XXVI

The man in the mask was a slippery fellow. His movements were calculated and just when Natsu would catch a glimpse of him, he'd seemingly vanish.

Igneel had lost track of where they were by the time the little man allowed himself to be seen. Maybe they were in the upper floors of the temple, or maybe the lower… Natsu had destroyed pretty much everything in his path to get to the man so Igneel had lost track of up and down about ten broken walls ago. Natsu was going purely on his sense of smell to follow by now.

The little man revealed himself then, as Zalty. Igneel did not recognize the name. However, he felt Natsu's anger flare. Zalty had had so much confidence that he'd revealed who he was, and a moment later, revealed his magic. He could manipulate a little sphere and what almost seemed to be time itself. It didn't take a rocket scientist to deduce that he'd been the one to right the ruins again, making the Moon Drip ritual possible, though Natsu hadn't put two and two together yet.

Zalty called it Arc of Time magic, and proclaimed it to be a 'Lost Magic' just like Natsu's. Igneel's brow furrowed and he scrutinized Zalty. Indeed, the fact that he was using a Lost Magic was probably why he'd gotten such a familiar yet foreboding feeling from him… though still Igneel didn't recognize who he was. Or even who he might've been trained by. Lost Magics were, after all, typically either passed down secretly from generation to generation or, like Natsu, had disrupted the flow of time altogether and gone into a time they were never supposed to inhabit.

Regardless, Igneel saw Zalty as a much bigger threat than any of the other cult members. His 'puppet master' vibe coupled with the fact that he proclaimed to want to control Deliora, added into his mysterious unknown aura made him target number one.

The fight was a short one, and while Natsu demonstrated an impressive amount of skill in being able to land a few hits on him, Zalty ultimately disappeared. Natsu had somehow made his way up to the top of the temple, and while heaving breath he stumbled out to find but one cult member still performing the ritual: the weird dog man named Toby.

Although, he was too late. The ground shook and the beam of light from the moon was no more and an inhuman energy burst forth from the ground. Yes, Deliora was officially awoken.

Natsu's feet barely touched the ground as he catapulted himself back down into the temple and toward the chamber holding Deliora. He knew he had to defeat it… no matter the cost.

Igneel's stomach clenched. There was really no hope for any of them defeating Deliora… It was one of the stronger Zeref Demons and while Natsu probably could defeat it if he gave himself over to his Demon Seed, there was no way in hell Igneel was going to let that happen.

Natsu made it to the chamber in time to see Gray staring up at the monster slowly shivering to life before him. Lyon was near him, laying on the ground, defeated.

Igneel smiled to himself when he felt a small part of Natsu relax. Gray hadn't performed Iced Shell… he'd defeated Lyon on his own, without sacrificing himself. Just as he'd known he could.

Gray seemed to almost have expected Natsu, and said quietly that it was his job to seal away Deliora again, just as Ur, his teacher, had. He'd carry on her legacy and he'd make sure the monster in front of him never saw the light of day again. For the second time he crossed his arms out straight in front of himself and closed his eyes, fully prepared to cast a spell that would end his life.

Igneel didn't fully disagree with him this time, however. Against Lyon? It was frivolous and pointless to cast Iced Shell. Against Deliora? It was probably their only option.

Natsu on the other hand had different ideas. He stepped in front of Gray, holding out an arm to stop him. Somewhere along the way he'd deemed this his fight now… Maybe it was because of the immense darkness that had come over one of his best friends at merely the mention of the name… or maybe it was because of the job description… Igneel didn't know, but Natsu now had a very serious personal stake in this.

And before anyone could do much of anything to stop him, or convince him otherwise, Natsu's magic had burst forward, engulfing his fists in flames and he'd hurtled himself at Deliora head-on.

Igneel braced himself and the impact was shaking. Natsu pushed and with a little effort, Igneel managed to keep his son's energy levels even. He would not let him access the Demon Seed power, nor would he cut off his magic entirely. He let him attack with one hundred percent of his own human power… or as human as a Dragon Slayer could get.

And much to his surprise… Deliora cracked. Natsu hadn't even begun to crank up the heat and yet one of the most powerful demons Igneel had ever encountered in his life was shattered, quite literally, in front of his eyes.

Natsu landed gracefully and there was an eerie silence amongst those watching as the mighty beast before them crumbled and caved and collapsed into nothingness, taking most of the temple with it.

Gray spluttered for a moment, somehow amazed and yet frustrated and angry all at the same time, seeing the beast his Master died for defeated so easily at the hands of one of his comrades. Natsu held up a hand to stop him, however, and explained.

Igneel had noticed it the moment Deliora first cracked: it was but a shell of what it used to be. Both literally and metaphorically. Iced Shell made the castor turn to ice, and throughout the years the woman named Ur had been slowly sucking all the power and life energy out of Deliora. Natsu hadn't defeated a Zeref Demon with one punch, rather a hollow image of what one had used to be. Igneel was glad Natsu had recognized it, too. Part of him had been worried he wouldn't, and he'd get such an ego trip that he'd go around boasting and asking for trouble, claiming he could defeat monsters with a single hit.

Igneel could almost feel the closure for Gray as he collapsed in a heap on the ground. Natsu wasn't upset, entirely, though he was a little unsatisfied with how anticlimactic the ending had been. However, if he could defeat one demon, while dispelling a few that'd plagued his rival, he was definitely going to take it as a win.

I remember first watching Natsu defeat Deliora and being like 'oh my god everyone's doomed. Natsu just thinks he killed a friggin' village-destroying demon with one hit he's just gonna go around looking for fights to pick now. Good luck Makarov. You ain't gonna be able to pay for any of this' and then being pleasantly surprised he realized he wasn't super strong, Deliora was super weak. So I just kinda thought Igneel would think the same, haha! ;D

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and I'd love to hear what you thought! :D

~Foxtail-chan