Chapter 225

["Eh?" Gray didn't hear clearly.]

[Lucy took a deep breath, her pupils gradually replaced by fear.]

["So... this mission, the three S-classes are just going to pretend they don't exist?"]

[Black Natsu crossed his arms and nodded: "You can think so."]

[Lucy almost sprayed a mouthful of old blood.]

["No, I'm not playing anymore, this time it's really impossible to play..."]

["This is simply looking for abuse!!"]

[Immediately, Lucy was completely desperate, turned to look at Mirajane and said in a low voice.]

[Ignoring Mirajane's dissuasive gaze.]

[But just then, Black Natsu handed over the commission letter.]

["Since Lucy is going, then understand the mission information. Just right, none of us can use the Zodiac keys rewarded by the mission. If you participate, when the mission is successful, the keys will be yours."]

[As soon as this was said!]

[Lucy's footsteps, which were about to leave, paused instantly!]

["Eh? What?"]

[She turned around, the fear in her eyes disappeared instantly, replaced by... greed!]

[Greed for the Zodiac keys.]

["The Zodiac keys." Black Natsu responded.]

[Lucy grabbed the commission letter, her eyes falling on the reward item at the end.]

[The words 'Zodiac' were clearly reflected in her eyes.]

[Gradually, her pupils transformed into the shape of keys!]

["I'll go!!!" Lucy shouted!]

["I'll go..." Mirajane frowned.]

[How did it change so fast? Didn't she just say she was going to give up on everything?]

[Erza crossed her arms, as if she saw through everything, and shook her head gently.]

["Humans, as long as there is fifty percent profit, they can take risks. If there is one hundred percent profit, they dare to trample on all laws of the world."]

["If there is three hundred percent profit, they dare to commit any crime, even risking being hanged!"]

[Erza's words just fell.]

["Pedantic, what's the use? Hurry up and go." Mirajane urged impatiently.]

[And ahead, Lucy had already passed Black Natsu and went straight to the pier to find a ship. That speed made everyone click their tongues.]

[...]

[Time approached night.]

[Everyone finally found a ship and arrived at the offshore of Galuna Island.]

[Not far ahead, they could already see the island that looked like a moon.]

[It's true, it looks like a moon.]

[The whole island is in a crescent shape.]

[Legend has it that the curse on the island comes from the curse of the moon!]

[In this, perhaps there is some connection.]

["Ahead is Galuna Island, but are you guys really mages?"]

[The boatman named Bobo asked.]

[He is the only person in Hargeon Port willing to go to Galuna Island.]

[Gray raised his palm, light blue magic power surged, and ice crystals emerged accordingly.]

["Does this kind of thing even need to be said?" Gray said proudly.]

["That's good." Bobo breathed a sigh of relief.]

["You should know something, right?" Black Natsu, sitting at the stern, stared at Bobo and asked.]

[Bobo looked at Black Natsu, not knowing why.]

[Every time he was stared at by this boy's gaze, Bobo felt extremely uncomfortable.]

[It was as if... he was appearing naked in front of him.]

[Especially thinking of his other identity, Bobo's heartbeat couldn't help but speed up a little.]

[He lowered his head: "I used to... be a resident of that island."]

["I was a person forced to escape from that cursed island..."]

["As long as you go to that island, you will encounter this kind of thing."]

["Do you really have the ability to lift this curse?"]

[Saying this, Bobo spread his cloak, revealing that... demon-like arm.]

[Mirajane's pupils shrank!]

[But quickly calmed down.]

[Lucy, Gray, and the others were startled.]

[A flash of realization appeared in Black Natsu's eyes.]

["I understand what you mean."]

[Bobo looked deeply at Black Natsu, then nodded.]

[Just then, the sound of whistling waves entered the ears of everyone on the ship.]

[Lucy and the others turned their heads in shock, and what entered their eyes was the terrifying wave of disaster level!]

["Eh ah?!! Is it a wave?!!"]

[Lucy screamed.]

["Quick, grab the edge of the ship!!!" Gray shouted!]

[The next moment, a terrifying tsunami struck.]

[Boom! The ship shattered, and under the backflow of seawater, Lucy and Gray fainted directly.]

[...]

[After a long time, the waves subsided.]

[On the coastline, three figures appeared here.]

[Black Natsu put down Lucy and Gray, whom he was carrying.]

[He shook his head gently: "Speaking of which, Lucy is quite heavy, I don't know why she looks so slim."]

["Is she heavier than Gray?" Happy asked.]

["Uh... not really, she's heavier than Mira and Erza." Black Natsu responded.]

["Pfft~ how do you know the weight of Mira and Erza?" Happy covered his mouth and screamed strangely.]

[Suddenly, the cheeks of Mirajane and Erza on the side couldn't help but turn red.]

[Just when Black Natsu didn't know how to explain it.]

["Umm..."]

[A slight murmur came from behind.]

[Black Natsu looked behind him, Gray and Lucy, who had fallen into a coma, had already opened their eyes slowly.]

["Where is this..." Lucy sat up in confusion.]

[Greeting her was Black Natsu's voice.]

["Galuna Island, Lucy, Gray!"]

["During the S-class mission, we will only follow you and won't help out, okay."]

["Get ready, the first S-class mission in your life."]

["It's starting!"]

[Night.]

[In the only village on Galuna Island.]

[The group was staying in different folk houses in twos and threes.]

Not long ago, the group led by Black Natsu arrived on this island and successfully found the isolated village located in the northwest.

At the same time, they were also the clients for this mission.

The village chief recounted the entire sequence of events to the group.

This gave Black Natsu and the others a rough understanding of the situation.

