“Droopy eyes!
Looks like you’re pretty tough too, not as soft as when you were lounging around at the guild!” Gray exclaimed, panting heavily.
Natsu, who was still busy devouring his massive meal, replied with a mouthful of food, “Droopy eyes my foot!
You came all the way here just to ask for a beating, huh?!” “Oh really?
We’ll see who’s gonna get beaten up!” Gray immediately tore off his shirt and charged at Natsu.
Neither of them used any magic power; it was a pure, bare-handed brawl.
A deep-rooted habit of trading blows that had lasted for over ten years.
After fighting to their hearts’ content until they were out of breath, the two lay side by side on the ground, equally reluctant to move a single finger.
“That perverted cow of Lucy’s couldn’t possibly have the ability to hunt this many monsters and wild animals.
How long have you been out here?” Gray asked.
Taurus was indeed a Celestial Spirit of the 12 Zodiacs.
His strength was undeniable.
However, since his appearance was bound by Lucy’s current magic capacity, he couldn’t unleash his full power.
With his current abilities, it seemed highly illogical that the cow could kill so many giant animals and monsters in one go.
“I just got here too.
I don’t know what actually happened, but my gut tells me this is a bad sign!” Gray answered softly.
Growwwl!
The sound of an empty stomach echoed again.
Natsu immediately rolled to his feet, grabbed a nearby piece of roasted meat, and went back to eating ferociously.
“I don’t care about any of that!
The most important thing right now is filling my stomach!” After three full hours of eating ravenously like a possessed person, Natsu finally felt a little better.
Meanwhile, Gray, who had been watching next to him the whole time, was left gaping in sheer horror, speechless.
Natsu’s appetite was always far above normal, but this was on a completely different level.
Gray truly couldn’t wrap his head around where all those tons of food went inside Natsu’s stomach.
“This is unnatural.
Once we get back to Magnolia, I have to ask Granny Porlyusica to examine Natsu’s body,” Gray thought in horror.
Sniff!
Sniff!
Natsu’s nose twitched a few times.
A strange scent suddenly entered his sharp sense of smell.
“By the way, where did Happy go?” Gray asked suspiciously, just realizing the blue cat’s absence.
“Crap!” Natsu exclaimed in a panic.
Flames instantly exploded from the soles of his feet, launching his body into the air like a cannonball.
It didn’t take long for Natsu to find Happy.
The blue cat was tied to a wooden stake, sobbing uncontrollably as he awaited his barbecued fate.
Anger instantly exploded to the top of Natsu’s head.
His cheeks puffed out to their maximum.
In an instant, reddish dragon scales covered the skin on his arms and legs.
“FIRE DRAGON’S ROAR!” A raging firestorm instantly swept away everything beneath it.
Except for the stake where Happy was tied, everything within a one-kilometer radius was scorched, swallowed by the sea of flames.
A few grunts from the Eisenwald guild who had planned to roast Happy were instantly turned to ash, even before they had the chance to shriek a single word.
Gray, who had just caught up, arrived at the scene.
Seeing the terrifying sight in front of him, cold sweat immediately trickled down his cheek.
“Insane!
Just one blast of his Roar can create this much destructive power?!” the ice wizard thought to himself.
“The current Natsu is far more dangerous than before.
A blast of this scale…
he absolutely couldn’t do this back then.” “Damn it!
I have to train even harder too.
My ice magic wouldn’t be able to withstand an attack that ferocious!” “Natsuuu!!” As soon as his bindings were untied, Happy leaped into Natsu’s arms and sobbed uncontrollably.
“I’m sorry!
I accidentally ignored you earlier,” Natsu whispered, hugging Happy tightly.
“I don’t want to be separated from you agaaain!” Happy wailed pitifully.
Remembering the people he had just incinerated into ash, Natsu’s expression instantly turned as cold as ice.
“The Eisenwald Guild…
Initially, I had no intention of looking for trouble with you guys.
But since you dared to touch Happy, get ready to be burned down to your very roots!” As for the mystery of why so many dead monsters and wild beasts fell from the sky earlier, Natsu already understood the reason.
Lullaby!
A demon created by the dark wizard Zeref!
Now, the demon was sealed in the form of a wooden flute carved with a skull.
Anyone, or any creature, who heard the sound of that flute being played would instantly die!
The people of Eisenwald were clearly testing whether the flute of death truly possessed that terrifying power here.
On the other hand, Gray, who had been looking around the area, finally found and carried Lucy’s unconscious body lying on the ground.
“Natsu!
Did you not realize your ‘closest partner’ has been passed out on the ground this whole time?!” Gray exclaimed sarcastically.
Happy and Natsu looked at each other, then shrieked in panic at the same time.
“AH!!
We forgot Lucy AGAIN!” Lucy, who finally regained consciousness thanks to Gray, gritted her teeth.
She glared at the supposedly innocent young man and cat in front of her with a murderous aura.
“HEY YOU TWO!
You damn parasites!
You seriously forgot me AGAIN, huh?!
This is already the…” Natsu suddenly cut her off in an incredibly serious tone, “Lucy!
There is something extremely important you need to know!” After being left unconscious under a pile of monster carcasses for so long, let alone getting an apology, this guy was blatantly trying to change the subject to fool her!
Lucy’s anger instantly exploded.
“You guys forgot me that time, and now you forgot me again?!” “NATSUUU!!!” “What happened to your promise about ‘the closest of partners’, HUH?!” “What happened to your promise about being teammates?!” Natsu’s expression didn’t waver in the slightest.
He continued in a deep and gloomy tone, “Lullaby!
A demon created by Zeref!” “Huh…?” Lucy froze in silence.
The anger and frustration that had just boiled over in her heart suddenly vanished, replaced by the chill of shock.
“Natsu!
How do you know about something that terrifying?” Gray asked quickly, equally tense.
Seeing Lucy finally calm down, Natsu and Happy looked at each other.
Happy secretly gave Natsu a thumbs-up with a relieved expression.
If Natsu hadn’t quickly thrown out this super-serious topic to divert Lucy’s attention, these two selfish creatures truly wouldn’t have known how to face the wrath of the Celestial Spirit wizard.
After all, this certainly wasn’t the first time they had abandoned Lucy!
“I-I accidentally heard the Master mention this demon of Zeref’s, and the sudden deaths of those monsters earlier perfectly match the Lullaby’s curse,” Natsu smoothly made up an excuse.
“The Eisenwald Guild must be testing the Lullaby’s magic effects here.
It’s highly likely they are planning a very dangerous move in the near future, we have to be careful.” Natsu managed to fool them flawlessly.
In reality, Natsu didn’t care in the slightest about whatever evil plan Eisenwald was cooking up.
But since their members had dared to put Happy on a grill…
the price they had to pay would clearly not be settled with just the lives of those few grunts earlier!!