Near the village guesthouse, in a small hut covered with thick leaves.
"Chase, weren't you way ahead of us? How come you just got here now?"
Lucy sat on a wooden stump, trying to shrink inward to avoid direct exposure to the purple moonlight above.
After hearing the villagers' stories, she was terrified of catching the curse and turning into a demon.
In contrast, Chase—who already knew the details—didn't seem bothered. He leaned against the hut's edge, letting the moonlight fall on him.
"Well, long story short. On the way here, I happened to run into some pirates attacking a merchant ship. Took a moment to do a good deed." Chase said without batting an eye.
"Oh? Really? Not that I doubt your character, Chase! It's just..."
Lucy, for a rare moment of wisdom, eyed him suspiciously. "We took the same route, right?"
Same starting point, same destination. How come they hadn't seen any pirates or merchant ships?
"Lucy."
Chase looked up, meeting her gaze with extremely serious eyes.
"Wh-what?" She felt a bit awkward under his stare.
"Nothing. The moon's pretty tonight."
"All that just to change the subject?! And what's pretty about this creepy moon?!"
Watching her master casually catch spit, Dark Magician Girl covered her mouth and snickered.
After her rant, Lucy looked at Chase and Dark Magician Girl, both bathed in moonlight, and grew worried.
"Chase, you should move inside a bit! Being exposed to the moonlight might curse you!"
"The chieftain told us the situation. If I'm not wrong, this moonlight won't affect us much." Chase smiled.
He emphasized "us."
To be safe, before coming to the village, he'd visited the Moon Temple at the island's center and secretly observed the Moon Drip ritual.
From Zero—aka Gray's senior, Lyon—he'd learned the Moon Drip plan would be completed tomorrow.
No need to rush.
"That's just a guess! Way too reckless!"
Dullcy apparently missed the hint.
"Lucy, don't underestimate an S-Class mage's judgment!"
Dark Magician Girl was even bolder. She stepped into the open, tilted her head, and gazed at the purple moon with her beautiful eyes. "The moon's pretty, isn't it~"
"Wait! Dark Magician Girl too?! This is way too dangerous!" Lucy tried to stop her.
"Speaking of which, Lucy, what do you and Natsu and Gray plan to do next?" Chase interrupted with a smile.
"Well, we're going to explore the island tomor—No! Can't tell you!"
Mid-sentence, Lucy instinctively covered her mouth.
"Sigh. My dear little sister has already sided with those two idiots." Chase sighed, feigning sadness.
"Because!"
Lucy looked up, then dropped her gaze, fiddling with her skirt, her voice lacking confidence.
"Because I want to try completing the quest on my own."
"I've been thinking about it since we left for Galuna..."
She knew it was probably overreaching, but since they'd come this far, she had to push forward.
Besides Chase, Erza, and Mira-nee—those monsters—the other guild members were super strong too.
Inspired by that atmosphere, the rookie inevitably wanted to become a bit stronger herself.
"I see."
Chase saw right through her—it was written all over her pretty face. He gave her a thumbs up. "Then give it your all!"
"Yeah! I'll do my best!"
Encouraged and trusted, Lucy's dim eyes instantly brightened. A smile bloomed on her face as she noisily vigorously.
"But first, rest up and recharge."
Chase stood and stretched. "A day of travel. Even I'm a bit tired."
With that, he called to Dark Magician Girl and headed for the temporary guest room.
Lucy followed, then froze, realizing something awful.
W-wait. Only one room. That meant...
After the exhibitionist and the fire-breathing monster, now a dead card player?
No chance of sleeping now!!!
Lucy's head spun. She was collapsed.
"Huh? Lucy, something wrong?"
Dark Magician Girl, following Chase, turned back with a puzzled look.
Right! At least she'd have Dark Magician Girl!
She wasn't alone!
Like a withered tree blooming in spring, light returned to Lucy's eyes.
