told me to go with Natsu, Lucy and Happy on this job to make sure they get back safely." Gray told her.

"Huh? Master asked that of you?" Gray nodded. "Hmm? Then why did Mira make it sound like you guys did this to rebel against the Master?" Both Gray and Lucy sweat dropped.

'W-What did Mira-chan actually tell her?' They both wondered. Gray then snapped from his thoughts when he remembered what Lyon was trying to do.

"Erza! We have to do something! If we don't stop them, they'll release a monster that would be impossible to stop!" He yelled.

"Gray! Calm down." Erza told him. "First, I want you to explain everything to me. Who is this Deliora monster?" Gray felt himself calming down at the command, staring down at the floor as he started his explanation.

"Deliora... that monster..."

"You are the only one left?" Lyon said as he looked down at Toby, who had a bandage on his head. "How scandalous."

"Ooon!" Toby replied.

"I guess I underestimated Fairy Tail. They're pretty good." Lyon commented. 'Especially that one guy...'

"Oooon."

"Deliora's revival could become more difficult now."

"You're here again, Zarti?" Zarti, the man who was actually Ultear in disguise, chuckled.

"Of course." Zarti told him. "Tonight...the moon's power will be maximized and Deliora will be revived. However, if anyone interrupts the Moon Drip ritual...then Deliora will stay in that ice forever."

"This is nonsense...I should've taken care of them myself." Lyon muttered.

"Ooon...I'm sorry..." Toby apologized.

"Your opponents have increased in number...granted it's only one person, but she is the Titania." Zarti told him.

"I see...as usual you're fast on info." Lyon complimented him.

"However, your real threat is the Salamander. The guy named Natsu." Zarti told him. "Consider this a warning."

"I'm not worried. They can't beat me and my ice blade that surpasses Ur's." Lyon told him, his confidence passing the line separating it from arrogance. Zarti chuckled.

"That sounds very reliable. So...shall I join the battle as well?" Zarti offered his strength.

"Huh? You can fight?" Toby shouted in shock.

"Yes..." He chuckled again. "I know a little bit of the 'Lost Magic'."

"Huh? L-Lost magic?" Toby shuddered.

"What a creepy guy..." Lyon muttered. Suddenly, the ruins started to shake. "What the...?"

"An earthquake?" Toby asked as he felt the floor beneath him shaking and then suddenly starting to tilt to the side.

"T-This is...?" Lyon watched the floor tilt.

"The ruins are collapsing!" Toby screamed in fear.

"No! They're being tilted!" Lyon corrected him as the mountain was now tilted to the side, preventing the moon from shining its power at Deliora.

"Hehehe, he's already done it." Zarti chuckled as a hole in front of him showed Natsu at the bottom floor. Natsu looked back up at him and then smirked. Lyon and Toby walked over to the hole, the former glared at the pink-haired mage.

"HIM!" Toby shouted in shock.

"Y-You...what is the meaning of this?" Lyon growled and glared down at him.

"The ruins are tilted...aren't they?" Natsu matched his glare. "Now the moon won't shine on the Devil underground."

"You..." Lyon growled in anger.

"I don't get it...what happened?" Toby asked in confusion.

"He destroyed about one half of the props that supported these ruins making them tilt. With this, moon drip won't reach Deliora." Zarti explained. "You're pretty smart, despite your appearance."

Natsu glared up at him. 'This woman...what the hell is her problem?' He wondered, but disregarded his thought and ignited his feet.

"Flame on his legs?" Lyon said.

"Oooon... he can create flames on any part of his body." Toby exclaimed in shock.

Natsu roared and launched himself at Lyon, smashing his head into his gut. However, it wasn't the real Lyon as the body was made of ice and it started to crack before breaking into many ice shards. Natsu knew this would happen and looked to his right to see the ice mage preparing his next attack. "Let's see you..." Lyon couldn't finish as Natsu suddenly appeared in front of him with a smirk and a fist raise at the level of his head. "W-What?"

"Too slow." The dragon-slayer told him as he punched the guy in the face, making Lyon groan in pain and crash into a wall. Natsu landed on the ground as well and cracked his knuckles. "Come on...I know than that is not all you got..." Lyon stood up from the rubble and glared at Natsu. His cheek bruised from the punch he received.

"You..." Lyon growled and clenched his fist tightly. "Take this!" He launched his attack, ice eagles flying straight toward to the cause of his bruise cheek and the delay of his plan. Natsu felt like yawning at such a weak attack, but didn't; he took a deep breath until his cheeks were puffed.

"Salamander's roar!" He then blew out fire that melted every single ice eagle, making his opponent glared at him as the flame dispersed, revealing a smirking dragon-slayer.

"You're really pissing me off." Lyon told him.

"Good... then I'm doing my job..." Natsu replied and ran towards him, Lyon pulled his arm back, clenched his fist and was preparing to strike the pink-haired with his magic, until the floor under Natsu crumbled and he fell through it. 'Damn it...I can't believe I fell for it even though I already knew she was going to do this...' Lyon was too surprised by this; his fist no longer glow a light blue color and turned his head toward the culprit.

