Once all of the minions were sprawled out over the ground, your sword disappeared.

"Nice work. Let's get moving," Erza said. You huffed.

"Aight, let's go get some idiots."

"Wait!"
You turned, sword hilt appearing through your magic circle.

"We won't let you interfere with the Cold Emperor," the older woman said, being held up by a younger man.

"Those headdresses," Erza spoke, "You people are from Brago, aren't you?" You cancelled your magic circle.

"If so, are you doing this for a reason?" You asked. The two of them refused to answer, the older one only snarling at you. You let out a frustrated sigh.

"... I don't have time for this, move!" You walked forward, but the two of them blocked your way. You took a step, then disappeared from their line of sight. You reappeared behind them and ran into the forest. You felt Lucy and Erza behind you. When you got to the temple ruins, you slowed so the two could catch up with you. When you entered the temple, all three of you stopped when the ruins began to shake. A bellowing roar echoed through the entire island.

"Wh--?! What was that roar? Was that even what it was?" Lucy asked. Your head jerked from a sudden pain.

Deliora~ Welcome back~

'Shut up already.' You thought, closing your eyes and taking a slow, deep breath.

"Are you alright, Y/n?" Erza asked.

"Yeah..." You replied, reopening your eyes. The purple magic circle was still activated on the floor.

"That light! It's the Moon Drip!" Happy pointed at it. The roar echoed again, shaking the ruins even more so than the last time.

"There it is again," Erza said.

"You should really eat something, Lucy," Happy teased.

"You should get eaten by a rat."

"It's Deliora," you said, "But the ceremony is still underway. His revival isn't complete." You ran forward.

"Where are you going?!" Lucy called out.

"We can stall it by stopping the ceremony up top! Let's go!" You zipped up to the top of the temple. Toby was the only one doing the ceremony.

"Third Circle: Ver'un!" You brought out your sword and swung it down on him.

"AAAAAHGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!" Toby went flying away and landing feet away from you.

"All right! The Moon Drip stopped!" Lucy said. The magic circle faded away.

"I can't believe it was just him doing it," Happy said, standing over him.

"You're too late! The ceremony's complete!" Toby popped back to life and yelled at him.

"SILENCE!!" You stabbed the sword right next to his head.

"AAAAAAAHGGGGGGGHG!!!!!!!!"
There was a bright flash of light blue from the center of the temple. Your head snapped over to it. The ringing that came along with Deliora's roar seemed familiar within your mind.

Oh... how sad... he's gone again...

'Huh?' Everything seemed to drown out from your senses. Whether that was because of you, or because of her.

Deliora's life was sucked away by the ice it was entrapped it... courtesy of Ur.

'Then... all of this was for nothing?'
All you got in reply was a distant giggle. After your hearing came back, you quickly ran to the edge. Waterfalls of water burst out of the side and down below.

'Is that the ice Deliora was encased in?' You quickly turned and ran down the temple, ignoring Lucy's cry. You ran all the way down to the underground chamber where Deliora was held. When you got to the cavern, Natsu and Gray were there, as well as the Cold Emporer.

"Natsu! Gray!" You called. The two males turned their heads.

"Y/n!" They both ran up to you and brought you into a hug.

"I'm glad you're safe," Gray said. You smiled lightly.

"I'm glad you are too."

"Gray tried to kill himself!"

"What?"
Gray jumped away from you.

"Wh-what was I supposed to do?! I had no other choice!"
You gave him a stank face.

"Um??? Not kill yourself???" You said. He sighed lightly.

"Sorry--GUAK!!"
You punched him in the stomach. He collapsed against you and you held him up.

"Hey, I did that to him, too!" Natsu said with a smile.

"Glad you and I think alike, bird-brain."

"Hey!"
You cupped Gray's cheeks and stared right into his eyes.

"Never think giving up your life will end anything," you said, "Killing yourself doesn't end the pain. It passes it to another person." His eyes seemed to widen.

"I'm sorry." He looked down, averting his gaze from you. You moved his arms around your neck and hugged his waist.

"Enough of that, loser. Stop apologizing."
Natsu watched you two, arms crossed, and a pout on his face.

"Stupid Gray," he mumbled. When you two let go, Gray smiled at you before walking over to Lyon to help him up.

"Hey...!" You turned to see Lucy and Happy coming towards you. Happy flew into Natsu's arms who turned, only to come face-to-face with Erza. He tried to run away, but she caught him by his scarf and held him there. You rolled your eyes slightly at that.

~
The six of you were resting outside near the water. After the whole debacle with Deliora, it was a relief.

"Hurray! It's all over!" Natsu cheered.

"Aye, sir!"

"I was really worried there for a while," Lucy said, "Ur sure is amazing." You smiled lightly, but it dropped soon afterward.

"This means we've accomplished an S-Class quest on our own!" Natsu cheered.

"All right!" Happy added.

"Do you think they'll let us on the second floor now?" Lucy asked. You looked away when Erza glared at the four of them.

"Oh right! There's punishment in store for us!" Lucy cried.

"But isn't there something you need to do first?" Erza asked, "Wasn't the real objective of this job... to help the villagers who've transformed into demons? This S-Class quest isn't over it."

"Bu-but Deliora is dead. So the village's curse should be--"

"You don't get it," you spoke, "The villager's curse wasn't caused by Deliora. It was caused by the Moon Drip's enormous magic energy. Deliora may be gone, but their curse isn't."

"Yo-you can't be serious," Lucy said.

"Okay! Let's go heal them, then!"

"Aye, sir!" Happy and Lucy high-fived each other.

"How, though?" Gray asked. Then he turned towards the silver-haired boy sitting behind you. "Hey, Lyon--"

"I have no idea, just so you know."

"Well you're useless," you said, clapping your hands. "Then our only choice is to exorcise them."

"EXORCISE THEM?!" Lucy cried.

"We knew of the village's existence when we came to the island three years ago," Lyon said, "but we never interfered with the villagers. They never once came to see us, either."

"Oh, I see," you said, "So that's why you sent your minions to kill them and ruined their village by throwing acid on it." Lucy nudged you.

"That's not nice."

"And neither is trying to dissolve someone in acid."

"Not once.... in three years?" Erza asked.

"Come to think of it, they must've seen the Moon Drip's light coming from the ruins almost every night, huh?" Lucy said, "It's strange that they never came to investigate."

"I'm not even sure the Moon Drip has any effect on the body," Lyon said.

"What? Are you trying to say it wasn't your guys' fault now?" Natsu asked.

"Think about it," Lyon said, "We were bathed in the same light for three years as well.

"Oh, that's true!" Lucy said.

"Be careful. They're hiding something," Lyon said, "This is guild work now, though." He looked away like a tsundere.

"You're not getting of that easy. You guys destroyed the vill--"
You squished his cheeks together to stop him from talking.

"Leave it," you said, "They were acting from their own sense of justice. No point in criticizing what they did now. Let's go." You let go of him and turned. "We've got a curse to break." Natsu smiled and happily followed after you. Lucy was next. Erza calmly walked after you. You looked behind you and saw Gray behind.

"Gray!" You called, "Come on!"

"Yeah," he called back before running over to you.

"What were you talking about?" You asked once he caught up to you.

"About him joining a guild," he replied. He definitely wasn't going to tell you about how when he and Lyon fought in the temple, he kind of, maybe blurted out that you were the most amazing person he's ever come across??? But he'd never actually say that to you.

Ja ne!

{Ruby Red}