"Dasha Twist!"
Ina was shocked.
"Damn you, pirate prepare to die!"
Bukolevin successfully locked onto the pirate captain and pulled the trigger hard.
Whoosh!
The bullet, imbued with magic power, flew out and reached the pirate captain in the blink of an eye.
However, just as the bullet was about to penetrate the opponent's head, the space in front of the pirate captain suddenly lit up with a distorted green light.
The bullet sank into the twisted space and disappeared without a trace, in such a strange and terrifying way!
Ches's pupils shrank slightly. He suddenly put down the pastry and looked at the fat-faced pirate captain in surprise.
If I remember correctly, that magic is...
"How how could this happen?! What on earth just happened?!"
Bukolevin's face turned pale, and the sniper rifle slipped from his hands, clattering to the ground in disbelief.
"What a stupid trick. Your magic power is so weak. Where on earth do you find the courage to fight against us?"
The pirate captain sneered as he slowly stood up. The skull necklace around his neck clinked together, emitting eerie, soul-stirring demonic whispers.
He stepped to the bow of the pirate ship, raised his blackened arm, and said with a vicious grin, "Boys! Let's begin today's hunting carnival!"
"Oooooohhhh!!"
The pirates responded with twisted, manic laughter.
Then, the deck of the pirate ship began to glow as numerous magic circles lit up beneath their feet.
Under Ina's shocked and despairing gaze, the pirates activated levitation magic, rising into the air one by one like a swarm of venomous wasps.
Their laughter echoed across the sea as they surrounded the immobilized merchant ship like predators circling helpless prey.
This was the source of their confidence.
Whether it was ship guards or hired wizards without aerial combat capability, they were nothing but easy targets.
Buzz, buzz, buzz
More magic circles appeared, glowing brightly in the pirates' palms. Rays of light in all colors blazed against the fading sky, locking onto the merchant ship from all directions.
The air was thick with danger.
"Bukolevin! Send all your magic power to me! We can't let them hurt Mr. Lambert, Ches, and the others!"
Ina took a deep breath, forcing herself to shake off the fear and unease in her heart, then ran quickly toward Bukolevin.
Bukolevin's eyes were dull he hadn't yet recovered from the bizarre scene of the bullet disappearing into thin air.
Ina grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him several times before he finally snapped out of it. Gritting his teeth, he hurriedly began channeling the last of his magic power.
With the boost, Ina planted her hands on the deck of the merchant ship and shouted with all her strength:
"Additional Solid Barrier!"
Whoosh!
Pale red lines traced into the shape of a magic circle, and a light curtain expanded outward from Ina's position, spreading rapidly until it enclosed the entire merchant ship.
Almost at the same time
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The pirates' spells came crashing down. Waves of fire, lightning, hurricanes, and more struck the barrier in rapid succession.
The shockwaves from the explosions blew apart the carefully stacked cargo, sending fruits and supplies scattering across the deck.
The entire merchant ship shook violently, as if it could be torn to pieces at any moment.
"Damn it! You have to hold… just a little longer! My magic!!"
Under the crushing pressure, blood began to drip from Ina's arms and mouth.
Even so, she still gritted her teeth and held on because she saw Captain Lambert and his crew huddled together, trembling in the cabin.
These people… they're the ones this commission is meant to protect. Even if I risk my life, I must never give up.
Because
"We are the wizards of Black Pheasant Foot!!" Ina shouted to the sky.
…Too bad her guild wasn't Fairy Tail.
There was no rousing background music. Only a crisp "click" sounded.
The magic barrier shattered, swallowing Ina's scream as it burst into glowing fragments that scattered like fireflies across the sky.
The merchant ship, now stripped of all protection, lay completely exposed under the gaze of the vicious pirates.
But strangely… the pirates didn't rush in to finish the job.
Instead, they hovered in place, laughing in eerie unison mocking, deliberate, as if they were sparing the three on purpose.
As if this was a scene they had repeated many times before.
"Hehehe… little girl, go ahead. Use whatever tricks you've got!"
"Haha! Is this the wizard from Fairy Tail? He's even weaker than I thought. What a bummer!"
"But that female wizard looks pretty good. Don't fight me for her I've reserved her!"