"What did you do, Zarti?" Lyon asked.

"I'm sorry...I don't know what you mean..." He replied like a child guilty of doing something that would get him in trouble.

"Don't act so naïve...it's your magic that made the floor crumble, isn't it? Zarti chuckled.

"Excellent, Reitei-sama...you saw through it..." Lyon narrowed his eyes at the mask wearing man. "But please understand...I cannot lose you until we revive Deliora."

"Hmph... you really think I'll lose to his flame?" Lyon's form started to glow a light blue color and the ground around him and Natsu froze, making Zarti and Toby backed away as the ice blocked them from interfering with the fight. The pink-haired climbed out of the hole he fell through and saw what the ice mage did. "Get lost. I'll take care of him myself." Lyon told Zarti and Toby with his eyes glaring at the dragon-slayer, giving him his full attention. "I, Reitei Lyon, am the only mage that can defeat Deliora. It would disgrace my name if I can't even beat this brat."

"My, my..." Zarti chuckled.

"You really think you can defeat Deliora? Don't be an idiot." Lyon intensified his glare as Natsu wiped his pants. "If Deliora can be beaten by you, then this world would have one less problem that it had to deal with."

"W-What did you say...you insect?" Lyon gritted his teeth and clenched his fists in furious anger.

"What? I'm only saying the truth...after all, Deliora is already de-I mean halfway dead anyway..." He cursed himself for almost slipping the truth.

"You bastard...what the hell do you know about what I had to go through?" He yelled.

'Hehe...more than you think...' Natsu mentally chuckled.

"I had enough of you! Die!" Lyon roared and shot out more ice eagles.

"This attack again!" Natsu inhaled and then released another roar of fire. However, Lyon was anticipating this and stormed through the flames as they were dissipating. Natsu wasn't expecting this, but he had fast enough reflexes to side step his fist that was formed into an ice wolf, and kneed Lyon in the stomach with a smirk in his face; jumping back after it to make some space between the two, he thought with a scowl of annoyance. 'Damn it...what the hell is taking Gray so long?'

"Lyon has always wanted to surpass Ur, but now that she's gone, he's trying to surpass her by defeating Deliora that not even she could defeat." Gray told Erza, Lucy and Happy as the four of them headed toward the ruins.

"I see..." Lucy frowned. "In order to surpass the dead, that'd be the only way..."

"Aye!" Happy agreed.

"No... he just doesn't know the truth..." Gray told her.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Erza asked.

"Ur did disappear, but...she's still alive!" The three of them widened their eyes in shock as Lucy let out a scream in surprise.

"Eeeehhh! B-But how?" Lucy asked.

"No way!" Happy gawked in surprise.

"What do you mean? What happened in the past?" Erza asked.

"10 years ago..." Gray started and told them the truth about what happened between his teacher and Deliora.

"You cowered! Stop running away!" Lyon yelled as Natsu dodged Lyon's ice wolf repeatedly.

'Trust me...you wouldn't want that...' Natsu thought, dodging another ice wolf. 'Damn it...where the hell are you, Gray?' Natsu wondered and did a back flip to make space between him and Lyon.

"You bastard..." He growled and glared at his opponent.

"Yeah...yeah..." The pink-haired groaned. Just then, the ice to his right shattered and Gray appeared from behind it, a look of determination on his face. 'Finally!' The boy sighed. "You're late."

"Natsu let me take care of him." Gray responded.

"Okay."

"Damn it! I said let me...wait what?" Gray started yelling, but then stopped when he realized what the known-stubborn-dragon-slayer said.

"I said go for it." Natsu told him. "He's your opponent, not mine."

"Huh?" Gray blinked at him in confusion.

"Just don't be an idiot and use Ice Shell." Natsu told him.

"Heh? How did you...?"

"...lucky guess…" Natsu responded after a small pause.

"Like hell that is!" Gray yelled. Natsu cursed mentally and prayed for anything to get him out of this situation. His prayers were answered when Lyon chuckled.

"So...you were planning on using Iced Shell on me...Gray." Said boy turned his attention away from his companion to the speaker. "You really are an idiot. Not only that, but there is no way you have the guts to use that spell!"

"Oh yeah!" Gray told him and then put his arms in front of him and crossed them at the wrist. Gray's body began to glow as he prepared himself to use Iced Shell, Lyon's eyes widened in shock.

"Y-You...have you gone mad?" Lyon yelled at him.

"No... Lyon… it is you who has gone mad! I'll give you a chance. Return the people back in the village to normal and take your pals and leave...or else..." Gray threatened.

"I see...so that spell was just a threat...you sure did scare me...but I knew you didn't have the guts to use it..." Lyon chuckled. "Ridiculous..."

Gray then let out a burst of magic that blew by Lyon; the guy shielded his eyes and tried his best to keep himself from being pushed back, Natsu doing the same. "I'm serious." Gray told him.

