Chapter 262: Kidnapping Successful
Natsu, Happy, and Lucy; Gray and Elfman; Lyon and Simon; the Thunder Legion; Ultear; and Sorano. Six teams in total began sweeping Magnolia.
Noah sat in the guild hall, monitoring the map and using Telepathy to guide them.
Lisanna, Kagura, Levy, and Wendy were clustered behind him, watching the screen. Other guild members, while not crowding around, kept glancing over, clearly tense.
Noah had the teams spread out to form a wide net, keeping several streets between each group so they could cover more ground, though it meant reinforcements would take a moment to arrive.
They started from the guild and pushed outward. Following Noah's instructions, Natsu's team was at the forefront.
On the Archive screen, Noah saw three red dots converge and move toward Natsu's position. The other two dots split off, flanking them.
"Natsu, you're about to make contact. Be careful."
"Got it."
Natsu replied mentally, his senses sharpening. Lucy, beside him, nervously gripped her keys. Happy hid behind a chimney.
"Look out!"
Natsu yelled, spinning around and punching behind him, his fist wreathed in flame.
An orange fireball shot toward them from the rear. Natsu's punch collided with it, and the two attacks exploded.
BOOM!
Smoke filled the air. Natsu and Lucy stared into the haze, alert.
As the smoke cleared, a stranger stood before them. He was young, with half-black, half-white hair, a thick black line running horizontally across his face, and an orange outfit. A katana hung at his hip.
"Who are you? Why did you attack us?" Natsu demanded.
The man looked down his nose at Natsu with a haughty sneer. "I am Totomaru of the Great Fire. You're unlucky to have run into me."
"What do you want?"
"Guess."
Totomaru thrust both hands forward, a magic circle appearing. "Blue Fire!"
Natsu didn't dodge. He let the blue flames engulf him.
Smoke surrounded Natsu again. But instead of looking pleased, Totomaru frowned. He watched intently as the smoke cleared.
Natsu had his mouth open, and he was inhaling the blue fire.
"Haha! It's cold! I've never eaten fire like this before!" Natsu laughed after swallowing the last of it.
"I see. So you really are the Dragon Slayer the rumors talk about. We really are incompatible, aren't we?"
"Huh?" Natsu looked confused.
Totomaru didn't explain. He thrust his hands out again. "Orange Fire!"
A ball of orange flame shot toward Natsu.
"Didn't you see? Fire is my food!" Natsu took the hit head-on again, ready to eat.
But as he opened his mouth to swallow, he froze. Tears streamed down his face, and he clamped his hands over his nose.
"IT STINKS! IT STINKS SO BAD!!!"
"Hahaha!" Totomaru laughed.
"Natsu!" Lucy cried out, worried. Suddenly, she felt a drop of water on her head. She looked up. It was raining, even though the sun was shining brightly.
"A sun shower?"
Suddenly, a torrent of water erupted from the ground, wrapping around Lucy and trapping her in a sphere of water.
"Mmph—!" Caught off guard, Lucy inhaled water and choked. She struggled, managing to push her head out of the sphere to gasp for air.
"There is no escape from Juvia's Water Lock," a gloomy voice said. The water rose, re-engulfing Lucy.
A woman walked toward the water sphere. She was slender, with blue hair that curled at the ends, a blue hat, and a blue coat with a dark blue shawl. A white teru teru bozu doll hung around her neck.
"Monsieur Sol, you say this girl is the target?"
"Non, non, non... Bonjour!"
A figure popped out of the ground. He held one hand to his chest and waved the other at the struggling Lucy.
He was slender, with green hair that stuck straight up, a monocle with a chain over his right eye, and a brown suit with a spiky collar. He had short black capes attached to his elbows, and as he spoke, his entire body wiggled back and forth.
"Yes, indeed. My eyes are whispering to me. This mademoiselle is the target we seek." Sol leaned to the side, addressing Juvia.
"Lucy—!"
Natsu finally recovered from the stench attack. He shook his head to clear it and charged toward Lucy.
"I can't let you pass."
Totomaru flashed in front of Natsu, blocking his path.
"Move!" Natsu's fist ignited, and he punched at Totomaru.
Totomaru calmly raised two fingers. A magic circle appeared.
Natsu's eyes widened as his fist suddenly jerked out of his control and smashed into his own face.
"Gah!"
Natsu flew backward, landing several meters away.
"What the hell?!" He scrambled back to his feet.
"We can't delay. The others are coming. Let's go," Totomaru said to Juvia and Sol. They nodded.
"Bastard! Put Lucy down!"
Natsu saw Juvia and Sol turning to leave, the water sphere with Lucy floating behind them. Inside, Lucy had run out of air and fainted.
Natsu launched himself off the ground, rocketing toward them.
Totomaru blocked him again. Natsu punched again.
"You never learn."
