Watching their playful bickering, Ultear's anxious expression softened a bit.
She stood with one hand on her hip, a faint smile tugging at her lips, a hint of exasperation in her eyes. "Guess I'm not as cool-headed as I thought," she muttered under her breath, a flicker of icy magic dancing at her fingertips. "And here I am, an Ice-Make Mage."
Her gaze swept over Natsu and Lucy, who were cowering like quails, then landed on Mirajane's bright, smiling face. Despite her worry for her daughter, the lively atmosphere eased the tension in her shoulders, and her voice warmed slightly. "Fairy Tail seems like a place full of joy. If Ultear could come here, I bet she'd be happy too."
Stepping forward, Ultear asked for details and soon signed a contract with Roger.
After resting for the night on Galuna Island, the group set out for the guild early the next morning.
Sunlight filtered through the trees, making the morning dew sparkle, but it did little to ease the nerves of certain people facing what was coming.
"The great Natsu, conqueror of an S-Class mission, is back!" Natsu kicked open the guild door, his voice so loud it made the frame rattle. He stood with his hands on his hips, chin raised so high his nostrils were practically pointing at the sky.
Kana, clutching her barrel of booze, smirked mischievously. "You're this cheerful even with a terrifying punishment waiting? Gotta hand it to you, Natsu."
"Erza's punishments are nothing!" Natsu's body erupted in flames, and he zoomed over to Gray like a blazing cannonball. "I can tough it out with sheer willpower! Unlike some people who've never even completed an S-Class mission. Can't compare to the great Natsu, huh?"
Gray didn't jump up to argue like usual. Instead, he crossed his arms, a smug, schadenfreude grin on his face. "Oh? Looks like the great 'Lord Natsu' hasn't heard."
He dragged out his words, watching Natsu's grin freeze. "This time, it's not Erza handling the punishment—it's Roger."
Natsu froze, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead. "Y-You're kidding, right?"
"Heya!" Mirajane chimed in, raising her hand with a bright smile, her eyes curving into crescents. "I was supposed to tell you guys back on the island, but I totally forgot! My bad!"
"But it's not too late to let you know," she continued, her smile widening as she enunciated each word. "The punisher this time… is Roger."
"Yikes!" Natsu shuddered, his flames fizzling out halfway. He spun to bolt for the door, but Erza grabbed him by the collar and yanked him back.
Happy, flapping his wings to take off, was snagged mid-air by Erza's precise grip on his tail. "Where do you two think you're going?" she asked, her eyes narrowing dangerously as her gaze flicked between the man and the cat.
Happy's fur puffed up, and he stammered, "I-I just remembered! I left some mushrooms drying outside, and it's gonna rain! If I don't get back, they'll get ruined!"
Erza held him up, pointing to the cloudless blue sky outside the window.
"Uh, w-well!" Happy sweated buckets. "It might not look like it now, but it's gonna rain soon! A cat's nose knows these things!"
His expression shifted to one of fierce determination. "Trust me, Erza. Look at these resolute eyes—ow!"
Erza's fist bonked him square in the face, snapping his dramatic pose back to normal. "I don't see it."
"No way! Roger's punishment will give me nightmares for a week—no, a month!" Happy wailed, clutching his face. "I'll die!"
Natsu scrambled up, teeth chattering. "Anything but that punishment!"
The moment flames sprouted on his back like wings, Erza tossed Happy at his face. The two collided with a thud, each sporting a massive lump on their foreheads.
"Ow!" they groaned in unison.
Natsu's flames snuffed out, and as they looked up, dazed and seeing stars, they caught a flash of purple in Roger's eyes.
The next second, their gazes went blank, followed by bloodcurdling screams. "Stay away!"
Like headless flies, they flailed wildly, limbs thrashing as if dodging some invisible horror.
Lucy, pale as a ghost, her legs shaking like jelly, stammered, "W-What are they seeing? Why's Natsu so scared?!"
"Oh my!" Mirajane chirped, sidling up. "First time seeing this, Lucy? It's the guild's scariest punishment."
She explained with a grin, "It's like living through a horror movie. You can't use magic, your body's as weak as a normal person's, and you're stuck until the time's up or you complete a specific task."
"Horror movie?" Lucy blinked, confused.
"Yup! A creepy illusion full of ghosts and ghouls!" Mirajane said cheerfully.
"G-Ghosts?!" Lucy's eyes went wide, her voice shooting up an octave. "Like, white clothes, floating around, going 'oooh' kind of ghosts?!"
"Bingo!" Mirajane nodded, smiling. "You got it, Lucy. So smart!"
She propped her face in her hand, glancing at Natsu, who was still running in circles. "This magic's pretty handy, right? No need to worry about them crashing into things and hurting their heads!"
Lucy's inner thoughts screamed: Handy?! Who cares about their heads right now?! It's ghosts! GHOSTS!
As Roger approached, Lucy plastered on her sweetest smile, her voice sugary and soft. "Big Brother Roger, I'm just a newbie who didn't know the rules… Can you maybe cut me some slack?"
She widened her eyes, squeezing out a few tears to make them (in her mind) adorably sparkly.
"A newbie, huh?" Roger drawled, stretching out the words.
Lucy nodded frantically, putting on her best pitiful face. "Yup! If I'd known taking an S-Class mission broke guild rules, I never would've done something so dangerous!" (Liar, I totally knew.)
Roger glanced at the new key on her waist. "Well, if you're willing to hand over that Sagittarius key you got from the mission, plus the 550,000 jewels… I might consider letting you off."
Lucy froze. She'd expected to rake in 2 million jewels, but Natsu suggested splitting it with Roger's group, leaving her with 1 million. After taking the Zodiac key, she ended up with 550,000—still a steal, since Zodiac keys were priceless. She was happy with the deal, but giving it all up? After all that suffering on an S-Class mission? No way!