"You..." Lyon growled and tried to fight back with a spell, but was blown away by another burst of magic.

"The fact that Ur died because of me will never change...regardless of how many years have gone by." Gray said. "I need to take responsibility one way or another." Lyon's eyes widened in surprise at how serious Gray was, Natsu sighed. "The time has come. I'm prepared to die."

"Are...are you serious?" Lyon responded.

"Answer me...Lyon!" Gray suddenly shouted. "Do we die together or...live together?"

"Go ahead." Lyon smirked. "You don't have the guts to die."

"You disappoint me...Lyon..." Gray responded. "This is the end...Lyon! Ic..." Gray was ready to use the spell before Natsu punched Gray in the face.

"You asshole!" He shouted as Lyon was surprised at the sudden attack by Gray's comrade. Gray placed a hand on his cheek and looked up at Natsu.

"Natsu..."

"What? I just felt like punching you." Natsu responded. Gray made a noise in surprise. "Besides, don't just go and decide to kill yourself because you want the coward's way out of facing your burden." Gray's eyes widened in surprise. "Stop running away, Gray, if you keep doing that, then why the hell are you a member of Fairy Tail?" Gray's eyes widened further. "Everyone one of us has a past we wish we could change or forget...but...there is no way none of us could do that if we keep running! Go ahead and kill yourself...but remember this...every time that you do try...my fist will be ready!" Gray was speechless. He lowered his head and looked down at the ground. He then looked back up when Natsu offered his hand. "Now...get your ass up and kick his ass or I'll do it myself." Gray looked at him for a few seconds and then smirked. He took his hand and Natsu helped him up.

"No way, dragon breath! He's mine." Natsu smirked at his response.

"Sorry to break this moment for you two idiots..." Lyon interrupted them. "But I can't afford to keep you two alive any longer...prepare you-" He stopped when the ruins began shaking.

"W-What's going on?" Gray asked. Natsu wasn't surprised as the ruins began tilting back to where they originally were.

Meanwhile...

Lucy, Erza and Happy just finished beating up the spell casters that ambushed them earlier as they heard the sound of something shaking and moving. "What's that sound?" Erza asked.

Lucy looked toward the ruins and her eyes widened in shock. "No... no way... the ruins aren't tilted anymore..."

Back with Gray and Natsu...

"What the hell? Why are the ruins no longer tilted?" Natsu asked, slamming his foot down on the ice covered ground.

"Damn this...now the moon drip will shine on Deliora again..." Gray cursed.

"I'm sorry to disturb you..." Zarti spoke as he entered the arena that Lyon created. "Hohoho...the sun will set soon, so I shunted the ruins back to normal."

"Zarti...it was you." Lyon narrowed his eyes at him.

"W-Who's he?" Gray asked.

"Damn you...how dare you ruin my hard work?" Natsu yelled while pointing a finger at him.

"Hohohoho!" Zarti chuckled like Santa Clause. He then turned around and started running off. "I better go prepare the moon drip ritual." Natsu's eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

"Don't ignore me you asshole!" Natsu ran after Zarti.

"Ah! Natsu!" Gray shouted.

"I told you! That it isn't my fight! Just remember...if you try to use that spell, my fist will be ready to punch that ugly face off your face!" Natsu shouted back.

Gray looked at him and then smirked. "That didn't make sense...you idiot..." Gray turned around to face Lyon. "But...thanks."

Lyon sighed. "What a bunch of noisy brats..."

"Earlier...when I tried to use Iced Shell...did you know that Natsu would stop me?" Gray asked.

"Nope...I didn't even think he could get close to that magic..." Lyon answered truthfully.

"So...you were going to take it?"

"Yup." Lyon said and crossed his arms. "But...I'd figured I would get saved anyway. That's why I said, 'Do it'."

"I see..." Gray figured out why he said to do it.

"Even if I'd be enclosed in the ice...I still got my comrades. Not only that, but we're on this island so all they need to do is used moon drip on me and I'll be set free." Lyon explained.

"I was rash..." Gray muttered. 'Did Natsu know about this too?' He wondered. 'Nah... that idiot is too stupid to know about something like that...'

Natsu let out a sneeze as he chased after Zarti. 'For some reason...I want to punch Gray again...I don't know why...but...oh well...I'll punch him anyway...'

"Iced Shell is useless here, isn't it?" Gray continued.

"So...you still intend to fight me?" Lyon smirked. "You know you can never def-"

"Let's stop." Gray stopped him from saying anything else.

"W-What?"

"Give up on Deliora." Gray told him.

"What is this nonsense you're spewing?" Lyon asked, chuckling a bit. "First a threat and now a persuasion? What has Fairy Tail done to the Gray I have known?"

"Lyon...Fairy Tail has made me different...I only wish you were a member of this guild so you could see...so that you could change...but this isn't the time for that...Lyon...listen to me...Ur...is alive." Lyon's eyes widened in shock. "Iced Shell is a spell that transforms the user into the ice. What I'm saying is...that Ice down below...that was used to seal Deliora...that is Ur. The ice you have been melting is Ur, Lyon! Ur is still alive...as the ice..." Gray lowered his head. "I'm sorry for not telling you this...but I promised Ur..." Lyon lowered his head so that his eyes were hidden behind his bangs. He then walked forward.

