"When are you mages finally going to destroy the moon?"
The moment they returned to the village, the village chief strode up with a grave expression.
Noel felt a little awkward. How could they possibly destroy the moon?
But… perhaps it wasn't a "moon" in the traditional sense?
Suddenly, a thought struck him. He put on a knowing look and said,
"Destroying the moon? Child's play. Not difficult at all."
"Do you even know what you're saying?" Gray broke out in a cold sweat at that claim.
"But first, there's something I need to confirm with you all. Chief, could you gather everyone together?" Noel suggested.
Chief Moka did as asked, leaving only a few people behind in the square.
Before long, Moka had summoned all the villagers, so Noel could begin asking questions to test his theory.
"When the purple moon appeared, that's when you all became like this, right?" Noel asked.
"To be precise," one villager replied, "it's only while that moon is in the sky that we take on these forms…"
"And this started three years ago?" Noel pressed.
"Yes."
"These past three years, you've been performing the Moon Drip ritual every morning, right? Every day you should've seen that light from the ruins. Why didn't you go investigate?" Noel was genuinely puzzled.
"The ruins are obviously the most suspicious place."
"It's a village rule—we're forbidden from approaching the ruins," Chief Moka answered.
"Could you tell us the real reason?" Noel asked earnestly. A client keeping secrets was always troublesome.
"We honestly don't know the real reason," the chief admitted. "Truth be told, we've wanted to investigate plenty of times, but it's impossible to get close."
"We've armed ourselves, set out again and again… but no matter how we try, we can never reach the ruins. We'll be walking toward them, and before we know it, we're back at the village gates," Moka explained.
"But we were able to enter the ruins," Natsu said, confused. "Why couldn't you?"
"I know it's hard to believe, but we've tried countless times. No one can approach," another villager added.
By now, Noel had pieced together most of the situation.
"So we just have to destroy the moon and everyone will return to normal."
He climbed to the highest spot in the village—barely higher than the rest, but psychologically it felt safer.
"To think I'll get to witness the moment the moon is destroyed… what luck!"
"If the moon's gone, we'll be back to normal."
"Finally, the problem that's plagued us for so long will be solved!"
The villagers' excitement was palpable.
Noel glanced up at the sky. From here, the shot should work, and he could precisely target it.
He pulled a peculiar-looking bag from his pack, dumping out a collection of small, intricate parts.
"What's Noel doing? What are those things he's holding?" Lucy asked, baffled.
"You mean he's going to destroy the moon with just those? Could it be some incredibly powerful magic tool?" Gray gasped.
"Looks pretty awesome," Natsu said with interest—after all, they were about to blow up the moon.
"Alchemy – Assembly."
The scattered parts instantly formed the shape of a gun—one that looked decidedly high-end.
This was Magical Gun No. 1, Noel's latest invention. It was still experimental, but its destructive potential was undeniable.
Its true power, however, came from the ammunition. Luckily, he'd brought Purging Bullets for the job.
Even so, his own magic alone couldn't fully draw out the weapon's potential—it needed a power source: magic crystals. The stronger the crystal, the greater the bullet's impact.
The magic crystal he chose today was one of the finest specimens he'd personally selected from the crystal mine they'd visited earlier; the rest had been sold on the market.
Once everything was ready, a loud bang rang out. The Purging Bullet arced through the air toward the moon.
But instead of shattering the moon, it broke… the sky.
"What…?"
"What's going on?"
"Why did the sky break?" Confusion rippled through the villagers.
"This island has been shrouded in the exhaust fumes produced by the Moon Drip," Noel explained simply. "That's why the moon looked purple. By breaking through that layer of fumes, the village will return to its original state."
"But the villagers haven't turned human," Lucy pointed out, glancing at the crowd.
"In the haze, demons' memories can get scrambled," Noel said.
"So you mean… the villagers were demons all along?" Natsu said, eyes wide.
"That's right. As for the ruins—I suspect they were blessed by a god. I sensed holy light there. Demons could never approach such a place. Which explains everything," Noel concluded.
"It's finally over…"
"Thank you…"
The villagers of Galuna Island began to cheer—the problem that had plagued them for years was finally resolved.
On the road into the village, a familiar figure appeared—it was Bobo, the man who had ferried them here.
"Mages, thank you."
"Bobo…" Chief Moka's eyes widened in disbelief. His own son—alive.
"Didn't you die?"
"Is this… a ghost from the sea?"
Happy and Lucy clung to each other, terrified.
"In truth, I regained my memory by chance back then. But with the rest of you still without your memories, you would've seen me as a stranger. No matter what I said, you wouldn't believe me…" Bobo explained.
"So I decided to do it my way—make the truth come to light for the whole village."
He and Chief Moka embraced. "Let's celebrate!"
That night, the village held a bonfire festival. It was Noel's first time attending a demons' celebration—quite enjoyable, really. Different from the guild's parties, but with a distinct folk flavor. He had fun, and the chief presented them with their reward.
They accepted only the Key of the Celestial Spirit Sagittarius; Noel declined the large sum of gold.
The group felt a little down, but Noel promised to give each of them 100,000 gold as compensation.
With no ships available, they had to trouble Bobo to take them back the next day.
He didn't mind, and along the way shared many amusing tales about Galuna Island. The others laughed them off, but Lucy listened intently.
This really was fun, she thought. If I write it down, it could make a great story. Coming to Galuna Island was worth it.