Having secured the essence of Ur, Ankh felt no need to linger amidst the wreckage of the ruins.
With Ultear in tow, he departed Galuna Island quietly, slipping away like a phantom before the main group could realize he was ever there.
The subsequent events on the island unfolded exactly as Ankh had predicted in his "script."
After Lyon was defeated by the combined efforts of Gray and Natsu, the truth was laid bare.
They discovered that the ice shell had indeed been melted, but the catastrophe everyone feared did not come to pass.
Deliora's physical body, having been dead for years inside the ice, crumbled into dust the moment it was exposed to the air.
The demon was gone, and the nightmare that had haunted Gray and Lyon for a decade finally ended.
Later, under Erza's stern supervision, Natsu and Gray combined their powers to destroy the "moon" in the sky.
As the purple membrane shattered, revealing the true moon behind it, the islanders' "curse" was revealed to be a mere collective hallucination caused by the Moon Drip's memory-altering magic.
Mission accomplished!
However, because Natsu had taken on the mission privately—essentially stealing it—Erza, acting as the disciplinary officer, refused to accept the seven million jewel reward from the village chief.
"We are here to correct a mistake, not to profit," she had declared, crushing Natsu's dreams of a full belly.
The only tangible reward gained was a single Gold Celestial Spirit Key offered by the village chief as a token of personal gratitude.
"At least I got something!" Lucy cheered, contentedly hugging the key to her chest.
But her smile faltered when she felt the chilling, oppressive aura radiating from Erza's back.
Down by the shore, as the mages prepared to leave, a quiet farewell was taking place.
Lyon stood apart from the villagers, his injuries bandaged, staring out at the ocean.
He turned to Gray with a mysterious glint in his eyes.
"Don't be sad, Gray," Lyon said, his voice carrying a weight that Gray couldn't quite understand. "Ur isn't truly gone. Her will... will continue to be carried on by someone. Someone very close to us."
Gray frowned, full of questions. "What do you mean? Who?"
But before Gray could voice his confusion, Lyon had already turned and walked away, his white cape billowing in the wind.
Lyon had his own mission now.
Regarding the woman named Ultear—his newly discovered "senpai"—he wanted to investigate her alone.
He believed she wouldn't do anything evil given her reverence for their mother, but her connection to the mysterious robed man worried him.
Since Ultear had left the ruins without saying goodbye, he had lost all immediate traces of her.
Considering Gray's emotional nature, Lyon decided not to burden him with the confusing truth just yet.
'I need resources,' Lyon thought as he walked into the jungle.
'I am currently just a freelance Mage. To track a Wizard Saint or a Ghost, I need a network.'
He planned to follow Gray's advice.
It was time to join a legal guild—perhaps Lamia Scale—both to find a place to settle and to utilize their intelligence network.
...
The journey back to Magnolia was quiet at first. The ship cut through the waves, carrying the exhausted mages toward home.
Upon entering the familiar streets of Magnolia, everyone's spirits, suppressed for so many days by fear and fighting, gradually began to brighten.
The sun was shining, and the town was bustling.
"Man, what a bust," Natsu grumbled, kicking a pebble. "It was supposed to be an S-class super difficult mission! We fought demons, destroyed a moon, and we didn't get any money for food!"
Lucy, however, was in high spirits!
She clasped her hands behind her back, skipping cheerfully.
"That's not entirely true! Look at the bright side, Natsu. We still got a Golden Zodiac Key! Those are super rare!"
"Sigh... Lucy, you're so sly," Natsu complained. "You're the only one who got something good out of this."
Happy flew over unsteadily, his wings tired.
He raised a paw with a brilliant idea. "Aye! How about we sell that key? It should be worth a lot of fish!"
"No way!" Lucy hugged the key protectively. "This is my partner!"
Gray, walking with his hands in his pockets, asked curiously, "So, what constellation is this key for, anyway?"
"It's the Archer," Lucy beamed. "Sagittarius!"
"Sagittarius?!"
Gray stopped walking. His mind began to churn. "An archer... a centaur?"
He began to imagine something novel.
In his mind, he pictured a majestic horse... with a grotesque, realistic human head, flexing its biceps. His mouth formed an 'O' shape of disturbed wonder.
Natsu's eyes widened roundly, his single-track mind conjuring a similarly bizarre image.
He pictured a giant flower with legs holding a bow.
"Sounds tasty."
Lucy, who seemed to have developed a mind-reading ability solely for these two idiots, saw their imagined versions of her future spirit.
She sweat-dropped and weakly complained, "No... knowing you two, it's probably not what you're thinking. Please stop imagining weird things."
"You're all so carefree," a stern voice cut through their banter.
Erza was pulling a massive luggage cart behind her effortlessly.
She stopped, looking back at the trio with crossed arms. "Have you forgotten? You still have to face the guild's punishment upon returning."
"Punishment?"
The three of them jumped in surprise.
Lucy waved her hands urgently. "Wait, Erza! Wasn't that matter already settled? You helped us! We thought since we completed the mission..."