"Haha!" Lucy laughed nervously, waving her hands. "Roger, you're such a kidder!"
Roger grinned back. "Right back at you, Lucy. Quite the joker yourself."
Lucy: …What?! Your whole cool-guy vibe is crumbling! Since when does Roger talk like that?!
Barely holding back a laugh, Roger asked, "So, Lucy, made up your mind?"
Swallowing hard, she asked cautiously, "Can I at least know what horror scene I'm getting?"
"Of course," Roger nodded. "Your scene is called Insidious."
"Insidious?" Lucy blinked. "Sounds… not that scary."
Mirajane stepped in, smiling. "Since you're a newbie and got dragged into this by Natsu, it won't be as bad as theirs."
"Oh, okay!" Lucy exhaled in relief. If that's the case, keeping the Celestial Spirit key was worth it. "I'll take the horror punishment then."
The moment she spoke, a purple flash crossed her vision. She blinked, and when her eyes opened, she was standing in front of a dilapidated house surrounded by a fence.
Dark clouds loomed overhead, so low she felt she could touch them. The rusted iron gate creaked in the wind, slowly swinging open as if welcoming a fresh soul.
Lucy shivered, hugging her arms. Her fingertips brushed cold skin. "It's freezing," she muttered, her teeth chattering. "This illusion is too real. Even the wind feels creepy."
Looking up at the grim building, she reasoned, If it's called 'Insidious,' the key must be inside, right?
A smug grin spread across her face. "Heh, Mirajane said the illusion ends when time's up. If I just stay put, I'm safe!"
"Lucy, you're a genius!" she declared, striking a pose.
BOOM! A sudden thunderclap made her heart lurch, nearly jumping out of her chest. A cold raindrop splattered on her nose.
"Rain?" Lucy wiped her face, trying to stay calm. "No big deal, just a drizzle—"
Before she could finish, the drizzle turned into a torrential downpour, soaking her to the bone. The icy water stung, making it hard to breathe.
"What the heck! It was fine a second ago!" Lucy shielded her face, exasperated. "Is this rain voice-activated or something?!"
Squinting through the downpour, she could barely make out a dense forest nearby. "Right! I can hide in the trees!"
She dashed toward the forest, but as she stepped in, a nauseating stench hit her—like an animal had been rotting for a year.
Before she could react, she bumped into something. It was humanoid, its face a grotesque mess of decayed flesh, black and red, with empty eye sockets. Maggots crawled from its eyes, and its mouth stretched into a ghastly grin.
"Fresh… meat…" it rasped, its breath a mix of rotten eggs and unwashed socks, churning Lucy's stomach.
"Eww! Gross!" Her legs gave out, and she collapsed, gagging, her vision swimming.
As its rotting hand reached for her, Lucy's soul nearly left her body. She scrambled up, crawling and stumbling out of the forest.
Looking back, her heart stopped. From the shadows, a horde of monsters shambled out, growling, their eyes locked on her—fresh meat.
"Eek! Stay back! Don't come near me!" Tears streamed down her face as panic took over. Forgetting all plans, she sprinted toward the only shelter in sight: the creepy orphanage.
Her feet slipped as she stumbled into the yard. The rusty gate slammed shut behind her, locking the monsters out.
Lucy collapsed, clutching her pounding chest, gasping. "I… I almost got caught."
"That was disgusting!" she wailed, near tears. "How does Roger come up with this stuff?!"
"Huh?" She glanced up. "The rain… it's slowing down?"
Struggling to her feet, she darted under the eaves, wringing out her soaked blonde hair, water splashing onto the ground. "I'm drenched—and freezing!" Sighing, she looked up at a weathered sign above the door, written in strange, blocky characters: Insidious.
"Square letters? Never seen those before," she muttered. "Must be 'Insidious.' Weird way to write it. Probably something Roger picked up somewhere."
Scanning her surroundings, she relaxed slightly. "Safe for now." Smirking at the door, she said, "No rain, no monsters. This is a perfect spot."
Propping her chin with a V-sign, she grinned. "If I just stay here—"
Whoosh! A sudden force shoved her from behind! Before she could react, she stumbled forward, crashing through the faded door.
Bang! The door slammed shut behind her.
Sprawled on the floor, Lucy glared at the door. "Really? You had to make me come in?"
Resigned, she got up, abandoning any clever ideas. She didn't want to risk making the punishment worse.
Looking around, she saw a dim, endless hallway stretching ahead. Broken windows let in little light, and occasional lightning flashes cast twisted, flickering shadows.
Swallowing hard, she took a cautious step. The moment her foot landed, eerie, dissonant music blared in her ears without warning.
"Eek!" Lucy jumped, her hair standing on end, bouncing back against the door like a startled cat. After a few tense seconds, realizing it was just music, she patted her chest, wiping sweat from her brow. "W-What was that? Just music? Scared me half to death!"
But in this creepy setting, the music doubled the terror. Her heart pounded out of sync, dragged along by the eerie tune.
Steeling herself, she inched along the wall. Turning a corner, she spotted a small figure at the end of the hallway, facing away, slowly patting something round.
Smack… smack… The sticky sound echoed in the empty corridor, louder than the music.
"A kid?" Lucy squinted, trying to see what they were holding. "A ball? But… why didn't I hear it before? I'm not that far away."
The creepy patting and music mixed, sending chills down her spine. Her instincts screamed to run. She took a quiet step back, ready to bolt.
But the figure stopped, hugging the "ball" to its chest. A cold, emotionless child's voice drifted over. "Are you abandoning me, big sister?"
"A-Abandoning?" Lucy froze, instinctively explaining, "Little guy, we just met. It's not like I'm abandoning you…"
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