Chapter 239

【"That's not the reason..."】

【Gray clenched his fists tightly and spoke in a low voice.】

【"Hmm?" Mirajane dissipated the magic power gathered in her hand and looked back in confusion.】

【"This Zero Emperor... is my senior brother! I have a reason why I must fight him."】

【Gray looked at Mirajane, trying to persuade her.】

【"This is... our sect's own business, and it must be solved by me!"】

【Mirajane frowned: "Are you serious? You know, we can solve all this in a very short time, why go through so much trouble?"】

【"I said! This is a battle I must face!"】

【Gray stared fixedly at Zero Emperor, or rather... Lyon!】

【"To make my senior brother, who has gone astray, see himself clearly, I must do it myself."】

【Mirajane slowly lowered her hand.】

【"Fine, but as a Fairy Tail Black Mage, if you lose..."】

【Mirajane's face suddenly became brutal.】

【"I will make you regret your decision today!"】

【"Rest assured, I won't lose. No matter which aspect you look at it from..."】

【Gray took a deep breath, and all the magic power in his body was unleashed.】

【"I absolutely cannot lose!"】

【Mirajane left.】

【In the original spot, only Gray and Lyon remained.】

【Perhaps Mirajane's departure made Lyon breathe a silent sigh of relief.】

【Although he was surprised by the woman who had just appeared and was terrifyingly strong.】

【But Gray's choice made Lyon feel somewhat ridiculous.】

【"You don't really think you can beat me, do you?"】

【"Since it's come to this, I have to do it even if I can't. Otherwise, I would have tarnished the reputation of Fairy Tail, and those monsters would kill me."】

【Gray's mouth curled into a smile, and he stood up straight.】

【He waved at Lyon: "Come on, Lyon, I will stop you!"】

【"Gray!" Lyon's face was ferocious!】

【"I have already surpassed Ur, and Deliora is the only thing that can prove it. Therefore... don't think about stopping me!"】

【The top of the ruins.】

【The masked man who had made that terrifying attack was panting as he looked ahead.】

【"Did... did I succeed?"】

【That attack just now could be said to have consumed most of his magic power.】

【Presumably... even that kind of existence wouldn't have it easy, right?】

【After all, he wasn't weak himself; even against a Wizard Saint, he could rival them.】

【But, facts are often despairing!】

【In the aftermath of the explosion, the masked man could keenly perceive that the temperature was rising linearly.】

【Whoosh~~~】

【The roaring flames suddenly surged, enveloping all hundred magic crystals.】

【The next moment, amidst those flames.】

【The crystals shattered again. This time, not even fragments were left; they turned into nothingness in those extreme flames.】

【BOOM!!!】

【The next moment, a sudden explosion rang out again.】

【A black shadow surged out directly from within.】

【That speed even pulled out a sonic boom in mid-air.】

【So fast that... the masked man had no time to react at all.】

【In those wide-open pupils, Black Natsu's outstretched palm was reflected.】

【It grabbed directly onto his cheek.】

【Crack...】

【The sturdy mask seemed unable to withstand such great force and shattered directly.】

【Revealing the man's face, which was terrified to the extreme.】

【Following that, he clearly felt his body being carried into mid-air by that plain-looking palm.】

【Then, it was slammed hard onto the floor.】

【The short figure even bounced twice.】

【The sturdy floor exploded directly, and unimaginable, intense pain permeated the masked man's mind in an instant.】

【His mouth opened involuntarily, and unknown liquid gushed out.】

【The cry of pain was also choked by liquid that looked like blood.】

【He could only let out a whimper.】

【Black Natsu, with his hands in his pockets, stood in front of the masked man.】

【He muttered:】

【"Still not planning to show your true self? Ultear!"】

【The masked man's pupils contracted crazily. Sure enough... was I found out?】

【But, before she could respond, Black Natsu had already raised his right foot.】

【"Then I'll kick you out of your transformation."】

【"No..."】

【Ultear just wanted to speak, but the next moment, a ruthless kick landed directly on Ultear's abdomen.】