Erza firmly denied the notion. "What nonsense. My agreement to help you on the island was purely my personal judgment in that moment to ensure survival. It does not absolve you of breaking the rules."
Her eyes narrowed. "Though I think you did well, rules are rules. You still have to face punishment. Of course, the final decision will be made by Master. Be prepared."
Happy covered his large head with his paws, floating in panic.
His face turned pale blue.
"Could it be..." the cat whispered, trembling. "Master's punishment this time is going to be... 'That'?!"
Upon hearing this specific word, Gray's knees gave out.
He immediately crouched on the ground in disarray, clutching his head, his voice trembling with genuine, visceral fear.
"Wait! Anything but 'That'! Please! I never want to experience it again! My dignity hasn't recovered from the last time!"
Seeing their intense reactions, Lucy couldn't help but feel a chill run down her spine.
She looked between them, panic rising in her chest. "What?! What is it? Is it physical torture? What exactly is 'That'?!"
In contrast, Natsu remained strangely calm.
He crossed his arms and patted Lucy's shoulder reassuringly, though he was sweating slightly.
"It's fine, Lucy! I'm sure the old man will praise us for doing a good job! We saved a village, right? He loves that stuff!"
"You're really optimistic, aren't you..."
Erza watched the commotion with a dark satisfaction.
She promptly interrupted Natsu's self-hypnosis, striking him down with a ruthless truth.
"No," she said simply. "It is almost certain that it's 'That.' I can't wait to see it."
Natsu's bright, sunny smile gradually stiffened.
The color drained from his face and sweat began pouring down his forehead like rain.
"No..." Natsu whispered, falling to his knees beside Gray. "No! Please, no! Not the magazine!"
Seeing Natsu, the most fearless mage in the guild break down like this, Lucy cried out.
"So, what exactly is 'that'?! Someone tell me please!"
But nobody answered. The horror was too great to speak of.
...
Meanwhile, the Fairy Tail guild hall was bustling with its usual chaotic activity.
After returning home, Ankh had made his way back to the guild to maintain appearances.
He sat at the bar, relaxed.
Mirajane placed a tall glass of iced tea in front of him as she smiled warmly at him.
"Welcome back," she said softly. "So, how did things go? Everything go smoothly?"
Ankh took a sip, savouring the cold liquid. "It started smoothly, the process was filled with unexpected twists, but the outcome was satisfying. Very satisfying."
Mirajane tilted her head in confusion, wondering what he meant by 'unexpected twists,' but she knew better than to pry too deep when Ankh had that look in his eyes.
Just then, the youngest Strauss sibling, Lisanna, eagerly squeezed onto the stool next to Ankh.
She grinned, her eyes sparkling with mischief.
"Ankh-nii! Ankh-nii!" she chirped. "I heard Natsu and the others are coming back today. The Master left a note about their punishment. Is it... is it 'That'?"
Ankh chuckled, exhaling in relief. "Yeah. The Master specifically instructed me before he left for the regular Guild Masters' meeting. If they returned while he was gone, I was to initiate Protocol 'That'."
Lisanna grinned slyly like a little fox. "Great! We get to see Natsu and Gray like that again! It's been so long!"
Ankh shrugged, indifferent to the matter, though a smirk played on his lips.
For the new members, the punishment the Master referred to as "That" was a psychological weapon far more potent than any physical beating.
It involved using the guild's connections with Sorcerer Weekly Magazine.
He remembered clearly when they were kids.
Natsu and Gray had once accidentally destroyed a historic statue in a neighboring town.
The Master punished them not with suspension, but by forcing them to dress in frilly maid outfits and strike embarrassing, "cute" poses for a special feature in Sorcerer Weekly.
It was titled "The Bad Boys of Fairy Tail: At Your Service."
It was even published in the female Mages' photo collection section.
That punishment left a massive psychological scar on the two of them.
Copies of that magazine still circulated in the black market. It kept them well-behaved for months afterward.
Similarly, when other members made egregious mistakes, the Master would use various humiliating cosplay photoshoots and publish them.
This type of punishment wasn't physically harmful. But for young men with a strong sense of pride and shame? It was pure, unadulterated social death.
It was enough to make them want to dig a two-bedroom apartment with their toes out of sheer embarrassment and live in it forever.
"I almost pity them," Ankh mused. "Almost."
Ankh shook his head with a light chuckle.
He finished his drink and turned on his stool.
His eyes gleamed as his gaze shifted past Lisanna to the quest board on the far wall.
Among the vibrant posters for monster hunting and escort missions, a particular request form caught his attention.
It looked old, the paper yellowed and curling at the edges.
Ankh stood up and walked over to the board.
The quest was written in a chaotic scrawl.
To most mages, it looked like gibberish or a prank.
But Ankh, having read many ancient magical tomes, recognized the syntax.
"This is interesting," Ankh murmured, his fingers tracing the strange glyphs. "This isn't just a quest... it's a spell."
He ripped the request off the board.
"Translating this... it seems far more entertaining than watching Natsu wear a dress," he whispered to himself.
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