"Happy, URGH..."
Clutching a floating plank, Natsu's face twisted with agony. He reached out a hand toward Happy for help, but a second later he leaned over and threw up.
"Natsu, sorry. I still have to help get the others to safety, so I cannot pull you out for now. But your vitality is insane, so you will definitely be fine."
"Once I finish rescuing everyone, I will come back for you."
Happy could only carry one person at a time when he flew, and right now those kidnapped girls needed help more than Natsu did.
Natsu did not say a word. He just silently lifted his hand and gave a thumbs-up to show he could still hang on, that saving people came first.
"URGH..."
He kept retching. In the middle of throwing up, he glanced toward where Kai was standing.
"What is Kai doing here? Wasn't he off on his one hundredth job?"
Natsu screamed in his heart while he puked, but there was not the slightest desire inside him to challenge Kai.
First, he really could not beat him. Second, fighting Kai was far too soul crushing. He could not even get close. Before he touched him, the firepower would already be raining down.
Kai put away his cannon and sniper rifle. The mission was done. Once the city guards came to fish the bodies out of the water, he could head back and turn in the job.
Lucy stood beside Kai, eyes wide. So many people, taken out so fast.
She knew wizards were powerful, but this was the first time she had seen someone this overwhelming.
"Of course I know her. Without her, I can barely complete any jobs at all."
Kai was being completely honest. Without Mirajane handling the paperwork, he could not even accept requests. If there was no one to register him, the job would be dead in the water before it started.
"In that case, you must know the Fire Dragon from the Fairy Tail guild."
"Know him. He is the one currently soaking out there."
Kai pointed toward Natsu bobbing in the water. The Fire Dragon of Fairy Tail was none other than that guy.
"Ah... I suddenly do not feel excited anymore."
"Then who are you, sir?"
Lucy looked at Kai and finally asked the question.
"Did I not just say my name is Kai? The guards finally showed up. Their reaction speed is awful."
"No wonder the public security in this city is so bad. The military budget is probably all being embezzled."
"Wait... could you be the one they say stands within a single step of an army, a single man who can face a whole force alone, Kai?"
Lucy thought for a moment, then suddenly remembered. She had heard the name Kai once before. Only once.
But that one time had branded itself into her memory, just as it had for everyone else who heard that name.
Lucy looked at Kai and recalled the sight of more than a hundred magic rifles floating behind him earlier. In that instant, she knew what he said before had not been a joke.
If not for the people still trapped on the ship, Kai really could have obliterated the entire vessel in a single instant.
One man was enough to match the power of an entire army. His reputation was no exaggeration.