Jehfrit chuckled, "If I were a god, I'd first find you, Happy, a beautiful white flying female cat who can talk just like you."
"Huh? Really?!" Happy exclaimed, excited.
"Mm-hmm, just wait."
"..." Suddenly realizing something, Happy glared. "Jehfrit, your expression is clearly lying to me!"
"No, no, Happy, you've got to believe me!"
"The one person whose words I absolutely can't trust—YOU!" Even good-natured Happy couldn't hold back, unleashing a flurry of cat punches on Jehfrit.
"Sorry, sorry, sorry!" Jehfrit quickly raised his hands in apology.
Once Happy calmed down, Jehfrit explained, "To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what happened. But there was another group of enemies here—it was an ambush. They even set up a barrier to keep me from escaping, so I had no choice but to fight."
"Escaping?" Lucy wanted to retort, but the words caught in her throat.
"Are you alright?" Erza asked, concerned.
"No," Jehfrit shook his head.
"You're really full of surprises, huh? Too bad I didn't get to see you fight at full power," Gray said with a hint of regret.
"It's not worth mentioning... Oh, right!" Jehfrit quickly changed the subject. "Natsu's fighting a strong opponent. We shouldn't waste time—let's hurry and help him!"
"Alright."
Erza nodded.
Though they had questions, if Jehfrit wasn't talking, they could only suppress their curiosity for now.
But this time, it wasn't just Lucy, the newest member, who gained a new understanding of Jehfrit's strength—even Erza and Gray were left astounded by his abilities.
---
In the jungle, Zalty sprinted toward the temple, muttering to himself as he ran.
"What on earth was that thing?!"
"Such immense power!"
"In that state, even I wouldn't stand a chance against Vade, yet he was killed instantly without any resistance!"
"To possess such raw, non-magical strength—is that Etherious-level power?!"
"An invisible demon?!"
"That trickster mage is someone we absolutely cannot provoke!"
"My intel was wrong—he's far scarier than Erza!"
"No!"
"I absolutely can't let them interfere with my plans!"
"Fortunately, you're also from Fairy Tail... I know your weaknesses!"
---
Jehfrit and the others rushed toward the temple.
Suddenly, a group of people blocked their path.
They wore identical black robes and carried weapons, exuding a fierce aura.
However, even Lucy could sense that most of these people had very weak magic power. Only about five among them could truly be considered mages.
Despite their weakness, their relentless, suicidal attacks still posed a problem.
"Jehfrit, use your magic already," Erza urged impatiently.
None of them wanted to kill ordinary people.
Though weak, the enemies' reckless tactics made the trio hesitate.
"Sorry," Jehfrit adjusted his glasses with the ring finger of his left hand, his face partially hidden behind his palm.
"The last battle drained almost all my magic energy."
"I can only take one person with me."
"I'll go!" Gray immediately volunteered. "I need to defeat Lyon myself!"
"Alright." Jehfrit nodded.
In an instant, both he and Gray vanished.
Erza suddenly spoke, "Jehfrit, though I don't know what you're planning, you know my limits."
"..." No response came.
Lucy looked confused.
Happy remarked, "That's one of the worst lies Jehfrit has ever told."
"???" Lucy was even more bewildered.
Jehfrit took Gray around the enemy lines.
Gray immediately headed toward the temple.
Natsu was still battling Lyon.
As soon as Gray arrived, he took over the fight.
Zalty appeared, drawing Natsu away to chase him.
Jehfrit did not intervene to help anyone.
Now, he returned to what he enjoyed most—sitting back and watching the chaos unfold.
He stood upstairs for a moment.
Watching the two ice mages exchange blows, their magical effects lighting up the sky.
"Shiver—"
He shuddered slightly, then turned to walk downstairs.
Natsu was now fighting Zalty.
This short mage was incredibly powerful, and Natsu struggled to gain the upper hand, instead being toyed with repeatedly.
To buy time, Zalty played a game of hide-and-seek with Natsu.
Soon enough...
Night fell.
"It's nighttime," Zalty gazed at the moon in the sky, a smug smile spreading across his face.
He hadn't expected things to go so smoothly.
Erza and that trickster mage were actually being held up by a group of weaklings.
Truly a guild of light, indeed.
"I found you!" Natsu, relying on his excellent sense of smell, located Zalty once again.
"How do you always find me?" Zalty was exasperated.
"My sense of smell is sharp," Natsu replied, looking puzzled. "But why do you smell like a woman?"
"..." Zalty was speechless. This guy was seriously a master at playing hide-and-seek.
"You've lost," Natsu declared, flames erupting around him. "Gray will knock that guy flying, and I'll knock you flying a million times! Then it'll all be over!"
"Yes, it's over," Zalty smirked.
'BOOM'
The magic circle activated, and a beam of purple light illuminated the block of ice.
"Deliora shall awaken," Zalty announced triumphantly.
"Not if I have anything to say about it!"
Natsu unleashed his full power, charging straight at Zalty.
Dodging the punch, Zalty taunted, "Is it wise to use such powerful fire magic here?"
"If melting ice with fire was that easy, you guys wouldn't be struggling this much," Natsu shot back, refusing to let the enemy psyche him out. His mind was razor-sharp in battle!
"I just need to quickly knock you out, then deal with whoever's performing the ritual upstairs!"
Zalty admired his opponent's wit. "Your tactical thinking in battle is truly impressive."
"Enough talk!"
Natsu pursued Zalty relentlessly, determined to take down the slippery mage—but it wasn't going to be easy.
'CRACK'
Cracks began to form on the ice block.
A pale hand gently pressed against the crack.
No one noticed.
Jehfrit was already standing there.
"The agreement is nearly complete."
"But before that..."
Jehfrit pulled out a camera and started snapping pictures of Deliora.
This guy looked far more menacing than a Balrog, and his power rivaled that of the Ten Wizard Saints—one-on-one battles would be inevitable.
In the future, this would make for excellent material to use in his deceptions!
Moreover, Deliora was a notorious demon who had caused massive disasters and spread terror across many lands.
It was undoubtedly a source of fear for countless people.
When facing certain enemies in the future...
Pulling out Deliora's image would carry far more weight than Larvade's!
And for specific foes, it would be doubly effective!
"ROAR—"
Deliora let out an excited bellow.
The entire glacier was riddled with cracks—it was finally about to "awaken"!