A faint rumble stirred the chamber—subtle at first, like the temple sighing in its sleep. Then the ice coffin imprisoning Deliora groaned, splintering down its center.
Everyone turned.
"No… it's not time yet!" Gray gasped.
Shinra narrowed his eyes. He could sense something—*someone*—tampering with the magic from afar. A ripple of Time Magic, like the soft brushing of a hand through silk.
Ultear.
Her presence was masked, hidden behind layers of subtle interference. Only someone like Shinra, with his Six Eyes sharpened by centuries of cursed knowledge, could sense her whisper of manipulation.
*She's pushing it forward,* he thought grimly. *But why now?*
The ice shattered.
A wave of cursed magic burst out like a tidal flood, forcing everyone back. The chamber was drowned in darkness. Cold, yes—but more than that. Malevolent. Sentient. Hungry.
Deliora's roars were like a beast being born again.
It was awake.
---
"Yes…" Lyon's voice broke.
Deliora rose, tall and terrible. Its monstrous form was jagged with corrupted flesh, purple-black veins glowing faintly. The seal's age had weakened it—but its malice was untouched.
"I wanted to defeat you…" Lyon whispered. "To prove I surpassed Ur. To bury the past…"
He stepped forward.
"**Ice-Make: Twin Saber Whale!**" he roared, unleashing an enormous construct of twin ivory whales surging toward the beast.
Deliora barely flinched.
With a single swipe of its arm, it shattered the whales—and swatted Lyon aside like a child flicking away a leaf.
He slammed against the far wall, unconscious, blood trailing.
"LYON!" Gray shouted.
Shinra appeared beside him in an instant, catching Gray before he charged.
"He's alive," Shinra said, eyes locked on the demon. "Barely."
Erza drew two swords. "Then we handle this."
Natsu cracked his knuckles, fire already lighting in his gut. "Time to roast a demon!"
Shinra stepped ahead of them—and then slowly *stepped back*.
"You two take point," he said.
"What?" Erza looked at him sharply.
"You're ready," Shinra said with a calm smile. "I'll watch your backs. But this is *your* fight."
He could've ended it alone. In seconds. But that wasn't the purpose.
He was here to change fates, yes—but also to *strengthen the future*. And that meant letting Erza and Natsu grow.
---
"**Requip: Heaven's Wheel Armor!**" Erza flashed into her aerial assault form, dozens of swords orbiting her like stars in a war-torn sky.
"**Fire Dragon's Roar!**" Natsu blasted forward, his flames colliding with Deliora's thickened hide.
The beast roared back, its breath a spray of corrupted etherion magic. The air turned toxic and heavy.
Erza spun through the poison mist, slashing open its arm with a barrage of flying blades. "Its flesh regenerates!" she warned.
Natsu grinned. "Then we burn it faster!"
Deliora countered, claws slashing out. Natsu ducked, spun, and slammed both fists into its torso.
"**Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!!**"
The impact cracked the temple floor, fire rippling across the beast's torso.
Still, it endured.
From the shadows, Shinra manipulated thin, invisible threads of *Cursed Energy*, subtly weakening Deliora's limbs—just enough to tilt the scales without being noticed.
His voice was calm: "It's adapting. Watch your rhythm, Erza. Natsu, go for the legs—cripple its footing."
"You got it!" Natsu leapt high, spinning mid-air with flames curling up his leg. "**Fire Dragon's Talon!**"
Deliora fell back slightly, growling. Its skin sizzled.
Erza flew above, crossing both swords. "Now!"
"**Trinity Swordstorm!**" Her blades flashed like lightning, carving three glowing glyphs into Deliora's chest.
The beast shrieked in agony.
---
Even as the battle raged, Shinra's expression remained composed, his mind dancing across countless possible outcomes.
*Too much intervention, and they never grow. Too little, and someone dies. Fine line.*
A tail swept toward Lucy and Happy, who were trying to pull Lyon to safety. Shinra raised a finger.
A single *red thread of cursed energy* danced across the air—so fast it looked like a blur—and *sliced the tail clean off* before it could reach them.
Lucy stared, wide-eyed. "That was…"
Shinra winked. "Support role."
---
"Natsu!" Erza shouted. "Finish it!"
"Gotcha!"
Natsu leapt high, body swirling in a vortex of flames, aura blazing hot enough to melt the frost beneath their feet.
"**Fire Dragon's… BRILLIANT FLAME!!**"
Shinra subtly anchored Deliora's footing using invisible *Limit Fields*—a slowed perception bubble, just enough to *hold it still* for one second longer.
Erza plunged down beside Natsu, her blade glowing with her own magic energy. "**Heavenly Slash!!**"
The combined blow hit.
Fire and steel pierced through corrupted flesh, and for the first time—Deliora screamed in genuine agony.
Its body convulsed, flailing—then *shattered*, breaking into dying embers of magic, like a dying star imploding.
Silence fell.
Then…
A deep breath. A sigh of relief.
It was over.
--
Aftermath —
The group gathered near Lyon's unconscious form. Gray knelt beside his fallen friend, silent.
"He was trying to prove himself," Shinra said quietly. "Pain makes people desperate."
Gray nodded. "I'll bring him back. Not just to the guild… but from the edge."
Erza placed a hand on Shinra's shoulder. "You fought well."
"I only guided," he replied. "This victory was yours."
Natsu threw an arm over his shoulders. "Still, you're not bad for a guy who talks fancy."
Shinra chuckled.
Above them, Ultear stood once more in the shadows, expression unreadable.
She smiled faintly. "Deliora falls again… but this story has only just begun."
She turned and vanished into the dusk.