Seeing Takeshi's relaxed appearance, Natsu gritted his teeth.
He still had an S-Class Quest to complete, how could he possibly fall here? Absolutely not.
"It's not over yet!" Natsu roared.
He slammed his palms on the ground, leaped up, and formed two fiery blades with his flame-wreathed hands, spinning rapidly.
"Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame…"
Before Natsu could finish shouting the name of his move—
Snap!
One of his ankles was caught by a large hand. Immediately after, he felt an irresistible force dragging him and slamming him towards the ground.
Boom!
"AHHHHH!"
Then—
Boom... Boom...
Takeshi grabbed Natsu's ankle and repeatedly slammed him into the ground, each terrifying impact causing the earth to tremble.
"Natsu!"
Lucy couldn't bear to watch this scene, and at the same time, she was incredibly afraid, fearing that she would be treated like Natsu.
Happy also trembled with fear. After all, although Natsu was the mastermind behind stealing the S-Class Quest, he was the main accomplice in the theft. Takeshi in this state recognized no one.
After a while, Takeshi stopped. Natsu was already bruised and swollen, his face completely unrecognisable.
Takeshi let go, and Natsu fell to the ground, motionless. Everyone was unsure of his condition.
"I gave you a chance, but you didn't seize it. It looks like this quest still belongs to me."
Gray asked with some concern, "Ta... Takeshi... you didn't do anything to Natsu, did you?"
Although he and Natsu were rivals, he didn't want Natsu to be killed.
Takeshi waved his hand. "Don't worry, I knew what I was doing. He looks a bit miserable, but they're all just superficial injuries, just a bit painful. He'll be bouncing back in two or three days."
Toji was incredibly familiar with human anatomy. He knew exactly where to hit to cause pain, where to hit to cause injury, and where to hit to kill.
A bit miserable? He looked absolutely terrible.
But Gray still said, "That's good."
Takeshi's gaze then fell on Lucy and Happy.
"Eeek!"
Lucy and Happy immediately trembled with fear.
"You two…"
Before Takeshi could finish his sentence, Lucy and Happy quickly bowed and apologized, "Sorry! Sorry! We won't dare to do it again! Never again!"
"Hmph! I'll let you off this time. Wait until you get back to face Master's punishment." Takeshi snorted coldly.
Then, he released the Toji transformation and returned to his original appearance.
Lucy and Happy slumped to the ground, but a sigh of relief escaped their hearts. Takeshi in that state was too terrifying.
"We finally survived…"
"Aye."
Takeshi stepped into the village. All the villagers secretly watched him from behind their houses.
After releasing the transformation, Takeshi immediately felt sore all over. This was the after-effect he felt every time he transformed into Toji. His body couldn't quite handle forcefully raising his physical capabilities to that level.
Fortunately, his current physical fitness had greatly improved, otherwise, one transformation might have put him out of commission for a while.
Takeshi picked up a chair, sat on it, and crossed his legs. "Everyone, come out."
"…"
All the villagers remained still. They had just witnessed how Takeshi had brutally beat Natsu. If they were beaten like that, they would have died long ago.
Takeshi's voice turned cold. "Do you want me to personally invite you out?"
Swish... Swish...
All the villagers immediately ran out in fear.
The village chief cautiously asked, "This... Mages…"
Takeshi explained, "My name is Takeshi, and I am the person in charge of this S-Class Quest. I am the one who officially accepted the quest. Those three idiots stole an S-Class Quest from the guild and secretly ran out to do the quest, so I taught him a lesson."
"So that's how it is."
The villagers now understood why Takeshi had beaten Natsu so severely. It turned out that the other party had stolen his job.
Takeshi continued, "I apologize for the damage caused just now. These damages will be deducted from the quest reward after the quest is completed."
The village chief quickly waved his hand and said, "It's fine. They're just some cheap pieces of wood, found everywhere in the forest, and can be repaired quickly."
Takeshi said, "Alright, now tell me about the quest situation."
Although he already knew how to lift the so-called curse, some procedures still needed to be followed.
"Okay."
The village chief turned and instructed, "Everyone, take off your clothes."
Swish!
Everyone in the village removed the clothes draped over their bodies.
Parts of everyone's bodies were in an altered state. Some had scales growing on their arms, some had horns growing on their foreheads, and others were covered in various carapaces, looking like parts of a demon's limbs.
"This is…"
Gray was very surprised to see this.
"Gulp!"
Lucy involuntarily gulped.
Even though she had seen it on the boatman and was mentally prepared, seeing this situation still made her feel a shiver run down her spine.
The village chief said, "You're very surprised, aren't you? All living creatures on this island, even dogs and birds, have fallen under such a curse."
Gray asked, "Where is the basis for you saying this is a curse? Couldn't it be some kind of illness?"
The village chief said, "We've had over a dozen doctors look at it, and they all said there's no such disease. Moreover, our transformation is related to the moonlight."
Lucy asked, "Moonlight?"
Moka explained, "This island, since ancient times, has accumulated the light of the moon. The entire island used to shine like the moon. However, a few years ago, the moonlight suddenly turned purple."
"Purple?"
Gray and the others were a bit surprised. Aren't moons always white? How could it turn purple?
"The moon is out!" Happy pointed to the sky.
The moon slowly rose from behind the clouds, casting purple moonlight upon the earth.
"It really is purple!"
"This is the curse of the moon... Ugh... ahhhhh…"
All the villagers had expressions of pain.
"Hey! What's wrong with you?!"
Seeing the villagers in such pain, Gray and Lucy both panicked a little.
In a flash, all the villagers began to transform, and soon, their entire bodies turned into terrifying demonic forms.
Lucy and Gray were utterly stunned. Takeshi was also startled. To be honest, at night, any one of these people alone could scare someone to death, let alone appearing together.
Even though he knew they were all demons, it was the same. Who wouldn't be afraid?
"I'm sorry to have startled you. When the purple moon appears, we turn into these ugly forms. If this isn't a curse, what else could it be?"
"By morning, everyone will return to their original appearance, but some people whose minds have been devoured will not be able to change back. If left unchecked, everyone will be killed by them. Out of desperation, I even killed my own son."
Moka, tears streaming down his face, held up a photograph.
"That person... Eh?!"
Lucy and Happy's faces changed when they saw the photo. Wasn't that the boatman who brought them here?
"Because of this purple moon, we became like this, and gradually our minds were also devoured, turning us into true demons."
"So there's only one way to help us break this curse, and that is…"
"Destroy this moon."
***
50 PS = 1 BONUS CHAPTER
40 Advanced Chapters on
patreon.com/alex_1000