During the long, agonizing wait, time quietly slipped into night.
From the ruins of the Moon Temple, a massive beam of magical light suddenly surged upward, striking Deliora's frozen head. The supposedly eternal ice began to show signs of melting.
Natsu and the others followed the beam all the way to the top of the ruins, where they stumbled upon Leon and his group mid-ritual, carrying out a strange and ominous ceremony.
Gray finally learned the full details of the Moon Drop plan from Leon.
Furious, he launched a ferocious assault with his Ice-Make Magic, throwing himself into an all-out battle against his former comrade.
In the chaos, Natsu was accidentally caught in Leon's ice spell and got himself completely frozen temporarily out of commission.
When Lucy heard that the enemy planned to attack the innocent villagers, she immediately returned to the village with Happy's help, using his flying magic to rush back.
The village under the purple moonlight.
"So... they're using the Moon Drop ritual to revive the demon Deliora? I didn't think Gray would have such a dangerously obsessed older brother," Chase said after listening to Lucy's account.
He rested his chin in one hand, wearing a mildly surprised expression.
"I don't care what plan or ritual they've got going on Moon or no Moon! Our job is to destroy the Moon!" shouted the village chief, who had once again transformed into a demon under the purple moonlight.
Gone was the calm and kindly old man now replaced with a snarling beast, his eyes glowing with rage.
Two burly villagers approached, bowing slightly with apologetic smiles as they gently dragged the agitated village chief away to calm down.
"A powerful wizard is coming to attack the village… what should we do?"
"Are we going to die before the curse is even lifted...?"
The other villagers stood huddled nearby, wearing anxious expressions. No one knew what to do.
"Don't worry Brother Chess and I are here, and we're not going to let anyone hurt you!"
Lucy clenched her fists confidently and then calmly picked up the tea cup in front of her, taking a graceful sip.
If Natsu and Gray were the only ones fighting right now, she'd definitely be a nervous wreck.
But with Brother Chase, an actual S-Class wizard, here? Whether the enemies were three or thirty didn't make a difference he'd flatten them all.
After personally witnessing the battle between Chase and Erza back in the guild, Lucy had full faith in him.
"Lucy, you really do love flattering yourself," Happy commented with a sly smirk.
After all that wild brawling in the temple ruins, his sore back was finally starting to feel better.
"Shut up, you useless cat!"
Lucy hissed at him from an angle the villagers couldn't see, her expression dark.
"That's right, everyone," Chase added, smiling warmly. "You can relax. I may not be of much help, but Lucy here she's a very powerful wizard."
Pffft!!
Lucy choked and spit out the tea she was drinking.
But this time, it was Happy who took the hit.
As Lucy sat frozen in shock, her eyes wide in disbelief, Chase slumped dramatically onto the stool. Lowering his head, he began to fiddle with the edge of his coat with both hands.
"Because I want to try and see if I can complete the commission on my own..."
He mimicked Lucy's tone perfectly and mumbled softly, "On the way to Karuna Island, I kept thinking about this..."
Lucy's face turned beet red the moment she heard those all-too-familiar words. A giant "井" vein popped on her forehead in frustration.
Yes, what she said was true. Yes, she had been full of herself just a moment ago. But still
Why do I suddenly want to punch Chase into orbit right now?!
"I know! Even if I'm by myself, I can definitely do this!"
Determined, Lucy patted her burning cheeks to compose herself, then trudged toward the villagers, who still wore doubtful expressions.
After brainstorming a bit, the "new girl" quickly came up with a plan.
"Open! Gate of Virgo Virgo, I summon you!"
A golden magic circle shimmered on the ground, and with a sultry little "Wah~," Virgo appeared, dressed in her usual maid outfit.
"Princess, please punish me however you wish," Virgo said with a deadpan expression, bowing deeply.
"Who would summon you just to do that?!"
Lucy shouted, flustered, and then pointed to the open space near the village's only entrance.
