Gray POV
Hiding behind an ice wall alongside Lucy, we peeked our heads out and gazed upon the scene of Cooper fighting Deliora; even from so far away, we could still faintly feel the ground tremble from the aftershocks of their destructive might. I've seen Cooper fight numerous times, but that was years ago, before he became an S-Class mage, so the Cooper I remember and the one I was seeing right now were night and day different. "S-So this is what a battle of two Wizard Saints looks like? T-Terrifying." Muttered Lucy fearfully, while I could do nothing but nod in agreement with her, watching such powerhouses hold nothing back as they fought was enlightening but also terrifying.
"Lucy, watch out!" Grabbing Lucy, I pulled her behind the ice wall, just in time as Deliora's beam cut through the ground a distance away, followed by the ground exploding with the aftershocks reaching us. "M-Maybe we should go further back away?" Asked Lucy nervously as she looked at me, though just as I was about to nod, I glanced at Deliora, only to see the Demon's chest collapsing while he fell onto his back. With wide eyes, I stared in disbelief at what I had just witnessed, finding it difficult to believe the monster that terrorized me all those years ago had finally been defeated.
Jumping out from behind the ice wall, I dashed across the cracked and destroyed ground, ignoring the injuries that screamed in protest at my actions. "Gray! I-It might still be dangerous!" Yelled Lucy, though her voice grew faint as I left her behind. Leaping over a large gash in the ground, I ran for a bit longer before arriving at Deliora's corpse; climbing onto the demon's leg, I ran across its body until I arrived at its stomach, where I slowed down and approached Cooper, who was grievously injured and lying on his back, covered in blood.
"B-Big bro!" Dropping to my knees, I propped Cooper's head up, only for him to swat my hands away as he sat upright by himself. "N-No need to yell, I'm not going to die… That demon was powerful, though." Said Cooper with a faint smirk as he wiped blood off his face while glancing at me, causing me to heave a sigh of relief as I closed my eyes. Relieved that Cooper was fine, I felt a warm, yet wet hand rub my head, causing me to open my eyes as I looked at the smirking Cooper while my face twitched. "Why do you have to be so hard-headed, big bro? You could've died, you know; we should've just fled." Grabbing Cooper's arm, I yanked his hand off my head and glared at him.
"Hehe, I could've, but I've promised never to run from a fight." Said Cooper with a feral grin, causing me to sigh as it wasn't the first time I'd heard him say that. "What about that time with the Wyvern?" "Hmph, I never officially fought that Wyvern, I was too busy saving your stupid ass, so it doesn't count." Faintly smiling at Cooper's words, as I had acted stupid when I joined Fairy Tail, I lowered my head and softly sighed. "Thanks… Thanks, big bro. Deliora's death means more than you think." Feeling my eyes moisten as memories of my past flashed through my mind, I wiped my eyes, though I couldn't stop the tears from flowing.
Deliora had been the nightmare of my life and has haunted me for years, yet after a decade, he's finally met his demise, and I felt a monumental weight having been lifted off my shoulders. 'Mother, Father, Master… You've finally been avenged.' Clenching my knees, I looked down at the corpse beneath me with a bittersweet smile, only to be hit on the head, causing me to hiss. "Huh, stop that, you're not allowed to cry." Said Cooper firmly as he narrowed his eyes at me, causing me to faintly smile as I wiped my face while nodding. "S-Sorry, big bro." "Hmph, better." Muttered Cooper with a grunt while Lucy's hurried footsteps were heard.
"G-Gray! B-Big bro!" Glancing at Lucy, who was hobbling toward us while gasping for breath. "S-Sit right there, l-let me perform f-first aid." Said Lucy weakly as she plopped onto her butt beside me while reaching into her pouch, grabbing her first-aid kit. "Speaking of first aid, I-I'm pretty tired… G-Good night." Said Cooper with a yawn as he laid on his back and quickly fell into a deep sleep, causing me to heave a sigh while Lucy performed first-aid on him.