Totomaru raised his fingers. Natsu's fist slammed into his own face again, sending him flying back.
Totomaru then slammed his palms onto the ground. A magic circle expanded, and a pillar of fire erupted beneath Natsu.
BOOM!
Smoke and dust exploded outward. Natsu coughed as he climbed out of the crater, waving away the dust.
When it cleared, Lucy and the three Element 4 members were gone.
"DAMMIT!" Natsu punched the ground in frustration.
"Calm down. It's all part of the plan," Noah said, materializing beside him.
"I know! But watching a friend get taken away still pisses me off!" Natsu growled, standing up.
The others arrived a moment later. "What's the situation?" Gray asked, seeing the crater.
"Proceeding as planned," Noah said. "Natsu's just sulking. You can let it all out later, Natsu. For now, we stick to the plan."
He appreciated Natsu's honesty. Even knowing it was a setup, seeing a friend taken angered him. That was good.
"Happy, did you get it?" Noah asked, looking at the roof.
"Aye, sir!" Happy flew down, holding a magical video camera. "Got it all!"
"Good. Take that back to the guild and give it to my Thought Projection. Everyone else, return to the guild and prepare for battle. Natsu and I will follow Lucy."
Gray and the others nodded and headed back. Happy flew off with the camera.
Noah checked his Archive. The five red dots had regrouped and were moving toward Phantom Lord's headquarters.
"Good."
Noah cast a series of spells on himself and Natsu, erasing their presence, scent, and sound. He then pulled out a second camera, identical to Happy's, and teleported them near Lucy's group.
From a distance, they watched as Juvia carried the water-trapped Lucy through the air, speeding toward Phantom Lord's base with the others. Noah filmed the scene.
They moved fast, and soon they arrived at the massive castle that served as Phantom Lord's headquarters.
"Impressive," Noah noted. "They certainly have money."
"Is this really the time?! They took her inside!" Natsu hissed.
"Relax. We're going in," Noah said, patting his shoulder. "Stay close to me. Don't make any loud noises or sudden movements. Let's have some fun."
Noah waved his hand in complex patterns, casting spell after spell on them.
Natsu looked down and gasped. His body had disappeared. He looked at Noah; he was gone too. But a moment later, he could see both of them again, though they were faint and translucent to each other.
"Just talk in your head. I've linked our minds. Don't make noise, and don't touch anyone. I've cast an illusion on your eyes so you can see me, but to everyone else, we're invisible. Just follow me."
"Whoa! That's awesome!" Natsu thought loudly.
"Let's go."
Noah led the way, and Natsu followed. They walked right through the open front gates of the castle.
Inside, it was noisy and chaotic. Unlike the bright, cheerful atmosphere of Fairy Tail, this place felt gloomy and oppressive, more like a stereotypical Dark Guild. The air was filled with vulgar shouting and arguments. Noah shook his head. 'This is the kingdom's number one guild? What a dump.'
They wove through the crowd, avoiding contact.
Up ahead, Juvia and the others were reporting to Jose. Jose looked at the unconscious, bound Lucy with glee. "Excellent! Well done, everyone! Lock her up in the tower cell on the top floor."
Juvia nodded and carried Lucy away. The others dispersed.
Noah pointed, and he and Natsu followed Juvia up the stairs.
When they reached the top floor, Juvia opened a cell door, dumped Lucy inside, locked it, and left.
Once she was gone, Noah teleported them inside the cell.
Natsu started to move toward Lucy, but Noah stopped him with a hand and shook his head. Natsu froze. Noah raised the camera and pointed it at Lucy.
Just then, Lucy began to stir.
"Eh? Eh?! What happened?! Where am I?!"
She tried to move and realized her hands were tied behind her back. She was lying on the cold stone floor. She struggled into a sitting position and looked around frantically.
"You're awake, Miss Lucy Heartfilia."
Jose's face appeared in the small window of the iron door.
"Who are you?"
Jose unlocked the door and stepped in. "I am Jose Porla, Guild Master of Phantom Lord."
"Phantom Lord?!" Lucy gasped.
"My apologies for the accommodations. It's a bit dirty and chaotic. But as you are a prisoner, I hope you understand," Jose said, placing a hand over his heart in mock politeness.
"Let me go! Prisoner?! Why did you kidnap me?!"
"Depending on your attitude, I could treat you as a 'most honored guest' instead of a prisoner."
"What do you mean...?" Lucy looked at him, confused.
Suddenly, a centipede crawled over her shoe.
"KYAAAAA! NO! NO NO NO!" She scrambled away, pressing herself against the wall.
"You clearly don't like this cell. If you behave, I can have a luxury suite prepared for you," Jose said, his smile widening as he watched her fear.
Having escaped the bug, Lucy regained some of her composure. She glared at Jose. "Why did you attack our guild?"
~~~
Get early access to 50+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn