Chapter 20: The Whisper of the Phantom Returns (2)
The restaurant, once filled with quiet diners enjoying their meals, had suddenly gone still.
Everyone had paused mid-bite and was now staring in one direction.
There, a pink-haired boy was devouring his food like a man possessed, stuffing his face with reckless abandon.
Seated across from him, Lucy was trying her best to calm him down.
"Abuhba... ibubabo…"
"Uh-huh, uh-huh."
"Ahaha... You're Natsu and Happy, right? I got it, so just eat slowly, okay?"
As she watched Natsu inhale everything on the table, Lucy worried about just how light her wallet was about to become.
At the same time, something else nagged at her.
That mysterious man—
The one who touched her shoulder and snapped her out of the charm spell.
And the strange white owl.
The memory lingered like a riddle she couldn't shake.
"That Salamander guy… he was using a charm spell. Charm is a type of magic that makes people emotionally drawn to the caster. I'm pretty sure it was banned years ago. Using something like that just to attract women… talk about shameless."
Chomp chomp… crunch…
"I managed to break free from it only because you two showed up out of nowhere."
"I may not look like it, but I am a wizard."
"I haven't joined a guild yet though... Ah, right—let me explain. A guild is a kind of association for mages. They act as intermediaries for jobs and information. If a wizard isn't part of a guild, they're not recognized as official."
"And! There are tons of guilds all over the world. But the really popular ones? They're hard to get into."
For some reason, Lucy found herself opening up to Natsu, even though they'd just met.
She told him she was a wizard and even shared her dream of joining a certain guild.
Natsu, meanwhile, seemed like he was ignoring her—more focused on his food.
But whenever their eyes met, he'd nod, grunt, or at least give her a reaction while chewing.
Not that Lucy could really understand what he was saying.
"The guild I want to join is full of amazing wizards! Aah... What should I do? I really want in, but I know it won't be easy…"
"Ah—sorry! Talking about the wizarding world must sound weird to someone outside of it."
"Still! No matter what, I'm going to join that guild someday. Once I do, I'll finally get real, high-paying jobs!"
"Man, you talk a lot."
Happy casually chimed in.
Lucy let it slide and continued chatting.
"Come to think of it, you guys looked like you were searching for someone earlier…"
"Aye! We're looking for Igneel!"
"We came here thinking Salamander might've been him, but turns out it was someone else."
"Didn't even look like a Fire Dragon~."
"I really thought it was Igneel…"
"Fire Dragon...? That doesn't make any sense. You're looking for someone that looks like—"
But Lucy stopped mid-sentence as Natsu gulped down his mouthful and spoke with a completely straight face:
"We're not looking for a person. Igneel is a dragon."
"...W-WHAAAT?!"
Lucy practically jumped out of her seat, her jaw hitting the floor.
Anyone else who heard that would've reacted just like her.
A dragon?!
Sure, it was surprising enough that they weren't looking for a person—but to be searching for a dragon in the middle of a city?!
What kind of logic was that?!
"There's no way something like that would be wandering around town!!"
"Ah—!!"
"Don't make that 'I just realized' face NOW!!"
...
After parting ways with Natsu, Lucy sat on a park bench, flipping through the latest issue of Weekly Sorcerer, a magazine packed with news and incidents involving mage guilds.
And as usual, the front page was all about Fairy Tail.
"Fairy Tail's in trouble again? What is it this time...?
They took down the Devon Bandit Family but destroyed seven houses in the process... AHAHAHA!! That's insane!!"
Lucy burst out laughing, clutching her stomach as she lay back on the bench.
Fairy Tail—
The most famous and powerful guild in all of Fiore.
And also the most notorious for causing absurd levels of property damage.
Still, despite all the chaos, Lucy had always admired Fairy Tail.
No—she wanted to join them.
After laughing for a while, she turned the page—and gasped.
"Ah~!! A Mirajane photoshoot! Fairy Tail's poster girl...
I wonder if someone like her is just as brutal in battle...?"
On the page was Mirajane, with her dazzling silver hair and flawless figure, posing confidently in a swimsuit.
A beauty so different from her own, Lucy couldn't help but feel a mix of awe and envy.
"Anyway... how do you join Fairy Tail? Do I need to master strong magic first? Is there some kind of entrance exam...? But... no matter what, I have to join.
Because... there's someone I want to meet."
As Lucy said that, her mind drifted back into the past.
It was four years ago.
She was just thirteen.
That day, she had been kidnapped by dark wizards who broke into her home, hoping to extort her family for money.
Terrified and trembling in fear, she sat tied up, unsure if she would live to see tomorrow.
Then it happened.
A thick fog swept into the room, and the wizards threatening her collapsed one by one like puppets with cut strings.
From within the mist, a man emerged.
He untied her ropes gently and patted her head to calm her.
"H-Huweeeeeh...!"
"My, my... what's a child doing in a place like this?
There, there… no need to be afraid now. You're safe. No one will hurt you anymore."
"UwaaAAAAHHHH!!"