"Gray..." Lyon muttered.

"Lyon...let's just...sto-" Gray's eyes widened when he felt something pierce through him. He spat out blood.

"I already know that." Lyon told him and smirked. "You're wasting your breath. That's no longer Ur. It's just a scrap of ice." He pulled his sword out of Gray and kicked him away. Gray groaned in pain and held his new wound.

"Y-You...You knew and..." Gray let out another groan and spat out more blood.

"Don't tell me you seriously believed that Ur is still alive?" Lyon chuckled. "Grow up already."

Gray glared up at Lyon as he took in deep breaths. "You knew it...but you...y-you still did this...you bastard..."

"I said wait up!" Natsu yelled at Zarti.

"Hohohoho!" Zarti chuckled. He then raised his hand up at the ceiling and it started to crack. Natsu looked up and smirked as he ignited his feet. The ceiling then crumbled and the debris started falling down at him.

"That won't work on me!" Natsu shouted and kicked the debris away. He landed on the ground and stared at Zarti. The masked man smirked and Natsu watched as the broken pieces rose up to fix the broken ceiling.

"Impressed." Zarti chuckled.

"Not really..." Natsu answered. "How long do you plan on being in that disguise?"

"Oh my...you miss my true form already?" Zarti chuckled.

"Nope...I just want you to tell me why you are here." Natsu answered back.

"You're such a tease...Natsu-kun." Natsu scowled.

"I don't even know what that means." Zarti chuckled.

"Of course you don't." Natsu raised an eyebrow.

"Enough of the small talk... why are you here?" Natsu asked again.

"Sorry...but that information is classified." Zarti responded.

"Like hell!" Natsu yelled. "Answer me or I'll punch you!"

"Would you really hit a beautiful woman like myself?" Zarti asked.

"Huh? I don't see anyone like that. All I see is a mask wearing monkey!" He smirked and Zarti felt a vein pop in his head.

"You really shouldn't make me angry...Natsu-kun..." He threatened.

"Then tell me, why are you here?" Natsu asked once more.

"Sorry..." Zarti raised his hand and did the same move he used before. Natsu knew he was only using this as a diversion, but let him do it anyway and jumped away to avoid getting hit from the falling debris. When he looked back at Zarti, he was gone.

"They always run..." He groaned and then ran after Zarti.

Gray punched Lyon in the face as Lyon spat out blood from the blow. Lyon was surprised by this. "H-How...How can you move with an injury like that?"

"I'm fed up..." Gray muttered as he took a deep breath. Lyon raised an eyebrow. "I wanted to save you...but...I'm fed up with it..." Gray then created a bow with three arrows out of ice and aimed them at Lyon. Lyon's eyes widened as Gray shout the arrows at him, getting a direct hit and sending him flying back. He bounced up and down before rolling onto one knee and skidded to a stop. He gritted his teeth in anger, but it was then when Gray's knee hit him, sending him back some more. However, Gray didn't stop and kicked him in the gut. He then grabbed the cloth around his neck and delivered a punch to Lyon's face again. Lyon struggled to get up, using the wall to support himself as he took very quick and shallow breaths.

"I-I can't be...bleeding because of Gray...!" He growled in anger. "Ice Make: Snow Dragon!" Gray's eyes widened as a giant dragon made of ice tore through the room they were in. The dragon then hit Gray directly, using its jaws to chomp at his body. Gray groaned and spat out blood as he did his best to get out of the dragon's grip. Gray gritted his teeth and smashed his elbow on the dragon, breaking it and fell to the floor. "Haa...I don't want to waste my magic on you...haa...after this, I've gotta be ready for my fight with Deliora."

"Haa...I won't let you..." Gray responded, struggling to get up.

"Stop struggling, Gray! Deliora will arrive in no time! No one can stop it..." Lyon shouted.

"I will...haa...stop it..." Gray groaned.

"You say that while you grovel before me..." He said while removing his cloak. "Zarti is preparing the ritual and knowing him...he won't let anyone stop the ritual...even to someone like that idiot."

"Hehe..." Gray chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Lyon asked, annoyed by his laughter.

"You don't get it...do you? Natsu will stop him. Don't underestimate Natsu... no... never underestimate Natsu!"

"It's time..." Zarti said while looking up at Deliora.

"Gotcha!" Natsu roared and Zarti jumped away, allowing Natsu to strike the ground he was just standing on. "Burn!"

"Hohoho! What a delightful thing to say...Natsu-kun..." Zarti chuckled. "But...how did you find me?"

"Your smell." Natsu replied.

"Your making me blush." Zarti smirked.

"Creepy..." Natsu muttered, feeling a shiver run down his spine.

"Hohoho...but I'm sorry, Natsu-kun...I really need to revive Deliora..." Zarti told him.

