Ace looked like he was hundreds of years old, and he claimed to be one of Chloe's kin.
According to him, their clan's history stretched back to the Divine-Demon War a thousand years ago. During that time, a demon known as the Sea Demon King rose to power, dominating the southern seas of Ishgar.
"The Divine-Demon War? I don't recall any records about that," Erza mused.
Lucy nodded. "Yeah, most surviving texts don't go back further than eight hundred years. Even the era of the dragons was only four hundred years ago."
In that ancient war, the Sea Demon King was sealed away by the Ice God. Afterward, his clan faced a brutal purge by the gods' forces and their human followers. A massacre left the Sea Demon clan nearly extinct, with the few survivors scattering across the world, forced to live in hiding.
Centuries later, with gods and demons faded from power, the continent became the domain of humans and dragons. Unwilling to accept defeat, the remnants of the Sea Demon clan regrouped, aiming to revive their long-lost king and seize control of the continent.
After decades of effort, the clan's descendants used a stolen magic from the Moon God, called Moon Drip, to break the Ice God's seal and resurrect the Sea Demon King.
But the revived Sea Demon King was a shadow of its legendary self, reduced to a mindless beast that killed indiscriminately—even turning on the very clan members who brought it back.
Before it could spark a new wave of chaos, a powerful human, said to be a descendant of the Ice God, subdued the Sea Demon King. Unable to kill it, they used the Ice God's magic, Absolute Freeze, to reseal it.
"Moon Drip and Absolute Freeze… again with these two magics!" Kira groaned. "Seriously, Gray, you're like a magnet for these things."
Gray scoffed. "Tch…"
"Maybe Ur was part of that lineage too…" Kira added.
Erza, Natsu, and the others, unaware of these magics, asked, "What are those?"
"I'll explain later. Let me finish this first…"
After the resealing, the Ice God's descendant was tasked with guarding the Sea Demon King's body and went into seclusion deep in the Zonia Mountains, where the Aisisniu tribe now resides.
A hundred years ago, Ace somehow uncovered information about the Sea Demon King. Determined to revive it and restore the Sea Demon clan's glory, he scoured the world for others of his bloodline.
Through his persuasive invitation, the naive and mischievous Chloe eagerly joined, becoming one of the supporters of the "Sea Demon King Revival Plan."
Before her, the team already included Snoi, the Snow Demon; Fogg, the Mist Demon; and Wort, the Water Demon. Chloe was the last to join and the youngest among them.
At this point, Kira slammed the table in outrage. "Ugh, some shady old creep luring an innocent young girl into his schemes? That's the kind of thing that makes you cry just hearing about it! That kind of demon deserves a beating!"
Everyone: "…"
According to Ace's plan, to ensure the Sea Demon King could rule humanity after its revival, they needed to eliminate the Aisisniu tribe, who wielded demon-slaying magic. But upon discovering the tribe was down to just a few families, they put that plan on hold.
A few years ago, Silver's unexpected arrival threw a wrench in their plans by stealing the demon-slaying magic, so they stopped bothering with the remaining Aisisniu.
"That guy stole your tribe's magic but didn't take on your responsibilities? That's shameful!" Kira declared.
Puru and Wendy: "…"
Pointing at Natsu and the others, Kira added, "Let this be a lesson, you guys! Don't ever pull something like that!"
"We'd never do that!" Natsu shot back.
"Yeah, the only one who'd do something like that is you, Kira!" another added.
"What?! You think I'm that kind of guy?" Kira bristled, ready to throw hands.
Hearing them start to bicker again, Erza's temper flared. Kira could never stay serious—always getting sidetracked while sharing intel. Couldn't he just focus?
"Kira! Get to their goal already!" Erza snapped.
"Alright, alright…"
After years of preparation, they finally acquired enough Moon Drip from the black market to revive the Sea Demon King. They chose tomorrow for the ritual because a rare celestial event—a solar eclipse—would amplify the Sea Demon clan's power to its peak.
Kira then gave a quick rundown to those unfamiliar with Absolute Freeze and Moon Drip, along with a brief recap of what happened on Galuna Island.
Shaking his head, Kira said, "It took them decades to get Moon Drip from the black market. Remember how Lyon said it took him ten years on Galuna Island? Man, I don't know who to feel sorrier for…"
In terms of efficiency, Lyon was faster, but demons have long lifespans—decades are nothing to them.
Kira figured Lyon probably didn't know about the black market for Moon Drip, or he would've just bought it. Then again, could he even afford it?
Somewhere far off, Lyon sneezed. "Achoo!…"
Speaking of which, where did these demons get their money? Oh, right—they're demons. Probably just stole it.
Kira' opinion of demons soured further. He hated people who didn't pay for things.
Gray raised a question. "If it's Absolute Freeze, after all this time, no matter how strong the Sea Demon King was, shouldn't it be dead by now?"
Whether the Sea Demon King in Absolute Freeze was dead was a valid question.
Kira thought it over, sensing it wasn't so simple. "Magic evolves with time. This happened so long ago, no one can say for sure if the Aisisniu ancestor's Absolute Freeze was as strong as Ur's when she sealed Deliora."
Erza shook her head. "Not necessarily. You said Absolute Freeze is a life-sacrificing magic. Such a profound and costly spell is hard to improve. Even across centuries, the gap in its power might not be as big as you think."
"That makes sense," Kira nodded. "And one more thing: a creature that could survive centuries under a god's seal and still be alive when it broke free? You can't overestimate something like that."
Kira and Erza traded theories on how things might unfold, while the others chatted, drank, and relaxed. Cana, in particular, was having a blast drinking with the tavern owner, livening up the place.
That's just how Fairy Tail was—wherever they went, noise and chaos followed.
In that moment, everyone forgot about responsibilities, gods, demons, magic, missions, bets, or punishments. They just drank and partied with abandon.
Only Chloe, knocked out from Kira reading her memories, missed out on the fun.
At one point, Kira glanced back and noticed Wendy staring at Gray, her eyes carrying an unreadable expression.
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