— — — — — — — —
BOOM!
A powerful wave of Conqueror's Haki shook the entire village, causing the walls to crack under its intensity.
Gray and Natsu froze on the spot, overwhelmed by an indescribable sense of dread that sent shivers down their spines. The magic in their hands dissipated instantly.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Many villagers collapsed to the ground, frothing at the mouth and unconscious.
Gray and Natsu, faces pale with fear, stared at Uchiha Kitaro as if he were a nightmare made flesh.
"I don't like it when people ignore me while I'm talking," Kitaro said calmly, his tone carrying an undeniable authority.
Both Gray and Natsu frantically nodded in agreement. At this moment, they found Kitaro even scarier than Erza—by a hundredfold. It felt like standing unarmed before a massive, terrifying dragon.
To them, Uchiha Kitaro was that dragon.
"Good," Kitaro said, retracting his Conqueror's Haki.
Only then did Gray and Natsu dare to breathe, collapsing to the ground, their hearts racing and cold sweat pouring from their brows.
"So… scary…"
"What… what even was that…?"
They finally noticed that everyone else in the village had also collapsed.
"What happened to them?"
"They just couldn't handle my Conqueror's Haki and passed out," Kitaro replied nonchalantly.
"Conqueror's Haki?"
"One of my usual techniques," he added, as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.
Gray and Natsu exchanged bewildered glances. How many 'usual' techniques does this guy even have? And why are they all so overpowered?
After a while, the villagers began to stir.
"Huh? What… what just happened?"
Lucy rubbed her eyes groggily, looking around in confusion. She noticed that Natsu and Gray, who had been ready to fight, now sat quietly before Kitaro. She had no idea what had transpired, but it was clear something major had gone down.
Soon, the villagers regained consciousness as well. They were equally puzzled but noted that the mages seemed to have calmed down.
"Village Chief," Kitaro said, addressing the elder, "regardless of what happened, Fairy Tail has taken on this mission, and we will complete it. Tell us anything you know about this curse."
"Yes, mage sir," the elder replied. "This curse, brought on by the power of the purple moon, is the reason we've turned into these monstrous forms. Over time, it's even consuming our hearts and minds."
"The only way to lift the curse… is to destroy the moon!"
"Destroy…"
"…the moon?!"
Lucy, Natsu, and Gray stared at the elder, their jaws nearly hitting the floor. Are all S-class missions this insane?
Kitaro, however, remained unfazed. "Destroy the moon, huh? Understood."
The elder assigned them a place to rest for the night.
"That moon gets creepier the longer you look at it," Happy muttered, staring out the window.
"Happy, shut the window!" Lucy scolded. "Didn't you hear what the elder said? Stay out of the moonlight, or we'll turn into demons too!"
"This is such a pain," Natsu grumbled. "They want us to destroy the moon?"
Gray and Natsu gazed at the ominous purple moon, wracking their brains for a way to break the curse.
Following Kitaro's lead, Lucy and Natsu decided to stick with him and complete the mission together before returning to the guild.
Naturally, Natsu was thrilled—this was his chance to continue an S-class mission. Lucy, on the other hand, was eager to get her hands on the Celestial Spirit Key promised as a reward.
"Kitaro," Lucy asked, "are we really going to destroy the moon?"
"Of course not," Kitaro replied with a smirk.
"But the villagers think that's the only way to lift the curse. If we don't destroy it, won't Fairy Tail's reputation suffer?"
"They just want the curse lifted. Destroying the moon is their theory. If the mission explicitly required us to destroy the moon, it wouldn't be an S-class task—it'd be impossible. Seven hundred million jewels wouldn't be enough to cover that job."
"Then how do we lift the curse?" Lucy pressed. "Do you have any ideas?"
Kitaro's lips curled into a sly smile. "If you're so eager to complete an S-class mission, why don't you figure it out yourselves? I'll give you until tomorrow night. By then, I'll break the curse, and we'll head back to Fairy Tail the morning after."
"What?!"
The group stared at him in shock.
Gray hesitated. "Kitaro… do you mean you already know how to lift the curse?"
"Of course," he replied, his confidence unwavering. "Not only do I know how to lift it, but I also know the truth behind it."
"No way!"
The group was stunned. Kitaro's expression made it clear he wasn't joking.
"Have you encountered this curse before?" Lucy asked.
"Nope."
"Then how do you know?"
"Maybe I'm just smart," Kitaro teased before lying down to rest.
The next morning, Kitaro woke to find Gray and Natsu groggy and exhausted.
"You guys look awful."
"It's so early…"
"Couldn't sleep," Gray muttered. "All thanks to you!"
"You too, cat! Get up!" Kitaro barked.
"Aye, sir!" Happy saluted, jolting awake.
The group had spent all night discussing how to lift the curse but got nowhere. Their plan for the day was to investigate the island thoroughly.
"Three years ago, the moonlight on this island turned purple. Something must've happened here to cause that change," Kitaro reasoned.
"The moon we see from the outside is still white," Lucy pointed out. "It's not the moon that's the problem—it's the island itself…"
.
.
.