Night fell. At a cliffside foothold adjacent to the village, rows of torches illuminated a naturally formed, deep cave.
The cave interior showed signs of artificial modification. The central area was a reasonably open space, surrounded by scattered wooden houses and various household items.
Under the guard Bereste's guidance, Chase, Lucy, and Dark Magician Girl did not enter the village directly. They came here instead.
Hearing the commotion, the villagers temporarily living here came out to look. At their head was a white-haired elderly man with a cane.
After a brief introduction, Chase learned the white-haired man was the village chief, and also the client who had issued the SS-Class job.
"Thank you for accepting this job, Mr. Chase of Fairy Tail, and Leader Lucy."
Inside the head wooden house, the chief, having learned about Chase and the others from Bereste, warmly offered them a specialty tea.
As the "leader," Lucy was the first to take the tea. Her face full of discomfort, she awkwardly thanked him.
Though the client was far from the monster image she had imagined, being treated as the team's strongest still made her feel nervous and uneasy.
Radiating an almost imperceptible aura of resentment, Lucy raised her eyes and gave Chase a fierce glare:
Damn Chase, aren't you putting me on the spot? I'm still a newbie who just joined the guild!
She had countless fantasy scenes like this, where she stole the spotlight. But now that it was happening, she didn't like it.
Because she didn't have the strength to back it up.
Chase noticed the resentment in Lucy's eyes. Taking the tea from the chief, he smiled. "Don't stand on ceremony. Just tell our Leader Lucy the details of the job."
Hearing this, Lucy's expression changed. The cushion beneath her suddenly felt like it had Natsu hiding in it — burning hot. If she could, she would really like to just get up and leave.
"I understand."
The chief looked at Lucy. His expression suddenly became extremely serious. His cloudy eyes reflected the flickering firelight in the room.
Lucy immediately sat up straight and perked up her ears, afraid to miss any details.
Complaints aside, her attitude toward this, her first SS-Class job, was very commendable!
The chief cleared his weathered and tired throat and began to explain the village's specific situation.
This village, located in the Forest of Bondari, had a history of nearly four hundred years.
Explorers lost in the forest, fleeing from vicious, brutal monsters, had come to this magical area where monsters dared not tread.
Investigating, they discovered the source of the area's lack of monsters was an egg-shaped fossil.
By touching the egg-shaped fossil, they gained the ability to weaken monsters. This allowed them to survive in Bondari Forest, establish a village, and gradually develop to its current size.
This was the fundamental reason this The seemingly poor, backward village could afford the 18 million reward. The corpses of powerful monsters had high market value.
Under normal circumstances, they would have continued living this way, passing down their legacy. But all the stability and harmony had completely disappeared three years ago:
Without any warning, villagers who had gained abilities from the egg-shaped fossil began showing signs of demonization, turning into mindless, bloodthirsty monsters!
After hearing the old chief's description, Lucy's eyes widened. "Wait, this situation sounds...vaguely familiar..."
She instinctively thought of the S-Class job Natsu had secretly taken.
Affected by the Moon Drip, the demon islanders living on Galuna Island had initially thought the same!
"Leader Lucy, do you know what's causing this?" The old chief was extremely excited.
Bereste, the guard standing behind him, had the same reaction. His arms trembled slightly at his sides.
Having hosted so many wizards, this was the first time they had heard such a response!
Truly a great person capable of leading that Chase...
Their eyes towards Lucy instantly changed. Because she looked so weak, they had assumed she wasn't that powerful.
Having had a similar experience, Lucy inexplicitly gained confidence. She raised her head and straightened her back, not as submissive as before.
"Hmph. If I'm not wrong, every night, the moon here turns purple, right?"
She actually looked quite like an S-Class wizard, full of confidence.
Unfortunately...
"Purple moon? No, the moon here has always been normal."
"Exactly. You're actually affecting— HUH?!"
The chief's confused question instantly shattered Lucy's confidence.
"As you thought, Leader Lucy, they are still normal."
Seeing the situation about to get awkward, Chase quickly put down his teacup, cleared his throat, and came to the rescue. "Having the ability to judge basic things like the moon means they haven't been affected by the egg-shaped fossil to the point of having their memories or sanity disordered."
"That way, we can ensure the information is accurate and not misleading, and carry out the subsequent investigation smoothly."
They had been living like this for over four hundred years, and the demonized ones had turned into mindless monsters. This was clearly different from the Galuna Island situation.
Jumping to conclusions based on a slight resemblance — this cheap girl really was an idiot.
"I see. If the initial information we gave was wrong, any investigation would be useless."
The old chief suddenly understood, nodding heavily. The hope in his eyes grew even stronger.
"Those previous wizards didn't even confirm this. Truly Fairy Tail wizards. You're much more professional than those guys!" Guard Bereste couldn't help but sigh.
"Ah, ha, indeed. That way, I can proceed with the investigation." Lucy managed a smile.
The Q-version little person inside her was going crazy: Don't worry my foot! Since when did I think that far?!
Please, Chase, just come clean with them. I'm just a minor, unimportant character!
Watching her awkwardly, like sitting on needles, Dark Magician Girl could barely hold back her laughter. She didn't forget to add, "So, Leader Lucy, what's our next move?"
Lucy: "..."
Even you, Dark Magician Girl?!
Feeling the hopeful gazes of the old chief and Bereste upon her, her face turned bright red. She squirmed uncomfortably and wildly signaled Chase with her eyes.
"Leader Lucy, what's wrong with your eyes?" The old chief looked confused.
