【Re:Freezing】 | Gray Fullbuster x OC

64: Halcyon

Atlas Flame, the Eternal Flame, disappeared after blessing the village with its warmth one more time... freeing all the giants from their frozen sleep.

It took a second for everyone to get on the same page, but after realizing that the tiny humans saved the giants, a little celebration to show gratitude was a must.

They were quick to find some food... some giant food. It was basically human food too big to consume. After all, the giants thought it was only right to give them something in return for their help before they went on their way.

And during the meal, they all began contemplating the reasons behind the village's frozen state.

...

...

...

"It's all a bit hazy since it happened so fast..." A bald giant scratched his head.

"But we got our weapons ready to face him when he said he was going after the eternal flame." A scarred giant said, scowling.

A bearded giant frowned. "He called himself an Ice Devil Slayer."

Karissa put a hand under her chin. "That explains why the ice was weird. It's one of those breeds."

Gray, who was sitting next to her on the floor, cross-legged, hummed in agreement. He was also bandaging Karissa's arm. Wendy healed her self-inflicted wound enough to not scar, but it still needed to heal on its own. The giants were more than happy than to provide some ointment and bandages (that Erza had to cut down to manageable size).

"Yeah." He carefully tied the knot and patted her arm. "We were only able to bypass it by converting it into our own magic instead of directly using it as our own."

Karissa thought back to when she first saw the state of the village with her own eyes.

Dragon.

God.

Demon.

... There's a demon out there that can teach that kind of magic?

She frowned deeply when she imagined Deliora or Lullaby bestowing a magic meant to kill them upon humanity.

There's just no way that was possible.

"It sounds like he thought that the Eternal Flame, Atlas Flame, was a demon, and he came to defeat him." Lucy guessed.

Erza crossed her arms. "So, you're saying this all happened because the culprit made a mistake? That's disheartening to hear."

"No, we can't go assuming the guy's motives." Gray interjected, bringing his allies' attention to him. "The guy Karissa and I fought said something when we took him down."

"He said that we opening up the Gateway of the Underworld." Karissa summarized. "I don't see how we opened the gates to the netherworld though..."

"Tartaros?" Erza realized, causing Lucy to turn pale at last standing guild in the Balam Alliance.

Karissa scowled at the name. Here we go, the premonition of another headache.

"I'll bet the mage behind it belongs to Tartaros." Gray sighed, shaking his head. "Members from one of its subordinate guilds, Succubus Eye, were placed here on guard duty."

"... I think," Karissa spoke up. "We need to start looking into all the guilds under their command. We don't know if their list has updated during our seven-year absence."

"That's wise move." Erza agreed. "We should see that everyone in the guild is aware of Tartaros' network of guilds under their command."

"By the way, it's crazy how Minerva just suddenly became a dark guild member, under Tartaros." Karissa pointed out. "What, she got butthurt from losing the Grand Magic Games and decided to become petty? Like, how does that even get to that point?!"