Chapter 47: Guild Under Attack
"Leon, find a guild to join! See more of the outside world. Only by having cherished companions can you truly grow stronger!"
After Gray finished speaking, Dino and the others turned to leave.
Yuka muttered, "Mr. Jura was right—Dino really is a monster we can't mess with."
"No kidding…"
Ultear stood atop a large tree, gazing at the shattered mountain in the distance. Even though she could use her magic to restore it perfectly, there was no point. She'd been relying on her magic's unique properties, while he'd simply relied on overwhelming destructive power. It felt like a demonstration—a warning.
He was telling her that even if Deliora were revived, he could destroy it just as easily.
"Troublesome man." She suddenly felt a stinging sensation on her skin, her face flushing red. "That pervert doesn't know the meaning of gentle…"
After a while, the group arrived back at the village. "Master Dino is back!"
The villagers rushed out to greet them. They all bowed deeply. "Master Dino!"
Even the demon villagers showed him respect, though Natsu and the others didn't find it strange—somehow, it seemed natural that Dino would command such deference.
Dino waved his hands awkwardly. "No, no! You don't have to be so formal!"
More like they're terrified of you, Natsu and the others thought.
"Master Dino, about that mountain…?"
"Yeah, I destroyed it. It won't affect your village."
The village chief shook his head vigorously. "No impact at all, sir! We could never reach it anyway. But about our curse…"
"Ah! That's right! Deliora's been defeated—why hasn't the curse lifted yet?"
"The moon's still purple!"
"Should we go back and ask Leon?"
After being reminded, Dino finally remembered the curse situation. He'd been too distracted dealing with Ultear earlier.
"I'll lift the curse."
"Lift it? Dino, do you know what's causing it?"
"Yeah. I just need to destroy what's above us."
Dino nodded, then planted his feet firmly on the ground and clenched both fists. "Buzz~!" White spherical auras appeared around each fist.
"Destroy it? Dino, you're gonna destroy the moon?! You're amazing!"
Gray quickly shook his head. "No way! That's impossible! Even Dino couldn't destroy the moon."
Dino punched outward with both fists. "Crash!"
"Crack, crack, crack!" The space in front of his fists began to shatter like glass.
Then they heard something breaking in the sky above. Everyone looked up to see cracks suddenly spreading across the heavens, converging rapidly toward the center.
Lucy shrieked in horror. "The sky! The sky! Dino shattered the sky! It's falling!"
"Gyaaa!" Lucy and Happy panicked together.
"Crash!" The sky shattered like a pane of glass, then dissolved into particles of light. Pure white moonlight bathed the island, warm and peaceful—no longer that eerie purple glow.
Dino sighed at Lucy and Natsu. "What are you two thinking? The moon is thousands of miles away—how could I destroy it? And the sky falling? Aren't you embarrassed?"
Natsu didn't care, but Lucy's face turned bright red from embarrassment at her outburst.
"What was that covering the sky?"
Dino explained, "If I'm not mistaken, when Leon and the others performed the Moon Drip ritual, it created a crystallized layer of residue in the atmosphere. During the day, there's enough light that you can't see it. At night, the moonlight passes through the crystal layer and appears purple."
"But the villagers haven't changed at all!"
"They were demons all along. Of course they haven't changed. The moonlight just confused their memories—they thought they were humans transformed into demons. That's why they sent the request to the guild."
Dino had only remembered this detail after encountering Deliora. No wonder it had sounded vaguely familiar yesterday. The truth really was absurd.
"Demons?!"
Lucy and the others were shocked. They'd thought humans had been cursed, but the villagers had been demons the whole time. Which meant they'd spent last night in a demon village.
"Then what about their transformation ability?"
"They're demons. It's natural for them to be able to take human form."
Natsu approached one of the villagers. "So you really are demons?"
The man thought for a moment. "I suppose we are?"
On the way back, Gray asked, "Why didn't Dino accept the reward? Seven million Jewels could buy a lot."
"It was nothing major. Why charge them? Getting the key was enough. Besides, do they look rich to you?"
Everyone shook their heads. It was just an ordinary village in a remote location where people lived simple, self-sufficient lives. Definitely not wealthy.
"Dammit! They lied about the reward?!" Natsu breathed fire, looking betrayed.
"Bam!" Dino punched Natsu on the head. "You've got some nerve complaining! My date with Mirajane got interrupted because of you two—how are you planning to compensate me for that?"
Natsu said without thinking, "That's easy—just have Lucy go on a date with you for a day."
"Eh?!"
"Wham! Wham!" Lucy, who'd been happily admiring her new key, smacked both Happy and Natsu over the head, her face burning.
She then snuck a glance at Dino. When he didn't respond, she felt both relieved and slightly disappointed. I'm not that much worse than Mirajane…
That night, to celebrate the restoration of their memories, the villagers held a festival. To thank Dino, the village chief even offered him several of the village's most beautiful girls.
Dino politely declined. He'd admit to being a bit of a flirt, but his tastes definitely didn't run that way.
When they finally arrived back at the guild, everyone froze in shock. The guild hall was in ruins, pierced through by several massive iron pillars.
"What happened to the guild?!"
"This is terrible!"
Suddenly— "BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!" The entire town of Magnolia began shaking violently.