Chapter 82: I Have Something to Do
Just then, the sound of polite knocking came from the door. Boom, boom, boom!
"Mages, breakfast is ready. The village chief invites you to eat."
"Coming!" Ren's voice was the only one that sounded awake.
Creak!
The door opened, and a young village girl appeared at the entrance, her features now soft and human in the morning light. She was so cute, with large, worried eyes, that it was impossible for Lucy to imagine she had transformed into such a terrifying, fanged demon just last night.
The group followed the girl to the main dining hall, where the village chief, Moka, was already waiting, his own human form restored.
"Good morning, Mages!" he said, bowing deeply. He looked at the group and his smile faltered. "Oh dear. You all look a bit pale. Is it because of the... our forms... all around you that you couldn't sleep?"
Lucy, whose hair was a mess and whose eyes were bloodshot, quickly waved her hands. "No, no! It's not like that at all! We were just, uh... planning!"
"Hahaha, it's alright," the chief said kindly. "Don't just say Mages, even we ourselves get startled when we see our demonic reflections in the mirror. What are your plans next, Mages? I can send villagers to help guide you."
Lucy, having been elected spokesperson by the exhausted (and hungover) boys, said, "We plan to investigate the island. Since this island was normal three years ago, something strange must have happened in these three years. We think something on the island caused this change, turning the moon purple. Village chief, are there any... suspicious, strange, or ancient places on this island?"
Ren, who was quietly eating a plate of fruit, listened to Lucy's words. A hint of appreciation flickered in his eyes. Three ordinary people are better than one wise man. With Happy, there were four of them, and discussing it all night, even if they were exhausted, naturally yielded some results. They had landed on the right path.
"This..." Moka put a hand to his chin, thinking. "To say suspicious places, there is indeed one... but..."
Natsu and the others' eyes immediately lit up, their exhaustion momentarily forgotten. "There really is! Where?!"
This concerned whether they could complete the S-Class Quest. No important clue could be overlooked.
"It's in the mountains over there," the chief said, pointing inland. "There's an ancient ruin. A temple of some kind. Around three years ago, right when the curse began, a purple pillar of light would appear there every night, shooting straight into the sky."
"A purple pillar of light?! Isn't that very suspicious?!" Natsu, Lucy, and Gray all said in unison.
"You didn't go investigate?!" Gray asked, his voice sharp. Since a purple pillar of light was discovered, they should have gone to investigate it immediately.
"This... to be honest, we tried to go to the ruins to investigate several times," the chief said, his face clouding with shame. "Everyone took up unfamiliar weapons and set out, going countless times. But... we just couldn't get close. We would walk towards the ruins, but unknowingly, we'd end up back at the village entrance. It was as if the forest itself was playing tricks on us. We can't get close to the ruins."
"Can't get close? What's going on?" Lucy asked.
"We know it's hard to believe, but we really went several times. No one could get close."
"A barrier," Gray concluded, his arms crossed.
If others can't get close, then it's very likely that a barrier magic has been cast. And casting a powerful illusion or spatial barrier on such a remote island is definitely very suspicious.
Natsu, Lucy, and Gray exchanged glances, a hint of excitement flashing in their eyes. It seemed the problem, the source of the curse, was indeed at those ruins.
Soon, after eating their fill, the group headed towards the village exit, ready to investigate.
"As expected of an S-Class Quest!" Natsu shouted, his fatigue replaced by a new fire. "My whole body is boiling with excitement!"
"Aye!" Happy cheered from his shoulder.
Gray also said enthusiastically, "A barrier? Hmph. Watch me freeze it solid!"
Although Lucy also wanted to complete the S-Class Quest and get that Golden Key, her cautious nature still made her warn the others. "We should still be careful. After all, if the other party cast a barrier, they must have some unspeakable, dangerous secret. We shouldn't just charge in."
"Oh right," Lucy said, turning back to Ren, who was still sitting at the table, finishing his fruit. "Ren, you're coming with us, right? You didn't know about the ruins, but you can still lift the curse?"
"A curse is a curse," Ren said, standing up. "Lifting a curse doesn't necessarily require killing the caster. Sometimes, you just have to break the mechanism. You all go on ahead."
"Huh? You're not coming?" Lucy asked, surprised.
"No. I have something... else I need to do," Ren said with a mysterious smile. "But I'll be around. Good luck on your S-Class Quest."
With that, Ren turned and walked in the opposite direction, toward the beach, leaving the group confused.
"What's with him?" Natsu grumbled.
"Who cares! Let's go! This is our quest now!"
The group headed towards the direction of the ruins the villagers had mentioned. The path was overgrown, and the forest itself felt... wrong. The trees were a deep, sickly purple, and the air was heavy and still.
"Ugh, this place is creepy," Lucy whispered, hugging her arms.
Just then, a rumbling sound, like a small earthquake, echoed through the forest. From the sound, one could tell that whatever it was, it was not small.
"Hmm?"
"What is it?" Gray asked, getting into a stance.
Whoosh—!
