Everyone's brains briefly crashed due to Natsu's outrageous declaration.
Destroy the moon?
What on earth is this guy's brain made of?
"Ha... haha..."
Lucy let out a dry laugh, her lips twitching.
"Natsu, do you have a fever? Or did you hit your head just now?"
Gray also had a look of utter disbelief. "You idiot! Do you know how far away the moon is?! Do you know how big it is?!"
He almost wanted to pry open Natsu's head to see if it was filled with lava.
"Destroy the moon with your fists? Why don't you go eat the sun?"
"Aye!"
Happy nodded vigorously, clearly agreeing with Gray's assessment.
"Hahahaha! As expected of me!"
Natsu completely ignored his companions' complaints, instead putting his hands on his hips and laughing proudly.
"Only I could come up with such a genius idea."
Everyone felt a wave of helplessness. Trying to reason with this single-celled organism was inherently unreasonable.
However, just as everyone thought this was pure nonsense, another voice spoke up.
"This could also be a solution." Ryoma spoke calmly, his arms crossed.
"..."
Lucy's eyes were practically popping out.
Gray's jaw dropped straight to the ground.
Happy even flew around Ryoma excitedly.
"Are you serious?"
Gray pointed disbelievingly at Ryoma and then at the purple moon in the sky.
"That's the moon."
Ryoma shrugged without much explanation. He, of course, knew how absurd it sounded. But he also knew that this was the most direct and effective way to resolve this incident, because it wasn't the real moon at all.
"Oh?"
Ur watched the scene with interest, her eyes darting between the purple moon and Ryoma's face, as if she understood something.
"I see, is it the moon drip ritual? Condensing the magic from moonlight to form a thin film... Interesting."
"You could say that." Ryoma nodded.
Erza instantly reacted, looking up at the eerie purple moon.
Seeing that his idea had received approval from Ryoma and Ur, Natsu's confidence instantly soared, and he practically burst into flames.
"Did you hear that? Gray! Lucy! My method is correct."
He pointed to his nose, his face full of pride. "Now, watch me."
Looking at the boisterous young mages, Ur's smile grew even softer. She gently patted Gray's shoulder and then turned to the others.
"I'm entrusting the matters here to all of you."
Gray was startled. "Ur? Where are you going?"
Ur's gaze drifted towards the outside of the cave, her eyes becoming somewhat complex.
"I'm going to see if I can find Lyon." Her voice was soft but held a hint of determination.
"There are some things I want to tell him in person."
"I'll go with you." Gray immediately said.
Ur shook her head. She reached out and gently ruffled Gray's hair, just like ten years ago.
"No, you stay here." Her voice held a hint of undeniable authority.
"This is between him and me. I want to talk to him alone."
Gray opened his mouth, wanting to say more, but seeing Ur's determined gaze, he ultimately swallowed his words. He knew his master had made her decision.
"Then be careful." He said sullenly.
Ur smiled, and her figure flickered, disappearing into the dark passage.
—
After parting ways with Ur, Ryoma and the group decided to return to the temporary camp where the villagers were taking refuge.
However, when they arrived at the camp, they found it empty. The campfire had long since died out, leaving only some scattered footprints and miscellaneous items.
"Where are the people?" Natsu looked around in confusion.
"Did something happen?" Lucy nervously clutched her Celestial Spirit keys.
Just as everyone was wondering, a figure emerged from the nearby woods.
It was a villager, still in his demon form, but he didn't seem to bear any ill will.
"Is... is it the Mages?" His voice was hoarse and excited.
"It's us." Erza stepped forward.
"Where have the villagers gone?"
"The village chief sent us to bring you back."
The villager said excitedly, "The village... our village has returned to its original state."
"What?!"
Everyone was astonished.
Led by the villager, they returned to the original location of the village.
The sight before them left Natsu, Lucy, Gray, and Erza all speechless with shock.
The village, which had been razed to the ground, now stood perfectly intact.
Houses, streets, trees... everything had returned to its original state, as if time had flowed backward.
"What's going on?"
Lucy rubbed her eyes, thinking she was hallucinating.
After their initial shock, everyone's gaze unanimously turned to a certain person in the group. In their opinion, this was most likely Ryoma's doing.
Feeling their gazes, Ryoma's lips couldn't help but twitch.
He quickly waved his hands, looking innocent. "Don't look at me, I didn't do it. It really has nothing to do with me."
He was surprised too, okay?
Although he knew the plot, he couldn't remember such details.
Seeing Ryoma's genuine expression, the shock on everyone's faces deepened.
Even Ryoma didn't know? Then what on earth was going on?
With a belly full of questions, they entered the village.
The village chief immediately came forward with a group of villagers. They were all in their demon forms, but their expressions were filled with urgency and anticipation.
"Mages, you've finally returned."
The village chief immediately stepped forward and urged, "How is it? When can you destroy the moon and lift our curse?"
Lucy and Gray instinctively looked up at the sky when they heard this.
The purple moon hung high in the sky, emitting a faint purple glow.
So high... so far...
Can this thing really be destroyed?
Both of their faces simultaneously showed expressions uglier than crying.
Just as they were still agonizing over this impossible mission, Erza answered the village chief with a resolute voice, "We can do it now."
"Eh?!" Lucy and Gray exclaimed in unison.
Erza ignored them. She turned around, her gaze fixed on Natsu.
"Natsu."
"Oh!" Natsu immediately stood up straight, responding excitedly.
"Lend me your flames."
Erza's face showed a confident smile. "To power my weapon, as a thruster."
Requip!
A flash of light, and a suit of armor covered her body. A huge spear appeared in her hand.
"Natsu!"
Erza aimed the giant spear at the sky, its tail pointing towards Natsu, and shouted sternly.
"Yosh! Leave it to me!" Natsu roared excitedly, and his flame-wreathed fist slammed into it.
Boom!
The scorching flames struck the tail of the spear with incredible precision. A tremendous thrust instantly erupted, cracking the ground beneath Erza's feet.
"Go!"
Erza shouted, her arms suddenly exerting force.
Whoosh!
With a piercing whoosh, the spear, trailing a long fiery wake, tore through the night sky, shooting straight towards the purple moon above.
Everyone held their breath, looking up at the light soaring into the sky.
Rumble!
The spear accurately hit the center of the purple moon. Only a crisp sound, like breaking glass, was heard.
Crack... Crunch...
Countless cracks spread across the purple moon, radiating from the point of impact.
Then, to everyone's stunned gaze, the eerie purple moon that had hung for three years, along with the surrounding sky, shattered with a crash like a broken mirror.
Fragments fluttered down, turning into specks of purple magical dust in mid-air and vanishing without a trace.
Behind the shattered sky, a brilliant silver moon hung silently in the true night sky.
"It worked..." Lucy murmured, her eyes filled with shock.
"They really... destroyed the moon." Gray was stunned.
However, the villagers didn't cheer as they had expected. They stood frozen, looking down at their still grotesque, unchanged demon claws and bodies.
After a long silence, their faces showed a complex expression mixed with bitterness, sorrow, and relief.
"So that's how it is."
"We seem to have been demons all along."