When Chase arrived at the port of Hargeon City, he happened to run into Natsu and Lucy mid-argument.
Upon hearing that they planned to take a boat to Karuna Island, Natsu immediately voiced his strong opposition and boldly suggested, "Let's just swim to Karuna Island instead!"
Naturally, such an absurd idea was instantly rejected and criticized by Lucy.
"I mean, shouldn't you be focusing on more important things right now? Like, say, the punishment for violating guild rules?"
A sudden voice startled Lucy. "Chase-brother? Gray? And... the Dark Magician Girl?!"
"The Master asked us to come," Chase said as he stepped forward, his tone serious. "You've got some nerve, secretly accepting an S-Class commission."
It's over! The truth came out so fast!
Lucy's heart started pounding as she instinctively hid behind Natsu, looking as guilty as a child caught sneaking snacks before dinner.
"Come back with us now while you still have a chance to make up for it," Gray warned sternly. "Otherwise, you'll be expelled from the guild."
His words sent chills down the spines of the rookie members. No one dared to breathe too loudly.
"Chase, don't try to stop me!" Natsu fired back, standing his ground. "I'm going to finish this commission and slap that jerk Laxus right in the face!"
Compared to Lucy, Natsu was much more defiant. He met Chase's gaze head-on, completely unafraid.
As for the trio of treacherous little harpies...
Realizing the situation had turned south, Happy instantly switched sides and flew over to perch on the Dark Magician Girl's shoulder, tattling without shame.
"Chase, we had nothing to do with this! It was Natsu and Lucy who dragged me into accepting that S-Class commission!"
Lucy: What a disloyal, backstabbing flying cat!!
All eyes turned to Chase. The atmosphere was suddenly thick with tension.
"Natsu, by the guild's rules, you're not qualified to take on S-Class jobs."
The moment those words left his mouth, Natsu's right fist erupted into flames as he prepared to fight back.
Gray, too, took a defensive stance. Cold air swirled from his hands as he activated his Ice-Make magic.
Just as the standoff was reaching its peak, Chase suddenly smiled and said lightly, "But if your goal is to slap Laxus in the face, I suppose I can help you out a little."
Gray: "???"
"So that means... Brother Chase is joining us on the mission?!" Lucy's eyes sparkled with surprise.
With Brother Chase tagging along, even a cursed island filled with demons and ghosts didn't sound so scary anymore!
Wasn't the Celestial Spirit key basically in the bag now?!
The surprise came so suddenly that Lucy couldn't help herself she covered her mouth and burst out laughing with delight.
But before she could speak, Natsu pouted and shouted, "Lucy and I don't need your help!"
The reason he'd taken on the S-Class request in secret was to prove to everyone in the guild that he was strong enough to handle it. If Chase came along, it would ruin the whole point!
Lucy froze, her smile stiffening as she mentally screamed: No! I want him! I need him badly!!!
"Oh? So you've got guts, huh?"
Chase clapped his hands, his fingers flashing with magical cards. "Then how about this, Natsu? Let's see who can complete the commission first!"
The moment the words left his lips, a gleaming magic circle appeared beneath his feet. In a flash, he and the Dark Magician Girl hopped onto the back of the city-guarding pterosaur.
"Wait, hold up! Chase! Weren't we here to capture Natsu?!"
Gray, who had been gearing up for a fight, was completely thrown off. His half-lidded eyes popped wide open.
Whoosh!
His words were drowned out by the powerful wind stirred up from the pterosaur's massive wings.
In a blink, the blue dragon-shaped silhouette soared across the sky, vanishing into the horizon where sea and sky met.
"Was that a magic circle? Are you wizards? Are you going to Karuna Island to lift the curse?!"
A boatman at the dock, who had been watching in awe, finally found his voice and called out excitedly. "I know the way! I can take you there!"
The man was Bobo, the son of Karuna Island's village chief.
"That's perfect!"
