Kapitel 502: Chapter 502 "The Demon, Deliora"

"Lucy, you know why Jerry and I are here," Erza's demeanor turned ice-cold as she approached.

She became a magic sword in a swift transformation, radiating a fearsome aura befitting the Fairy Queen.

Lucy felt a shiver down her spine at this sight.

It suddenly struck her that they had broken the guild's rules and embarked on an unauthorized S-rank mission.

Erza and Jerry had undoubtedly come to retrieve them and administer the appropriate punishment.

"I... I, uh, be cautious!" Lucy began to search for an explanation, but then she noticed Erza stepping on a section of the ground.

She quickly alerted her, "Watch out!"

However, she was a beat too late.

"Ah~" Erza let out a girlish scream as she fell into a pit trap with a thud.

Jerry watched this unfold and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

He had been shaking his head earlier, wondering who had set up such an obvious trap by the gate, but he hadn't expected Erza to fall right into it.

It was truly conspicuous, given the large, open space and layers of straw covering the door.

Erza, with a blank expression, climbed out of the pit trap.

She continued her advance toward Lucy, the magic sword still in hand, as if the previous incident had never occurred, showing no embarrassment for her tumble.

Jerry couldn't help but give a silent round of applause for her unyielding spirit.

"Master Erza, Natsu, and Lucy asked me to go to the second floor to steal the mission request. Please believe me!" Happy fluttered over to Erza, feigning a pitiful explanation while Lucy berated him as a traitor.

However, Erza, clearly familiar with Happy's antics, produced two ropes without a word and tied Lucy and Happy together.

Their feeble struggles were in vain.

"Jerry!" Lucy and Happy, tied together, looked at Jerry with pleading eyes.

Jerry grinned and shrugged. "I can't help you. You violated the guild's rules, but don't worry, Erza won't kill you, even if she's angry."

With that said, he shifted his attention away from the bound Lucy and Happy, focusing on the demon villagers.

"They seem rather weak," Jerry noted, sensing their magic power.

He observed that these demons had considerably low magical abilities, scarcely stronger than ordinary people.

Compared to the cursed demons he had previously sealed, they were worlds apart, utterly incomparable.

"All here now," Jerry mused as he felt two familiar magical presences approaching from a distance.

He turned to the village's entrance, where Natsu and Gray were heading.

Gray was unconscious, carried by Natsu as they sped toward the village.

"Everyone... is fine!" Natsu exclaimed, but he stepped into Erza's previous trap just as he uttered those words.

"What a team, huh?" Jerry shook his head, glancing at Lucy.

Lucy stiffly turned her head as if she had no part in this.

"Erza!" Natsu yelled as he struggled to stand up in the pit.

He found Erza looming over him, holding a long spear to his throat, her expression strangely gentle, and he was instantly petrified.

Moments later, Lucy, Happy, Natsu, and the unconscious Gray were all bound together in the village's central square.

"All right, Jerry, let's head back to the guild!" Erza announced, holding the rope that connected Lucy, Happy, Natsu, and Gray.

With the rule-breakers captured, Jerry only needed to open a portal to return them.

"No, Erza, Jerry, we can't leave now. Otherwise, these villagers who have been transformed into demons will be killed soon!" Lucy urgently pleaded.

Lucy, Natsu, and Happy proceeded to recount everything that had transpired since their arrival on the cursed island.

Three years prior, the moon above the island had abruptly turned purple, subsequently cursing the island's inhabitants.

Whenever the purple moon appeared, the villagers transformed into demons.

Desperate, the village chief had spent a considerable sum to request assistance from Fairy Tail, the renowned wizard guild, hoping its members could destroy the purple moon and lift the curse.

Given their lack of power to destroy the moon, Lucy, Natsu, and Happy investigated the entire island in hopes of discovering the source of the curse.

Their efforts had indeed yielded results.

Within the island's central temple, they encountered a group of enigmatic magicians conducting a ritual known as "Moon Drip."

They aimed to utilize the moon's power to melt Deliora, a formidable calamity demon sealed for eternity by Gray's master, Ur.

Deliora, one of the formidable demons created by the black mage Zeref, had singlehandedly laid waste to many cities, including the one where Gray's parents had perished.

Ur, who had adopted Gray and served as his master, was an ice magician with the Ten Wizard Saint's power.

Ur resorted to her most potent magic a decade ago in a battle where Gray's recklessness had prompted him to seek revenge against Deliora.

To protect Gray and Deliora from the ensuing confrontation, Ur had been forced to employ her mightiest spell, the Absolute Zero, which had forever encased his body in unmelting ice and sealed Deliora.

Natsu and Gray had battled the enigmatic magicians, ultimately discovering that their leader, Sub-zero Emperor, was none other than Gray's older brother, Lyon.

Lyon's objective was to resurrect Deliora and personally defeat it to prove his superiority over Master Ur.

"So, Gray's older brother inflicted his injuries?" Jerry inquired, casting his gaze upon Gray, unconscious and bearing numerous scars, as he listened to Lucy's tale.

Lucy nodded vigorously in agreement, confirming, "Yes, and Lyon has dispatched his minions to eliminate all the villagers to prevent interference with his plan. If we depart now, the villagers will perish, and Deliora, the demon, will be resurrected!"

"Heal!" Jerry extended his hand, employing a healing spell on Gray.

Upon hearing Lucy's account, Jerry had developed a keen interest in the matter, particularly in Ur's strength as one of the Ten Wizard Saint and the formidable demon, Deliora.

Under Jerry's healing magic, Gray's wounds gradually closed, and he began to regain consciousness.

"Don't make a fuss. I happen to know a bit of healing magic," Jerry advised as he noticed Lucy and the others intently observing him.

Their simultaneous reactions confirmed the accuracy of Jerry's "Almighty Jerry" nickname.