"No, no! Hey, Dark Magician Girl, let's sleep together tonight!" Lucy suggested eagerly.
Dark Magician Girl frowned slightly, troubled.
"I'd love to, but staying in the human world this long would waste Master's magic."
Lucy: "..."
POP! Her light went out.
"Lucy, a girl should be more reserved. You can't share a room with two perverted monsters."
Chase pointed at the guesthouse, his expression serious.
"Like I have a choice?!"
Lucy instantly exploded, angrily emphasizing, "And it's three now!"
"Happy probably doesn't count, right?"
"You do!!"
"...I didn't expect you to feel that way. And here I was thinking about using a card to summon you a deluxe single room."
Hearing this, Lucy's eyes lit up. Her expression instantly shifted as she rushed over and hugged Chase's arm.
"Chase, you're the best~" The shameless girl pleaded.
Chase smiled and sighed, unable to refuse. A card appeared at his fingertips, and a magic array lit up.
Under Lucy's expectant gaze, white light intertwined, forming a luxurious structure of precious wood, inlaid with a hexagram jewel...
A coffin!
"This is the Dark Demon Revival Coffin. The interior is quite comfortable. Lying inside even slightly restores magic."
Lucy: "...My mistake for having any fantasies about Chase."
After staring blankly for two and a half seconds, goosebumps rising, she pointed at the coffin and let loose. "What the hell is this?!"
"Might as well summon Horologium myself!!"
Good news: even though her light was out, Chase thoughtfully provided a lamp.
Bad news: it was a black light.
Staring at the increasingly creepy coffin under the purple moonlight, Lucy suddenly felt that sharing a room with a few monsters wasn't so bad.
"Haha! Expected reaction." Chase laughed heartily.
This time, Dark Magician Girl didn't side with him. She puffed out her cheeks, Lucy pulled close, and hands on hips, reproached him. "Master, stop teasing Lucy."
"Let Lucy into the deck!"
While staying in the human world continuously consumes Chase's magic, letting Lucy enter the deck wouldn't.
—Like when Chase used card magic to imprison the pirate Cluny.
"Huh? Into Chase's deck?" Lucy blinked, confused.
"Ahem. Dark Magician Girl's right."
Chase cleared his throat, wiped the smile off his face, and pulled out a blank card. "So, Lucy? Want to come in?"
Lucy paused, looked at the lovely Dark Magician Girl beside her, then nodded eagerly.
Despite her complaints, she trusted Chase 100%!
"Well then, good night, Lucy."
"Good night, Chase."
After exchanging goodnights, a magic array flashed, and Lucy entered the deck with Dark Magician Girl.
"Time for me to sleep too."
Chase clapped his hands, entered the guesthouse, glanced at the snoring Natsu and Gray, and lay down in Lucy's former spot in the middle.
"Something's missing," he muttered, looking around. He grabbed Happy from the corner and used him as a pillow.
"Ah. That's better."
Meanwhile...
Inside the card space, Lucy was wide awake, curiously examining Dark Magician Girl's "living" environment.
The spacious, sophisticated room had a girly pink hue. Plush toys filled every corner—mostly card monster merchandise.
Winged Kuriboh, Marshmallon, Dragonmaid Housekeeper, and more.
The most prominent feature was a bookshelf twice her height, neatly packed with various magical texts.
"Completely illegible... so profound..." Lucy was dizzy.
"Those are just basics! Teacher's collection is ten times this!"
Dark Magician Girl casually pulled out a book and flipped it open. Dense, mysterious runes leaped off the page.
"Mr. Dark Magician? You're both so amazing."
"Gotta get stronger to help Master better~"
Lucy: "..."
Watching the already powerful Dark Magician Girl work so hard, she suddenly felt so useless.
"Enough of that! Lucy, if you don't sleep soon, you'll be tired tomorrow!"
Both girls, Dark Magician Girl shed her magical robe and gear without a care.
Lucy blushed: S-such a great figure!