A giant... thing... shot out of the forest. It was a giant rat, dozens of meters tall. But stranger than its size was its attire. Someone... or something... had put it in a ridiculously bad-taste, frilly pink maid outfit.
"A rat!!"
"It's so big—!!"
"And it's... wearing a dress?!"
The group was startled, and confused, by the giant rat.
The giant rat's cheeks puffed out, its beady eyes glaring at them.
"It looks like it wants to spit something," Happy observed.
"Damn it! Ice-Make: Ice Shield!" Gray spread his hands, creating a massive ice shield to block in front of everyone.
Poof—!!
A foul, yellow-green gas sprayed from the rat's mouth, impacting the ice shield. It didn't break the ice, but the smell... the smell was instantaneous and overwhelming.
"Ugh!!"
"So stinky—!!"
"It smells like... like Natsu's feet mixed with rotten eggs and old fish!" Lucy gagged, her eyes watering.
"Squeak, squeak, squeak—!!"
The giant rat let out a piercing, mocking laugh, apparently pleased with its prank.
"So stinky! Why is it so stinky!!" Gray yelled, covering his nose.
Ren, thankfully, was not with them. But Natsu... Natsu was a Dragon Slayer.
"Natsu, your nose is too sensitive..." Lucy started to say.
Natsu, his face a deep shade of purple, had already fainted from the smell, collapsing to the ground.
"He's so pathetic!!" Lucy yelled. "Run—!!"
The group began to flee quickly, with Gray dragging Natsu's unconscious body, as the giant rat bounded after them, clearly enjoying the chase.
Lucy, while fleeing, said to Happy, "Happy, aren't you a cat? Go catch the rat!"
"How is that possible!" Happy shrieked, flying frantically. "I'm a cat, but I don't like catching rats! I only like eating fish! And even if I did like catching rats, with a rat this big, it's hard to say who would catch whom!"
"Tch! This is annoying! Ice-Make: Floor!"
Gray, finally having enough, slammed his palms on the ground. The forest floor in a wide area behind them immediately froze, turning into a smooth, slick sheet of ice.
Boom!!
The giant rat, running at full speed, hit the ice. Its legs went out from under it, and it slipped, crashing directly onto the ground with a massive, earth-shaking thud.
"Nice work, Gray!!" Lucy cheered.
"Great, let's escape while we can..."
"Let's beat it up while we can!!" Natsu, who had just woken up from the crash, roared, his anger at the smell overpowering his reason.
"Yeah!" Gray agreed, his own pride stung by the stinky attack.
The two Mages, one with fists of fire, the other with fists of ice, turned and started punching and kicking the giant, beached rat.
After dealing with the giant rat (which was now covered in bruises and scorch marks), the group continued forward, finally emerging from the dense forest.
"It's the ruins!" Lucy said, pointing.
The group immediately knew they had reached their destination. In the center of a large, barren clearing stood an ancient, crumbling temple, half-swallowed by the earth.
Stepping into the ruins, they didn't feel any magical resistance.
Lucy wondered, "Huh? Didn't the villagers say they couldn't get in? Why can we get in so easily?"
"I don't know," Gray said, looking around. "Maybe the barrier only works on them? Or maybe it's down during the day?"
"Who cares!" Natsu said. "It looks very broken here. Is this ground really sturdy?"
Natsu, in a typical display of his genius, stomped hard on the stone ground with his foot.
Gray yelled, "Wait, you idiot, don't stomp! This place already looks unstable! If it breaks..."
Crack—!!
Before Gray could finish his sentence, the ground beneath their feet shattered with a deafening roar. The entire stone floor collapsed, and the group instantly lost their balance, falling downwards into the darkness.
"YOU IDIOT!!" Gray and Lucy screamed at Natsu as they fell.
"Ren, you're such a jinx!" Natsu yelled back, somehow blaming Ren.
"Can you blame me for this?!" Gray shouted.
"Who would have thought there'd be a big hole in the ground!!" Natsu retorted.
"Happy!" Lucy screamed.
"Aye!"
Happy immediately spread his small, white wings.
Lucy grabbed Happy's hand. Gray grabbed Lucy's leg. And finally, Natsu grabbed Gray's leg.
The weight of three full-grown Mages (and Natsu's unconscious body from earlier) pressed down on Happy. The little cat's face turned crimson, his eyes bulging with the strain.
Happy used all his strength to flap his tiny wings.
"I... CAN'T... DO IT!"
Bang, bang, bang!!
The group fell, one after another, crashing into the hard, cold floor of the dark cavern below.
Natsu, who landed first (and cushioned Gray's fall), immediately sat up. "Hey, is everyone okay?"
Gray, who had landed on Natsu, complained, "Damn it, Natsu! Why do you always act without thinking of the consequences!"
Lucy, who had landed last and on top of Gray, said, "I'm... I'm fine."
As soon as Lucy finished speaking, a muffled, annoyed groan came from beneath her. She had apparently missed Gray and Natsu, and had landed on something else... something soft, but firm.
"I'm not!"
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