As Ezreal took the skewer, Natsu noticed crack-like white patterns appearing on the inside of his wrist.
Those patterns writhed like living things, appearing and disappearing on his skin with the rhythm of his breathing.
Illuminated by the bonfire, the golden-haired young man's face was still as pale as a corpse.
"Everyone—" The old village chief tremblingly raised a wooden cup, his cloudy eyes flickering in the firelight, "Let us toast the Mages who have traveled so far!"
Cheers suddenly erupted, and the villagers surged forward with their wine cups.
Ezreal smiled and raised the mead, but his pupils constricted the moment the rim of the cup touched his lips—in the reflection of the wine, a blood-red Moon Demon appeared in his eyes, and his right eye instantly turned an eerie black.
"Bang!"
The pottery cup suddenly shattered, and amber-colored wine splattered in the air.
Flames instinctively surged on Natsu's hands, but he froze in place when he saw the scene before him.
Ezreal maintained his posture of raising the cup, his entire right arm covered in jet-black coarse hair, his five fingers transformed into sharp claws digging into the tabletop.
His shadow writhed wildly on the ground, splitting into dozens of tentacle-like dark figures.
"Step back!" Natsu yanked the terrified Happy, and flames erupted in a ring, isolating the villagers.
Ezreal let out an inhuman growl from his throat; his left eye remained azure, but his right eye had completely turned into a black slit pupil.
Black patterns crawled across his face, as if countless small snakes were moving under his skin.
"Evil Wolf!" Natsu roared at Ezreal's shadow.
A dense black smoke erupted, and a fifteen-meter-tall black Evil Wolf rapidly flew out from Ezreal's shadow, its blood-red eyes staring intently at its master: "It's not my Black Magic, something's wrong, something has affected Master!"
Ezreal's body trembled in place, his arms bending unnaturally, and a primal, wild beast aura emanated from him.
Just then, the shadow behind the golden-haired young man strangely stood up from the ground, and then a pair of eerie blood-red eyes lit up in the shadow's eye area, staring intently at Natsu, before the shadow quickly rushed into Ezreal's body.
As that eerie dark shadow entered his body, Ezreal's body suddenly erupted with a strong dark aura, and dense black smoke enveloped his entire being.
"What in the world is that thing?" Natsu looked at the black fur on Ezreal's hands and the sharp claws on his five fingers, feeling a strange sense of familiarity, as if it bore some resemblance to the Black Wizard who had transformed into a werewolf and was killed today.
The Evil Wolf's nose twitched twice, sniffing the magical elements in the air, and then its face immediately became ferocious and malevolent, its four fangs exposed to the air, "It's curse magic!"
In terms of strength, the Evil Wolf was still above Natsu, mastering various Dark Magic and Undead Magic. Having completed its evolution, it was naturally extremely sensitive to dark-type magic.
In just an instant of analyzing the aura emanating from Ezreal, it immediately determined that its master had been afflicted by some kind of curse.
"I've said it before, Master shouldn't waste his power to save a brat, otherwise, with all that Light Magic, how could this mere curse possibly affect Master!"
"Now is not the time for lecturing!" Natsu flipped onto the wolf's back, and flames condensed into a fiery chain in his palm, "Hold him down!"
The Evil Wolf moved; its massive body did not affect its speed in the slightest, its claws, wreathed in black smoke, darted towards Ezreal's face like lightning, but before its claws could touch him, the black aura around Ezreal suddenly surged.
Six black smoke tentacles, like wild pythons with sharp tips, shot up into the sky, completely overturning the nearest thatched hut.
The villagers screamed and fled, the feast instantly devolving into chaos.
"Macao's Secret Art, Fire Dragon's Restraint!" Natsu flung out the fiery chain, but it was corroded to nothing the moment it touched the dark shadow tentacles.
"Trouble!" He spat, his fists clashing to unleash an even fiercer burst of fire, a fire-red magic circle flashing and disappearing: "Happy!"
"Aye!" The small blue cat transformed into a streak of light and disappeared into Natsu's chest, white wings unfurling behind him.
With a flap of his wings, Natsu flew into the air, and after taking a deep breath, the flames ignited his wings with a whoosh.
Ezreal slowly turned his head, his cracked lips revealing bone-white fangs: "Annoying..."
His voice overlapped with dozens of tones, as if countless souls were screaming at once.
Natsu swooped down, his fiery wings tracing a meteor-like trajectory across the night sky.
His flame-wreathed fist slammed towards Ezreal, but at the last moment, he abruptly veered off—he saw a line of blood-tears flowing from Ezreal's now completely black left eye.
Natsu's wings flapped, and he did an aerial flip to shift his position to Ezreal's side. Just then, dozens of sharp black tentacles quickly attacked.
"Damn it!" His wings flapped, and flames exploded around Natsu, burning the attacking shadow tentacles to ash, "Wake up!"
The Evil Wolf appeared silently behind Ezreal at some point, baring its maw and letting out a deafening roar, slamming its front paws heavily on the ground.
Countless black chains shot out from underground, coiling around Ezreal layer by layer.
Ancient runes appeared on the chains, emitting a grating, teeth-aching squeak.
"These are Dark Shackles," the Evil Wolf's voice was filled with pain, "They can temporarily suppress the curse's power, but..."
"Ah ah ah ah ah!" Ezreal suddenly let out a horrific scream.
Black patterns crawled wildly under his skin, and his left eye began to seep black blood.
The villagers watched in horror as even more turbulent black smoke erupted from his body, these black smokes transforming into ferocious three-fingered claws that writhed wildly.
Whether it was an illusion or not, Natsu seemed to feel that tonight's moonlight was exceptionally bright, making Ezreal by the campfire appear even more monstrous.
The old village chief suddenly pushed through the terrified crowd, staggering but moving with astonishing speed towards Ezreal. This scene stunned both Natsu and the Evil Wolf for a second, and the surrounding villagers looked at the old village chief's back with the eyes of madmen.
It was too late to stop him; the withered old man moved with eerie speed, reaching Ezreal in an instant. Even stranger, Ezreal, who was clearly in a berserk state, did not harm the old village chief.
The black aura and claws emanating from Ezreal calmed down after the old village chief approached, which gave the old man an opportunity. His withered hand pressed against Ezreal's forehead.
The old man's eyes were tightly closed, his face solemn and devout, muttering something in a low voice. An ancient chant rose, carrying a strange rhythm.
Natsu's expression changed slightly; the old village chief's strange chanting made him feel a subtle mental trance, which was clearly abnormal. Flames instantly surged from his fists: "What are you doing!"
"I am saving him." The village chief's cloudy eyes glowed purple, and the wrinkles on his face wriggled like maggots, "The Moon Demon will accept lost souls..."
Happy suddenly shrieked. The small blue cat, still in its attached state, flew to Natsu's head, pointing a paw forward: "Aye! He has a star tattoo on his sleeve!"
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