Chapter 7: I'm in a Hurry
Time ticked by. As night drew closer, the atmosphere grew increasingly tense. The Rune Knights expanded their patrol range, ensuring that no movement, no matter how small, would escape their notice.
On a distant rooftop, thirteen figures stood silhouetted against the sky. They were the thirteen thieves of the Phantom Marauders.
"Whoa, look at all of 'em! Boss! Why didn't we just attack? What was the point of sending a notice?" a man with a large afro said, shielding his eyes as he looked at the heavily guarded mayor's mansion.
"Idiot! It's all part of the boss's plan! Right, boss?" another man, a young blond, looked at the man in the center with adoration. The man was tall and slender, wrapped in a black cloak, his face hidden by a silver mask. This was the leader of the Phantom Marauders, the man known as the 'King of Assassins,' Camille.
"This world needs a dose of terror to announce our return, and this mayor is the perfect candidate. I will show everyone that once the Phantom Marauders have marked a target, not even the Magic Council can protect them!"
"Anyone who dares to provoke us, anyone who receives our death notice, has only one end: death!"
"Go! Tonight, the name of the Phantom Marauders will echo throughout the world! We will become this world's nightmare!"
"OOOOOOOOHHHH!"
BOOM----!
A sudden explosion rocked the courtyard.
"Enemy attack----!!" a Rune Knight shouted, and everyone scrambled into action.
The mayor jumped, terrified.
Elfman tensed. "Are they here?!"
Ren nodded. "Looks like it."
The mayor began to panic. "Mr. Ren, what should I do?"
"You don't need to do anything. Just don't get in the way. The Rune Knights have placed a Runic Barrier around this building. As long as you're not stupid enough to run outside, you'll be fine for a while."
Ren looked out the window. The Magic Council's Rune Knights were engaging the enemy.
The Rune Knights weren't as useless as they were sometimes portrayed. In terms of magic power, they were comparable to an average guild mage, and with their superior equipment, they were often even stronger.
But even so, they were being pushed back, beaten at every turn. In just a few moments, all the Rune Knights had fallen to the ground.
The mayor was even more panicked when he saw this. "M-Mr. Ren..."
"Elfman, protect the mayor."
"Ren, you..."
"I'll take care of them."
Outside, the thirteen members of the Phantom Marauders gathered at the main gate.
"Haha~! These Council guys are way too weak! That wasn't fun at all! Not one bit!"
"They join the Council because they're weak! What mage with real ambition would ever join them?"
"All that's left is to kill the mayor and we're done. Let's get this over with!"
Several of them stepped forward.
BANG!
An invisible wall blocked their path.
"Hiphop! A runic formula! Kinda interesting. Watch me break it!" one of them shouted, stepping up to start breaking the barrier.
Creeaak...
The main door opened. Ren walked out, stepping calmly toward them. In a few seconds, he had walked right outside the barrier's perimeter.
"Huh? There's one more, running out to his death."
Just then, Camille noticed the guild mark on the back of Ren's right hand. "Fairy Tail. I see. The mayor called the guilds for help."
"Fairy Tail? You mean that guild that's been so active lately?"
"Yeah! That's the one!"
The blond man with the tic spoke up. "Hiphop! Kid, you knew who the Phantom Marauders were and you still dared to take this job? You've got guts!"
"Phantom Marauders?" Ren said. "Sorry, never heard of you."
He had heard of the Phantom Troupe, but that was from Hunter x Hunter. There was no such group in the Fairy Tail story. Based on the timeline, the main plot hadn't even started yet.
Camille's eyes fixed on Ren. "Kid, seeing as you're so ignorant, I'll let you walk away if you abandon the mission now."
The blond lackey looked surprised. "Eh?! Hiphop! You're lucky, kid! The boss is rarely this merciful!"
Ren shook his head. "I've already accepted the request, so I can't abandon it. You've targeted my client, and that makes you an enemy of Fairy Tail."
"Kid, if this is the path you've chosen, then there's nothing more to say," Camille said, his momentary whim of mercy passing, like seeing an ant on the road—you don't need to go out of your way to step on every single one. "Finish him."
"Full-Body Take Over! Ulquiorra Cifer!"
Ren's body began to change. His plain clothes transformed into a white, high-collared jacket with a black lining, worn over a white hakama. A wide, black sash fastened it at his waist, holding a Zanpakuto. He wore black socks and white shoes.
His skin turned a deathly pale, and his eyes became a piercing green, with green, tear-like markings running down his face. The left side of his head was now covered by a white, horned helmet fragment.
"Hiphop!! Die!!"
The blond man threw a rock at Ren. Ren simply raised a hand and caught it.
BOOM----!
The next instant, the rock detonated like a bomb, engulfing Ren in the explosion.
"Hihahahaha! What an idiot! How can you just catch something someone throws at you! Hihahaha~!" The blond man clutched his stomach, laughing.
"REN!!"
Upstairs, Elfman saw Ren get caught in the blast and panicked, about to charge down.
Suddenly!
BANG!!
A powerful Spiritual Pressure erupted from the smoke, blasting it all away.
Ren reappeared, standing in the same spot, without a single scratch on him.
"What?!"
The Marauders stared in shock, unable to believe he was completely unharmed. They had all seen him grab the explosive with his bare hand.
"You... you're not dead?!"
Hierro. An Arrancar's body was covered by skin tougher than steel. Ordinary attacks couldn't even scratch him. Ulquiorra's Hierro was strong enough to block Vizard Ichigo's Getsuga Tensho, receiving only a minor injury that he could heal in an instant. An explosion of this level couldn' in fact, even break his defense.
"Bastard! I'll see if I can't blow you to bits!"
The blond man produced several more explosive rocks and hurled them at Ren.
"Sonído!"
WHOOSH----!
Ren's figure vanished.
The next instant...
"Pfft----!"
A longsword pierced through the blond man's chest from behind.
"Wh... what...?!" the man gurgled, looking down at the blade in disbelief.
"Sorry," Ren said in a flat tone, his green eyes cold. "I'm in a bit of a hurry."
His magic power was too low. Even in Ulquiorra's most basic form, he could only maintain it for ten minutes at most. If he didn't finish these guys within that time, he would be the one getting finished. This had to be fast.