With a flap of its wings, Chase brought the Curse of Dragon down low over the merchant ship’s deck.
Ina and her two companions, along with the crew members who’d finally worked up the nerve to come out, were using whatever magical equipment they could find on board to fight the fire.
The worst of it was under control fast, only a few scattered flames left licking at the wreckage.
“Not bad.
Feels good, fighting alongside everyone like that.” Chase propped his chin on one hand, saying it like he meant it.
Ina, her face streaked with soot and sawdust, couldn’t hold it in any longer and shouted up at him.
“This is not what ‘fighting alongside everyone’ looks like!” “My ship!
My cargo!” Captain Lambert, who not long ago had sworn up and down that his ship could weather anything, sank to the deck and wept.
The crew members, who should have been huddled below in the cabin, had all come pouring out onto the deck, staring at the wreckage around them in dismay.
Maybe they hadn’t even noticed it themselves, but somewhere in the scramble to put the fire out, the tension and despair that had been sitting heavy in their chests had quietly lifted.
Even with the bulk of the pirate crew still watching them from across the water.
This, apparently, was exactly the kind of security Chase’s whole “fighting alongside everyone” framing was meant to provide.
“All right, Captain Lambert, some damage is unavoidable in a fight like this.” Chase gave him a reassuring smile.
“Don’t worry.
Once I’ve caught these pirates and collected the fee, I’ll get your ship fixed up in no time.” Technically, this whole thing had been Marshall’s doing, but if Lambert hadn’t agreed to let Chase come aboard, the ship probably wouldn’t have caught the pirates’ attention at all.
The reason every single commission Chase took ended up causing this much collateral damage wasn’t because he was careless or shirked responsibility.
He just really disliked fighting with one hand tied behind his back, and honestly couldn’t be bothered worrying about the smaller details most of the time.
Even Natsu and Gray, hotheaded trouble magnets that they were, always had Master Makarov cleaning up after them in the end.
The title of “Destroyer of Fiore,” as it turned out, wasn’t cheap to hold onto.
It came with a serious compensation bill attached.
Fortunately, money was never really a problem for Chase.
He could afford to pay it all back.
Lambert nodded numbly, tears still streaking down his round face.
Then his expression snapped into alarm, and he shouted, “Behind you!” “Damn Fairy Tail, just die already!” A pirate who’d survived the hellfire, wrapped in magical armor, had been lurking in the shadows, and now lunged at Chase, greatsword flashing.
In an instant, the blade came down hard, aimed straight at Chase’s right shoulder.
Chase didn’t move an inch atop the Curse of Dragon.
He’d already spotted this one fish that had slipped through the net.
A trap card he’d set in advance triggered.
Spellbinding Circle.
A golden hexagram flared to life and locked around the pirate, binding him in place instantly.
“When you’re about to attack someone, friend, you should really keep an eye on their face-down cards,” Chase said, laughing.
The pirate, frozen and helpless, looked terrified, and had absolutely no idea what the man in front of him was even talking about.
Chase didn’t bother giving him time to figure it out.
He launched himself off the Curse of Dragon’s back, magic gathering fast around one taut leg.
“Try this.
Chase’s Flying Kick!” His foot slammed into the pirate’s stomach with a heavy, muffled thud.
The man’s ribs caved instantly, and Chase’s momentum carried straight through, sending them both hurtling forward until they crashed dead center into the pirate ship in the distance.
The impact rocked the whole vessel.
Every remaining pirate snapped to full alert.
Smoke billowed off the deck, thinning slowly in the sea breeze until the scene inside came into view.
Chase stood with one foot planted on the unconscious pirate beneath him, eyes rolled back in his head, and swept a heavy, oppressive gaze across the rest of the crew.
His gaze eventually settled on the man leading them: Cluney Barnes, guild master of the dark guild Swamp Abyss.
“Good afternoon, scum.” Chase’s mouth curled into a bright smile.
“You want to tie yourselves up nice and obediently, or should I beat you down first and save myself the trouble?” Let’s see them try.
From here on out, the roles had flipped completely.
Hunter and hunted, reversed.
“Air support’s the weakest part of our crew.
You don’t actually think knocking those idiots out of the sky wins you this fight, do you?” “Are all you Fairy Tail member this full of yourselves?” Cluney, sprawled across a throne of animal hide, snorted, entirely at ease, idly turning the skull necklace at his throat over in his fingers.
Chase kicked the pirate under his foot aside and brushed himself off.
“Pretty much, yeah,” he said, blunt about it, smiling.
Chase’s sheer bluntness caught Cluney off guard enough to make his lips twitch, and whatever carefully rehearsed opening line he’d been saving got scrapped on the spot.
“You’ve got nerve, I’ll give you that.
But what exactly do you think you’re going to do against this many of us?” Once he’d recovered, he swept his gaze meaningfully around the deck.
The crew understood immediately, drew their weapons, and began closing in, slow and deliberate, surrounding Chase.
Scared as they were of the bone dragon hovering above, sheer numbers and their guild master standing right behind them gave them all the courage they needed.
Fairy Tail mages, huh?
Let’s see how he handle this many of us “This is a bit of a hassle, honestly.” Chase looked up at the ring of pirates tightening around him, fingers already flipping through the cards in his hand.
“Assuming these guys can still move, that is.” “Swords of Revealing Light, activate!” Blinding light split the sky, and three massive blades descended from above, each one settling into position around the pirate ship, their power absolute.
Sealing light rained down from the swords, and every last pirate froze in horror as they realized that some kind of absolute, terrifying rule now had their bodies locked in place, no matter how hard they fought against it.
Even Natsu had struggled to break free of this exact sealing magic.
What chance did a crew of pirates with magic this weak possibly have?
Honestly, I’ve got a dozen ways to wipe this whole crew out in an instant.
But given the whole capture-alive requirement in the commission, Swords of Revealing Light was the smarter call after thinking it through.
Even if Marshall tries to deny everything afterward, which he almost certainly will, there’d be plenty of hard evidence here to take straight to the Council and demand payment anyway.
Cluney’s expression darkened as he took in the swords hovering around him.
“A card spell that locks down movement?” He set both hands on his knees, and his magic surged outward, unleashing a storm of pressure that felt like purgatory itself to Ina and the other two.
Slowly, his hunched, heavyset frame straightened to its full height.
Feeling his body respond normally again, Cluney grinned wide, stamped one foot down hard on the deck, and roared, “Cheap tricks like this mean nothing against absolute magical power!” “Ha!
You?
You think you can control me?!” Chase glanced over at him, casual about it.
“Oh, that’s because there’s something I still need to confirm.
I never actually locked you down in the first place.” That one short, offhand sentence killed the tension building toward a full eruption.
A crow happened to fly past overhead, and then…
Everyone just froze.
Cluney’s manic grin locked in place, his fists clenched tight, a vein standing out sharp on his forehead.
For one long second, he felt exactly like a clown.