"Virgo, dig a hole for me right here!"
The plan was simple: set a trap near the only road into the village. The moment those three enemy wizards stepped into range, she'd catch them by surprise and capture them on the spot!
Even though Virgo had a rather peculiar personality, she was highly efficient.
In just seconds, she had dug a deep, vertical pit several meters wide at the village entrance.
The villagers watching from the side were left completely stunned.
"Princess, please scold me," Virgo said with complete seriousness after completing the task.
"…I don't even have the energy to praise you," Lucy muttered.
Not wanting to get dragged into another of Virgo's bizarre quirks, she quickly returned the Spirit to the Celestial Realm.
Then, turning back to the curious villagers, she proudly explained her "perfect" trap plan.
The trap was... functional, but extremely obvious. Covered only with some dry twigs and leaves, it stood out awkwardly from the rest of the natural surroundings.
The villagers stared at it silently, then exchanged awkward glances.
"I mean… anyone with half a brain wouldn't fall for that."
"Yeah… I was thinking the same thing."
"Suddenly, I'm starting to question the standards of these so-called legal guild wizards…"
"Luv~ Compared to Chase's trap cards, Lucy's setup looks like something out of kindergarten."
In the middle of the murmuring crowd, Happy suddenly started making noise, pointing with his little paw toward the crude, awkward hole in the ground.
The constant whispering, the judgmental stares, and the subtle betrayals from her own friends nearly pushed Lucy into a full-on spiral.
I'm gonna go emo at this rate...
Just as she was on the verge of emotional collapse, the Dark Magician Girl standing behind Chase stepped forward and gave Lucy a bright, encouraging look.
"Come on, Lucy! This trap is perfect! It's definitely going to work!"
Chase's mouth twitched. He glanced sideways at the Dark Magician Girl, only to realize she wasn't joking in the slightest.
As expected of someone who managed to step in cow dung on her very first appearance... she really is just like Lucy. A natural-born fool.
Suddenly
"Hey! There's someone outside!!"
A shout from one of the villagers standing on the wooden watchtower brought everything to an abrupt halt. The buzzing chatter died instantly.
The spiked wooden gate at the village entrance began to creak open.
Peering through the dim light along the narrow path, they spotted two familiar figures staggering toward them Natsu, frozen in an enormous ball of ice, and Gray, covered in cuts and bruises, barely managing to run.
"Natsu?! Gray?!"
Lucy gasped and stepped forward, but just as she opened her mouth to shout, a muffled "thud!" rang out.
Sure enough Natsu stepped on a dead branch and fell straight into the hole.
"There really are idiots who fall for that trap!"
"That pink-haired boy he's one of their teammates, right?"
"Yeah... now I really don't trust that guild anymore."
The silence from the villagers was deafening.
Lucy lowered her head, cheeks burning with shame.
The trap had failed… spectacularly.
"Who the hell dug a stupid hole right in front of the gate?!"
Natsu shouted angrily as he clambered out, dragging Gray along with him and using the wall to steady himself.
Fortunately for him, the ice ball that had encased him shattered during the fall, setting him free.
But Natsu wasn't happy about the method. In fact, he was fuming.
"That ice freak! I'm gonna go back and beat him to a pulp!!"
"Wait Natsu! What happened to Gray?! Why is he hurt so badly?!"
Lucy snapped out of her humiliation and rushed to Gray's side, examining his wounds in a panic.
Happy fluttered over behind her, equally alarmed.
"That bastard... I won't forgive him for this!!" Natsu shouted, fists ablaze with fire.
Just as he was about to rush back toward the Moon Temple, he suddenly paused.
His sensitive nose twitched.
Sniff, sniff
There it was again. A familiar scent. Something strange was coming.
He looked up sharply and saw it.
A massive, oddly-shaped flying rat spinning its tail like a propeller to stay airborne was speeding toward the village!