【"Ughhh~~~"】

【The already shattered floor collapsed completely under this blow.】

【Turning into stones of various sizes, Ultear, who was hit head-on and almost lost consciousness, fell downward.】

【The terrifying roar caused the entire ruins to resonate again.】

【Watching Ultear falling to the lower level, Black Natsu didn't hesitate at all and stepped off the ground.】

【He jumped down after Ultear.】

【Clatter... clatter...】

【All around were the crisp sounds of stones hitting the floor.】

【Ultear, who had been knocked down from the top floor, was lying powerlessly in a pile of ruins.】

【The short man's transformation had been forced to end, and her graceful figure was covered in wounds.】

【Blood stained her clothes.】

【She struggled to raise her head, looking in terror at the figure slowly falling from above.】

【For the first time, Ultear felt that the word "monster" could be so clear.】

【Just like now, what she was facing... was a genuine, terrifying monster!】

【The top of the ruins.】

【Watching the huge crater in front of her, Seilah was preparing to follow Black Natsu's footsteps.】

【But, just then, an inexplicable vibration interrupted her movement.】

【Taking out the portable communication magic crystal she had been carrying.】

【She immediately saw Mavis's avatar flashing.】

【"It's over, I forgot to report..."】

【Seilah's eye twitched. Following Black Natsu had made her so excited along the way that she had forgotten there was someone constantly concerned about the situation here.】

【Without hesitation, Seilah quickly connected the magic crystal communication.】

【The next moment, Mavis's anxious face appeared on the communication screen.】

【"Seilah!! Thank goodness, you finally answered the communication. I thought something had happened to you."】

【Looking at Mavis's relieved expression, Seilah scratched her head awkwardly.】

【"You're okay. How is the exploration of Galuna Island going?"】

【Mavis on the other end asked.】

【"Uh... things are a bit complicated. Let me tell you slowly."】

【Seilah found a protruding stone and sat down, starting to report the entire trip to Mavis.】

【"So... you met the Master? You explored the true Moon Temple together? And made a deal with that Moon God called the Dancer??"】

【Mavis on the other end of the communication was bewildered.】

【But more than that, she was shocked!】

【She had thought it was just an exploration mission to an abnormal location; Mavis hadn't even thought in the direction of gods.】

【It was only because she had learned from certain channels that Galuna Island hid something incredible, and for the Galaxy Empire, which was in urgent need of increasing its strength, this might be an opportunity.】

【But she didn't expect it to involve ethereal gods?】

【Mavis on the other end of the communication took a deep breath.】

【After pondering for a moment, she couldn't help but ask.】

【"So, the Dancer's condition is the Tower of Heaven?"】

【Seilah nodded slightly: "Young Master is currently talking to a member of the Council, trying to get some information about the Tower of Heaven."】

【"Is that so..." Mavis nodded in understanding.】

【"I do know some information about the Tower of Heaven."】

【Seilah's pupils shrank.】

【"Don't look at me with such surprised eyes. You also know that although our Galaxy Empire has gone into seclusion, our control over this world is not weak at all."】

【"We have spies all over the continent, so it's not strange to know these things."】

【Mavis was indeed right, so Seilah returned to normal after being surprised for a moment.】

【On the other end, Mavis's words continued.】

【"Regarding the Tower of Heaven, although we don't know the specific location, we do know two related people."】

【"Jellal and Ultear!"】

【As soon as these words were spoken, Seilah was shocked! Through the big hole in front of her, she could clearly see Ultear's miserable state below.】

【"By the way, this Ultear seems to be related to the Master's companion, Gray. Therefore, we investigated carefully and discovered some unknown secrets..."】

【Mavis, who had been talking for a long time, didn't get a response, so she called out twice.】