"Why's that?" Natsu asked.

"Sorry, that's a secret." He chuckled.

"Damn you..." Natsu growled.

"Anyway...it is too late..." Zarti told him. Natsu knew what was going to happen and turned his head to see the moon drip shining down on the ice. Natsu turned his head back around and glared at Zarti.

"Oh? You don't look surprised." Zarti noticed.

"No...I am." Natsu replied. "I just want to make sure you don't run away again."

"Oh?" Zarti said. 'Interesting...'

"Let's do this!" Natsu jumped and threw a punch at Zarti.

"Oh...wise move to not use your flame magic..." Zarti commented. "If you did, it would have only accelerated the melting process."

"Shut up!" Natsu yelled and tried kicking him. "I'll end this quickly and then take out the guy above!"

"Oh? Let's see you try!"

"The ruins are shaking again..." Gray mentioned as he wiped the blood from his mouth.

"The moon drip ritual has started..." Lyon smirked. "Deliora's ice is melting."

'Ur...' Gray's eyes widened.

"I guess this is it." Lyon put on a smug look. "You couldn't stop us...Gray. How long have I waited this day?" Lyon summoned more ice eagles. "For ten years, I have been gathering information and recruiting comrades. Then I found, 'Garuna Island', the island where the moonlight gathers." Gray crossed his arms in front of his chest as the ice eagles connected. "We brought Deliora here from Brago." Gray used his magic to create a shield to block the ice eagles. "That was three years ago."

"So...you've wasted three years to find such a ridiculous thing." Gray commented.

"Ridiculous?" Lyon muttered in disbelief by the word. He then felt his anger grow. "How can you say that...? You, who has been dissipated in a guild for ten years!" He created an object of ice and slammed it on top of Gray's head. Gray raised his arms to block the ice attack from hitting his head directly. He glared at Lyon.

"I just believed in Ur's words." Lyon raised an eyebrow. "Fairy Tail is where I wound up. She was right; there are many strong mages...I couldn't believe my eyes. Now that I think about it...Jii-san did mention of a spell that could melt the ice...he must have meant moon drip. I'm really disappointed that my senior is doing something that is going to kill Ur." Lyon scoffed.

"Whatever...I have waited for this day...now that our teacher is dead, think carefully of how her left-behind pupils can do something to surpass her! With Deliora...I will surpass Ur! The only thing she couldn't do!" Lyon charged at Gray, created a wolf mad of ice on his fist.

"Your aspiration is admirable..." Gray told him as Lyon threw the wolf at Gray. "...but you failed to notice that you chose the wrong path! Someone so blind is trying to surpass Ur? YOU'RE 100 YEARS TO EARLY FOR THAT! GAME OVER, TRY AGAIN!" Gray created an ice sword and swung it, slicing Lyon. However, Lyon soon turned into ice, surprising Gray and reappearing behind him.

"Ice Make: Snow Tiger!" Lyon shouted as a large tiger made of ice roared at Gray. The ice mage's eyes widened in shock, however, he used his own magic to counter.

"Ice Make: Prison!" Gray jumped and created a large prison of ice, trapping the ice tiger in it; Lyon's eyes widened in shock. "Is that all you got?" Gray flipped in the air. "Such a pitiful beast!"

"Ridiculous! I'll just smash your mold-" He stopped when he saw that his ice tiger wasn't able to break free from the prison. "W-What?"

"One handed molding is unbalanced." Gray said as he landed on the ground. "That is why you are incapable of using your magic at its full power at important times." Lyon gawked in shock as Gray molded a large cannon made of ice. "Ice Make: Ice Cannon!" Gray shouted and out from the cannon shot a large bullet of ice that slammed into Lyon, sending him crashing into the ruins, causing a large explosion outside. When the smoke cleared, a torn up Lyon had his mouth wide open in shock, blood dripping from his mouth. "That's what Ur taught us."

"Gr-" Lyon shook as he tried to raise his hand. "You..." He looked up before spat out blood and dropped to the ground unconscious.

Gray let out a sigh. It was over. He suddenly felt pain course through his body, starting from the wound he received from Lyon at the start of the fight. He grabbed it and fell to the ground in pain. "I should stop the bleeding first." He muttered and froze his wound.

"WRAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" A loud and powerful roar was heard throughout the island; making the ruins, in which Gray was in, shook.

"W-What? What is that noise?" Erza asked as Lucy shrieked in fear.

"Damn it! It hurts!" Natsu screamed, covering his ears.

"Hohoho...it is finally here!" Zarti celebrated, clenching his fist.

'This roar...I could never forget it...' Gray thought, his body shaking. Lyon's eyes opened in shock at the roar. 'I have no choice...I'm sorry Natsu...but...I have to use it!' Gray clenched his fists and started running toward the cave where Deliora was.

Deliora let out another roar. "Yes! It's finally here!" Zarti shouted in excitement.

'Damn...I can't believe I forgot just how loud this monster is...my ears hurt like hell!' Natsu thought, holding his ears.

