The Island of Demons, Galuna.
Hearing that name, Kabe finally felt a vague memory stir in his mind.
The details were fuzzy after so many years, but he did remember that this island really did have a whole bunch of demons living on it. If he remembered right, they were even the "good demons" variety.
"Forget it, what am I thinking so hard for. As long as I know where it is, that is enough."
He shook off the random half baked memories in his head, stared carefully at the map and committed the island's location to memory. Then he nodded to Makarov.
"Alright, I will head there and come back quickly. Old man, just stay home and wait for my good news."
"Be careful. Remember to leave someone alive and wring the real story out of them."
Makarov still could not help nagging him once.
Kabe flashed him an OK sign, then bolted out of the guild and rocketed toward the southwest in a flare of ki.
Hands clasped behind his back, Makarov walked out of the guild after him. Watching that figure vanish in an instant, he finally let out a long breath.
"With that brat making a move, this old man can finally relax."
On the western coastline of Fiore, Galuna Island had never been some famous place. Most fishermen even thought it was just an uninhabited rock in the sea.
It was not until three months ago, when one of Galuna Island's residents came ashore to seek medical treatment, that the fishermen realized there was actually a tribal village living on that nameless little island.
But before curiosity could really build, a terrifying rumor spread out from the doctor who had gone over to Galuna.
Supposedly, the people on that island were suffering under some unknown curse, and had now all turned into demons. Anyone who got too close to them would also be infected and transform into a horrible monster.
In no time at all, Galuna Island became a place everyone was afraid to even talk about.
Even when islanders came ashore again seeking a doctor, the physicians all scrambled to make excuses and refuse them, terrified of being dragged into disaster themselves.
After leaving Magnolia, Kabe arrived in Hargeon and casually grabbed a couple of locals to ask for directions. From them he heard the whole terrifying story that had already become common gossip.
"So there is even something like that. Then, uncle, do you know roughly where Galuna Island is? I can try to steer around it when I go out to sea later."
He did not say outright that his destination was Galuna Island. He softened it into something the fishermen would find easier to accept.
Sure enough, hearing him say that, the kindly old fisherman immediately pointed out a direction on the horizon.
"Somewhere around there. I do not know the exact spot either, just passing along what that doctor who went there said."
The direction the old timer indicated was a bit farther to the south than on the map. Kabe noted it, thanked him, then shot off straight that way, leaving the old fisherman standing there, dumbstruck, staring at his diminishing silhouette in the sky.
Sure enough, the directions of a local beat some tattered map drawn who knows how many years ago.
He had not even flown very long before he saw a dark bump suddenly appearing above the sea surface in the distance.
"That should be it."
Murmuring to himself, he poured on more speed. His figure blurred and in the blink of an eye he was already hovering above Galuna Island.
Looking down from the sky, the entire island was steeped in a strange, eerie shade of purple.
Any sane person who saw an island that looked like this would immediately know something was wrong.
Kabe naturally thought the same. Out of caution, he did not land in the center of the island, instead dropping down into a patch of forest near the shore.
"Huh?"
The moment his feet touched ground, he could not help letting out a small noise of surprise.
He looked around at the lush green trees and undergrowth surrounding him and scratched the back of his head.
"That is weird. Why did the color change? It was purple just now, was it not?"
Comparing the view in front of him with what he had seen from up above, Kabe felt like he had completely missed some very important plot explanation.
"Seriously, this is the kind of early arc story no one remembers. Who on earth would still remember all the details!"
He swore under his breath, annoyed, then actively spread out his ki and began sensing his surroundings.
There was something that needed to be explained here. His ki sensing could not detect the magic power inside a person. What he sensed was the ki that existed in all life forms.
However, because mages cultivated magic, the ki in their bodies would also be somewhat stronger than that of ordinary people. Kabe could tell very clearly how strong someone was just from that.
One more thing. In this world, no one had any concept of ki, much less knew how to suppress it. So basically, no one could hide from his detection.
As for how far his senses could reach, with his current strength, covering half of the whole Ishgar continent was no problem at all.
Back to the point.
Kabe quickly sensed several presences gathered together on the island, each far beyond the range of ordinary people.
Without a second thought, he rocketed off in that direction, intending to take them down in one go.
At the same time, deep within the island, in a moon temple that had been abandoned for many years, a group of mages was huddled together discussing recent movements from the outside world.
The first to speak was a white skinned, blue eyed beauty with bubblegum pink twin tails, Sherry Blendy.
Holding a newspaper from a few days ago, she said anxiously,
"Lord Reitei, the Council has already discovered that Deliora is missing. Two of their councilors have even resigned over it."
The "Reitei" she spoke of was none other than Gray's senior, Lyon Vastia.
He wore a half helm decorated with bull like horns, a deep blue mage robe with gold trim, and a long white cloak draped over his shoulders.
At the mention of the Council, Lyon, who had been half lounging in the main stone seat of the temple, legs crossed in satisfaction, finally lowered his foot. A faintly surprised yet disdainful look crossed his face.
"Oh, so those useless Council geezers actually noticed. I thought they would not catch on until I finished reviving Deliora. Looks like they are not quite as stupid as I thought."
He finished and could not help laughing at them himself.
Seeing how completely he dismissed the Council, the blue spiky haired Yuka stepped forward and reminded him.
"Lord Reitei, please do not underestimate the Council. Those guys have been criticized a lot in recent years, yes, but if they really do get serious, they could still cause us a lot of trouble."
Beside him, the shirtless dog faced Toby could not resist muttering under his breath.