"It's just like that disappearing Uncle Bobo," Gray said in a grave tone.
"That's so cool!"
Natsu's eyes sparkled as he stared at the horns on one of the villagers. In his mind, he was already imagining himself growing a pair of dragon horns—how awesome would that be?
Moka fell speechless for a moment, then waved his demonized arm and said, "What I want you to focus on… is this arm—and the parts of everyone else that have turned demonic."
"All living things on this island are cursed," Moka continued heavily. "Humans, dogs, birds—anything that exists here has been affected. There are no exceptions."
"Hold on," Gray said seriously, arms crossed. "How can you be sure this is caused by a curse? It could be some kind of virus or infectious disease."
"We considered that at first too," Moka replied. "We invited dozens of physicians to examine and treat us. They all came to the same conclusion—this is neither a disease nor a virus."
"Wait—why is the moon here purple? That's really creepy," Happy interrupted, sitting on Natsu's shoulder.
"No one knows when it started," Moka said. "But at some point, the moon over Galuna Island turned purple. And our transformations began around that same time. I believe… this change is directly related to the moon's magic."
"The moon's magic…?" Gray looked up at the violet moon. Aside from its strange color and hazy glow, he couldn't see anything unusual.
"This island has long been bathed in moonlight," Moka continued with a sigh. "It was once as beautiful as the moon itself. But three years ago, when the moon turned completely purple… our condition worsened beyond control."
At that moment—
All the villagers suddenly contorted in pain, their expressions twisting in agony.
This startled Natsu, Gray, and Happy, causing them to instinctively step back, their faces filled with caution and tension.
Right before their eyes—
Every villager fully transformed into a demon.
"What's going on?! Why are they turning into this?!" Gray's eyes widened in shock. If he hadn't seen it himself, he would never have believed it.
"Okay… it was kind of cool at first—I wouldn't mind having horns and spikes—but yeah… this is definitely creepy now," Natsu admitted, his earlier excitement completely gone as he saw the sorrow in the villagers' eyes.
"I'm sorry… Fairy Tail mages," Moka said apologetically. "As you can see, whenever the moon rises, we shift from partial transformation… into these fully monstrous forms."
"If this isn't a curse… then what is?" he continued. "Only when the sun rises can we return to normal. But some people… can no longer revert. Eventually, they lose their minds entirely."
"And those who lose themselves and become full demons… according to our rules, we must execute them."
As soon as those words fell, tears streamed down the villagers' faces.
"How can this be…?!" Gray, Natsu, and Happy all froze, their pupils shrinking. They hadn't imagined things were this severe.
"Even if there's a chance they might recover someday?" Natsu asked unwillingly.
"We have no choice…" Moka's voice trembled. "If we let them be, they will kill everyone. Even if we lock them up, they will break out. So… I had to execute my own son."
He pulled out a photograph, tears pouring down his face as his voice shook with grief and despair.
"My son… whose heart had already become that of a demon…"
"Gray… isn't that the uncle who brought us here?" Happy whispered, staring at the photo.
Gray's expression changed. "Yeah… now I get why he suddenly disappeared. That old man… he must have died with regrets."
"You mean… a ghost?" Happy hesitated. He wanted to deny it, but there was no other explanation for what they had seen.
"Please… save this island!" the villagers pleaded, bowing deeply with tearful eyes. "At this rate, everyone will lose their minds to the demons!"
"That won't happen!" Natsu clenched his fists, his voice firm and resolute. "We'll definitely find a way to fix this!"
"Right now, the only method we can think of…" Moka said in a low voice, "is to destroy the moon. Only by destroying it can we end this curse and our suffering."
"…What?!"
Natsu, Gray, and Happy were completely stunned.
Destroy the moon?!
Did they hear that right?!
Even one of the Ten Wizard Saints might not be able to accomplish something like that—not to mention whether anyone would even dare to try.
The villagers had truly given them an absurdly difficult task.
As expected, after hearing the request, the two boys and one cat were utterly overwhelmed.
Were all S-Class missions this outrageous and difficult?!
"It's getting late," Moka said after being nudged by a villager beside him. "You can rest in the village tonight. As for destroying the moon… you can discuss it and decide on a plan. If you need anything, we will fully cooperate."
"Thanks for showing us the way," Gray said to the villager who led them to a clean, tidy room.
"Man… I'm exhausted," Natsu said, flopping onto the tatami floor the moment he entered, enjoying the soft bedding as if he had no worries at all.
"So… what do we do? Are we really going to destroy the moon?" Happy asked while nibbling on half a fish.
"Of course not!" Gray snapped. "That's the moon! Forget us—even if Arlen or Gildarts were here, it wouldn't make a difference."
"But the village chief's request is to destroy it, right? Then let's just do it!" Natsu said with a carefree grin as he sat up.
"You idiot! It's not that simple!" Gray retorted. "Even if we were going to destroy it, we'd need a plan. Damn it… were Arlen and Erza always dealing with insane S-Class missions like this?"
He scratched his head in frustration.
That night—
The purple moon hung high in the sky, casting its eerie glow over the cursed Galuna Island.
Inside the room, two boys and a cat racked their brains, desperately trying to come up with a way to destroy the moon…
All the way until deep into the night.
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