Natsu, fired up by the sudden challenge, no longer cared about his usual boat phobia. He grabbed Lucy and the still-dazed Gray and leapt onto the small boat in one bound.
"Let's go! There's no way we're losing to that smug bastard Chase!" he shouted, flames roaring from his mouth.
"Y-Yes sir!!" The boatman Bobo was so frightened that he immediately began rowing with everything he had.
The small vessel pulled away from the dock and began slicing through the waves toward its destination Karuna Island.
Meanwhile, far above the sea, the city-guarding pterosaur flew swiftly through the skies.
The Dark Magician Girl sat in front of Chase, her arms wide open to embrace the salty ocean breeze. Her long golden hair danced wildly in the wind as she laughed joyfully.
"Go, Winged Dragon! You have to get to Karuna Island before Natsu and the others!"
She raised her voice to cheer the city-guarding pterosaur onward.
To everyone's surprise, the beast suddenly braked in mid-air and came to an abrupt stop.
It turned its head, blinking in confusion. Its big, round eyes practically said: Karuna Island? What in the world is that?
"Huh?! Wait a sec Master, didn't you tell it the route in advance?!"
The Dark Magician Girl furrowed her brow. "It's the cursed island."
The city-guarding pterosaur blinked, its eyes seeming to grow even rounder and more confused: Nope, never heard of it. If Master tells me where to fly, I'll fly.
After completing this bizarre little information exchange, the two card monsters slowly turned their heads and stared at Chase.
"Aha... ahaha... my bad." Chase gave a sheepish smile and scratched his head.
He'd rushed out in such a hurry, he completely forgot to ask where Karuna Island even was...
Both the Dark Magician Girl and the city-guarding pterosaur froze, their expressions blank: What an unreliable Master!
"Maybe we should just head back, Master?" the Dark Magician Girl suggested cautiously.
"No, we can't," Chase said. "Other than Bobo, who's actually from Karuna Island, normal fishermen are too afraid of the curse to go anywhere near it."
"Then should we go back and find Natsu and the others?"
"That's even more embarrassing."
"...Wow. So you do know what shame feels like."
"Then how about this let's just find a pirate out at sea to guide us. If they're too scared, we'll... beat them into helping!"
The Dark Magician Girl grinned and cracked her knuckles with an evil glint in her eye.
Honestly, not a bad idea. That was pretty much what Erza did, after all.
As soon as she said it, the city-guarding pterosaur flapped its wings hard and soared higher, using its sharp eyes to scan the ocean below for any pirate ships.
By the time the lucky chosen pirate finished helping Chase reach Karuna Island, night had already fallen.
A full moon, tinged with violet, hung high in the night sky. Its strange glow cast an eerie light across the lonely island standing quietly amidst the sea.
A small, primitive village lay at the island's edge.
Natsu and his group, who had arrived earlier, had already gathered some understanding of the situation.
Because the island had been exposed to the violet moonlight for so long, the villagers had begun to transform into terrifying creatures demons with grotesque, twisted faces whenever night fell.
Fear had overtaken the whole village. The situation had become so dire that the chief had even been forced to execute his own son, who had fully "turned" into one of the cursed.
As a result, the commission itself was simple and brutal: Destroy the violet moon, the source of the curse.
However, for Natsu and the others, accomplishing something that fantastical was beyond impossible with their current strength. After several rounds of heated discussion, they still couldn't come up with a workable plan.
At last, following Lucy's suggestion, they decided to get some rest and continue investigating the island the next day to see if they could uncover any helpful clues.
In the guest room provided by the village chief...
The soft sound of snoring echoed from the futons where Natsu, Gray, and Happy were sleeping.
"I can't take this anymore! How am I supposed to sleep peacefully surrounded by perverts and monsters?!"
Lucy flung off her blanket and sat upright, her expression caught somewhere between exasperated, helpless, and horrified.
Boom, boom.
At that moment, someone knocked slowly on the door.
"Pardon me," came the voice of the village chief. "Are the guests still awake? Two more companions from your guild have arrived."
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