"Let's go," Xi Feng said then. "I already know what happened."
"Really?" Natsu eagerly hurried after Xi Feng.
As the others left, only Lyon, Gray, and their teacher, Ur, remained.
"Ur, what are you going to do now?" Gray asked, looking at her.
"I'll go back to Fairy Tail with you. It looks like a good guild." Watching Xi Feng's retreating back, Ur shook her head before answering Gray.
"Really? That's great!" Gray was thrilled to hear that. He had never expected his teacher to join his guild.
"Yes." Ur nodded gently, then turned to Lyon. "Lyon, you should find a guild to join too. You'll find both friends and rivals there. I'm sure you'll find a new goal."
"It's been so long, and you're still as long-winded as ever," Lyon said, turning his head away.
Ur and Gray exchanged a glance at his words, then smiled.
In the village...
Looking at the villagers, Xi Feng asked, "Whenever you head toward the ruins, do you find yourselves coming back for no reason?"
"Yes, exactly!"
"How did you know?"
The villagers immediately grew excited at Xi Feng's words and clamored around him.
"Quiet down. I know what caused all this." Their noisy chatter made Xi Feng frown. "I'll destroy the moon for you now."
"Huh?" Natsu and the others all froze at his words, except for Ur, a candidate for the Ten Wizard Saints.
"On behalf of the villagers, thank you," the Village Chief said, bowing to Xi Feng.
"No problem." Xi Feng nodded, then walked over to an open space.
"Projection-BLACK★ROCK CANNON!" As Xi Feng spoke, an enormous black hand cannon appeared on his right arm.
BLACK★ROCK CANNON was an enormous, rocklike cannon capable of firing twenty rocks per second, originally Black Rock Shooter's exclusive weapon.
He raised the massive cannon slightly and aimed it at the moon. As everyone watched, a beam of blue light shot straight out.
Boom! A deafening blast rang out, and everyone saw cracks appear across the moon.
"Whoa!" Natsu roared excitedly as he watched the "moon" shatter.
Bang... crash... crack... More and more fractures spread through the space around the moon. Finally, with another tremendous shattering sound, the entire sky surrounding it broke apart like glass.
"So it really wasn't the moon shattering. It was the sky." Gray stared blankly at the unbelievable sight.
"It wasn't the moon that broke... but the sky?" Lucy murmured, reaching out to catch the sparkling crystalline dust falling from the shattered sky.
"What... what's going on?" Natsu stared up at the sky, dumbfounded.
"These are waste gases produced by the Moon Drop. Once they're destroyed, the villagers will return to normal."
Chapter 47: The Destroyed Guild (Please Send Flowers and Bookmark)
"These are waste gases produced by the Moon Drop. Once they're destroyed, the villagers will return to normal."
"Huh? Something's wrong. Why hasn't everyone changed back?" Gray turned around and looked at the villagers, who still had demonic bodies.
"How... could... this happen...? Didn't we destroy the moon?" Hearing Gray, Lucy quickly turned to look at the bewildered villagers.
"This was their true appearance all along," Xi Feng said, walking over to Natsu and the others.
"What?!" everyone exclaimed.
"The waste gases produced by the Moon Drop didn't give them these forms. They confused their memories," Xi Feng explained to the incredulous group.
"Their memories?" Lucy asked.
"Xi Feng means that their belief that they turn into demons at night was a false memory." As expected of a renowned Mage, Ur immediately grasped the problem.
"Then... does that mean...?" Lucy asked, trembling slightly.
"That's right. They were demons to begin with!" Xi Feng answered firmly. After he explained it again, everyone accepted the truth. Though the villagers looked like demons, they had the hearts of angels.
The next day, after collecting the reward of 7 Million J, Xi Feng departed by boat.
When he divided the reward, Xi Feng only gave shares to Gray, Wendy, and Carla. Natsu's group of two humans and one cat received nothing, prompting the two humans to loudly protest that it was unfair.
Under Xi Feng's firm hand, however, Natsu and Happy no longer dared to speak up, while Lucy was won over with the key included in the reward.