"What was that voice just now...? Wait, was it really even a voice?" Lucy asked.

"Maybe it was your tummy, Lucy." Happy said.

"You're probably kidding, but it's still annoying." Lucy commented.

"Could it be that Deliora, Gray was talking about?" Erza wondered and Lucy screamed in fear.

"What? No! It can't be! It has revived already?" Lucy screamed, putting her hands to her cheeks.

"Ah! That light?" Happy exclaimed pointing to a hole in the floor on the level they were on. "It's moon drip!"

Another roar was let out. "Again..." Erza muttered.

"You should really eat something, Lucy." Happy told her.

"You should be eaten by mice." Lucy retorted back.

"We heard Deliora's roar, but the moon drip ritual is still going on..." Erza crossed her arms. "Meaning that Deliora isn't fully revived yet..." She then looked at the stairs. "Let's go!" Erza told the other two.

"Huh? But isn't Deliora down there?" Lucy asked.

"If we interrupt the ritual, we can still stop the revival." Erza looked behind her. "Hurry!"

"Hai!"

"Aye!"

Natsu jumped to the side as the orb passed him. However, he didn't stop and dodged it again as Zarti controlled the orb's movements. 'Damn this technique is annoying...' Natsu knew he couldn't destroy it, so he kept on dodging.

"Impressive...Natsu-kun..." Zarti chuckled. "You are able to dodge my orb so well...but let's see you dodge it when I fast forward the orb's 'time' to the future..." He smirked. Natsu knew what was coming and thought of a way to dodge it. There was only one thing he came up with. He took a deep breath and waited for the attack. When it came, he opened his eyes and allowed the orb to attack him. Zarti smirked as his attack connected, but then to his surprise, Natsu's body turned into flames. "Nani?"

"You weren't expecting that, huh?" Zarti made a noise in surprise as Natsu appeared behind him and when he turned his head, Natsu delivered a strong right fist to his face. "Iron Fist of the Salamander!" Natsu roared as Zarti rolled and flipped in the air until he crashed into the wall. "Ah! That felt good!" Natsu smirked. 'Although...I do feel bad about hitting him this time...I guess it's because I know he's a girl...hmm...strange...oh well...' Natsu turned his head around to look up at Deliora, who was almost out of his ice.

"Take this!" Erza shouted and struck Toby as the moonlight stopped entering the hole.

"You did it, Erza!" Lucy squealed. "Yay! Moon drip stopped!"

"Oooohn..." Toby groaned in pain.

"Huh? He was the only one who was doing it?" Happy noticed.

"Fools! It's too late! You failed!" Toby shouted.

"What?" Erza's eyes widened in shock as a powerful light escaped from the hole and up to the sky.

"The ritual is complete!" Toby shouted as Deliora let out a loud roar.

"N-No..." Lucy muttered in shock and fear.

"Ur..." Gray muttered as he picked up some of the water that came from the melted ice of his teacher.

"You're here...Gray...' Natsu said, not turning around to look at him.

"Natsu..." Gray said his name.

"Yes..." Both of them turned around to see a crawling Lyon. "I-It's i-impossible for you...hehe...l-let me...s-surpass U-Ur..."

"Lyon..." Gray frowned at his senior.

"Don't waste your breath." Natsu told him. "It's almost impossible for you now."

"Shut up!" Lyon yelled. "D-Deliora...we finally m-meet..." He chuckled and used whatever strength he had to stand up. "The only monster...that Ur couldn't defeat...I will defeat it...with my own hands...right now...I will surpass you now!" Lyon shouted, remembering some of the memories he had with his teacher. Natsu ignored him but Gray's seen enough. He chopped Lyon in the back of his neck, knocking him back down.

"That's enough...Lyon..." Gray said and he crossed his arms at his wrist. "I'll seal Deliora!" Natsu sighed.

"Don't do this Gray!" Lyon shouted. "Do you know how long I have waited for this day? If you use that spell, I'll just unfreeze him again! It would just be an endless cycle!"

"I'm sorry, Lyon...Natsu...everyone...this is the only way...' Gray told them. Natsu then grabbed Gray's head and slammed it down to the ground. "Ugh...what the hell...?" Gray said while his face was in the ground.

"I told you before...stop running..." Natsu told him. "Besides...there is no need..."

"Huh?" Gray lifted his head as soon as Natsu let go. "What are you talking about?"

"Think about it..." He responded. "He's been frozen for ten years..."

"What are you getting at?" Lyon shouted.

"Ur didn't fail..." Natsu told them. "Deliora died a long time ago..."

"W-What?" Both Gray and Lyon muttered in shock as Deliora let out another roar. The monster then raised his arm.

"Watch." Natsu said. All three watched as Deliora raised his arm as high as it could.

I'm sorry...Natsu...

Natsu's eyes widened in horror as the arm that was supposed to start breaking apart didn't. The arm was heading down at the three and Natsu used his fast reflexes to pick up both Gray and Lyon and jumped out of the way to dodge Deliora's strong attack that crushed the ground they were previously standing on. Natsu dropped both Gray and Lyon on higher ground and then turned his head back at Deliora. 'Z-Zeref...you bastard!'

