Betrayal Of the Demon King(E.N.D)

Chapter 20

3rd P.O.V
The group had left the old woman's house around 10 minutes ago, travelling through the small town that they were staying at. The town was very small and had few residents, though it did have a church, park and graveyard. The town was surrounded by a large woods which seemed to the group to be the first place they would check for suspicious activity to get clues on the exact location.

The group split off into two. One group being Natsu, Lucy and Happy, the other being Erza, Gray and Mard, much to Mard's dismay. Natsu's group went to the right side of the forest while Erza's went to the left, closer to the Bandit's camp.

With Natsu's group
Natsu's group had ventured out into the forest, Happy flying in the skies above them while Lucy and Natsu held hands, walking along the forest floor. Natsu continuously looked back at Lucy who was gripping onto his hand and looking around for any activity, constantly checking on her.

"Have you two seen anything?" They heard Happy from above.
"Nope! Have you?" Natsu replied. Happy sighed and replied with a "No." Then Natsu felt Lucy flinch.
"You ok Luce?" Natsu asked, concern lacing his tone. Lucy hesitantly nodded and looked into the dark part of the forest, pointing.

"There's something glowing over there.." Her voice was slightly wavering, showing how scared she truly was of this mission. Something felt off to her, about the Lady, the bandits and this whole ordeal, a bad feeling just constantly haunted her as soon as they arrived at this town. She felt like something bad was going to happen, she hoped she was wrong.

"Where?" Natsu asked, startling her a little from her thoughts. She pointed again, showing him the faint blue glow that resonated in the darkness of the forest, lighting up the area. Happy flew down and propped himself on Natsu's head, Natsu now cautiously walking into the shadowed area. His demonic instincts were dragging him towards there, which for one, set off many alarms in his head, and two, made him curious about what this mysterious glowing substance was.

As the small trio got closer they realised it wasn't something particularly big, but a small chunk of what looked to be an orb. It was a broken chunk of a small stone orb, carved ruins and patterns littering the surface of the object, the orb giving off a blue glow.

Natsu, without a second thought, reached down to pick up the small object, only to be met with what felt like a small bolt of electricity to shoot through him, causing him to hiss and drop the object in surprise. Lucy immediately panicked. "Natsu! Are you ok?! What's wrong?!" Natsu looked back at her,
"No I'm fine, I just- It surprised me a little is all. When I touched it I felt like I got an electric shock." He explained to the duo. Lucy and Happy sighed in relief, almost in sync. Though quickly switched their attention to the broken piece of orb that was laying on the ground, the glow it once had now gone.

Natsu thought for a minute before reaching back down to it, though a bit more cautious this time, and picked it up, not feeling the shock he did a few minutes prior.
"Huh." He exclaimed.
"You okay?" Happy asked.
"Yeah, I didn't get an electric shock this time." He responded.
"Do you have any idea what it is?" Lucy asked.
"It- It kinda looks familiar and the runes definitely ring bell's but I can't put my finger on it.." Natsu replied.
"Can you try to read it..?" Lucy asked, hope shown in her tone, hoping this was a clue so they could get this quest over with soon.

Natsu hesitantly nodded, "I'll try, if I can remember.." Natsu sat himself on the grass, staring intensely at the broken orb piece, hoping for something to come to him. He couldn't think of anything at first but after a few minutes, two words came to him when looking at the runes.

"Lunam mundi." He muttered.
"What?" Lucy asked, not quite hearing him nor understanding what he said.
He quickly translated it, "Cosmic Moon."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Happy asked, completely confused.
"No clue, but that's what it says."
"Could it refer to a type of moon, like a full moon or blood moon?" Lucy asked, trying to think of any possible ideas.
"It might, but like I said, I have no clue." Natsu replied.

Even though they didn't understand it, it might be a clue, so the group carefully put the broken piece into a bag Natsu was carrying, making sure it wouldn't break any further.

With that the group continued their search around the woods, going back to the formation they were in before with Happy flying overhead and Natsu and Lucy running underneath, all of them keeping a close eye out for any clues they might possibly come across.

With Erza's group
The trio had searched for around 2 hours now, the three of them exploring every part of the left side of the forest and finding nothing. They were currently walking to the place they promised to meet Natsu's group at 3:30pm, which was exactly the time. Erza and Gray walked along in front while Mard Geer trailed behind them, not wanting to speak to them.

'I wonder what Master has found, I bet it's more then these ignorant human's could ever hope to find..' Mard thought, his mood now grumpy due to not being able to search with his master.

The time soon passed and the two groups found each other again, meeting up. Natsu showed Erza, Gray and Mard what his group had found and saying what he'd read from it.

'As expected of Master, never the disappointment.' Mard thought, a small smile gracing his lips, proud of his master. Natsu turned his attention to Mard, who wasn't paying attention to the conversation at all and said, "Do you have any idea what this is Mard?" His Master calling his name immediately brought him back to reality. He looked at the object for a brief few seconds and sighed, shrugging.
"I apologise, but no, I do not recognise it." Natsu sighed, "Cant be helped," He exclaimed, "We'll just have to wait and see what it does." With that, Natsu put the object back in the bag he was carrying and secured the bags straps.

"So, shall we search the area that she specified, past the forest?" Erza asked, looking at the group. The rest nodded, all eager to get this quest over with, all of them now getting bad vibes here and there.

"Let's go then."

~~~~~

:)