'What a crazy big bro I've got.' With a faint smirk, I looked at Cooper in amusement before shaking my head and lifting him onto my shoulder. "C'mon, Lucy, let's return to the Village; you can continue there." "A-Alright, but please, no more running." Said Lucy softly as she looked at me with a pleading gaze while I rolled my eyes and leaped down from Deliora before heading to the village.
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Zalty POV
Staring at the corpse of Deliora, I shifted my gaze to the unconscious Cooper while digging my fingers into the tree's trunk in anger. 'He really did it, he killed Deliora. Tsk, wonderful! Our plans to control it have all been worthless, and our time wasted!' Gnashing my teeth, I glared at Cooper and thought about attacking him several times; two of the three were injured, with one of them being unconscious. However, what stopped me from doing so was not only risky, but also because I could see his finger twitch every time the thought of killing them surfaced in my mind, and that unnerved me.
'If he happens to awaken, even though two of them are injured, I may find it difficult to survive.' Despite my anger telling me to kill them, logically, I knew the risk far outweighed the reward; Deliora was dead, nothing I did would bring him back, so it was pointless. Ever since I fought with Cooper, I've been second-guessing my own magic, and I wasn't confident facing him, even when injured; if he could neutralize my magic, then with him, that clotheless boy and that girl? 'Tsk, you're a lucky one, Cooper.' Deciding to let him live, I blended into the shadows and vanished, heading to a secret location to relay the information to Siegrain before leaving the Island a few hours later.
'Now all that remains in the Tower of Heaven'
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Cooper POV
Standing in the middle of the village, I narrowed my eyes at the sky, eyeing the glowing purple moon. "Have you determined the cause for the curse, big bro?" Asked Lucy curiously as she and Gray looked at me while I furrowed my brows before shaking my head. "No… But I suppose trying to destroy the moon isn't a terrible idea." Clicking my tongue, I turned and glanced at Gray. "Gray, make something I can throw." Nodding, Gray used his Ice-Make magic to create a lance, which I caught and enhanced with my magic, causing it to faintly shimmer gold.
Glancing at the lance, I stepped forward and reeled my arm back before throwing it at the moon with all my might, creating a miniature explosion the moment it left my hand as it speedily shot through the sky; after a few moments of silently gazing at the golden lance, it seemingly crashed into the purple moon and exploded, revealing the sky's true appearance. The moment the film or dome was destroyed, the villagers surrounding us all transformed into demons, but unlike before, it wasn't because of the so-called curse.
"W-Wait, I-I remember! W-We're not Humans!" "WE'RE DEMONS!" Watching the villagers realize what the curse truly was, they began to cry tears of joy, causing Lucy and Gray to gaze upon them with satisfaction. However, once the initial wave of joy subsided, the numerous villagers began sobbing while muttering names of what I could only assume was their previous friends and family they had killed thanks to the curse.
"Josh!" "Fugo!" "Z-Zack!" "Samantha! Cristy!" As the villagers cried their names, causing me to gaze upon them with pity, suddenly, a small group of demons entered the village. "Were they always here?" "I don't know, Demons all look the same to me." Chuckling at Gray's racist remark, it seemed the small group of Demons were known to the villagers, and not only that, from the shock and joy plastered on their faces along with shouting the names they had just previously done, I assumed they were the 'killed' villagers.
"B-Bobo y-you're alive!? T-This isn't a dream, right!?" Said Moka with a teary-eyed expression as he grabbed another Demon of somewhat similar appearance. "Yeah, I'm alive, Dad. You should know a stab to the heart isn't enough to kill our kind." Said Bobo with a soft smile as the two embraced each other in a tight hug while Moka cried.
"Hehe, a happily ever after ending." Said Lucy with a lovely smile as she stood between Gray and I while we watched the villagers reunite. "Maybe you should write this in your bo-" I wasn't able to finish speaking as Lucy elbowed me in my stomach, causing me to grunt in pain as I was still heavily injured from my fight with Deliora yesterday. "Anyways, I can't wait for the reward! I'll have 5 out of 12 Zodiac keys!" "Heh, yeah, and you'll still be weak." Said Gray as he teased Lucy, who huffed in annoyance and lightly hit his shoulder, while I faintly smiled.