‘He believed me?!
He actually believed that?’
Noah could hardly believe his own success.
‘That worked?
Damn, I’m good.’
Outwardly, however, he maintained an upright and magnanimous expression.
“It’s fine. I forgive you,” Noah said graciously.
“Although you’ve forfeited your share of the reward for this job.”
Loke and Cana immediately protested.
“What?! You damn scam artist—”
“That’s fine!” Gray cut in before they could start arguing.
“I don’t care about the money. But there’s one thing I want from you.”
His expression turned serious.
“Let me handle this myself.”
“Gray…”
For once, Cana’s voice softened.
Noah, however, completely ignored Gray’s request.
“What kind of nonsense is that? Get this straight—this is my job. And more importantly, we’re guildmates. There’s no way we’re standing around while you deal with everything alone.”
Gray opened his mouth, but Noah waved him off.
“Fine. I’ll compromise. Whoever’s behind this can be yours. I won’t interfere with that fight.”
Gray’s shoulders eased slightly.
“That’s enough. Thanks.”
The mood grew heavy again.
Naturally, Noah, Fairy Tail’s foremost destroyer of serious atmospheres, immediately stepped in to fix that.
“Oh, and when I said there’d be no reward, that applies to you two as well.”
Cana and Loke froze.
“?!”
“Hey—”
Before another argument could erupt, a beam of violet light suddenly descended through the opening overhead and struck the frozen Deliora below.
Noah looked up.
“Looks like it’s time. They’ve started the ritual.”
Gray was already moving before Noah finished speaking.
“Let’s go!”
“Wait, Gray!” Noah called after him.
“All of you, stay alert! We don’t know if someone’s waiting to ambush us!”
The four quickly made their way to the top of the ruins.
The moment they emerged, the view opened dramatically before them.
Beneath the eerie glow of the brilliant purple moon, a group of strangely dressed people stood arranged in a circle, chanting an ancient and unfamiliar incantation.
The lunar energy gathering above them gradually condensed into a violet liquid.
Like a concentrated beam, it poured through the opening in the ruins and plunged into the darkness below.
From their hiding place behind a large boulder, Noah and the others could see exactly where it was landing.
Deliora.
Loke narrowed his eyes.
“So this is Moon Drip? Just looking at it gives me a bad feeling.”
“That should be it,” Noah said.
Gray clenched his fists.
“So these are the people disturbing Ur’s rest…”
Cana studied the ritual.
“Are those three the ones in charge?”
She was referring to three people who stood apart from the other ritualists: two men and one woman, all dressed distinctly enough to stand out from the nameless followers around them.
Though, strictly speaking, they were chanting too.
Noah gave them one look and dismissed the idea.
“Those three? Obviously underlings.”
Cana glanced at him.
“Obviously?” Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
“Look at them. The real mastermind would never dress like that.” Noah folded his arms knowingly.
“The boss gives orders while the subordinates do the work. Since when does the owner stay up late doing overtime alongside the employees?”
The other three stared at him.
None of them had any idea what he was talking about.
“You people grew up in a guild where you can choose your own jobs whenever you want. You wouldn’t understand.”
As if the universe itself had decided to prove Noah right, the wind soon carried the trio’s conversation toward them.
“How much longer do we have to keep doing this?”
“Probably another week or so.”
“The workload’s been getting heavier these last few days. I haven’t even been able to rest properly during the daytime.”
“We’re in the final stage now. Stay focused. We can’t ruin Lord Reitei’s plan.”
A moment later, a mysterious figure emerged wearing a cloak and a hooded mask.
The three immediately turned toward him.
“Lord Reitei.”
Noah pointed toward the newcomer and lowered his voice.
“See? That is obviously the mastermind. He appears last, dresses completely differently from everyone else, and carries himself like he believes he’s the strongest man alive. That’s exactly what the final boss of a dungeon is supposed to look like.”
“So he’s the one behind this?” Cana asked.
“Who is he?” Loke murmured.
Reitei gave the three followers a slight nod before speaking.
“You’ve all worked hard again tonight. It won’t be much longer before our plan succeeds.”
His gaze shifted toward the hole through which the Moon Drip was pouring.
