POV: Elior
The battle with Deliora was over.
But none of us immediately left.
After everything that had happened, there was no way we could simply continue as if nothing had happened.
Deliora had been destroyed.
The mission itself was essentially complete.
But there was still one thing left.
The facility.
The place where Ultear had her childhood robbed.
The place where she had been experimented on.
The place where she had been made to believe that her own mother had abandoned her.
We decided to rest for a couple of days before going anywhere.
Even Gildarts agreed without argument.
Me and Luxus pushed ourselves far beyond our limits.
Laxus was probably the worst off.
His clothes were torn, his body was covered in bruises and cuts, and there were several burns across his arms and shoulders from the battle.
I wasn't much better.
My Light body had protected me from many of Deliora's physical attacks, but powerful dark magic had still managed to hurt me.
And Divine Judgment had taken almost everything I had left.
For the first day, neither of us did much.
We stayed at Ur's house while she took care of everyone.
Gray and Leon were constantly checking on us.
Ultear barely left Ur's side.
Gildarts, meanwhile, seemed perfectly capable of sleeping anywhere.
The second morning, I woke up and immediately noticed something strange.
I felt… good.
Not completely recovered.
But much better.
I sat up and looked at my hands.
There were still faint marks from the battle.
But the deeper wounds had already closed.
My body had always healed faster than normal.
Light Magic helped, of course.
But that wasn't the only reason.
My body itself seemed to recover unnaturally quickly.
I looked across the room.
Laxus was already awake.
He was sitting against the wall, staring at his hands.
"You noticed too?" I asked.
He looked over.
"Yeah."
He flexed his fingers.
"The bruising is almost gone."
I grinned.
"Guess we're harder to kill than we look."
Laxus snorted.
"That's obvious."
"You got hit by Deliora."
"And so did you."
"I looked cooler doing it."
Laxus laughed.
"You're impossible."
A few moments later, Gildarts walked into the room.
He looked at us.
Then at Laxus.
Then at me.
His eyebrow rose.
"You're both recovering faster than I expected."
"Natural healing," I said.
"Apparently."
Gildarts crossed his arms.
"Don't mistake that for being invincible."
"We know," Laxus replied.
Gildarts smiled.
"Good."
He walked over and placed a hand on Laxus's head.
"Because I don't want to drag two dead brats home."
Laxus immediately slapped his hand away.
"I'm not a brat."
"You are twelve."
"…"
Gildarts grinned.
"Exactly."
I laughed.
For the first time since the battle, things felt almost normal.
Almost.
Because every time I looked toward Ultear, I could see it.
She was quiet.
Too quiet.
She had spent most of the last two days sitting with Ur.
Mother and daughter were finally together again.
But Ultear hadn't forgotten the facility.
Neither had Ur.
On the third morning, we were ready to leave.
Ur stood outside the house with her arms crossed.
Ultear stood beside her.
Gray and Leon were behind them.
Gildarts carried a small bag over his shoulder.
Laxus stretched his arms.
I checked the storage ring on my finger.
The Books of Zeref were still safely inside.
Then Ur spoke.
"Everyone understands the plan?"
Gray nodded.
"We find the facility."
"Correct."
"We rescue anyone being experimented on."
"Correct."
"Then we destroy the place."
Ur's eyes hardened.
"After we collect evidence."
Gray hesitated.
"Right."
Ultear spoke quietly.
"We need proof."
Everyone looked at her.
She continued.
"If the facility is still operating, there will be records."
Her hands slowly tightened into fists.
"Names. Transactions. Research notes. Everything."
Ur looked at her.
"We'll preserve all of it."
Ultear nodded.
"And then…"
Her voice became colder.
"We burn it to the ground."
No one argued.
We started walking.
The journey took several hours.
The further we went, the quieter Ultear became.
Eventually, she stopped.
I looked ahead.
There was nothing unusual.
Just trees.
A rocky slope.
Dense forest.
But Ultear was staring directly at it.
"It's here."
Gray looked around.
"Where?"
Ultear pointed.
"Underneath."
Gildarts raised an eyebrow.
"Underground?"
Ultear nodded.
"I remember the entrance."
She walked forward.
