Soon, the tree landed on the ground.
"Are we here!"
"So fast! We arrived in the blink of an eye!"
"Ugh~~!"
Natsu retched, his face pale.
"Look, the surface of the rocks is all frozen!"
Happy pointed at the nearby rocks; the ground and rocks were covered by a thick layer of frost, and even the nearby flowers, grass, and trees had not escaped.
"That must be the village. It's huge!"
The group stepped into the village Warrod had mentioned; the buildings here were all very tall.
"The buildings in this village and everything else are frozen! Just like Mr. Warrod said!"
Lucy looked around, and sure enough, everything was covered in frost.
"Strange! Mr. Warrod said the villagers here were supposed to be frozen too. He asked us to save the villagers, but why haven't we seen a single one?"
"Aye!"
Natsu and Happy looked all around, but they just didn't see anyone.
Kael tapped the nearby statue: "What are you talking about? Aren't the people right here?"
"Here?! This isn't..."
Natsu, Lucy, and Happy looked up toward the sky and saw a tall giant frozen in ice.
"So big—!!!"
The few of them were dumbfounded seeing this, then they looked up and around. Sure enough, there were frozen giants everywhere in the village.
"Could this be a village of giants?!"
"I never thought I'd actually see a giant?!"
The few of them felt it was magical; they had seen the Master's Giant Magic, but this was the first time they had seen actual giants.
Kael wasn't surprised by this. He had been to the Kingdom of Giants, where many giants lived. Though their numbers were fewer than a human city, their combat power could not be underestimated.
"Regardless, we should rescue them as soon as possible. Let me use my flames to melt the ice!!"
Natsu got excited; this was the job best suited for him.
Natsu pressed both hands against a giant's massive foot, and flames erupted from his palms.
"Go, Natsu!!"
Happy cheered for Natsu.
However, Natsu soon discovered that the ice was completely unmoved by his flames. Natsu immediately increased his fire.
"Woooooaaaaah!!"
Natsu's entire body caught fire.
"Go!! Take them down—!!"
After a while, Natsu slumped onto the ground.
"Just what is going on..."
"Aye~!"
Lucy reached out and touched it: "Mr. Warrod said this isn't ordinary ice. I didn't expect that even Natsu's flames couldn't melt it! Kael, can you melt this?"
"Mm..."
Just as Kael was about to speak, he sensed something.
"Oh? Someone beat us to it! This is going to be tricky."
The three of them looked in the direction of the voice and saw three men standing on the steps.
"Who are you people?"
Lucy asked warily.
"Treasure Hunter Guild."
"Sylph Labyrinth."
"Thud—!"
Seeing that Kael and the others didn't react, the three of them said it again.
"Treasure Hunter Guild."
"Sylph Labyrinth."
"Thud—!"
Kael said: "We already heard you. No need to repeat it."
Lucy asked in confusion: "Treasure Hunter Guild... could it be a guild specifically for finding treasures and such?"
"Sorry, the treasure buried here belongs to us. Don't get in our way."
Natsu furrowed his brows: "Treasure? We aren't interested in that kind of thing at all."
Natsu's words made the three of them feel it was unbelievable.
"You're saying you're not here for the Eternal Flame?!"
"Then why are you mages here in this super place?"
Happy answered very honestly: "We came to melt the ice and save the villagers here."
The three of them looked at each other: "And you say you're not interfering?!"
"The Eternal Flame is a dream flame that has been burning for hundreds of years."
"Among us treasure hunters, it is designated as a super S-class super treasure!"
"However, the giants protecting the village severely hindered our access to the treasure."
"But for some reason, didn't the giants all go thud and get frozen?"
"In other words, now is the best time to get the Eternal Flame."
Lucy said: "But I heard this flame is as important as a guardian deity to this village. Isn't taking it just being a thief?!"
The three of them immediately bristled when they heard Lucy's words.
"You actually called treasure hunters thieves!!"
"This kind of thing only happens because the party being robbed was super careless, okay?!"
"Thud—Thud—!"
"This won't do. We need to get the treasure before these mages get in our way!!"
"Oh!! Let's go!!"
"Thud—!"
The three of them immediately rushed toward the inside of the village.
Happy said: "It's useless. That flame seems to be frozen too."
"Don't underestimate the super treasure-hunting ability of the Treasure Hunter Guild! With this super secret treasure 'Moon Drip,' melting the ice is something we can super do."
One of them said proudly while taking out a small bottle.
"What—!!"
"Moon Drip? Isn't that the thing from Galuna Island?"
The few of them still had a deep impression of the Island of Demons. Lyon and the others used moonlight to condense Moon Drip to melt the frozen Deliora.
Natsu suddenly thought of something: "By the way, with that thing, won't we be able to return the village to normal!!"
"That's right!!"
Lucy and Happy also realized.
"Quick, chase them!! Catch the treasure hunters!!"
"Take it away!!"
Natsu, Lucy, and Happy immediately chased after them.
Kael followed unhurriedly. He already had an idea of how to break the seal.
At that moment, a giant one-eyed monster was flying in the sky, with a man and a woman standing on top of it.
"Treasure hunters and mages, huh? Though it's a hassle, we still have to take them out. After all, it's a job."
"I advise you not to act. Those petty thieves are easy to deal with, but those mages—especially that man—are not someone anyone can defeat. It's best to report this to headquarters."
"What? You know them?"
"It's not just me. Almost everyone on the entire continent knows them. Fairy Tail, the strongest mage guild in the Kingdom of Fiore. No, they should be considered the strongest in all of Ishgar now!"
"The strongest? Humph! Just a mere light guild. If you're scared, you can go back yourself. I'll take care of these guys."
"Since you say so, I'll leave it to you! I won't participate anyway."
The woman was Minerva, who had left Sabertooth after the Grand Magic Games. She had offended Fairy Tail, and Kael's power left her with no options. She felt no light guild would want her, and later, by chance, she joined the dark guild Succubus Eye. She hadn't expected to encounter the man who gave her nightmares on her very first mission.