"Ehhh—?!"
Lucy and the others stared at the village chief in pure shock. Destroy the moon? Was he joking? Who could possibly destroy the moon? Even the most legendary wizard in history couldn't pull off something like that.
"I see... I understand the situation," Kael Vane said, ignoring their reactions. "I still need to investigate the exact nature of this curse before I break it."
"Then... Lord Mage, when can you do it?" the chief asked, his voice trembling with hope.
"Tomorrow night," Kael replied flatly.
"Tomorrow night?!"
"That's amazing!"
"Did you hear that? The curse will be broken by tomorrow night!"
The villagers erupted into cheers, their faces lighting up for the first time in ages. They had been tormented by this affliction to the point of madness; hearing a clear deadline felt like a miracle.
Gray leaned in, whispering urgently into Kael's ear. "Hey, Kael! We don't even understand how the curse works yet. Isn't it a bit reckless to give them an exact time?"
A confident smirk played on Kael's lips. "Don't worry. I've got this handled."
Seeing Kael's composure, the chief became incredibly hospitable. "Quickly! Someone show the mages to the guest rooms so they can rest. Prepare the finest fruit and food for our guests!"
"Yes, Chief!"
Soon, the group was led to their quarters. The villagers even helped carry Natsu in. He was wrapped from head to toe in bandages like a mummy, his skin slathered in thick healing ointment for his bruises and sprains.
Despite looking like a medical disaster, Natsu's appetite was completely normal. Seeing him scarf down food, Lucy and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief. Kael had been right; the injuries were mostly on the surface.
"Ow, ow, ow... Kael, you really overdid it! How could you hit me that hard?" Natsu grumbled through a mouthful of food. It hurt just to chew.
Kael glanced at him coldly. "If I didn't hit you hard, you wouldn't learn your lesson. Sneaking off to take an S-Class mission is one thing, but dragging Lucy into your mess? What were you thinking?"
Natsu muttered under his breath, "You're one to talk. Didn't you trick Elfman into an S-Class mission back in the day?"
"The point is," Kael continued, his voice turning colder, "you shouldn't have stolen my mission. I'd say I went easy on you. If there's a next time, I'll break your legs so you can't run off at all."
S-Class missions were Kael's main way of growing stronger. He often spent days at the guild, waiting for one to appear. Having his progress nearly sabotaged by Natsu's recklessness was not something he took lightly.
Natsu flinched. Usually, Kael was reasonable, but he knew that when Kael used his "Tyrant" Take Over, he wasn't joking about breaking bones.
"But I couldn't help it," Natsu whispered. "There was only one S-Class request on the second floor..."
"The longer I look at that moon, the creepier it gets," Happy remarked, staring out the window at the eerie purple orb hanging in the sky.
Lucy jumped, quickly pulling the curtains. "Happy, close the window! Did you forget what the chief said?"
"What did he say?"
"If we stay in the moonlight for too long, we'll turn into demons too!"
Happy shrugged. "Does it matter? Kael is breaking it tomorrow anyway. Besides, if I turned into a demon, I might look pretty cool."
"Oh yeah, the curse," Natsu said, his interest sparked. "Kael, are you actually going to destroy the moon tomorrow night?"
Gray scoffed. "How is that possible? No human can destroy the moon. No matter how strong Kael is, there are limits to magic."
"But that's the request," Natsu argued. "If we don't do it, won't it ruin Fairy Tail's reputation?"
"If it's impossible, it's impossible," Gray countered. "Besides, if we actually destroyed the moon, we couldn't go moon-viewing anymore!"
Natsu gasped in horror. "You're right! That means the Fairy Tail limited-edition 'Moon-Viewing Steak' would be gone forever!"
"And my moon-viewing dried fish!" Happy added, looking devastated.
Lucy stared at them, completely speechless. "How did this turn into a conversation about food? We're talking about a life-altering curse! Kael, you said you'd break it tomorrow, so you must have a plan, right?"
Kael took a bite of an apple and nodded calmly. "Yeah."
"So fast?! You already figured out the secret to the curse?"
They all crowded around him, eyes wide with curiosity. The curse was terrifying, and they were desperate to know how Kael planned to solve something that seemed to defy common sense.
"Don't you guys want to prove you can handle an S-Class mission?" Kael asked, looking at them. "I'll give you one last chance. I'm breaking the curse tomorrow night. Until then, you're free to try and solve it yourselves. If you succeed before I do, I'll let it count as your official S-Class mission completion."
"Really?!"
The group's exhaustion vanished, replaced by pure excitement.
"That's amazing! If we complete an S-Class mission, does that mean we can finally go to the second floor?" Lucy asked, her eyes sparkling.
Gray shook his head. "No, it doesn't work like that. Even when Kael finished his first S-Class mission, Master didn't let him go up there permanently. He only got full access after he officially became an S-Class Wizard."
"That's fine! Even just having one on our record would make our reputation in the guild skyrocket!"
"Aye, sir!"
"Haaah... You guys keep talking. I'm going to sleep."
Kael yawned, pulled the blanket over his head, and was out within seconds.
The next morning, the sun rose high, casting warm light that scattered the lingering shadows of the night. Kael Vane sat up and stretched.
"Man, that felt good."
Thanks to the passive healing effects of his Sun Breathing, his body had fully recovered overnight. His magic reserves were topped off, and he felt more energetic than ever.
"Morning..." a weak, hoarse voice groaned from the corner.
Kael turned around and blinked. "Morning... Whoa, what happened to you guys?"
Natsu, Lucy, Gray, and Happy looked like they had been run over by a carriage. Their eyes were bloodshot, and they looked ready to collapse.
Gray, barely able to keep his eyes open, let out a massive yawn. "We spent the whole night trying to figure out the curse... We didn't sleep for a second."
"And? Did you find anything?"
Lucy shook her head gloomily. "No clue at all."
They were frustrated. They had arrived at the village at the exact same time as Kael, seen the same people, and heard the same story. So why did Kael know exactly what to do while they were still stuck in the dark? Looking at Kael's refreshed, confident face, they knew he wasn't bluffing. He really had noticed something they had missed.