Lucy's forehead throbbed with a vein. "I know you're right, but your tone and attitude are seriously ticking me off!"
She let out a long sigh, resting her chin in her hand. "I really thought we'd be raking in 5 million jewels this time. What a shame."
"S-rank missions are no joke," she continued. "They don't just test your strength—they test your quick thinking and knowledge of magic. We're just not at that level yet."
"Who cares about 'levels'!" Natsu snapped, the flames on his hand flaring brighter. "Instead of sitting here giving up, let's go all in and give it everything we've got!"
"Happy!!"
Happy blinked, then grinned after a moment. "That's so you, Natsu."
His wings sprouted with a whoosh. "It feels like a long shot, but if we don't try, we've got no shot at all."
With that, he grabbed Natsu's scarf, and the two shot into the sky as a streak of blue light.
Lucy's jaw dropped. "(0_0; H-He's not seriously going to try to destroy the moon, is he?! That's impossible!!"
"Oh my~" Mirajane giggled, watching the blue streak climb higher. "Looks like Natsu's stumbled onto the right idea by accident."
In the sky, the man-and-cat duo picked up speed, wind whistling past their ears. Natsu's eyes gleamed with excitement as the purple moon loomed larger in his vision.
At about a thousand meters up, Natsu suddenly slammed into an invisible wall with a loud thunk, halting their momentum.
"Ow!!" He clutched his head, wincing as a huge bump formed. "That hurt!"
Happy stared at the purple sky above, wide-eyed. "Is there some kind of hard barrier up here?"
Natsu, gritting his teeth through the pain, reached out and felt the air. "Yeah, it's like a transparent wall."
Happy's eyes lit up. "Wait! What if this is what's turning the moon purple?! If we break it, we'll complete the S-rank mission!!"
"Heck yeah!" Natsu's grin stretched wide as he cracked his knuckles. "That means I'll beat Gray to finishing an S-rank mission!!"
"Happy, back off a bit."
"Aye!" Happy dropped a few meters, then flung Natsu upward with a powerful toss.
A whoosh echoed as two massive fiery wings erupted from Natsu's back, suspending him in midair.
Magic power surged into his fist, the flames deepening from bright red to a dark crimson, nearly black.
Happy wiped sweat from his brow. "So hot! Natsu's flames are getting intense!"
When nearly half his magic power was channeled into his fist, Natsu rocketed upward like a cannonball, his blazing fist slamming into the purple "wall."
"Break!!"
Crack! The point of impact shattered, flames bursting skyward like a pillar. Cracks spiderwebbed outward from the center, accompanied by sharp, splintering sounds.
Snap! The purple membrane covering the island shattered, dissolving into countless glowing purple specks that floated across the sky like dreamlike fireflies.
As the silver moon reappeared, Natsu flew back to Happy, raising his hand triumphantly. "We did it! We completed the S-rank mission!"
Happy raised a paw, high-fiving him gleefully. "Aye, sir!"
[Note: The original text includes a domain reference (101kan.com) that seems out of place in the narrative. I've omitted it as it doesn't fit the story context, but let me know if you want it included for some reason.]
The moment they high-fived, Happy's wings vanished. Natsu's quick reflexes caught Happy's paw, saving him from a free fall.
"Out of magic power?"
"Aye~" Happy groaned. "Flying this high burns through so much magic. Good thing I trained with you guys, or I wouldn't have made it up here."
Natsu tucked Happy under his arm. "Hold tight. Don't fall out."
"Huh?" Before Happy could react, they plummeted downward.
"(0_0; Natsu, you—urgh—open your wings!!" Happy's voice broke up in the rushing wind.
Natsu's voice was pure exhilaration. "This is faster! And it saves magic power~!"
On the ground, Lucy stared at the sky, dumbfounded, as the silver moon shone clearly.
"The purple moon—it's… gone!!"
She rubbed her eyes, confirming she wasn't seeing things, then muttered, "So it wasn't the moon turning purple—it was a purple crystal layer blocking it! The moonlight filtered through it, making it look purple!!"
"Wait!" Her eyes widened. "Does that mean we actually completed the S-rank mission?!"
"(V) Hell yeah!! That's enough for years of rent!!"
As she cheered, the air around her suddenly grew warmer.
Looking up, she saw a massive fireball hurtling toward her.
Lucy screamed, "(>_<; Wait, wait!!"
At the last second, she dove backward, narrowly dodging the fireball as it crashed into the ground.
Boom!! The impact left a huge crater, kicking up a cloud of dust.
A small white mushroom cloud rose from the pit.
The shockwave sent Lucy tumbling, rolling several times before slamming into a nearby house with a thud.
Rubbing the fresh bump on her head, she grimaced. "What the heck?! Why's a fireball falling from the sky?!"
She looked toward the crater and saw a figure casually stroll out of the dust.
"(0_0; N-Natsu?!"
Natsu shook the dirt from his hair, grinning as he raised a hand. "Yo! Mission accomplished!!"
"That's not the point!" Lucy clutched her forehead, pointing at the half-destroyed house nearby. "Can't you land like a normal person?! You wrecked the house!!"
"And you almost crushed me!!"
Natsu laughed, hands behind his head. "C'mon, don't sweat the small stuff."
"Look on the bright side—we completed an S-rank mission! No more punishment from Erza!!"
Lucy's anger melted away at that. "Oh, right! We're off the hook!!"
As the two cheered, Erza's icy voice cut through. "Who said anything about no punishment?"
Both froze. Lucy spoke cautiously, "Uh, I thought Roger said if we handled this mission on our own, it'd count as completing an S-rank mission—"
Mirajane chimed in, smiling sweetly as she propped her chin in her hand. "And did that include anything about canceling your punishment?"
She wagged a finger playfully. "Completing the mission and sneaking an S-rank job are two different things~"
Lucy's face fell, tears welling up. "No way… QAQ"
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