And so, the two blonde girls lay on the pink bed in the alien space, chatting about all sorts of things until they drifted off.
The next morning.
"Oh no! Big trouble!"
"Wake up! Wake up, Gray!"
Natsu shook Gray crazy.
Gray groggily opened his eyes.
"What the hell, you damn fireball?! What's your problem this early?!"
Awake now, he shouted at Natsu.
But Natsu, unlike him usual self, wasn't arguing. Hands on his head, he was terrified. "Lucy! Lucy was cursed by the moon! She turned into a full-blown demon!!"
Gray rubbed the sleep from his eyes and glanced seriously at Chase, sleeping soundly on the floor.
"Oh. A dream."
THUD.
He lay back down.
Two seconds later, he shot up again. "Wait! How did Lucy turn into Chase?!!"
"The curse! It's definitely this island's curse!!" Natsu declared with absolute certainty.
"Aye~ Why am I so sore after waking up?"
Happy yawned, listlessly floating by.
Chase stirred. He rubbed his eyes, then naturally smiled and greeted them. "Yo, Natsu, Gray, Happy. Morning."
Same face, same voice!
Natsu and Gray looked at each other, simultaneously remembering yesterday's rumors about Galuna Island. Every hair stood on end as they hugged each other in terror.
Compared to an ugly (handsome) demon...
Lucy turning into Chase was a hundred times scarier!!
Scene change.
"I don't know what goes on in your heads. How could I possibly turn into Chase?!"
Having heard the whole story, Lucy, now out of the card space, held her forehead in exasperation.
"Aye~ Lucy, I think I slept wrong. Can you rub my shoulders?" Happy landed on hers.
"No time."
Lucy cruelly refused. "We're not on vacation! We need to explore the island today!"
Hearing this, Natsu finally remembered the quest... and his competition with Chase.
"Ahhh! Can't let that bastard Chase get ahead!"
Without any thought or plan, he charged out of the room and vanished through the village gate.
"All brawn, no brains. Always so impatient, like a kid."
Gray sneered at this recklessness. "No matter how rushed, at least take your clothes off first."
As he spoke, he casually discarded his clothes.
In just his shorts, he strode out after Natsu.
"So you and Natsu only differ by the step of undressing?!" Lucy complained crazily.
"If you don't follow, you might lose them." Chase reminded her.
"Seriously!" Exhausted, Lucy sighed heavily.
But after last night's talk, she was determined to take this quest seriously.
She hurriedly gathered her keys, scooped up the miserable Happy, and sprinted after Natsu and Gray.
The noisy room fell silent.
"Nothing better to do. Might as well get some tea from the chieftain." Chase yawned.
Knowing everything about Galuna, he had no intention of joining Natsu's expedition.
Besides being explicit "competitors," the Moon Drip ritual wouldn't activate until night. Daytime exploration was pointless.
He just needed to wait.
"The North Continent's famous Ice-Make mage, with power rivaling the Ten Wizard Saints."
"Ur Milkovich..."
Chase murmured, unconsciously picturing Ur sacrificing herself to protect Gray and seal Deliora.
Those words—"I'll seal away the darkness in your heart"—had made countless viewers cry.
And now, the chance to fill that void was at hand!
With this thought, a cross-shaped magic card phantom flashed at his fingertips.
He slowly walked out, leisurely seeking tea from the chieftain.
Meanwhile...
Leaving the village, Natsu and the others entered a dense forest filled with strange vegetation, investigating the moonlight curse.
Despite a few hiccups, they eventually reached the Moon Temple at Galuna's center.
Thanks to Natsu's antics, they fell into the temple's lowest level—a dark, icy space.
At its end stood a crystal clear giant ice sculpture.
"No way! This can't be! It's a lie!"
Gray trembled, staring at the ice sculpture in terror as memories flooded back.
"The demon Deliora, sealed in Iced Shell..."
"Why is it here?!!"
***
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