— — — — — — — —
Lucy couldn't help but complain as she stared at the eccentric girl ahead. "Wow, what a weirdo!"
Natsu sniffed the air. "They're not villagers from this island. Their scent is different."
Happy chimed in, "And they don't seem cursed, either."
"Are there intruders?" Yuka suddenly asked, startling both Happy and Lucy. Neither expected to be noticed so quickly.
The oversized mouse earlier? That was Sherry's pet, meant to patrol the area and keep outsiders away from their plans.
Now that the mouse had been defeated, it was clear someone had broken in.
"We're so close to gathering Lord Moon's light. What a tragic setback!" Sherry lamented theatrically. "Before Lord Moon's grand appearance, we must deal with these nuisances."
"Yes, we can't let them return alive after seeing Deliora," Yuka agreed.
"To let intruders rest forever… that is love," Sherry declared dramatically.
"No! It means killing them!" Toby snapped, clearly frustrated.
As the trio finished their discussion, they headed off to find the intruders.
— — —
Natsu frowned. "Why are we hiding? Wouldn't it be easier to just grab them and force them to spill everything?"
"We need to wait for the right moment," Lucy argued.
Natsu crossed his arms. "This is getting more complicated by the second. Who are those people, anyway?"
Clearly, they weren't from the island. And Deliora… what was that thing's deal?
Gray clenched his fists. "Damn it. Why did they move Deliora here? And how the hell did they even find where it was sealed?"
"Sealed?" Lucy echoed.
"That thing used to be trapped in the northern ice fields. Ten years ago, it wreaked havoc across Isvan. It's immortal, but… my teacher, Ur, sacrificed herself to trap it in Iced Shell. She sealed it away forever. It has no reason to be here."
Lucy tilted her head. "Could the curse on this island be connected to that thing?"
"It's possible. That demon's still alive," Gray said bitterly.
"Great!" Natsu grinned. "Then all we have to do is beat it up!"
Wham!
"Gah!" Natsu stumbled back as Gray's fist collided with his face.
"Gray, you jerk! What was that for?!"
"You're a Fire Mage!" Gray snapped. "Stay the hell away from it! What if you melt the ice and wake it up?!"
"What kind of ice would melt that easily?!"
"It's not about the ice!" Gray shouted, his nerves clearly on edge.
He took a deep breath and explained. "Ur's Iced Shell isn't ordinary ice. It can't be melted by fire, no matter how strong. That's why I can't figure out why anyone would bother moving it here."
Lucy tapped her chin. "Maybe they don't know? They could be experimenting to see if it can be melted."
Gray gritted his teeth. "Damn it, none of this makes sense. Who brought Deliora here, and why?"
"Isn't it obvious? Let's go ask those weirdos from earlier," Natsu said, pointing to a staircase leading up.
"No," Gray interrupted. "We wait. Until the moon comes out."
"The moon? It's still daytime! No way, I'm not sitting around doing nothing!"
Lucy agreed with Natsu. "Gray, seriously, why wait? Wouldn't it be faster to chase them down and make them talk?"
"Everything about this—the curse, Deliora—ties back to the moon. They even mentioned collecting moonlight. If we wait until the moon appears, we'll know what they're up to," Gray explained, his earlier anger replaced with cold logic.
He turned to Uchiha Kitaro. "What do you think?"
Kitaro smiled. "No objections here."
To him, this was just another fun side quest. His real goal was gaining Master Makarov's approval and becoming an official student of the Fairy Tail Guild.
Lucy, however, wasn't done asking questions. "Kitaro, do you think that monster has anything to do with the curse?"
"You want to become an independent mage, right? Try figuring it out yourself," Kitaro teased.
"Aw, come on!" Lucy pouted. "Can't you just give me a hint? I promise I won't tell Gray or Natsu!" She even leaned in, her arm brushing against his for added persuasion.
Flick!
Kitaro playfully flicked her forehead.
"Ow!" Lucy yelped, clutching her head.
Kitaro smirked. He'd seen through her little tricks easily. A seasoned adventurer like him wasn't about to fall for such obvious moves… though he couldn't deny Lucy had a great figure.
"Ugh, fine! Keep your stupid secrets!" Lucy stuck her tongue out at him. "You're so stingy, Kitaro!"
Ignoring her antics, Kitaro pulled out a magic book and began reading.
Lately, he'd been utterly captivated by studying magic. Its depth and complexity fascinated him.
Who needed distractions like girls when the mysteries of magic were so much more thrilling?
After all, what man could resist the allure of becoming a true wizard?
.
.
.
For Advanced chapters: patreon.com/_Coreal