At this moment, Ur faced the invitation, but Gray held his breath, his eyes filled with unspeakable anticipation and pleading.
He hoped Ur would return with them.
Ur's gaze shifted from Lorne to her disciple's face.
She saw Gray's expression, so tense he looked like he was about to cry.
Ten years.
This child had carried too much alone.
Now he had new family, new companions.
A gentle smile, like melting ice and snow, slowly bloomed on Ur's face.
She nodded lightly.
"Alright."
A simple word, yet it seemed to possess infinite magic.
"This is great—!"
Gray shouted excitedly, almost jumping for joy.
"Yosh!"
Natsu and Happy were even more exaggerated, hugging each other and dancing wildly, beginning a half-time celebration.
"We won! We won! We won!"
"S-Class mission complete!"
"Aye!" Happy echoed.
Lucy's eyes also sparkled, turning into money symbols.
She clasped her hands, her face full of anticipation as she spoke:
"So, from now on... can we openly go up to the second floor of the guild?"
The second floor was the domain of S-Class Mages.
However, as soon as her words fell, a bone-chilling cold instantly enveloped the entire scene.
"Oh?"
A low, calm, yet infinitely dangerous voice sounded.
Natsu, Lucy, Gray, and Happy all stiffened simultaneously.
Like wind-up puppets, they turned their heads extremely slowly, in fits and starts.
Erza stood there, a "kind" smile on her face, but it felt incredibly terrifying!
"You... seem to have forgotten something?"
Boom!
A thunderclap exploded in the minds of the three people and one cat!
They instantly remembered: taking an S-Class mission without permission!
Erza was here to bring them back!
According to guild rules, this was a serious crime!
"Ah ah ah ah—!"
Natsu and Lucy shrieked, clutching their heads, their joy instantly replaced by terror.
Gray's recently cleared face also instantly clouded over, cold sweat trickling down his temples.
It's over!
Completely over!
They were so busy celebrating that they forgot the most important thing!
"Um... Erza..."
Lucy tried to force out a fawning smile,
"Look, didn't we successfully resolve the incident...? Deliora also..."
"Hmm?" Erza's smile became even brighter, but the killing intent grew even denser.
Lucy immediately shut her mouth, not daring to say another word.
Ur looked at the atmosphere, which had done a complete one-eighty, and tilted her head in confusion.
She looked at Lorne, the only one who remained relatively calm.
"What's... going on?"
Lorne shrugged, explaining in the most concise words:
"They stole an S-Class mission request and ran off. Erza was sent by the Guild Master to bring them back for punishment."
"Stole... stole an S-Class mission?"
Ur's brows instantly furrowed, and her gaze sharply locked onto Gray.
Gray's body trembled violently, a very ominous premonition rising in his heart.
The next second, Ur's figure flashed, appearing in front of Gray.
She pulled Gray over, her arm like an iron clamp around his neck, and her other hand formed a fist, striking his head mercilessly with a heavy blow!
Thud!
"Ow!" Gray cried out.
"You brat!" Ur's voice carried the anger of one who hates to see good metal turn into scrap, "After all these years, have you not changed your troublemaking ways at all?! How dare you do something like this! Do you have a death wish?!"
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Ur's fists rained down like raindrops. Gray's eyes saw stars from the blows, yet he dared not resist, only clutching his head, constantly begging for mercy and explaining.
"No! Ur! I didn't do it on purpose!"
"I was knocked out and forcibly brought here by them!"
He was truly innocent!
However, it would have been better if he hadn't said that; as soon as he did, Ur's temper flared even more.
"What?!"
The force in her hand increased a few points.
Thud!!
"Knocked out and brought here by others? You still have the nerve to say that?! To be so easily taken advantage of, where did all the things I taught you go?!"
"Wah ah ah! It hurts! It really hurts! Ur!"
Gray's miserable cries echoed in the cave, sounding utterly wretched.
Natsu and Lucy, watching from the side, were terrified, shrinking their necks and not daring to make a sound.
This woman called Ur... she's, she's so scary!
Indeed, a master who could teach someone like Gray was no ordinary person!
Erza, watching this scene, actually reined in her killing intent, a faint smile appearing at the corner of her lips.
Just as Gray was receiving his 'love education,' Lorne's leisurely voice sounded again, pouring another bucket of cold water on them.
"Speaking of which, have you perhaps forgotten the most important thing?"
His gaze swept over Natsu and Lucy, who were still celebrating their escape.
"The mission request."
"Request?" Natsu was stunned.
"Deliora isn't directly related to this mission, you know!"
Lucy spoke, somewhat perplexed: "But... isn't Deliora already dead? If it's dead, shouldn't the villagers' curse also disappear?"
Isn't that a very logical conclusion?
However, Lorne looked at her with the gaze one would give an idiot.
His eyes were full of the meaning, "How could you ask such a naive question?"
Lucy's face instantly turned red, so embarrassed she wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
"Did I... did I say something wrong?"
Lorne retracted his gaze and explained calmly:
"I already said, the request has little to do with Deliora. The group performing the ritual didn't turn into demons, you know!"
Erza also added: "Rescuing those villagers who turned into demons is the true objective of this job, isn't it!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
The cave once again fell into a deathly silence.
Natsu, Lucy, and Gray were all dumbfounded.
They... seemed to have gotten the direction wrong from the very beginning?
They fought tooth and nail, and even stopped the ritual, but the real problem wasn't solved at all?
"Then... then what do we do?" Lucy's voice was tinged with a sob, "Did Deliora die for nothing?"
"Not necessarily." Lorne waved his hand, "The focus now is how to lift the curse on the villagers."
Just as everyone was at a loss, a flash of inspiration seemed to strike Natsu, who had been silent.
He suddenly clapped his hands and shouted excitedly, his face beaming.
"I've got it!"
Everyone's eyes instantly focused on him.
Natsu raised his flaming fist high, revealing a confident smile, and uttered a sentence that made everyone present's brains crash.
"We just need to go destroy the moon!"
----------------------------------
I've already posted 70 new chapters on Patreon!
If you like the story and want to reaad more, please visit my patreon. Every support is very meaningful!
[patreon.com/Kazenova223]
Thank you very much!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"