【"Seilah? Seilah? Why do you keep spacing out?"】

【Seilah, who was startled, blinked.】

【"So, this Ultear... is even one of the masterminds of the Tower of Heaven?"】

【"And she's also the daughter of the Master of that guy named Gray?"】

【Mavis nodded slightly: "In short, it's a very complex relationship. That woman is quite pitiful, but at the same time, she's quite ruthless."】

【"If you want to find the Tower of Heaven, perhaps you can start with her."】

【Mavis said.】

【Seilah's mouth twitched:】

【"Uh... to tell you the truth, the Council member the Young Master is targeting is Ultear, and... the conversation seems to be quite heavy."】

【Below the ruins.】

【Blood stained the white clothes.】

【Ultear, lying in the ruins, raised her eyes powerlessly, watching Black Natsu who had landed not far from her.】

【Her pupils were trembling, and feelings of despair were growing.】

【Yes, despair!】

【This feeling hadn't appeared for who knows how long.】

【Ever since she ran out of that research institute that could be called hell, no one had been able to make Ultear feel this isolated and helpless.】

【The powerlessness and despair of having one's life and death held in the hands of others!】

【But today, under that man's hands, this feeling sprouted once again.】

【There was absolutely no ability to fight back.】

【Her fists were clenched tightly.】

【Really... she had used all her strength, but... she couldn't cause any damage to that man at all.】

【Since she was a child, she had always been the strongest; otherwise, she wouldn't have been honored as the leader of the Seven Kin of Purgatory, whether in Grimoire Heart or anywhere else, even Jellal.】

【Ultear didn't think that she, when serious, would lose to that guy who had obtained the Wizard Saint title at a young age.】

【In other words, even if it was a Wizard Saint, she wasn't without the power to fight.】

【But, she, who was like this, was completely played in the palm of this man's hand.】

【Was there not even a shred of power to resist?】

【Tap... tap... tap...】

【Crisp footsteps rang out not far away.】

【Ultear clutched her abdomen and struggled to prop herself up from the ground.】

【Her bloodshot eyes stared fixedly at the monster in front of her.】

【Black Natsu, with his hands in his pockets, stopped in front of Ultear.】

【After looking her up and down carefully, he couldn't help but smile.】

【"Sure enough, it's more pleasing to the eye looking at you like this."】

【"A perfectly good girl, why dress up as a greasy, lecherous middle-aged man?"】

【"Long time no see, Ultear!"】

【Ultear was breathing heavily, not knowing what this guy in front of her wanted to say.】

【But she still took a deep breath: "So, is this your way of saying hello?"】

【"You misunderstood, didn't you? It seems you were the one who attacked first, right?"】

【Ultear's tone stalled.】

【Black Natsu raised his head, intending to state his purpose.】

【A telepathic message entered Black Natsu's mind.】

【"Seilah?"】

【"Young Master, I have something I just learned that I want to tell you. It's... about Ultear and Gray!"】

【……】

【The scene seemed to fall into a brief silence.】

【Black Natsu's expression changed.】

【Ultear, who was staring fixedly at Black Natsu, felt her heart sink.】

【This moment of becoming a lamb to the slaughter, waiting for others to decide her fate, was really hard to bear.】

【She gritted her teeth. Ultear, unable to endure such a stifling situation, took a deep breath.】

【"What exactly..."】

【Her words were interrupted by Black Natsu.】

【Black Natsu shifted his gaze not far away.】

【Because of the previous battle, they had fallen from the top floor all the way to the bottom floor.】

【Therefore, standing here, one could clearly see the massive object sealed in ice not far away.】

【"That's Deliora, right?"】

【Black Natsu asked.】

【Wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth, Ultear nodded: "Yes."】

【"I'm very curious now, what exactly is your purpose?"】

【Black Natsu turned his head, his gaze meeting Ultear's.】

【"Unsealing Deliora? What good does it do you?"】

【"That could make you... not hesitate to completely kill your own mother?"】

【!!!】