The village chief gathered all the residents into the main square.
"Is everyone here?" Noel asked Chief Moka.
The chief nodded, though anger was rising in his eyes—clearly displeased with the actions of a few people earlier. "What exactly is going on?"
"I can't give you the full answer right now. But we want you all to evacuate to a safe place. As for the village—I'll protect it," Noel said with confidence.
"But we'd rather live or die with our village. Handing it over to an outsider—we couldn't rest easy," the chief refused.
"I can guarantee your safety, and I'm willing to make a binding contract," Noel said firmly.
On this point, he could not back down. Allowing clients to come to harm was one of the greatest taboos in a job.
"Then let me dig some traps first!" Lucy suddenly suggested.
"That's a good idea," Happy chimed in.
"No. This is the clients' village. I'll guard it myself," Noel said.
"I see…" Lucy dropped the idea. This mission was centered on Noel's lead, after all.
Suddenly, the village gates swung open. Charging in at full speed came Natsu—carrying Gray on his back. Gray looked badly injured.
"Everyone's okay, right?" Natsu called over.
"We're fine," Noel answered loudly.
The weight in his chest lifted—both of them had made it back alive.
Natsu rushed into the village, and Noel waved, signaling for him to set Gray down.
Natsu seemed unharmed, but Gray's wounds were severe. Noel felt a stab of regret at his earlier decision.
Should he have intervened? At least then Gray might not have been hurt.
"By the way, could you get rid of this ice for me? Even fire won't melt it!" Natsu asked.
Ice that fire couldn't melt—truly interesting. But in the end, it was still a matter of elemental manipulation.
It was like Macao's purple flame, with its inextinguishable property—this ice was the same principle, a qualitative leap in control over the element.
"Element Dispel."
The ice encasing Natsu slowly vanished, turning into white vapor that dispersed into the air.
"That's better," Natsu said, stretching his limbs.
"Take Gray to a room to rest. In his state, he's no longer combat-ready. Forcing him to fight will only leave lasting damage," Noel instructed.
Natsu quickly carried Gray to the place they'd slept the night before, laying him on a mat.
"Hey—what's that in the sky?" a villager pointed to a dark silhouette above.
"Is that… a flying mouse?" another villager exclaimed.
Impossible—unless it used flight magic like Happy.
The mouse was carrying a bucket in its paws. Its purpose was unknown, but it was clearly an enemy.
From above, a drop of green liquid fell slowly toward the ground—heading straight for Lucy's position.
With years of alchemical work behind him, Noel instantly recognized something dangerous—likely corrosive.
"Lucy! Move!"
Before Noel could act, Natsu reacted first, shoving Lucy out of the way.
In the process, Gray—who Natsu had been carrying earlier—was dropped heavily to the ground, suffering a second injury.
The green droplet struck the earth, burning a deep hole into the ground.
It could even corrode soil? Extremely dangerous—most likely some acidic gel derived from a corrosive fruit.
"There's still a whole bucket left."
"They're going to dump it all, aren't they?"
Panic spread instantly. With so many frightened villagers, Noel couldn't fight at full strength.
The mouse tipped the bucket, and the green liquid rained down.
"Everyone, fall back! I'll handle this!"
As the villagers retreated, a magic circle formed in Noel's hand.
From his pack, he pulled out a small vial of powder. Without hesitation, he scattered it and used wind magic to carry it into the falling liquid.
The liquid's color changed—turning transparent.
"What's going on?" Jellie, riding on the mouse, exclaimed.
"The color's changed?" Toby was equally confused.
The now-colorless liquid splashed onto the ground, harmless as water.
In truth, the green substance was simply refined strong acid—neutralized by a base.
"I was at least prepared to give you a painless death. But now, I guess I'll have to kill you all the hard way," Jellie said in a coy tone that clashed with the cruelty of her words.
"There are about fifty villagers," Yuka observed from the side.
Suddenly, the flying mouse moved to begin another aerial attack—only for Lucy to inexplicably latch onto its leg.
"…Does this count as being taken hostage by the enemy?" Noel thought, deadpan.
The mouse abruptly stopped flying and plummeted like a meteor into the forest.
Noel was at a loss for words. Are we here to do a job… or to be a comedy act?
"I'll go check on her," Happy said worriedly, taking off with flight magic.
"Natsu, you should rest. You've already burned a lot of energy, and we probably have another big fight ahead. Leave this to me," Noel said.
"But I really want to pound them into the ground," Natsu said, unable to hide his excitement.
"Ever heard of a relay battle? Even the strongest fighter, after being challenged over and over, will eventually tire out and lose."
"…I think I get it."
"Go check on Gray—he's badly hurt. And here—" Noel handed Natsu his pack. "You should have healing medicine. Put some on Gray's wounds."
Natsu grabbed the pack and ran to Gray's room. He might pretend not to care, but in truth, he was more worried than anyone.
"Wind Blade."
A swift, precise slash of wind shot forward—but dissipated harmlessly before Yuka.
"A wild yet gentle wind," Yuka remarked lazily.
"But I've never heard of anyone like you in Fairy Tail."
"Should I take that as a challenge?" Noel's voice was calm, but the killing intent in it was unmistakable.
Pls drop some power stones supper me at my
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