Looking at Qi Yan's relaxed demeanor, Natsu gritted his teeth. He still had an S-Class Quest to complete; there was no way he could just collapse here. Absolutely not.
"It's not over yet!!!"
Natsu roared, slamming his palms on the ground, leaping up, his hands wreathed in flames, forming two fiery blades. He spun rapidly.
"Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame...
Before Natsu could finish calling out the move's name...
Snap!
Natsu's ankle was caught by a large hand.
Immediately after, he felt an irresistible force carrying him and flinging him towards the ground.
Boom—!
"Ugh ah ah!"
Then!
Boom boom boom boom boom boom!!
Qi Yan grabbed Natsu's ankle and repeatedly slammed him into the ground. Each terrifying impact made the ground tremble.
"Natsu!"
Lucy couldn't bear to watch this scene. At the same time, she was incredibly fearful, terrified of being treated like Natsu.
Happy also trembled, after all, while Natsu was the mastermind behind stealing the S-Class Quest, Happy was the main accomplice in stealing the quest.
In this state, Qi Yan showed no mercy.
After a while, Qi Yan stopped. Natsu was already bruised and swollen, his face resembling a pig's head.
Qi Yan let go, and Natsu dropped to the ground, motionless. No one knew what his condition was.
"I gave you a chance, but you didn't seize it! It looks like this quest still belongs to me."
"Qi... Qi Yan... you didn't do anything to Natsu, did you?"
Gray asked, a little worried. Although he and Natsu were rivals, he didn't want Natsu to be killed.
"Don't worry, I know my limits. He looks a bit miserable, but they're all just superficial injuries, just a bit painful. He'll be jumping around again after two or three days of rest."
Fushiguro Toji knew the human body too well. He knew exactly where to hit to cause pain, where to cause injury, and where to kill.
A bit miserable? He looked truly awful, but Gray still said, "That's good! That's good!"
Qi Yan's gaze fell on Lucy and Happy.
"Eek—!!"
The person and the cat immediately trembled with fear.
"You two..."
Before Qi Yan could finish his sentence...
Lucy and Happy quickly kowtowed and apologized: "We're sorry! We're sorry! We'll never dare to do it again! Never again!!"
"Hmph! I'll let you off this time. Wait until you get back to face the Master's punishment!"
Qi Yan snorted coldly, then released the Fushiguro Toji form, returning to his original appearance.
Lucy and Happy collapsed onto the ground, a sigh of relief escaping them. Qi Yan in that form was too terrifying.
"We finally survived..."
"Aye~!!"
Qi Yan stepped into the village. All the villagers secretly hid behind their houses, peeking at Qi Yan.
After releasing the possessed state, Qi Yan immediately felt his whole body ache. This was the after-effect of every time he possessed Fushiguro Toji. Forcibly raising his physical capabilities to that level, his body couldn't quite bear it.
Fortunately, his current physical fitness had greatly improved; otherwise, each possession would likely leave him bedridden.
Qi Yan picked up a chair, sat on it, and crossed his legs: "Everyone, come out!"
"..."
All the villagers remained motionless. They had just seen how Qi Yan brutally beat Natsu. If they were beaten like that, they would have long been dead.
Qi Yan's voice turned cold: "Do you want me to personally invite you out?"
Swish swish swish!!!
Hearing this, all the villagers were so frightened that they quickly ran out.
The village chief cautiously asked: "This... this Mage Lord..."
"My name is Qi Yan. I am the person in charge of this S-Class Quest, the Mage who officially accepted the quest. Those three idiots stole an S-Class request form from the guild and secretly ran off to do the quest, so I taught them a lesson."
"So that's how it is!"
The villagers now understood why Qi Yan had beaten Natsu so severely. It turned out that the other party had stolen his job.
"I apologize for the damage caused just now. These damages will be deducted from the quest reward after the quest is completed."
The village chief quickly waved his hand and said: "It's nothing! It's nothing! They're just some inexpensive wood, found everywhere in the forest, and can be repaired quickly."
"Alright, now tell me about the quest situation."
Even though he already knew how to lift the so-called curse, some procedures still needed to be followed.
"Alright!"
The village chief turned and directed: "Everyone, please remove your cloths."
Whoosh!
Everyone in the village removed the cloths draped over their bodies.
Everyone's bodies showed signs of abnormality in some parts. Some had scales growing on their arms, some had horns on their foreheads, and others were covered in various carapaces, looking like parts of a demon's limbs.
"This is..."
Gray was very surprised to see this.
"Gulp!"
Lucy involuntarily swallowed. Although she had seen it on the boatman, and was mentally prepared, seeing such a situation still made her hair stand on end.
"You're very surprised, aren't you? All living creatures on this island, even dogs and birds, are not exempt from this curse."
Gray asked his question: "What's your basis for saying this is a curse? Couldn't it be some kind of illness?"
"We've had over a dozen doctors look at it, and they all said there's no such disease. Moreover, our transformation is related to the 'Moon's Magic.'"
"Moon's Magic? What is that?"
Lucy couldn't help but ask.
"This island, since ancient times, has accumulated the light of the moon. The entire island used to shine like the moon. However, a few years ago, the moonlight suddenly turned purple."
"Purple?"
Gray and the others were a little surprised. Aren't moons always white? How could it turn purple?
"The moon is out!!"
Happy pointed at the sky. The moon slowly rose from behind the clouds, and its purple moonlight shone upon the land.
"It really is purple!!"
"This is the curse of the Moon's Magic... Ugh... Ugh ah..."
"Ugh ah ah!!!"... All the villagers had expressions of pain.
"Hey! What's wrong with you?!"
Seeing the villagers in such pain, Gray and Lucy became a little flustered.
In an instant, all the villagers began to transform. Soon, everyone's bodies turned into terrifying demonic forms.
Gasp—!!
Lucy and Gray were instantly terrified. Qi Yan was actually startled as well. To be honest, at night, any one of these people alone could scare someone to death, let alone appearing together. Even if he already knew they were all demons, it was the same; what normal person wouldn't be afraid?
"I apologize for frightening you. When the purple moon appears, we turn into these ugly forms. If this isn't a curse, then what could it be?"
"By morning, everyone will return to their original appearance, but some whose minds have also been devoured will not be able to change back. If left unchecked, everyone will be killed by them. Out of desperation, I even killed my own son."
The village chief, with tears streaming down his face, held up a photograph.
"That person... Huh?!"
Lucy and Happy's faces changed when they saw the photo. Wasn't that the boatman who brought them here?
"Because of the purple moon's magic, we became like this. Gradually, our minds were also devoured, turning us into true demons."
"So there's only one way to help us break this curse, and that is..."
"Destroy this moon!"