"Oi Natsu! What the hell?" Gray shouted at him. He grabbed his scarf and pulled Natsu closer to him. "What was with all the Deliora being dead crap? He doesn't look dead to me!" He pointed at Deliora.

'Damn you...Zeref...' Natsu thought as he didn't know how to respond. He grabbed Gray's wrist and made him remove his hand from his scarf. He pushed Gray back a little and then turned back around to see Deliora glaring at them. "Gray... take Lyon and get out of here..." Natsu told him.

"What?" Gray shouted in shock. "Like hell I'm letting you take on Deliora by yourself!"

"D-Deliora...he's mine!" Lyon shouted.

"Both of you...shut the hell up!" Natsu shouted at them. He turned his head to give them a very cold and hard glare. "Get out of here!" He growled and it made both Gray and Lyon freeze in fear.

"R-Right..." Gray eventually muttered and went to grab Lyon. He turned his head toward Natsu before leaving with Lyon.

'Zeref...what the hell is the meaning of this?' Natsu thought in anger as he glared at Deliora.

I'm sorry...Natsu...but...I need to see more of your strength...

'I thought you said to not change the past...so then why the hell are you doing this?'

I know...you are right...but...this is necessary...

'Don't fucking screw with me!' Natsu thought angrily. 'Fine then...if you want to change the past...then so will I...I won't tell anyone about me coming from the future...but know this...if you ever do something like this again...I will make changes and I will make sure that all of these changes will still lead me to kicking your ass and protecting my friends!' Natsu ignited his fists and then jumped down at Deliora. "Waaaaahhhh!" Natsu roared and struck Deliora in the face. However, it didn't do anything. 'Crap!' Natsu cursed and watched as Deliora raised his fist. He crossed his arms in front of him and the punch sent Natsu flying straight into the wall. "Gah!" Natsu spat some blood. 'So strong...' He fell to the ground.

"Wraaaahhhh!" Deliora roared.

"Gray!" Gray turned his head to see Lucy, Happy and Erza running toward them.

"Erza! Lucy! Happy!" Gray said their names.

"What's going on?" Lucy asked. Gray lowered his head and gritted his teeth.

"D-Deliora...was revived..." All three of them gasped.

"N-No way..." Both Happy and Lucy muttered in shock.

"Where's Natsu?" Erza asked, not seeing him anywhere.

"He's down there...fighting against Deliora..." He responded and Erza's eyes widened.

"What? Is he insane?" Lucy shouted. Erza didn't waste any time and ran down to where Deliora and Natsu were.

"Ah! Erza! Don't!" Gray shouted after her. However, Erza didn't stop.

'Natsu...why are you fighting it alone...don't tell me...are you planning on using that technique...!' Erza felt a feeling of worry enter her body that increased the closer she got.

Natsu coughed and spat out some more blood as he pushed himself up and looked up at Deliora. "Damn...you're an ugly thing..." Natsu said. Deliora seemed to have understood him and let out another roar. He raised his arm and then slammed it down again. Natsu used his speed to dodge his attack and got up to higher ground. He glared down at Deliora. "Looks I have no choice..." Natsu clenched his fist. "I'm sorry...Erza..." His entire arm ignited in a large flame and when it dispersed, his arm turned into his dragon arm. "Dragon Metamorphosis...Arm of the Salamander."

"Wraaahhhh!" Deliora roared and clenched his large fist. He then threw his fist at Natsu, to what he raised his arm to stop it with his open palm. However, something was wrong, Natsu grabbed his dragon arm with his free hand to hold it in place, but he was slowly being pushed back and his arm was hurting him.

'What the hell...? So strong...' Natsu thought as the pain he felt in his dragon arm increased the longer he tried to hold back Deliora's fist. 'Don't tell me...this is Zeref's doing!'

Yes...Natsu...I'm sorry...but I made Deliora stronger than what Lullaby was...I'm afraid you need more than this level of strength to defeat Deliora...I'm sorry...Natsu...

'Shut the hell up, you bastard!' Natsu angrily thought and finally pulled back, by jumping away, allowing Deliora's fist to crash into the wall behind him. Natsu fell down one level and turned around to glare up at Deliora. 'Damn...looks like this is gonna be tough...'

"Natsu!" Natsu's eyes widened at the voice and turned his head to see Erza.

"Erza...why are you...?" Natsu muttered, his eyes widened in shock. Deliora let out another roar and he turned his attention back to the monster. Deliora opened his mouth and let out a large magic beam down at Natsu.

"Natsu!" Erza screamed as Natsu raised his dragon arm up to defend himself. The beam connected, but Natsu felt an intense pain emitting from his dragon arm and dropped to one knee as smoke covered the surrounding area. "Natsu!" He heard Erza scream his name again.

