Freyja incredulously asked, "Three solutions?"
"Yes." Erza said seriously, "The first solution is to let Natsu and Gray continue trying. I believe if we give them time, they will definitely succeed."
Natsu and Gray smiled. Although they hadn't succeeded before, their comrades' trust made them feel empowered again, so trying once more wouldn't hurt.
Erza continued, "The second solution, we ask the guild for help. Maybe the president and Rhode might have an idea."
Natsu and Gray's smiles disappeared in an instant: "Absolutely not choosing this!"
They had originally used missions as an excuse to leave the guild, but to return asking for help because they couldn't solve a problem?
Even if they wouldn't be swamped with tasks after returning, they'd still be ridiculed by Rhode.
The two of them each found a piece of ice to place their hands on and started challenging the ice on the spot.
"As for the third solution... investigate the Eye of the Dream Demon, although Minerva has escaped, her guild is still around, we can just bring her guildmaster here for questioning."
Lucy felt a bit uneasy: "Are we going to deal with a whole guild by ourselves?"
"Aye! I think it's not a problem!"
Kana was eager to try: "I like this solution!"
Natsu and Gray also immediately raised their hands to vote in favor.
And even while raising their hands, the magic power within them hadn't settled, with Natsu still surrounded by blazing flames.
Freyja watched them, not knowing what to do. What was wrong with these people?
For someone else's village, are they challenging a whole guild just with a few people?
"It feels a bit hot." Lucy suddenly said, "Has Natsu's firepower increased?"
"No." Natsu stopped, looking up at the distant sky, and smiled, "It's an old friend coming."
Everyone looked up in confusion, only to see a red fireball appear high in the sky.
At first, it was only the size of a palm, but it kept growing... or rather, it was continuously approaching.
The surrounding temperature was also getting higher.
"This temperature, could it be a meteor?" Kana casually speculated, but quickly dismissed her answer because she saw eyes and a mouth on the approaching fireball.
Natsu waved his hand and shouted: "Flame Dragon Uncle!"
It was Atlas Frey, the Flame Dragon who arrived in this era on the last night of the Great Demon Fighting Martial Arts through the Eclipse Gate!
"Son of Igneru," Atlas Frey hovered above the village, "didn't expect another meeting so soon."
As he spoke, the heat from his body continuously transmitted downwards, and the strange ice nearby seemed to show slight signs of melting.
Natsu asked, "Uncle, why are you here?"
Atlas Frey said, "After parting that day, I intended to return to my lair, but with the passage of time, it had already turned into a human city.
"As per the agreement, I cannot actively harm humans, so I've been looking for a place to reside recently."
Normally, he should be angry about his lair being taken over and destroy that city.
But according to the original history, he was supposed to have died around 400 years ago, so humans occupying unclaimed territory didn't seem entirely wrong.
Atlas Frey calculated that if he clashed with humans over this, a certain oath witness would most likely stand on the human side.
Besides, thinking it through, that environment had long changed, and it wasn't the place he once liked. Finding another lair and exploring might be good.
Thus, he's been flying around the world, searching for volcanic areas or similar places.
When flying near here, Atlas Frey felt something around was attracting him, so he followed his intuition and came over.
Unexpectedly, even from a distance, he smelled a familiar scent, and upon inspection, it indeed was old friends.
He looked around: "It should be here, feels like there's my own aura?"
Natsu curiously asked, "Uncle, have you been here before?"
Before Atlas Frey could answer, Freyja directly knelt down, shouting: "Guardian deity!"
"Hm?" Atlas Frey looked at her in confusion, "Little human girl, are you calling me?"
Freyja excitedly said, "Yes, Guardian deity, please save this village!"
Kana asked, "This isn't a mistake, right? Isn't your guardian deity the Eternal Flame, which is already frozen?"
Atlas Frey also said, "I've never been here before."
Freyja earnestly said, "There's no mistake, the flames on the guardian deity are identical to the Eternal Flame!"
"What?" Everyone showed surprised expressions.
Natsu asked, "Uncle, do you have a son?"
Natsu meant a Dragon Slayer Mage like him, adopted by a dragon as a son.
Atlas Frey denied: "Of course not, I haven't had any relatives for a long time."
Lucy pondered for a while and suddenly realized: "I got it! In the original history, Mr. Atlas Frey left flames in this village, which were worshiped by the giants over generations to this day.
"However, the Eclipse Gate disturbed it all, but because another world's Eclipse Gate disrupted this world's time-space. So it didn't change the history that had already happened.
"But Mr. Atlas Frey went through the Eclipse Gate before coming to this village, so he doesn't know what happened after that time point."
Freyja didn't understand what the Eclipse Gate was, and Lucy's words were a bit convoluted, but the others could grasp the gist.
Atlas Frey thought for a moment and frankly said: "Take me to see your 'Eternal Flame'."
"Yes!" Freyja stood up, leading everyone to a peculiar iceberg, "This is the altar for worshipping the Eternal Flame, which is sealed in ice here."
Hapi exclaimed: "So it's shaped like a flame trapped in ice! This mountain is the Eternal Flame!"
Atlas Frey stared at this small iceberg for a while and suddenly breathed fire.
The strange ice was rapidly melted, revealing a massive altar beneath it with a sizzling sound.
In the middle of the altar, a palm-sized small flame quietly burned, swaying in the wind as if it could extinguish at any time.
—That kind of ice had consumed much power from this flame.
Despite the flame being very weak, Atlas Frey immediately recognized it belonged to him.
And it seemed to have his will within it.
"Such a feeble state is truly embarrassing!" Atlas Frey reprimanded.
As soon as his words fell, the flame seemed to come alive, suddenly swelling in size, nearly matching his own, with faint facial features appearing.
As if recognizing Atlas Frey, the flame leaped up and entered his body!