章 8: Chapter 8: The Falling Stars, the Shattered Deliora
The raging fire that had engulfed the town was finally extinguished by the torrential rain pouring down from the heavens. The smoke and flames, now smothered by the deluge, granted the townspeople a brief moment of respite after the catastrophe they had endured.
The townspeople, one by one, began kneeling on the streets, hands clasped together in silent prayer toward the sky. They believed that the gods above had finally answered their desperate cries.
Meanwhile, on the other side...
"Who... are you?"
The young Gray, still in shock, stared at the towering figure before him. The man who had just sent Deliora flying, something that Gray couldn't fathom. The invincible Deliora, beaten? It seemed impossible.
"A god...?"
A few seconds passed before Gray, in his childlike mind, could process what had happened. He had begun to think the person standing next to him was a deity from the heavens.
After all, to Gray, if there was anyone in this world capable of effortlessly knocking back a demon like Deliora, it had to be some kind of god, right?
"A god? No, I'm no god..."
The man chuckled softly at Gray's words before gently setting him down on the ground.
In front of both Gray and his father, Silver, he rolled up his sleeve, revealing a guild emblem on his right arm—a magical insignia resembling a fairy flying freely in the sky. With a calm voice, he said, "If anything, I'm a fairy. A wizard of the Fairy Tail guild."
"Fairy Tail? A wizard?"
Hearing the name Fairy Tail, the tension in Gray's body began to ease. He didn't know why, but just hearing that name filled him with a strange sense of comfort.
In that moment, Gray's consciousness began to fade. Today's events had been far too exhausting for such a young boy. But before he lost consciousness completely, he etched the name "Fairy Tail" deeply into his memory.
"I'm sorry... It should have been my responsibility to protect my family. You shouldn't have had to worry about our safety," said Silver, his brow furrowed in guilt. Holding his unconscious son, Gray, in one arm and supporting his wife, Mika, in the other, Silver regretted not being strong enough to protect them from harm.
In Silver's mind, no matter the circumstances, allowing his family to come to harm was a failure as a husband and father. For the first time in his life, Silver yearned for something beyond the safety of his loved ones. He wanted the strength to protect them in any situation.
"You've done well enough!"
"Now, leave the rest to me."
The man, who was none other than Ian, turned to Silver with a reassuring smile. Silver had done all he could as an ordinary person. Now, it was time for Ian, a wizard, to step in.
"That monster..."
Silver's eyes narrowed as he recalled the terror of Deliora.
"Yes, unfortunately, I haven't defeated him yet." Ian shook his head. "That creature is one of the Great Demons from Zeref's books. He won't die that easily. But let me make sure of it this time..."
Without further words, Ian soared into the sky toward Deliora.
"ROAR!!"
In the sky, Deliora, still suspended by Ian's gravity magic and unable to move, grew impatient. The moment he saw Ian approach, a sadistic grin twisted his monstrous face. He opened his gaping maw, gathering an immense amount of magical energy and fired it straight at Ian.
"A demon's roar, huh?" Ian looked at the incoming attack, unimpressed. He calmly muttered, "Let me show you the ultimate defensive magic, passed down by Master Makarov: Three Pillar Gods!"
As Ian spoke, a golden magic circle flared beneath him, and three pillars, inscribed with ancient runes, materialized around him, forming an impenetrable barrier.
"BOOM!"
Deliora's devastating roar, capable of dissolving anything it touched, collided with the barrier.
"RUMBLE!"
Thick smoke billowed from the point of impact.
"ROAR!"
Deliora screeched triumphantly, convinced that Ian had been obliterated by his attack. In his mind, the human must have been reduced to ash.
But when the smoke cleared, Ian stood completely unscathed, protected by the three pillars of magic. Not even Deliora's most powerful attack had scratched him, and the magic pillars remained intact.
"Pathetic," Ian sneered. "Now die under the Seven Stars!"
As Ian uttered these words, seven golden magic circles appeared in the sky.
"ROAR?"
Deliora looked up, bewildered, at the glowing symbols above him. Even he couldn't comprehend when Ian had set them up.
"BOOM!"
Before Deliora could react, a torrent of light rained down upon him from the magic circles. The relentless barrage of magical energy struck Deliora, sending him crashing into the snow-capped mountains at the edge of the town.
The attack didn't stop there. The falling stars continued, their overwhelming force melting the snow as they bombarded the mountain. The radiant glow from the stars illuminated the town below.
"What... is that?!"
The townspeople were stunned, gazing at the ongoing battle with a mix of awe and fear. They could feel the immense power being unleashed from afar.
"Everyone, evacuate! Get out of the town and find a safe place!"
"The Fairy Tail wizard has come to save us!"
Silver, carrying Gray and supporting Mika, ran toward the townsfolk, shouting for them to escape.
"Run! Everyone, run!"
The townspeople didn't hesitate. No longer praying to the heavens, they turned and fled as fast as they could, illuminated by the stars Ian had summoned.
Meanwhile...
"ROAR!!"
