Seeing Kael's bored, casual look, Natsu gritted his teeth in frustration. He refused to give up; he had to complete this S-Class mission. He couldn't afford to fail here—absolutely not.
"It's not over yet!!"
Natsu roared, slamming his palms against the ground and launching himself back into the air. Flames swirled around his hands, shaping into two jagged fire blades as he began to spin at high speed.
"Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Crimson Lotus—Exploding Flame..."
But before Natsu could even finish the name of the technique—
Smack!
A large, powerful hand reached straight through the flames and grabbed his ankle mid-spin. The next thing Natsu knew, an irresistible force was hurling him toward the ground.
Boom—!
"Uwaah!!"
And it didn't stop there. Kael didn't just hit him; he savaged him.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Kael held Natsu by the ankle like a ragdoll and repeatedly slammed him into the dirt. The sheer force of each impact made the whole village shake. In this "Tyrant" state, Kael didn't recognize anyone as a friend.
After a while, Kael finally stopped. Natsu was a complete mess—black and blue, his face swollen like a pig's head. Kael let go, and Natsu dropped to the ground, motionless. The others couldn't even tell if he was still breathing.
"I gave you a chance, but you wasted it," Kael said flatly. "Looks like this mission belongs to me after all."
"K... Kael... You didn't kill him, did you?" Gray asked, his voice tight with worry. Even though they were rivals, he didn't want to see Natsu dead.
"Relax. I know exactly how to control my strength," Kael replied calmly. "It looks horrific, but these are mostly surface wounds. It just hurts like hell. He'll be up and jumping around again after two or three days."
With Toji Fushiguro's knowledge, Kael understood the human body like a surgeon. He knew exactly where to strike to inflict agony, and where to strike to kill.
"Mostly surface wounds? It looks like you pulverized him..." Gray muttered, but aloud he said, "Well, that's good then!"
Kael's cold gaze shifted to Lucy and Happy.
"Eeeek—!!"
The girl and the cat immediately started shaking.
"You two..."
Before Kael could even finish, Lucy and Happy quickly kowtowed, pressing their foreheads to the ground. "We're sorry! We're so sorry! We'll never do it again! Never again!!"
"Hmph." Kael scoffed. "I'll let you off this time. But just wait until we get back—you'll have to face the Master's punishment then!"
Kael then released his Take Over, returning to his original form. Lucy and Happy collapsed on the spot, letting out huge sighs of relief. That form was simply too terrifying to endure.
Kael walked into the village. The moment he canceled the state, a wave of soreness washed over his entire body. Every muscle ached.
This was the unavoidable side effect of Toji's form—forcing his physical stats to such absurd heights took a heavy toll. Fortunately, his natural fitness had improved lately, or he might have collapsed on the spot.
He dragged over a chair, sat down, and crossed his legs. "Come on out, all of you!"
No one moved. They had just seen how brutally Kael had handled Natsu.
Kael's voice turned cold. "Do I have to come and get you myself?"
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The villagers rushed out at once. The village chief approached cautiously. "Th... this... Lord Mage..."
"My name is Kael. I'm the one officially assigned to this S-Class mission. Those three brats stole the request from the guild and snuck out. That's why I had to teach them a lesson."
"So that's how it is!" The villagers finally understood.
"Sorry about the mess earlier," Kael added. "I damaged your gate. You can deduct the repair costs from my mission reward once I'm done."
The village chief quickly waved his hands. "It's fine! Truly! It's just some wood. We can fix it in no time."
"Alright. Now tell me about the mission," Kael said. Even though he already knew the truth, he still had to follow the proper procedure.
"Okay! Everyone, take off your cloaks!"
Swish!
Everyone in the village removed their garments. Gray, Lucy, and Happy gasped. Parts of each person's body were mutated; some had scales on their arms, others had horns, and many were covered in strange, demonic shells.
"This is..." Gray was speechless.
"It's shocking, isn't it? Every living creature on this island—even the animals—bears this curse."
Gray frowned. "What proof do you have that this is a curse? Couldn't it be some kind of unknown disease?"
"We've had more than ten doctors examine us," the chief replied. "They all said no such disease exists. Besides, our transformation is directly tied to the Moon's Magic."
"The Moon's Magic?" Lucy asked.
"A long time ago, this island used to glow with a pure, white radiance. But a few years ago, the moonlight suddenly turned purple."
"The moon is out!!" Happy pointed at the sky.
The moon emerged from behind the clouds, casting an eerie purple glow over the land.
"This is the curse... Ugh... uwaah..."
Suddenly, all the villagers began to groan in agony. In an instant, their bodies started to warp. Soon, their entire forms transformed into terrifying, full-sized demons.
"Aaaah!!"
Lucy and Gray were frozen in terror. Even Kael was startled; seeing an entire crowd of people turn into monsters at night was enough to make anyone's skin crawl.
"I'm sorry for frightening you," the chief's voice—now gravelly and deep—rang out. "When the purple moon appears, we take on these hideous forms. If this isn't a curse, what else could it be?"
He continued sadly, "By morning, we return to our original forms. But some among us have had their hearts consumed. I had no choice... I even had to kill my own son."
The village chief held up a photograph.
"That person... Huh?!" Lucy and Happy's expressions changed instantly. It was the boatman who had brought them to the island!
"Our hearts are slowly being eaten away until we become true demons," the chief said solemnly. "There is only one way to break this curse..."
"You must destroy the moon!"