Ultear's Arc of Ti was indeed a miraculous magic. With it, she could manipulate the entire environnt around her. But Charles's combat skills had long since evolved from simply understanding the environnt to adapting to it.
And once prepared, Ultear couldn't prevent Charles from closing the distance.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
Ultear knew her tricks wouldn't work anymore, but to achieve her goal, she had no choice but to stall Charles.
"Future Flare!"
Countless crystal spheres materialized in the air—Ultear had summoned spheres from multiple tilines. They fired in a torrent toward Charles. He unleashed a searing wall of fire, and the orbs that touched it lted instantly.
But there were too many. For every one destroyed, several more took its place.
Charles exhaled slowly, then his feet began to move.
"Four Divine Beasts Fist Style: Azure Dragon – Flowing Water!"
Charles wasn't limited to magic. Having traveled through multiple worlds, he had mastered a variety of techniques that made him confident against any type of opponent.
The barrage of spheres could only pierce through afterimages of Charles, as he weaved through them like flowing water—"slowly" advancing toward Ultear.
Yet that slowness was just an illusion. In the blink of an eye, he closed the gap between them.
The Azure Dragon style wasn't a treasured martial art for millennia just because of its evasive ability—it specialized in dreamlike footwork that created illusions of distance and space.
What seed slow was actually lightning fast. Even Ultear was caught completely off guard.
She had plenty of experience fighting mages, but nothing like this. Mages usually fought with spells. Even Natsu's strength-augnted fire style was rare. But Charles's martial arts were sothing she had never encountered.
She tried to retreat, but Charles's fist struck her exposed opening—right in the gut.
He had no intention of holding back just because she was a woman. The full force of his punch slamd into her, launching Ultear through a stalactite and into a cavern wall.
Whether or not she was badly hurt, Charles didn't lower his guard. But all the crystal spheres disappeared—proof that her spell had been disrupted.
From the settling dust, footsteps echoed. To Charles's surprise, the silhouette that erged was tall and elegant.
His punch had disrupted her internal magic flow, breaking both the Arc of Ti and her transformation spell.
Ultear stood revealed: long black hair, neat bangs, and a beautiful, captivating face.
Charles gave her an appreciative look. "So this is your true form? I've gotta say—you're beautiful."
Ultear smiled as though the punch had never happened. "Why, thank you for the complint."
She balanced a crystal orb in one hand as she approached. "But are you sure you want to waste ti chatting with ? The moon is already rising."
They had departed at dusk. Not much ti had passed, but night had fallen.
As she spoke, a magic circle appeared above the ice-sealed Deliora. A pillar of white light shone down upon the demon.
Ultear said, "You don't seem the least bit concerned. Confident you can handle Deliora even if it wakes?"
Charles shook his head. "Deliora won't awaken. So there's no need to rush."
Ultear stepped forward, more crystal orbs materializing and glowing with magic power.
"What, think you can defeat quickly? Or do you believe your allies will stop the ritual in ti?"
Charles only smiled mysteriously.
Crystal orbs, superb magic conduits, fired energy beams en masse under her control.
Charles activated the Azure Dragon form again, flowing effortlessly between the blasts.
The beams were powerful and nurous, akin to a magical artillery barrage—but Charles danced through them, utterly unscathed.
Ultear had no way to counter this technique, so she used brute force.
She accelerated ti on the cavern ceiling, collapsing it onto Charles.
Rocks buried him in an instant. But she knew—if Charles were that easy to kill, she wouldn't be struggling so much.
Sure enough, flas burst skyward, blasting the rubble away. Charles erged from the debris, fla wings on his arms lashing forward.
"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!"
The tangible fire swept through the air, clearing away the crystal orbs and lashing toward Ultear.
Ultear was ready. She hopped across orbs midair and dodged his strike.
But Charles was already chasing her.
"Ti magic is fascinating—but you know, beautiful lady…" he said, landing another brutal Fire Dragon's Iron Fist and slamming her to the ground.
Suddenly, a piercing howl echoed, making Charles's eardrums throb. It was the roar of so creature—and its source was Deliora's ice prison.
The ground began to tremble, centered around Deliora.
Ultear, still on the floor, laughed. "It's too late. The Moon Drip ritual is complete. Deliora will revive any mont now!"
Footsteps rang out as Gray appeared through the passage, battered but not seriously injured.
"Are we too late?" he muttered grimly. "It's really going to co back…"
Deliora was the demon that destroyed Gray's village, killed his parents, and forced his master Ur to sacrifice herself. Deliora was the deepest shadow and greatest hatred in Gray's heart.
Bathed in the white pillar of Moon Drip, the ice encasing Deliora rapidly lted, revealing its grotesque body beneath.
Gritting his teeth, Gray crossed his arms and struck a familiar stance. The chilling magic gathering around him signaled the use of the forbidden spell: Iced Shell.
To him, only Iced Shell could stop a revived Deliora.
Charles chopped him to the ground. Gray sprang back up, shouting, "What the hell are you doing?! Do you know what'll happen if Deliora revives?!"
Charles said, "Calm down. Just watch—see what a truly great mage your master was."
Gray's pupils dilated in disbelief as he stared at Deliora.
The ice had completely lted, revealing the demon in mid-roar. But strangely, its scream faded the mont it was freed.
Crack!
Gray watched in shock as a crack split across Deliora's arm. The whole arm fell off monts later.
The fracture signaled a chain reaction—cracks spread across the demon's massive body until Deliora shattered right before Gray's eyes.
Charles said quietly, "Iced Shell is a spell for sealing. But your master—Ur—used it to take the life of an immortal demon over the course of ten years."
Leaving the stunned Gray behind, Charles turned to the still-prone Ultear.
lted ice water flowed over her. Her face was frozen in disbelief—because she was hearing the voice of the person she'd hated all her life… the one she had longed to see again.
"Please save her!"
"Please, I beg you! Save her!"
"This child was born with terrifying magic power!"
"She's dead? What do you an she's dead?!"
"Why?! What happened?!"
"You said you could cure her! I heard you were a special healing institution! How could you—?!"
"You can't do this! Give back my daughter—give back Ultear!"
…
Iced Shell turned the caster's body into ice. What Ultear now felt were Ur's mories—embedded in the ice.
"When that child was born, it was like a beam of light entered my life. I imagined a future full of hope for her. I was so happy then.
Her tiny body held infinite potential and vitality—it brought tears to my eyes.
That child was the proof of my life, my tears… Ultear."
Charles crouched beside Ultear and said gently, "Did you hear it? Ur… your mother's true feelings."
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