After a long journey, the carriage finally arrived at Black Pine Town at dusk.
As soon as I got off the car, a cold chill hit my face.
It was clearly still evening, and the sun had not completely set, but the entire town was already shrouded in darkness. The streets were empty, and most of the shops on both sides had their doors closed. There were only a few dim street lamps swaying in the wind, making a tooth-wrenching sound.
Occasionally, you can see a few villagers walking in a hurry, with their heads lowered and their clothes wrapped tightly, walking past quickly as if they were avoiding the plague, not daring to look at outsiders at all.
"This atmosphere... is too depressing."
Lucy couldn't help but shudder and subconsciously leaned closer to Lu Chongwei.
"It's like a dead city."
Gray frowned and exhaled a white breath. The temperature here is several degrees lower than outside. The coldness is not caused by the weather, but by the coldness caused by the residual magic power.
"Finally... alive..."
Natsu lies on the ground and kisses the earth. As long as he keeps his feet on the ground, he will be a good man again.
"Hey, Natsu, get up quickly, don't be embarrassed." Happy flew in mid-air in disgust.
Lu Chongwei stood beside the stone monument at the entrance of the town, squinting his eyes.
His perception is far beyond ordinary people. In his field of vision, the entire town is covered with a faint layer of black fog. It is not an ordinary fog, but a miasma composed of negative emotions and dark magic.
"There is indeed a problem."
Lu Chongwei whispered to himself. This kind of magic residue is definitely not something that ordinary ghosts can create.
"Dear Mage adults! You are finally here!"
The mayor ran over panting, followed by several militiamen holding pitchforks and torches. Seeing the Fairy Tail crowd, his face finally showed an expression of relief.
"Take us to see the victim's condition first." Lu Chongwei didn't talk nonsense and went straight to the topic.
"Okay, okay, please come this way."
The mayor quickly led the way.
The group of people came to a large house in the center of the town. It was originally the home of a wealthy businessman in the town, but now it was hung with white cloth, and faint cries could be heard from inside.
"The Lister family was attacked last night." The mayor lowered his voice and turned pale, "Mr. Lister was... devoured by that black shadow."
"Swallow?" Lucy covered his mouth.
"Yes. The black shadow entered the house through the wall. Mr. Lister didn't even scream. His whole body became sluggish, and then his body began to become transparent little by little. Finally, it seemed like it was dyed black by ink, and disappeared into a puddle of black water."
Upon hearing this description, Natsu and Gray's expressions became solemn.
This method of killing is unheard of.
Lu Chongwei walked into the yard and squatted in front of a pool of black marks. That was where Lister disappeared, and there was a circle of burnt marks remaining on the ground.
He stretched out his finger and lightly touched the charred ground.
Zhi!
There was a tingling sensation at his fingertips, as if something was trying to penetrate into his skin.
"This is..."
Lu Chongwei's eyes flashed.
Curse.
And it is a very ancient and very vicious curse magic.
"Lu Chongwei, did you find anything?" Gray came over and asked.
"This thing is not eating people." Lu Chongwei stood up, patted the dust on his hands, his eyes became cold, "It is collecting souls."
"Collect souls?!" Everyone was shocked.
"That's right. That black shadow is just a medium, and there must be someone behind it controlling it." Lu Chongwei turned around and looked at the highest building in the town - an ancient clock tower.
From the moment he entered the town, he felt an extremely obscure magic wave there. It was like a heart, beating slowly and powerfully in the darkness.
"Where is that bell tower?" Lu Chongwei asked, pointing in the distance.
"That's the town's Old Clock Tower. It has been abandoned for many years." The mayor replied, "No one usually goes there. It is said that there are rats in it."
"It's not the mice that are causing trouble."
Lu Chongwei sneered.
"If I'm not wrong, the shadow's lair is right there."
"Then what are you waiting for! Just rush over and kill it!"
Natsu As soon as he heard that he had found the target, he immediately rushed to the bell tower.
"Come back!"
Lu Chongwei grabbed Natsu's scarf and pulled him back.
"Are you stupid? It's broad daylight now, and that black shadow won't come out at all. Moreover, the enemy is in the dark and we are clear. Rushing in rashly will only alert the enemy."
"What should we do?" Natsu struggled unhappily.
"Wait."
Lu Chongwei looked up at the sky.
"Since that black shadow likes to act in Midnight, then we will prepare a big gift for it."
He turned to look at the mayor.
"Let all the villagers stay at home tonight, lock the doors and windows, and don't come out no matter what sound they hear."
"Then..."
Lu Chongwei looked at his three teammates and smiled.
"We're going to put on a play to bring that thing out."
Night falls.
Black Pine Town fell into a dead silence.
There was no one on the street except for the rustle of leaves in the wind.
And at the top of the abandoned bell tower, a thick and irreversible darkness was quietly condensing. A pair of scarlet eyes slowly opened in the darkness, staring greedily at the sleeping town below.
The time for hunting has arrived.
Midnight Although the twelve o'clock bell has stopped ringing long ago, the extremely depressing atmosphere enveloped the entire Black Pine Town on time.
The moon was obscured by thick dark clouds, and no light could shine through.
Lu Chongwei led everyone to lurk on the roof opposite the clock tower. In order not to alert others, he deliberately used Light Bending in Kido to cover their bodies and auras.
"It's so quiet..." Lucy held the key in his hand tightly, his palms full of sweat.
"Shh." Lu Chongwei raised his index finger to his mouth, "Here he comes."
As soon as he finished speaking, a cold wind suddenly blew across the street.
At the top of the originally dead bell tower, the darkness suddenly began to squirm. Then, a vague human-shaped black shadow separated from the darkness. It had no facial features, only a pair of red eyes, and a tentacle-like black mist surrounded its body.
That suffocating sense of oppression can be clearly felt from dozens of meters away.
"This is the black shadow..." Gray gritted his teeth.
The black shadow circled in the air, as if looking for prey. Soon, it locked onto a house closest to the clock tower. It was a bait specially arranged by Lu Chongwei - of course, there was no one in the house, but Magic Crystal was used to simulate the human breath.