“The plan to free Deliora.”
Gray stiffened.
‘That voice…’
His entire body jolted.
‘Could it be…?’
Before Cana or Loke could react, Gray leapt out from behind the boulder.
“So you’re the bastard trying to free Deliora?!”
His sudden charge caught both of them completely off guard.
Noah, on the other hand, remained perfectly composed.
“I’ll give you two a chance to get some proper combat experience. Those three underlings are yours. Don’t tell me the two of you can’t handle three opponents.”
Cana immediately looked at him.
“This is your job, remember? If we deal with all the enemies, what exactly are you planning to do?”
“You still want your share of the reward, don’t you?”
Cana went quiet.
“I’ll handle the Magic Circle,” Noah continued.
“Any objections?”
“…No.”
The three stepped out from behind the boulder and spread apart.
One of the enemy Mages immediately noticed their guild marks.
“That emblem… Fairy Tail? Why are they here?”
The woman, dressed in an outfit that looked suspiciously like something meant for bondage play, seemed genuinely surprised.
The short man beside her, however, appeared to understand what had happened.
“It must be the request from those villagers. I didn’t expect anyone to arrive this quickly, though. Since it was an S-Class job, I thought it would take much longer before someone accepted it.”
Both groups faced each other atop the ruins.
“Hmph! So what if they’re from Fairy Tail?” the woman declared.
“They could never defeat Lord Reitei! Lord Reitei is invincible!”
Noah’s eyebrow twitched.
Now that was something he couldn’t pretend not to hear.
He looked directly at her.
“In that case, I suppose I’ll have to see for myself whether your precious Reitei actually deserves that confidence.”
“Wait, Noah.”
Gray stepped in front of him, blocking his path.
His expression was grim.
“You promised, remember? That man is mine.”
Noah paused.
‘Oh, right.’
He was supposed to watch these two fellow disciples tear into each other over years of unresolved emotional baggage.
‘As expected, women really do interfere with a man’s judgment.’
Noah gave Gray a serious look.
“Then remember this clearly. Right now, you’re representing Fairy Tail. If you lose…”
He paused deliberately.
“I’ll help them finish the Moon Drip ritual myself.”
Gray’s face twisted.
“You bastard—!”
He forced himself to stop.
“…Forget it. I get it.”
Then Gray lunged forward.
“You bastard! Stop this pointless ritual!”
Magic surged through both of his hands.
Reitei responded with only a casual sweep of one hand.
Almost simultaneously, trails of ice erupted from beneath both Gray and the masked man, racing across the ground toward each other.
The two spells collided halfway between them and shattered into a spray of glittering ice crystals.
Gray’s suspicions were confirmed.
His anger immediately surged higher.
“Lyon… you bastard! Do you even understand what you’re doing?!”
Lyon reached up and removed his mask.
A faint smile crossed his face.
“Heh. It’s been a long time, Gray.”
His expression remained cool.
“And you’re still as weak as ever.”
He looked Gray over.
“So the Mages those villagers hired turned out to include you. Did you come here knowing what was happening, or was it simply coincidence?”
Lyon shrugged.
“Either way, it doesn’t matter.”
Noah stared thoughtfully at the mask in Lyon’s hand.
‘That thing looks ridiculously thick.
Doesn’t he get hot wearing it?’
Loke hurried to Gray’s side.
“Gray, you know him?”
Gray’s face darkened.
“Yeah. He trained under Ur too. He’s my senior disciple.”
Gray’s jaw tightened.
“No…”
He stared directly at Lyon.
“Lyon, after what you’ve done here, you have no right to call yourself Ur’s disciple anymore.”
Lyon’s expression barely changed.
“Neither do you, Gray.”
His voice turned cold.
“Ur is dead.”
Gray’s anger mixed with disbelief.
“She sacrificed herself to seal Deliora! And now you’re trying to destroy the very thing she left behind?!”
Lyon’s eyes hardened.
“Don’t rewrite the past to make yourself feel better.”
He stared directly at Gray.
“You killed Ur, Gray.”
His words landed with deliberate cruelty.
“She died because of you.”
“And yet here you are, shamelessly living on as though none of it was your fault.”
End of Chapter 12