It was a strange, quiet place.
At first glance, the town appeared deserted—but if one looked closer, signs of life were everywhere.
This was **Silent Town**.
A town where every resident was trapped in a permanent state of *invisibility.*
Years ago, when the townspeople refused to assist a deranged scientist in his inhumane experiments, he retaliated by cursing them—forcing their bodies into concealment and sealing them within their own town forever.
Hence, "Silent Town."
The residents had long tried to seek help. Yet every outsider who left mysteriously forgot they had ever come here.
---
Now, a mismatched group arrived: five mages, two cats, and one hamster—an odd sight in the ghostly streets.
As soon as Noah stepped into town, he could feel it.
A massive spell network—dense waves of similar magic energy woven together—blanketed the area entirely.
After a brief analysis, he understood.
The roots of this curse were *Concealment Magic.* So much of it had built up over time that its nature had evolved—from simple physical invisibility to a powerful aura that affected the memory of anyone who left.
Even so, this magic wasn't perfect. It merely caused *forgetfulness*, not erasure.
With strong willpower, or the right trigger, memories of the town could return.
Noah could only guess which of the two categories Natsu happened to fall into.
---
"Noah, did you find anything?" Mira asked, cradling the snow cat Cheese, who held the white hamster Snowy in her paws like a doll.
Noah shared his findings openly.
"I knew it," Gray muttered with a smirk. "Even if that single-celled idiot's brain is empty, there's no way he'd forget a request that important."
Partly here to help, but mostly here to mock Natsu, Gray saw this as a perfect chance.
As always, his relationship with Natsu was a strange blend of rivalry and brotherhood—worried when the idiot was in trouble, yet irritated when he wasn't.
Natsu heard him but ignored the sniping. His focus was on the promise he'd broken years ago. If defeating the crazed scientist could restore the town, he was ready to endure any teasing afterward.
---
Compared to the others' calm, Lucy was visibly uneasy.
The empty streets, the faint feeling of invisible eyes watching—despite knowing the townsfolk were harmless, it still sent chills down her spine.
She hugged Happy tighter, unaware the poor cat's tongue was lolling out in distress.
Before anyone could warn her, Natsu suddenly threw his arms up and shouted.
"Everyone in Silent Town! It's me—Natsu! I'm here to keep my promise!"
Noah pressed his fingers against his temple. "Announcing yourself before finding the enemy. Truly peak Natsu behavior."
The first to respond wasn't the scientist—it was the townsfolk.
Even if countless others had forgotten them, they remembered this fiery boy. And now, *he'd come back.*
A scrap of paper drifted from a nearby window. The trapped residents could neither reveal themselves nor speak, so they communicated through notes.
Noah unfolded it.
The paper listed the scientist's location—and a warning that a group of *missionaries* had recently escorted a half-dead man to his lab.
"Missionaries…" Noah muttered, narrowing his eyes.
Once again, it led back to them.
Everywhere he went, the **Black Magic Cult** appeared.
The first time—two black priests wiped out by the Dragon Knight.
The second—one obliterated by Noah's explosive fists during Reina's commission.
The third—an entire five-man team buried under Mount Hakobe's snow.
Now, more cultists, this time working with a mad scientist.
The "bloody man" might be another cultist—or an unwilling test subject. Either way, Noah didn't like it.
---
Guided by the note, the team reached an old two-story inn at the edge of town.
The structure seemed ordinary but covered far more ground than its exterior suggested.
"This place is cloaked in spatial distortion," Mira noted immediately. "That 'inn' is just a façade."
Her awareness stemmed from experience—after countless sparring matches with Erza, she'd memorized the subtle ripple of spatial magic that accompanied Requip transfers.
"Everyone, stay alert," Noah instructed quietly. "About fifteen targets inside. Let's each take three—and no fighting over them."
His perception through Cheese's "Malice Sense" confirmed it. Fifteen hostile signatures inside, pulsing with killing intent.
That was all Natsu needed to hear.
"Finally!" he shouted, kicking the door open—only for a blazing figure to shoot out a moment later.
Natsu hit the ground rolling, singed but alive. A mechanical voice echoed through a speaker above the door.
"My, my~ What an impatient guest! The shop's not open yet."
Noah frowned. *A woman's voice.*
"The mad scientist?" he guessed.
"Damn you!" Natsu roared, jumping to his feet. "Release the townspeople from your spell!"
"Haha! Foolish boy. It's their own fault—they refused to trust me or join my research. Consider this… their punishment!"
"That's not an excuse to torture people!"
Flames burst from Natsu's fists, the air itself distorting from the heat.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
His blazing punch slammed into the building. The powerful blast shattered the illusion concealing the inn, flames scattering like blood-red sparks.
As the smoke cleared, fourteen white-robed cultists stepped out—missionaries of the Black Magic Cult—and among them, a slender black-haired woman in lab glasses.
Behind her loomed a massive, dragon-shaped **biological war machine**, its metallic scales glinting, its body half-organic, half-mechanical.
The woman spread her arms like a worshipper before her god.
"Hahaha! A Dragon Slayer! Perfect! We've finally found the key to power our *Artificial Lifeform—Dragoon!*"
Her eyes glistened with mad excitement.
"Fire Dragon Natsu Dragneel! Become its fuel! Let the dragons rise again!"
Her command echoed in the air—
—and the roaring mecha dragon behind her unleashed a deafening bellow that shook all of Silent Town.
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