Chase held back a laugh, acting as translator. "Leader Lucy wants to see the affected villagers."
"I see. I understand."
"The completely demonized ones are in the village. As for those with milder symptoms..."
The old chief muttered to himself about strong people having strange temperaments, then turned to Bereste behind him.
Bereste immediately understood. He stepped forward and lifted his leather coat.
Lucy instinctively looked up and was shocked.
Since he was responsible for the village's security, Bereste had a strong, robust body.
However, on the surface of his abdomen and chest muscles, chaotic, strange demon skin was covered. Its dark purple color, illuminated by the firelight, looked particularly penetrating!
"Oh my..." Lucy frowned.
Too similar. It looked so much like the demons on Galuna Island!
Even though Chase had just overturned her Moon Drip conclusion, she still felt the anomaly affecting this village was definitely connected to Galuna Island!
Having already made a fool of herself once, Lucy wisely chose to remain silent and pretend to be an expert.
Chase also looked surprised. He narrowed his eyes, carefully studying Bereste's demonized body parts.
Demons in the Fairy Tail world could broadly be divided into two types:
One was the purebred demons, like the islanders on Galuna Island — naturally occurring species in the magical world.
The other was the "Etherious," demons from books created by the Dark Mage Zeref.
Compared to the varied forms of monsters like Lullaby, Deliora, and those of Tartaros, Bereste's appearance was closer to a purebred demon.
Perhaps there really could be a connection between the two!
Little did Lucy, choosing silence, know that Chase's guess this time matched her own.
Seeing the Fairy Tail team leader looking completely clueless, the old chief's eyes dimmed slightly. Bereste silently pulled his leather coat back down.
Having somewhat of an idea, Chase didn't wait for Lucy. He asked in a low voice, "We understand the basic situation. So, specifically, what is your job?"
"Investigate the cause of the abnormality in the egg-shaped fossil — the magic egg — and resolve it, allowing the village to return to normal life."
The old chief had lost count of how many times he had said this.
"First, we need to see that egg-shaped fossil." Dark Magician Girl tilted her head in thought.
"About that. Though you're probably the strongest wizards to come here so far, I need to warn you."
As the village guard, Bereste knew the current situation in the village well. His expression was serious. "Wizards who go into the village to investigate have their magic power mysteriously weakened. The closer they get to the magic egg's area, the stronger the weakening."
"Also, there are completely demonized villagers in the village. Having lost their sanity, they are more aggressive than the forest monsters. Be very careful, and don't kill them!"
The issue of demonized villagers had been mentioned when the chief introduced the magic egg's origin.
They, or to be precise, they now, wouldn't actively leave the village. But they would indiscriminately attack any human who entered. The danger level was high.
That was how the Quartet Cerberus members had gotten injured. That was also why, even with Bacchus leading, they couldn't complete the job.
Even with weakened magic power, the difficulty of reaching the magic egg's area without harming the demonized villagers was too high.
They hadn't even seen the magic egg before they had to declare the job failed.
From this, one could roughly estimate that the magic egg's magic-weakening effect was at least at a level guild S-Class wizards couldn't withstand!
Just hearing Bereste's description made Lucy feel a chill down her spine. She pictured the horrific scene of red-eyed demons attacking her.
In contrast, Chase, who had seen many grand scenes, was much
calmer. His eyes flickered with anticipation for the upcoming trip to the demon village.
Seeing it was late, and wanting to see what Lucy could do on this SS-Class job, he wasn't in a hurry. He decided to rest for the night before leaving.
Just as Chase was about to ask if there were any spare rooms to stay in, rapid footsteps came from outside the wooden house.
Looking up, the moment he saw the person's appearance, Chase's gaze sharpened. A subtle change appeared in his normally calm expression.
Lucy was also drawn by the commotion. She looked up at the door.
It was a girl in a red dress with yellow trim, resembling a tribal miko uniform. Around her neck was a stone pendant that looked like it had been broken in two.
Beneath her short brown hair was a pair of slightly melancholic eyes.
"You're back, Éclair." The old chief revealed her name.
Éclair. A character from the Fairy Tail movie Phoenix Priestess. She had gained eternal life by drinking the legendary phoenix's blood, and had lived alone for over 400 years.
When Chase had heard the name "Forest of Bondari," he had indeed considered the possibility of meeting Éclair. But he hadn't expected it to be under these circumstances.
So...
Was the village's abnormality connected to Éclair and the so-called "phoenix"?
Chase silently pondered.
Éclair didn't respond to the chief immediately. Instead, she brows furrowed, looking at Chase and the others with a gaze that carried disgust.
When her eyes met Lucy's clear ones, her expression flickered slightly. Then she immediately returned to normal.
"Chief, why haven't you canceled that job yet?"
Éclair withdrew her gaze, walked over to the chief and Bereste, completely ignoring Chase and the others. "Those previous wizards proved they don't have the ability to solve this."
"Mr. Chase and Leader Lucy are stronger than all the previous wizards. Perhaps—"
The old chief didn't get to finish before Éclair cut him off. "Wizard power only brings misfortune. Haven't you noticed that since these wizards started coming, the magic egg's influence has been accelerating? We've even been forced to move out of the village!"
"But, Éclair, by ourselves, we have even less ability to deal with this." Bereste sighed heavily.
If this matter were so easy to resolve, why would they have gone to such trouble to issue an SS-Class job through the Magic Council?
"I will find a solution. In my own way!"
Leaving these words, Éclair turned and left without looking back.
***
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