Despite taking the full brunt of Ian's Seven Stars attack, Deliora, though battered and broken, was still standing. He raised his head toward the sky and roared defiantly at Ian.
"Stubborn beast," Ian muttered, frowning. He finally understood why Ur, an S-Class wizard, had struggled against Deliora. The demon's endurance was extraordinary, and his resistance to conventional magic was formidable.
Deliora's current power was comparable to the top-ranking members of Tartaros, perhaps second only to the Underworld King, Mard Geer.
"It's time for something bigger," Ian thought. Using telepathy, he reached out to Silver.
"Silver, can you hear me?"
Silver, who had just placed his family in a safe spot, was startled by the sudden voice in his mind.
"Who... who is this?"
"It's me, the wizard from Fairy Tail," Ian replied.
"Ah, it's you!"
"Have you defeated Deliora?" Silver asked, his voice trembling with hope.
"Not yet. It's proving... troublesome," Ian admitted, shaking his head.
"Troublesome? Does that mean you can't defeat him?"
Silver couldn't believe it. If Ian couldn't defeat Deliora, who could?
"No, I can defeat him," Ian clarified. "But the next spell I'm going to use will destroy Deliora, along with the entire mountain. There's a chance the town might get caught in the aftermath."
"I need to know—have all the townspeople been evacuated?"
Silver's heart sank at Ian's words. He gritted his teeth and responded, "Give me ten minutes!"
"Alright," Ian agreed, continuing to suppress Deliora with his gravity magic.
"ROAR!!"
Deliora wasn't going to go down without a fight. He gathered more energy and fired it at Ian, but the attacks were once again blocked by the Three Pillar Gods.
"Everyone, check if we're all accounted for!"
Silver, despite his injuries, ran through the muddy streets, spreading Ian's message to the townsfolk.
"The rain's too heavy! We can't see a thing!"
"Light a fire, quick!"
"We can't! The rain's too strong!"
"Use magic crystals! We can't afford to be stingy right now!"
"Got it..."
In the downpour, visibility was nearly zero. The townsfolk, desperate to confirm everyone's safety, used their precious magic crystals to light up the area.
"Tom's family is here! Jenny's family too! And the blacksmith, John, is here!"
"Where's Old Jack?!"
"Old Jack's passed out!"
"Alright, keep counting!"
Though Deliora's invasion had been stopped at the town's edge, the destruction he caused had still claimed lives. But compared to what had happened in the original timeline, where the town was wiped off the map, the damage was far less severe.
Time ticked away, second by second...
Ten minutes passed in the blink of an eye.
When Silver was certain all the townspeople had evacuated, he called out to Ian, his voice filled with emotion, "Sir, you can go ahead now! The town is clear!"
"Understood."
Ian, still battling Deliora, finally let go of his restraint and unleashed the full force of his magic.
"BOOM!!"
Deliora, who had been arrogantly standing before Ian, suddenly felt the overwhelming power of Ian's magic. His face twisted in horror, disbelief in his eyes.
"This power... it's stronger than Mard Geer's!"
"Human! How can you possess such strength?!"
It was the first time Deliora had spoken in human tongue. And it would be his last.
Because...
"WHOOSH!"
With a powerful gust of wind, the downpour ceased, and the moon and stars reappeared in the sky, casting their light upon the earth.
But in the next moment, the heavens darkened. The moon lost its glow, the stars dimmed, and the earth itself seemed to groan in anticipation.
From the swirling black clouds above, a massive rift tore open the sky, as if some unspeakable terror was descending from the heavens, ready to devour the world.
"Heavenly Body Magic: Starfall!"
Up in the sky, Ian gazed down at Deliora with a cold, indifferent expression, as though the demon was nothing more than an insect. With the incantation of the ultimate heavenly body spell, Ian declared Deliora's fate.
"BOOM!"
The sky seemed to shatter. A blazing star descended from the rift, radiating a terrifying pressure as it hurtled toward Deliora in the snowy valley below.
"ROAR!!!"
Deliora roared in fury, stretching out his arms toward the falling star. He gathered every ounce of his magical and curse power, attempting to push the star back.
"THROB!"
For a brief moment, it seemed as if Deliora's wish had been granted. The star halted in its descent.
"Heh..."
Deliora let out a smug chuckle, thinking he had succeeded.
But then...
"Haha..."
Ian's eyes gleamed with amusement.
"BOOM!"
Under the crushing force of Ian's gravity magic, Deliora was slammed into the ground. The star, which had momentarily paused, now plummeted toward him with even greater speed.
"It's over."
Ian spoke with finality as the drama came to a close.
"BOOM!!"
The star collided, ending everything.
In an instant, Deliora, the mountain, and everything in its vicinity were consumed by fire and obliterated from existence.
The shockwave that followed tore through the surrounding area, destroying the barriers Ian had set up and surging toward the town with alarming speed.
But just as the devastating wave neared the townsfolk, a series of stone pillars descended from the sky, emitting a gentle glow that shielded the people from harm.
By the time the shockwave reached them, it had been reduced to nothing more than a soft breeze.
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