The flight path from Hargeon Port to the west was a straight shot across the sparkling Caelum Sea. As the sun began to dip below the horizon, painting the sky in bruised purples and burnt oranges, a silhouette finally emerged from the mist: the legendary Island of Demons, a landmass curved into the distinct, jagged shape of a crescent moon.
"That's got to be it!" Natsu shouted over the wind, his hair whipping wildly.
Following the hand-drawn map attached to the S-Class request, they soon spotted a settlement nestled in the valley. The village was a fortress of sorts, enclosed by massive, sharpened logs that looked like the teeth of some great beast. A prominent sign stood at the entrance, its faded paint screaming a singular warning: STAY OUT.
"Excuse me! Could someone open the gate?" Lucy shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth after landing her broom and handing it back to Goku.
A moment later, two hulking men armed with iron-tipped spears peeked over the battlements of a wooden watchtower. Their eyes were narrowed in suspicion. "Who goes there? State your business!"
"We're mages from Fairy Tail. We've accepted the request posted by your village chief," Lucy replied, her voice projecting a confidence she didn't entirely feel.
The two guards exchanged a wary glance. "Fairy Tail? But we haven't received any notification that the request was officially taken."
"The mail service probably got delayed," Gray cut in smoothly, leaning against a tree. He had woken up halfway through the flight and, seeing that Goku was committed to the mission, decided to see it through.
He figured that with a kid who could shatter Erza's armor on their side, the 'S-Class' danger was significantly mitigated. Besides, deep down, he was itching to see what a top-tier mission actually looked like.
"Show us your marks," the guard commanded.
In the world of magic, a guild's insignia was nearly impossible to forge. Without hesitation, Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Goku, and even Happy displayed their stamps. Seeing the famous Fairy Tail emblem, the guards' faces transformed from suspicion to sheer elation. They scrambled to operate the heavy winch, and the massive gates groaned open.
"Welcome! I am Moka, the head of this village!"
A man led a procession of villagers to meet them. The reception was grand, yet there was something unsettling about it. Every single villager, including the Chief, was draped in a heavy, hooded cloak that concealed everything but their eyes.
"Chief Moka, can you elaborate on the request?" Lucy asked, stepping forward with the flyer. "It mentions a 'terrible curse,' but it's light on the details."
Chief Moka looked back at his people and nodded solemnly. "Please... witness our plight first."
With a sudden, dramatic motion, he threw off his cloak. The gasps from Lucy and the others were instantaneous. The Chief and the villagers behind him were no longer entirely human.
Moka's arm was a gnarled, obsidian limb covered in jagged protrusions. Others had long, twisting horns erupting from their skulls, or patches of leathery, demonic hide consuming half their torsos.
"This is the curse we need you to break," Moka began, his voice trembling. "It started three years ago. For generations, we lived in peace. But then, the moon above this island turned purple. Under its baleful light, we began to change... to transform into demons. Some have already lost their minds, succumbing to the bloodlust. I... I had to execute my own son to prevent him from slaughtering the village."
Tears tracked through the grime on Moka's face. "If this curse isn't lifted, we will all become mindless monsters. To prevent that, we have no choice but to... but to..."
"Don't say another word!" Natsu shouted, punching his palm. "We'll fix this! I promise!"
Gray, ever the pragmatist, rubbed his chin. "Chief, do you have any leads? Dark mages? Cursed artifacts on the island?"
Moka wiped his eyes and looked up. "We have no clues as to the cause... but I do know the only way to solve it."
"What's the way?" Lucy asked eagerly.
Chief Moka pointed a trembling finger at the sky, where a pale, violet orb was beginning to rise. "It's simple. You must destroy the moon."
"WHAT?!" Lucy practically levitated in shock.
Gray's jaw twitched. Destroy the moon? Even a Wizard Saint would find that task impossible. It was a cosmic entity, not a target.
"Destroy the moon... I wonder how many punches that would take?" Natsu murmured, actually cracking his knuckles and doing some mental math.
"You're actually taking him seriously?!" Lucy shrieked, delivering a swift chop to the back of Natsu's head. "Destroying the moon won't happen! We need to investigate the island, find the source of the purple light, and neutralize it!"
As she began to strategize how to calm the villagers down and start a proper investigation, a calm, youthful voice cut through the chaos.
"If you guys want to destroy the moon, I can do it."
The entire village went silent. Every eye turned to the small boy with the tail.
"Goku... you realize that's the *moon*, right?" Lucy said slowly, as if speaking to a toddler. "The giant rock in space? The one that controls the tides? You can't just..."
Goku tilted his head, his expression earnest. "I know what it is. And I'm saying I can help."
He remembered hearing that during a World Martial Arts Tournament, "Grandpa Jackie Chun" had used a Kamehameha to destroy the moon to stop a Great Ape. If his senior could do it back then, Goku felt that with his current power—bolstered by everything he'd learned—it should be well within his reach.
To prove he wasn't joking, Goku stepped into the center of the clearing. A golden magic circle erupted beneath his feet, and his body began to swell. In seconds, he had activated his Giant Form, standing over four meters tall, his muscles rippling with concentrated ki.
"All-Concentration Breathing..."
Goku cupped his hands at his side. The air around him began to howl as his internal energy reached a fever pitch. The violet light of the moon reflected in his determined eyes.
"KAME... HAME... HA!!!"
With a roar that shook the very foundation of the island, a pillar of blinding blue energy erupted from his palms. It was wider and more intense than anything they had ever seen, a literal spear of light aimed directly at the purple celestial body.
"Disappear, O Moon!"