Although the village chief’s request was for them to destroy the moon, that was an impossible task.

Further investigation was required, but that was a matter for tomorrow. After traveling such a long distance today, everyone was exhausted and needed to rest.

Especially Erza.

Although Black Natsu had taught her the gyroscope method a while ago, perhaps due to a lack of experience, during this voyage...

Erza still couldn't hold up and was terribly motion-sick.

However, judging by the fact that Erza regained her sense of balance the moment the ship broke apart...

Her overall progress was quite good. Once she gained more experience, it was estimated that Erza would be able to shake off the side effects caused by transportation.

At night, in the room shared by Black Natsu, Gray, and Happy.

Purple moonlight spilled down from the sky, shining into the room through the window.

Gray moved his body toward the corner in fear, trying his best to avoid being touched by the moonlight.

Turning his head to look, Black Natsu didn't seem afraid at all, sleeping exactly as he pleased, as if he didn't care.

This behavior left Gray feeling somewhat puzzled.

"Say, aren't you afraid? After all, the village chief said today that anyone touched by the moonlight would turn into a demon!"

At the mere mention of this, Gray couldn't help but shiver.

Upon hearing this, Black Natsu shook his head.

"Tell me, do you really think all of this is caused by the so-called purple moon?"

Gray frowned in response: "But... the facts are right before our eyes."

Black Natsu tidied up his bedding, sat down, and fixed his gaze on Gray.

"Let me give you a hint: there is no such thing as two moons in this world."

"Then why is the moon here different from the moon outside?"

Black Natsu's words caused Gray to fall into deep thought.

After a long while, he raised his head.

As a qualified Black Mage, Gray was not stupid; he often had his own unique insights.

After thinking for a while, it was as if he had grasped something.

"You mean... it's very likely that the purple moon is because of this island?"

Black Natsu nodded: "The moon cannot be wrong. If the moon really had a problem, it would be a crisis for the entire world."

"The reason we see a purple moon is clearly because something has gone wrong with this island."

"For example, a field within a certain range, or some kind of covering illusion, and so on. There are many possibilities; you need to explore them yourselves."

"But what we do know is that the purple moon is not the cause, but the result. What you need to do is find the cause to change the result!"

Black Natsu said all this in one breath.

As for whether Gray understood or not, that was not for him to consider.

Inside the room, looking at Black Natsu and Happy, who were already preparing to rest.

Gray didn't ask any more questions, instead turning his gaze toward the purple moon outside the window.

After a moment, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly!

"So this is an S-Class mission? A huge mystery right from the start!"

"I'm already getting impatient for this challenge!"

The night passed quickly.

Early in the morning, an excited Gray appeared in the village, seemingly doing his morning exercises.

Before long, Happy and Black Natsu walked out of the room.

Happy rubbed his still-sleepy eyes.

He looked at Gray with some surprise: "How rare. I usually don't see you training this hard."

Gray continued doing push-ups, letting his sweat drip onto the ground.

"That's a must. After all, this is an S-Class mission! I have to complete it in my best condition!"

"That attitude is worth praising," Black Natsu said, walking over.

"However... cramming at the last minute is useless."

Gray’s face darkened. Just as he was about to say something, Black Natsu walked right past him.

He went to greet Erza, Mirajane, and Lucy, who were coming out of another room.

Soon, the group gathered, and they set off on their journey to explore the island.

However, before setting off, Black Natsu paused unusually.

He looked toward another direction with a puzzled gaze.

That was where the group had landed on the island last night.

"What's wrong?" Erza asked curiously.

"Did you smell it?" Black Natsu looked at Erza.

Although puzzled, Erza carefully sniffed the surrounding air.

Finally, amidst a chaotic mix of scents, she caught a trace of a familiar aura.

Her eyes instantly filled with shock.

"This is..."

"Here to catch me??"

Erza’s body stiffened abruptly, as if she had associated it with something bad.

"Catch you? Did you offend someone?" Mirajane asked with a smile, her arms crossed.

"If that’s the case, maybe I’ll choose to help them tie you up first."

Erza turned her head and glared at Mirajane: "Yeah, I bet you’d actually do something like that."

"A woman whose brain is filled with violence all day long."

"No matter how violent I am, it's better than being a fat pig," Mirajane retorted coldly.

Erza let out a scoff and laughed: "Are you kidding? A scrawny thing like you dares to say that?"

"I’m afraid that if a gust of wind blows later, it would be bad if you were blown away."

BANG!!!

As expected, their heads collided once again.

Their gazes flashed continuously in mid-air.

"What did you just say, Armor Girl?"

"Are you deaf? Delinquent girl, I have no obligation to repeat myself to the hard of hearing!"

"Do you want to fight?"

"Do you think I'm afraid of you?"

"Damn it, you skinny woman!"

"You hard-headed woman!"

After three sentences, the two were pulling each other's hair again.

The intensity made even Black Natsu look away.

Lucy, sporting two dark circles under her eyes, sighed helplessly.

"Here we go again... From last night until now, they've fought more than ten times. How do these two have so much energy to argue??"

Yes, because Erza and Mirajane had been arguing all night, Lucy had barely slept.

However, the silver lining was that neither of them lost their temper enough to tear the house down last night; otherwise, it would have been even worse!

Fortunately, this war seemed to take Black Natsu's presence into account; it came and went quickly. Soon, Erza and Mirajane, with their hair looking like bird's nests, began mocking each other heartlessly again.

Shaking his head, Black Natsu looked at the group: "You guys continue the exploration yourselves. I have some things to handle."

"Eh? You're not coming with us?"

Lucy looked at Black Natsu, her expression somewhat panicked.