'Damn...looks like I have to go beyond 10%' Natsu stood up and clenched both his hands. He inhaled oxygen and clenched his human hand tightly. 'Let's do this!' He ignited his entire arm and he watched as the smoke around him was dispersing, allowing Erza to see Natsu's form. She let out a sigh of relief that he was okay, but then gasped when she saw what he was doing.

"Natsu...don't tell me..." Erza watched as his other arm transformed into the dragon scales.

"Second Arm of the Salamander!" Natsu said as he revealed both his new arms. Deliora let another roar. "Erza!" The red haired beauty made a noise in surprise at his yell. "I'm sorry...for breaking my promise...but...I have no choice...I have to use this technique to defeat Deliora...so please...get away from here...I don't want anything to happen to you..." Erza made another noise in surprise. She wanted to argue, but she couldn't let out a word. She frowned before nodding her head. She turned around and ran out of the cave. When Natsu couldn't hear her footsteps anymore, he glared up at Deliora. "Alright you ugly thing...let's end this!"

"Wraaaaahhhhh!" Deliora roared and tried slamming his fist down at Natsu. Natsu jumped to avoid becoming a pancake and jumped high enough so that he was at the same level as Deliora's torso. He clenched both his fists tightly and ignited his feet to use them as thrusters.

"Take this!" Natsu yelled and punched Deliora in the chest. Deliora roared in pain and was pushed back, his back touching the wall behind him. Natsu however, wasn't finished. He started a huge barrage of punches that pushed Deliora deeper and deeper into the wall. "Waaaahhhh!" Natsu roared, while he increased the speed of his punches. He then stopped his barrage of punches and pulled one of his arms back. He increased the flames on his feet and then he charged toward Deliora, delivering a strong punch that pushed Deliora through the wall of the cave.

Gray and the others were outside when they suddenly felt the ground shake and then a huge explosion coming from the mountain behind them. They all turned around and they gawked at what they saw.

Erza came out of the ruins, and she as well witnessed what the large sound was.

Deliora was pushed through layers and layers of wall until he appeared outside of the mountain. "N-N-NANI!" They all shouted in shock as Deliora fell down onto the forest, crushing trees and other wildlife in the process.

Natsu used his thrusters to fly up and hover above Deliora's body. Deliora roared and let out another magic beam at Natsu. Natsu wanted to avoid it, but he felt extremely tired and couldn't move away in time. So he crossed his dragon arms in front of his body to the take the full blow of the attack. "Natsu!" Gray and the other shouted in fear that they're comrade could be dead.

However, that was not the case. Natsu whipped his arms back to his sides and glared down at Deliora. He could feel blood dripping from his temples, but he didn't care at the moment. He moved his arms so that they were in front of him and about two feet apart from each other. He had his palms facing each other and Natsu closed his eyes. A small flame was formed in the center and before long, it became a larger flame.

Deliora pushed itself up using his elbows and opened his mouth to charge another magic beam. However, Natsu wasn't going to let him. He opened his eyes and inhaled a large amount of air. "Twin Arms of the Salamander: Roaring Flame Cannon!" Natsu blew out a large amount of fire that was absorbed by the small fire in between his hands and from that burst a large blast of fire magic that from spectators looked like a large beam. Deliora roared in pain as the attack pierced through its chest and then created a large explosion that obliterated Deliora into nothing, as well as obliterating the surround area of the explosion. Luckily, it was nowhere near the village.

The others all covered their eyes as the large wind blew by them. They all had trouble holding their ground at the powerful explosion that just occurred. When the wind settle down, they began lowering their arms and staring in amazement and shock at what just happened. "Y-You got to be kidding...N-Natsu did that..." Gray muttered in shock.

"A-Amazing..." Lucy muttered. She couldn't believe how powerful that technique was. Natsu was strong. Way strong. It just made her speechless at how much stronger Natsu was compared to her strength. She couldn't believe she was still standing after seeing that.

Erza was in awe just like the others were. Natsu was definitely an S-Class Mage. She wondered if he was stronger than Gildarts. However, she frowned. 'He had both his arms transformed...doesn't that mean that he...he loses more of his own life...Natsu...' Erza frowned in worry. She looked up, hoping to spot Natsu in the air. When she did, her eyes widened in horror as Natsu was quickly descending downward. From what she could tell, he was unconscious. "Natsu!" She yelled and ran toward the location where Natsu was going to land.

"D-Did you see that...Siegrain-sama?' Ultear spoke to the holographic form of Siegrain on her hand. Her eyes widened in shock at the sheer intensity of Natsu's attack.

"Hehe..." Ultear's eyes widened at him. "Interesting...it seems he has gotten stronger..."

"W-What?" Ultear asked, confused.

"Nothing..." Siegrain told her. "Good work, Ultear. Get back here as soon as you can." He said before disappearing.

"H-Hai...Siegrain-sama..." She didn't know why he was so calm about Natsu's strength, but she ignored it and looked back to where Natsu battled Deliora. 'Impressive...Natsu-kun...'

To Be Continued...
- 11
- 12
- 13
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Time is the Path to Strength