The Magic Council
Ultear gazed at the pale clouds outside the window, but her thoughts kept returning to her mother, Ur.
The expression her mother had worn upon seeing her was nothing like that of someone who had abandoned her. It planted a seed of doubt in her heart.
"Ultear."
A quiet voice reached her ears, bringing her back to her senses. Turning, she saw a blue-haired man.
"Lord Siegrain."
Seeing Jellal, Ultear addressed him respectfully. Whether she truly felt that way was another matter.
"What's wrong? You've seemed troubled ever since you returned from Galuna Island," Jellal said softly, looking at Ultear.
"Nothing." Ultear shook her head, her face betraying no emotion. Then she said calmly, "I simply didn't expect Deliora to be dead."
"That certainly surprised me too." Jellal nodded and continued, "If we could have obtained Deliora, we would have been that much closer to our ideal."
"I'm truly sorry, Lord Siegrain. I didn't expect that woman's magic to be so powerful."
"You shouldn't put it that way, Ultear, Ur's tear... I have great respect for your mother." As he spoke, Jellal took out a cross-shaped badge. "If she were still alive, she would undoubtedly be one of the Ten Wizard Saints."
"You give her too much credit. She was merely a woman obsessed with magic who was abandoned by a man," Ultear said calmly, her expression unchanged.
"The more precious what you lose, the greater the power you gain."
"Ha ha ha!" Hearing Ultear's words, Jellal clutched his face and burst into laughter.
"You're right. Then let's prepare for the next stage of our plan."
Magnolia
After spending some time aboard the boat, Xi Feng and the others finally returned to town.
"We're back!!"
Once they were back on the street, Natsu's seasickness vanished, and he immediately perked up.
"We worked so hard, and we didn't even get paid," Happy said resentfully.
"Hmph. That's what you get for stealing a job without permission. You should be grateful Xi Feng didn't punish you," Carla said from beside him.
"Exactly. Carla's absolutely right," Lucy agreed.
"Why did you get a reward when Natsu and I didn't?" Happy asked Lucy teasingly.
"How about selling the key and giving Natsu and me a share?"
"What are you thinking, you stupid cat?!" Lucy rejected Happy's suggestion outright, then continued, "I told you before, didn't I? There are only twelve keys to the Twelve Zodiac, so they're incredibly precious. Still, I never expected Xi Feng to use Celestial Spirit Magic too, let alone have a Twelve Zodiac key."
As she spoke, Lucy looked toward Xi Feng, who was leading the way.
"Hmm?" Noticing Lucy watching him, Xi Feng paused before saying, "Celestial Spirit Magic? I know a little. But I don't practice the mainstream version. After all, Virgo is all I need."
"That's a relief." Lucy patted her chest after hearing his answer. "If you really specialized in Celestial Spirit Magic, I might not be able to compete."
"Aye! Lucy, you really know your limits."
"Don't say that so loudly!"
"It's rare for someone to use two types of magic," Ur remarked. She had seen Xi Feng use both Celestial Spirit Magic and Projection magic.
"I suppose I'm a little unusual." Xi Feng smiled without explaining further.
"Aren't those people from Fairy Tail?"
"How awful..."
"What on earth happened?"
By then, Xi Feng and the others had also noticed the townspeople constantly talking about them.
"What's going on here?!!"
But when they reached the guild, their eyes widened. Countless iron pillars had torn through the building, reducing the entire guild hall to ruins.
"Who did this?!!!" Natsu roared at the sight of the devastated guild, his fists clenched tight.
"What exactly happened?!" Xi Feng asked quietly, but his voice was terrifyingly cold.
"It was Phantom Lord..." Mira's voice came from behind them. "I hate to admit it, but they caught us by surprise."
"Mira, are you all right?" Seeing her, Xi Feng walked over and asked anxiously.
"I'm fine..." Mira shook her head. "Luckily, they attacked at night, so everyone's safe. They're all down on the first basement level now."
Before you continue