The pirates hovering in the air thought they had already won and began to speak freely, mocking their prey without restraint.
Ina, badly wounded and lying in the rubble, slowly raised her head. Her eyes were filled with confusion.
What did they just say...?
Fairy Tail...?
But I'm clearly a wizard of Black Pheasant Foot!
At the edge of the deck, under the parasol, Ches slowly set down the cup of tea in his hand. He uncrossed his legs and leaned forward slightly.
"So that's it… This is why every wizard who took on this mission was attacked without exception."
He tapped the tabletop thoughtfully with his fingers, eyes narrowing as he looked at the S-rank commission sheet spread out in front of him.
"Marshall White…"
Since arriving in Asroba City, Ches hadn't revealed his identity as a Fairy Tail wizard to anyone not even to Captain Lambert.
The only person who knows all the circumstances is Marshall, the client of this commission!
When accepting the mission, Ches had been especially curious about one thing: why had every wizard who previously took on this request disappeared without a trace?
But if Marshall was actually the one behind this group of pirates, then everything made sense.
Of course he'd know the fate of every wizard he personally "recommended" to guard the merchant ship.
And that "additional requirement" to capture the pirates alive? It wasn't about justice or vengeance for a wife and daughter. It was a convenient restriction a way to limit the magicians' power and give the pirates a tactical advantage.
Not some tragic sob story.
But then… why go to such elaborate lengths just to lure wizards out to sea?
Surely he didn't bear a grudge against every guild in Fiore. It couldn't be some twisted scheme to "punish society."
And then there was that spatial magic used by the pirate captain earlier.
All of it gave Ches a creeping feeling that this commission was more than just a setup. Something larger was at play something extraordinary.
"Hiding in an inconspicuous spot really does let you gather a lot," he muttered.
"But this S-rank commission isn't something I can just sit through…"
Ches sighed softly, pushing aside his thoughts.
Then, slowly, he stood up and began to stretch his shoulders, cracking his knuckles one by one.
Whatever Marshall's up to… once I take down these pirates, the truth will come to light.
And this was originally the content of his commission!
"Alright, stop talking nonsense. Leave those wizards to me. Go deal with the others on the ship and take all the valuables!"
The pirate captain, standing on the far side of the sea, shouted angrily at his airborne minions. Then, with heavy, deliberate steps, he walked to the bow of his ship, bent his five fingers, and pointed toward Ina and the other two lying on the deck of the merchant ship.
Boom!
A terrifying surge of magic burst forth like a volcanic eruption. Even the air around them grew heavy, the pressure suffocating, making it hard to breathe.
This magic power this was truly S-rank.
Black smoke billowed and condensed into a massive, pitch-black demon claw, which stretched across the sea and lunged toward Ina and her two incapacitated teammates.
Am I going to die...?
In the end, I still couldn't keep my promise to protect Mr. Lambert and Mr. Ches.
As the giant claw grew larger in the reflection of her eyes, Ina trembled where she lay on the deck, just like the others.
But even as her body shook with fear, she stubbornly kept her eyes open, filled with despair.
Boom!
The giant claw shattered the railings and tore through the deck like foam, carving a path of destruction straight toward them.
I don't want to die like this... I really don't...
A single tear slid down Ina's cheek.
"Just die like that...?"
"Soleiwadokana!" (That's not necessarily true.)
In her despair, Ina seemed to hear a deep, powerful voice.
Before she could even process whether it was a hallucination before death, an intensely dazzling light exploded before her eyes.
With a crack of thunder and a roar of wind, a hurricane tornado surged forward, sweeping up wooden debris into the sky and shattering the devil's claw filled with the breath of death into pieces!
Quick-Play Magic Card – Cyclone!(A magic that destroys the opponent's spell activated!)
The three members of Black Pheasant Foot, barely saved from certain death, were completely stunned.
Their six widened eyes reflected a single, tall figure.
In the heart of the radiant light and within the raging lightning storm, a man stood unmoving his dark red cloak whipping violently in the wind.
On his exposed right arm…
A gleaming emblem of a dancing fairy.
Is that... Mr. Ches?
He's... actually a wizard from Fairy Tail!!!