Her expression had completely changed.
This wasn't the frightened girl we had found in the forest.
This was someone returning to a place she had spent years trying to forget.
She reached the side of the rocky slope and placed her hand against it.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then she whispered.
"…I remember this."
A faint magical circle appeared beneath her palm.
The rock shifted.
A hidden door opened.
Cold air escaped from the darkness below.
Gray's expression hardened.
"This place…"
Ultear stepped inside.
"I know."
We followed.
The tunnel descended deep underground.
The walls were covered in magical seals.
Lacryma-powered lights flickered above us.
And then we heard voices.
"Someone's coming."
"Who?"
"Intruders!"
A group of guards rushed around the corner.
They barely had time to react.
Laxus disappeared.
A flash of lightning crossed the corridor.
The guards collapsed.
I raised an eyebrow.
"That was fast."
Laxus shrugged.
"They weren't very strong."
More guards appeared.
This time, I moved.
Light flashed through the corridor.
A burst of magical pressure sent several men crashing into the walls.
Gildarts didn't even need to move.
Ur didn't either.
Ultear stared at the fallen guards.
Her eyes were cold.
"We are almost there."
The deeper we went, the more disturbing the facility became.
There were laboratories.
Observation rooms.
Restraint chambers.
Metal tables surrounded by magical instruments.
Containers filled with strange glowing liquids.
And then we saw them.
Children.
Several of them.
Locked inside magical cells.
Some were awake.
Some were unconscious.
A little girl looked at us through the bars.
She was terrified.
I immediately stepped forward.
"It's okay."
She flinched.
I lowered myself to her level.
"We're here to get you out."
I placed my hand against the magical barrier.
Light spread across it.
The barrier shattered without harming the child.
She stared at me.
Then she started crying.
Behind me, Laxus broke another cell open.
Gray and Leon began helping the children out.
Ur immediately started checking their conditions.
"Some are malnourished."
Her voice became colder.
"Others have magical injuries."
I stepped toward one of the unconscious children.
Light gathered around my hand.
"Let me heal them."
I gently placed my palm against the child's chest.
Warm Light spread through their body.
Their breathing stabilized.
Ultear watched.
She hadn't moved.
Her eyes were fixed on the room around us.
Then she saw something.
A particular restraint table.
She froze.
"…That one."
Ur turned toward her.
Ultear slowly walked toward it.
Her hand trembled.
"This is where they…"
She stopped.
Her breathing became heavier.
"They used to strap me here."
The room went silent.
I could feel her anger building.
But I didn't move toward her.
This wasn't my moment.
It wasn't Laxus's.
It wasn't Gildarts's.
It was hers.
Ur walked to her side.
She looked at the equipment.
Then at Ultear.
And something in her expression changed.
The warmth disappeared.
The motherly softness vanished.
What remained was pure anger.
She grabbed one of the machines.
And tore it from the floor.
Metal screamed.
The machine crashed against the wall.
Ultear stared at her.
Ur's voice was quiet.
"They did this to my daughter."
Another piece of equipment shattered.
Then another.
Ultear's eyes filled with tears.
But this time, they weren't tears of helplessness.
She stepped forward.
Her magic erupted.
The restraints around the table twisted and shattered.
"These things…"
Her voice shook.
"I remember them."
She destroyed another instrument.
"And this."
Another explosion.
"And this!"
The room shook.
No one stopped her.
No one tried to calm her down.
Ur stood beside her.
Together, mother and daughter walked through the laboratory.
Every machine that had been used to hurt Ultear was torn apart.
Not the records.
Not the evidence.
Those were carefully left untouched.
But everything else connected to the experiments…
Was destroyed.
I looked around the laboratory.
There were still dozens of rooms ahead.
And judging by the magical presence deeper inside…
There were still people working here.
Laxus cracked his knuckles.
"Looks like we're not done."
Gildarts smiled.
"Not even close."
Ultear wiped her eyes.
Then she looked toward the deeper corridor.
Her expression hardened.
"I know this place."
She took a step forward.
"Then let's find out what they were doing here."
And somewhere deep beneath the facility…
A door slammed shut.
Someone had realized we had arrived.
And they were running.