Facing the encirclement of the flame whips, Happy dragged Lucy through the air, continuously dodging.
For Happy, who often carried Natsu during aerial battles, this was a piece of cake.
"We have to save Natsu and those girls," Happy said.
"What is there to say at a time like this?" Lucy cried out.
She still hadn't seen Raizel. If Raizel were here, she surely would have noticed him by now.
"Lucy, listen to me."
"What?!"
"I can't keep this up anymore, you're too heavy!"
"You stupid cat!" Lucy didn't forget to scream a complaint at Happy before she started plummeting toward the ocean.
WHOOSH.
Suddenly, a flash of white light swept by.
Before Lucy and Happy could hit the sea, they were caught by the massive white-armored warrior—Dynasmon—that Raizel had transformed into using Take Over.
Raizel even enlarged his armored hand slightly to make Lucy more comfortable.
"Raizel, that's great!" Happy rubbed his head against Raizel's armor, not minding how hard the metal felt.
"Long time no see, Lucy. And you need to keep these safe." After greeting her, Raizel handed the keys back to Lucy.
"It really is you! Raizel, there's a Mage on that ship who claims to be from Fairy Tail, and he's trying to kidnap young girls!"
"I know. Leave it to me. Lucy, Happy, hold onto my hand tightly." Raizel nodded to show he understood.
Raizel's massive wings flapped continuously, creating a fierce gale that pushed the entire ship toward the shore.
Raizel couldn't control his strength perfectly this time, since it was his first time pushing a luxury cruise ship with wind pressure alone.
The ship reached the shore successfully, but the force caused it to capsize onto the beach.
CRASH!
"Safely ashore!" Happy jumped off Raizel's palm and raised his paw triumphantly.
...
"What happened? How did the ship end up on the shore?"
"Darn it, what's going on?"
Bora held his head as he crawled out of the wreckage, looking around in confusion.
"You said you're a Mage from Fairy Tail, right?"
Natsu, standing at the highest point of the wrecked ship, looked down at Bora and his tone turn dangerously low.
"So what? Hurry up and take care of him!" Bora ordered his men.
His accomplices acknowledged the order and charged forward.
"Natsu!" Lucy looked at Natsu with a worried expression.
"Don't worry. I forgot to tell you—Natsu is also a Mage."
"Eh!" Lucy's jaw dropped.
'Then why were you two looking at me like that when I introduced myself as a Mage earlier? Were you just too busy eating to answer me properly?!'
"I'm Natsu from Fairy Tail, and I've never seen someone like you among our members."
After taking down the charging accomplices with two swift punches, Natsu narrowed his eyes at Bora.
He tossed aside his cloak, revealing the red Fairy Tail emblem on his shoulder.
"Fairy Tail? Natsu is a Mage from Fairy Tail?" Lucy gasped.
"That emblem... it's real! Bora-sama, he's a real member of Fairy tail!"
"Idiot, don't say my name!"
"Bora... 'Bora of Prominence.' He used to be a Mage of the Titan Nose Guild but was later expelled for frequently breaking the rules," Happy dutifully took on the role of commentator.
"I don't care if you're good or bad, or if you're from a Legal Guild or a Dark Guild. I absolutely won't allow you to use Fairy Tail's name to deceive people everywhere."
Natsu stepped closer to Bora one step at a time.
"What can you do to me? Prominence Typhoon!" Bora sneered disdainfully before attacking Natsu with a spiral of purple fire.
"Natsu!" Lucy watched in horror as the flames rushed toward him, causing an explosion.
Raizel reverted to his human form and stood next to Lucy.
He didn't step forward, merely blocking Lucy, who wanted to rush to Natsu's aid.
"All talk and no action, you're completely useless. So this is what they call the Salamander? He's nothing special." Bora glanced at the motionless figure in the flames before turning to leave.
"Disgusting!"
Bora froze and turned back to look at the silhouette in the fire.
"I'm asking if you're really a Fire Mage? This is truly the worst flame I've ever eat."
"NANI?!"
Lucy, Bora, and his accomplices stared in shock as Natsu opened his mouth and continuously inhaled the purple flames into his stomach.
"Thanks for the meal!"
"This... what kind of monster is this guy?!"
"Fire is useless against Natsu," Happy stated matter-of-factly.
"I've never seen magic like this before!" Lucy stammered.
"Eating it makes my power surge! Fire Dragon's Roar!"
Natsu cupped his hands before his mouth, unleashing a torrent of flames from within that blasted toward Bora.
"Bora-sama, I've seen this guy before! Pink hair and a scaly scarf... no mistake about it, this guy is really..."
"That's the Salamander!" Lucy stared at Natsu in amazement, finding it hard to connect this fierce fighter with the guy who got motion sickness on a boat.
"Remember this well—this is what a Fairy Tail Mage looks like!"
Natsu's hands wreathed in flames as he charged toward Bora, who had launched himself into the sky.
Natsu leaped up with a powerful Fire Dragon's Iron Fist, followed immediately by a Fire Dragon's Claw that kicked Bora into the distant rock wall.
"First eating fire, then wrapping his hands in fire to fight—am I really seeing magic right now?" Lucy asked, bewildered.
"A dragon's lungs to breathe fire, a dragon's scales to dissolve fire, a dragon's claws to grasp fire. It's an ancient, mysterious magic that transforms one's body into dragon physiology—in other words, Lost Magic." Happy explained to Lucy with crossed arms, his tone carrying pride and shared glory.
"Oh right, I remember there's also a Lightning Dragon, right?" Lucy suddenly recalled reading something about a Lightning Dragon in Sorcerer Weekly.
"Yes, the Lightning Dragon is another person, also from our guild. It's magic used to slay dragons."
"Really? Magic to slay dragons..."
"Aye. Dragon Slayer Magic, taught to Natsu by Igneel."
Meanwhile, Natsu and Bora were locked in the final exchange.
"Take this!" Bora mustered his remaining Magical Power to hurl a massive magical fireball at Natsu.
Natsu caught the fireball with both hands, then inhaled deeply, swallowing the entire attack.
"This one's finally not so bad. Now that I'm full, it's time to teach you a lesson for impersonating a Fairy Tail Mage!" Natsu wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, staring excitedly at Bora.
"Fire Dragon's... IRON FIST!"
Natsu punched Bora straight through the air, sending him crashing into the large bell hanging high in the church tower.
BONG————
The sound echoed throughout the entire port.
"Amazing... but that's going too far!" Lucy broke out in a cold sweat.
She finally understood that Sorcerer Weekly's reports about the Salamander destroying this and that weren't exaggerations—if she were writing them, she'd make them even more extreme!
"Aye!"
"What are you 'aye'-ing about you stupid cat!"
Suddenly, the sound of marching boots filled the streets.
The Council's troops marched in perfect formation, fully armed, heading toward Hargeon Port.
Raizel glanced at the Council's army and said, "The Council's troops are here. We should go."
"Army?" Lucy followed Raizel's gaze toward the direction he was looking.
"Oh no, we've got to run!"
Without waiting for an explanation, Natsu grabbed Lucy's hand and started sprinting, dragging her along before she could offer any resistance.
"Happy, we should run too." Raizel scooped up Happy and began running after Natsu.
"Aye!"
"Why do I have to run too?!" Lucy shouted as she was dragged along.
"Didn't you say you wanted to join our Guild? Come on!" Natsu glanced back at Lucy while running and grinned widely.
"Mm!" Lucy smiled, tears of excitement pricking her eyes as she ran toward her new future.