"Caw—caw—caw!"
The hoarse cries of crows rang out as a group of large, raptor-sized crows swept upward, startling a flock of birds in the forest.
Sharp beaks, razor-like talons, wings spreading like black umbrellas—twelve crows bringing overwhelming pressure.
"Black Wing Shaft!"
With Moen's sharp shout, the crows shook their wings. Black feathers instantly shed, falling like rain toward the people below. The dense feathers looked extremely unsettling.
"Wahhh!"
All the children below were startled by this scene. Natsu screeched chaotically, flames of Fire Dragon Slayer Magic surging as he swung his fists, burning toward the falling black feathers.
Gray used his "Ice-Make Magic" to form a small ice hut to protect himself. The hut didn't even have a door, its main purpose being complete enclosure. Gray could get out anyway.
Gray had learned from repeated beatings. He didn't confront Moen head-on at all and instead immediately adopted a turtle-shell defense strategy.
In comparison, Natsu was clearly still in the phase of "forgetting the pain after eating." Of course, Natsu also had no real habit or means of defense.
"Swoosh swoosh swoosh!"
Erza, clad in armor, swung her sword in tight, seamless arcs, slicing apart all the black feathers that approached.
"Uwah!"
Mirajane shouted, her form shifting as she received demonic power. Dark-purple magic gushed outward from her body as she tried to push back all the falling black feathers.
Elfman and Lisanna, both magic apprentices, hid under their big sister Mirajane's protection. The two of them were still clearly too inexperienced.
As for Cana and Levy—the two "veterans" didn't react in time and were directly buried beneath the black feathers.
Standing together, Cana and Levy were completely covered in feathers, becoming two "black feather balls." Their bodies couldn't move, tightly bound.
However, Moen did not block their noses with feathers, leaving them a space to breathe.
"Wahhh!"
Natsu yelled wildly. Although he burned away some feathers, it was useless—many more still fell onto him.
Those feathers carried dense magic power and even resisted his flames, suppressing Natsu completely.
Erza cut while she moved. Although most of her body was covered in feathers, she successfully escaped the feather-covered area.
In the end, only Erza managed to escape.
"Crack."
Gray opened a small hole in the side of his ice hut. He peeked outside and saw that the black feathers were no longer falling.
"Crack!!"
The ice hut opened, and Gray jumped out.
"Haha! I did it!"
Gray raised both hands excitedly. Now he was at the same level as Erza!
No—he was even stronger than the slightly disheveled Erza!
Gray wanted to find Natsu to show off, but when he looked at the area covered by black feathers, he couldn't tell which feather-ball was Natsu.
"That one."
Moen pointed at one of the "balls." That one was faintly steaming, as if it were about to ignite from inside.
"Don't even think about escaping, Natsu!"
With Moen's hint, Gray clapped his hands, instantly coating the feathers around Natsu with another layer of hard ice. The feathers that had been heating up, about to burn, cooled at once.
"…"
Moen and Erza both fell silent. Those two idiots…
"That should be enough, Moen. They shouldn't be able to break free."
Erza brushed off the feathers on her armor and spoke. Moen's new ability was indeed eerie—seemingly harmless, but secretly dangerous. The feathers clung like a curse.
And Moen's power was simply too much for the kids in the guild. Aside from her, no one could even respond to Moen's casual move.
"Ahhhh!!!"
As if responding to Erza's words, Mirajane's furious roar came from inside the feathers.
"Boom!"
With her demonic wings spread, Mirajane shot into the sky, grabbing Elfman in one hand and Lisanna in the other. Had she not been protecting her siblings, she wouldn't have been caught. Her mobility was extremely high.
Of course, she lacked battle experience. If it had been Erza, Erza would have grabbed her siblings and flown off immediately.
"Mira is strong too."
Moen said seriously. Mirajane's strength was clearly on a higher level than Natsu and Gray.
Gray escaped only because of cleverness. He was diligent and quick-thinking—no wonder he was good at Ice-Make Magic.
Moen's words made Erza's face tense. That girl Mirajane had been butting heads with her ever since their previous conflict. She always wanted to compete with Erza and Erza never backed down. She simply didn't want to take advantage of Mira before she fully mastered her magic.
But Mirajane had even stolen her small cake just to pick a fight. Erza could no longer tolerate it. It seemed like it was time to teach Mirajane a lesson!
Erza gritted her teeth. Even Moen acknowledged Mirajane's strength. That meant Mira's control was solid enough. Fighting her now wouldn't count as bullying her!
"Buzz!"
Moen waved his hand. The black feathers immediately lost their magic, falling as ordinary crow feathers.
The feathers on the ground were far fewer than before—the magic-formed feathers had dispersed into the air.
The people trapped inside were freed.
"Hiss!"
Natsu was released but not completely. A layer of ice still trapped him. Gray hadn't removed his spell.
"GRAY! HOOO!"
Natsu roared, spewing flames and melting the ice. Being stuck inside had nearly driven him crazy.
He was already itching to run free and kick Gray's ass! That guy actually added extra ice!
Natsu quickly broke free and chased Gray into the woods. The two fought loudly, running off in no time. Those two never stopped causing chaos.
Cana and Levy were released as well. Cana looked calm, unfazed by being captured so easily. She had a very clear understanding of her own strength—ten of her wouldn't beat Moen.
The other girl was far more excited. Levy ran up to Moen with bright, curious eyes, examining the crows.
"Moen-nii! Your magic is so interesting! I've never seen anything like it! Can you tell me about it?"
Levy's curiosity surged. She wanted to understand this mysterious magic—unlike anything she'd seen before.
Of course, all of Moen-nii's magic was unique. His so-called "Celestial Spirit Magic" obviously wasn't Celestial Spirit Magic.
"This magic is still one of the abilities of my Celestial Spirit Magic. I'm serious. It's just from a different constellation."
Moen said earnestly.
"…What kind of Celestial Spirit Magic is THAT?"
Levy scrunched her nose, complaining softly.
Then her eyes suddenly lit up as she thought of something.
"Moen-nii! Let's give your magic a name!"
Levy laughed happily as she made the suggestion.
Her suggestion immediately caught everyone's interest.
"I agree. Moen-nii's magic definitely isn't Celestial Spirit Magic."
Cana was the first to support it. She was itching to try divination to see if she could get inspiration for a fitting name.
"What's wrong with calling it Celestial Spirit Magic?"
Mirajane, who had landed and canceled her Take Over, came over in confusion.
She, Lisanna, and Elfman were all magic newcomers. They believed everything Moen said and never suspected he was making things up the whole time.
[For additional chapters Patreon. Com/ALLISWELL123]