Fairy Tail: Strongest Creature

"Hahaha! Finally... finally resurrected..."

"You... can't beat... me down..."

"That's... that's my..."

"In order to surpass Ur... I... hahaha..."

Leon awoke from his coma just as Deliora was resurrected. Despite his injuries, he struggled to his feet, intent on fighting the demon.

"Finally, I see you... Deliora... The only monster Ur couldn't defeat. Now, it's my turn to take you down..."

"I... now... am going to surpass her..."

Leon stood up forcefully, but Gray appeared behind him and placed a blade against his neck, forcing Leon to collapse back onto the ground.

"Gray... what are you doing?!"

Gray took a firm stance and said seriously, "Deliora, I will seal it!!"

"Absolute Freeze!!"

Leon's expression changed dramatically when he saw Gray preparing to use that magic.

The same was true for Natsu, Lucy, and "Happy," who knew Gray's plan to use Absolute Freeze—magic that required the caster to sacrifice their life.

"Stop it, Gray!! Do you know how long it took me to melt this ice?!" Leon yelled. "Don't waste your effort! I'll just melt the ice again and challenge Deliora once more!!"

Gray's body radiated powerful magic. "This is the only way. For everyone's safety, I have no other choice!"

"Bang!"

Su Yan appeared behind Gray and kicked him hard, sending Gray sprawling to the ground and interrupting the spell.

Gray turned angrily and shouted, "What are you doing?!"

Su Yan looked down at him calmly. "Why do I have to explain myself? You're willing to throw your life away for a mere demon from the Book of Zeref? Your life is too valuable to waste like that."

"What do you know?! You don't understand Deliora's power! It's invincible! If I don't seal it now, who knows how many people will die!" Gray retorted fiercely.

Su Yan shook his head. "It's you who doesn't understand."

"Roar----!!"

Deliora let out an earth-shaking roar as the remaining ice around its body shattered, fully releasing the demon from its frozen state.

"It's out!!"

Deliora began gathering powerful magic in its maw, a beam of destructive energy forming rapidly.

"Zing---!!"

The magic ray shot directly at Su Yan.

"Su Yan! Get out of the way!!" Lucy screamed in panic.

Su Yan stood firm, raising his palm toward the incoming beam.

"Boom----!!"

The magic ray collided with his hand, and Su Yan blocked it effortlessly.

"Su Yan!!" Lucy cried.

"Is that all? Then you can die."

"Om--!"

A terrifying wave of Haki emanated from Su Yan, shaking the entire ruins. The overwhelming force condensed into a massive sword in front of him. Su Yan prepared to attack but suddenly paused, frowning as he waved his hand to disperse the energy.

"What... what's wrong? Why didn't you attack?" Lucy asked, confused.

Su Yan replied indifferently, "It's not necessary. Because... it's already dead."

"What?!!"

At that moment, "Crack Kacha!"

Cracks appeared all over Deliora's body, spreading rapidly.

"What... what's going on?!"

"Boom boom boom!"

Deliora's body began to crumble, shattering into pieces of ice that fell to the ground.

"No... it's impossible... how could this be... Deliora is... dead..."

Su Yan explained, "Over the past ten years, the ice created by Ur slowly drained Deliora's life force. The attack just now was simply its last flicker before death."

Su Yan's expression turned serious. Absolute Freeze was an immensely powerful spell—one he wasn't even confident he could withstand.

Leon slammed his fist into the ground, tears streaming down his face. "There's no chance now... I'll never surpass Ur."

Whether his tears were from frustration or the realization that his master's enemy was dead, only he knew.

"Your master was incredible!!" Natsu exclaimed, looking at Gray.

Gray recalled Ur's final words to him, urging him to seal the shadow in his heart. He finally understood their true meaning.

"Teacher Ur..."

Gray knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face. Before long, his quiet sobbing turned into uncontrollable wailing.

The trio of Yuka, Toby, and Sherry also broke down, crying bitterly. They had been victims of Deliora's destruction, and their hatred for the demon was as deep as anyone's.

Su Yan and the others remained silent, allowing them to grieve. The pain and emotions that had been suppressed for ten years needed to be released.

After a while, the group calmed down, and the strained relationship between Gray and Leon began to heal.

"Yeah—!! It's over, it's over—!!"

"Love--!"

Natsu and "Happy" cheered loudly.

Lucy let out a sigh of relief. The S-class mission had been incredibly dangerous. Without Su Yan's help, it wouldn't have been possible to complete. And thanks to Ur's incredible power, Deliora had been defeated long before.

"With this, our S-class mission is complete!!"

"Awesome—!"

"We can finally go to the second floor!!"

Gray poured cold water on their excitement. "You still think you're going to the second floor? Have you forgotten how you got here? You're definitely getting punished when we return. If I remember correctly, the punishment is likely to be that..."

Gray shuddered at the thought.

Natsu and "Happy" froze in terror. "No... no way..."

They turned to Su Yan, hoping for reassurance, but Su Yan smiled and nodded.

"Nooo!!" Natsu and "Happy" tried to run, only to be caught by Su Yan.

"If you don't want your legs broken, come back with me and accept the punishment. But before that, let's finish this mission."