That man personally escorted her back home, keeping her safe the entire way.
Even now, Lucy couldn't remember his face or voice clearly.
But she remembered one thing:
The black guild mark on the back of his left hand.
It wasn't until years later that she realized—it was the emblem of Fairy Tail.
And from that day on, Lucy decided to become a wizard.
Not just any wizard—
She wanted to join Fairy Tail and find her savior.
"I wonder if he's still in Fairy Tail...?"
"Heeey, so you wanna join Fairy Tail?"
"KYAAAAH!"
As Lucy was lost in her memories, Salamander suddenly burst from the bushes, causing her to leap up in shock.
"S-Salamander?!"
"Took me a while to find you~I had to invite a beautiful girl like you to my party tonight, you know?"
"Let me make this clear: your charm spell won't work on me. Charm magic only works on people who don't understand it. Once someone's aware of the trick, it loses its power."
Lucy coldly rejected his invitation and called out the truth behind his "magic."
But Salamander just smirked.
"Thought so! I figured you were a wizard the moment we locked eyes. But hey—no problem. Just come to the party anyway."
"Why would I?! Why would I go to some creep's party?!"
"Creep? Me?"
"Yeah! That Charm spell. You seriously need magic just to get attention?"
"Oh, come on. That's just flair for the event! I just want the party to be fun."
"Ugh, whatever. Someone like you couldn't be a real famous wizard. What a joke."
Lucy tried to ignore him and walk away, but Salamander persistently followed, tossing out a tempting hook.
"W-Wait! You… you do want to join Fairy Tail, right?"
"...What's that got to do with you?"
"Haven't you heard of Salamander of Fairy Tail?"
"Wait… no way…"
"That's right. I'm from Fairy Tail. And if you want, I can personally put in a good word with the master."
"Really?!"
Hook, line, and sinker.
Lucy was completely drawn in by his words.
...
Under the starry sky, Natsu strolled along the lighthouse road overlooking the entire harbor town of Hargeon.
He patted his stomach, his face full of contentment.
"Phew! That was a great meal!"
"Aye~!"
Happy mirrored the mood, rubbing his own belly as they casually walked along the path.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, Happy noticed a ship slowly pulling away from the harbor and pointed it out.
"Natsu, look... I think that's the ship Salamander mentioned—the one having the party."
"Ugh... don't talk about ships… Just imagining it's making me sick again…"
Just hearing the word "ship" made Natsu remember the awful motion sickness he'd suffered on the train earlier.
Vehicles—or anything that moved under him—were his sworn enemy.
Just the thought alone was enough to make his stomach churn.
As he leaned over the railing, groaning, two girls nearby were chatting about the same ship.
"Look, look! That's the one! Salamander-sama's ship! Aah, I wanted to go to the party too…"
"Salamander?"
"You didn't know? He's a famous wizard visiting town.
They say he's from Fairy Tail!"
Natsu's ears perked up immediately.
He turned to the ship again, eyes narrowing.
"Fairy Tail...? Did she just say... Fairy Tail?"
A wave of unease crept up his spine.
Something wasn't right.
He knew every wizard from Fairy Tail—yet no one went by the name Salamander.
And there was no mission posted for this town, either.
As far as he knew...
He was the only Fairy Tail wizard currently in Hargeon.
"Happy. We're going to check out that Salamander guy."
"Aye, that's the Natsu I know!"
Scooping up Happy in his arms, Natsu bolted down the street without hesitation.
...
Meanwhile — Aboard the Ship
"Welcome aboard our slave ship. Stay quiet until we reach Bosco, sweetheart."
"W-What?! Bosco?! Wait a second—what about Fairy Tail?!"
"I told you. This is a slave ship. From the beginning, we planned to sell you. Might as well stop resisting."
"No...!"
She'd been tricked.
No—she'd been foolish enough to fall for it.
All because the man said he was from Fairy Tail.
She'd let her guard down and joined the party...
Even when she sensed something odd in the wine, she never imagined she'd wake up aboard a slave ship.
I thought he was just a creep who used charm magic to attract women...
"Salamander's gotten clever. When they're under charm, they practically throw themselves at you."
"Seems like this one resisted it though. Maybe we'll need to 'train' her a little~."
"Heh heh heh..."
No way... This can't be real...
He's supposed to be a famous wizard... and yet... he's selling women into slavery?!
This piece of trash is claiming to be from Fairy Tail?!
Desperate, she tried to move her legs to summon a Celestial Spirit—
But Salamander noticed.
He reached under her skirt and ripped the keyring from her waist.
"Hmm... Gate keys, huh? You're a Celestial Spirit Wizard?"
"Celestial Spirit...? What's that?"
"Beats me. We don't know squat about magic."
"Don't worry about it," Salamander smirked.
"Only the contractor can use that kind of magic. So basically, it's useless to me."
And with that, he tossed the keys right out the window into the sea.
But even worse than losing her last defense—
Was realizing that someone from the guild she admired... was behind all this.
The rage in her chest boiled over.
But Salamander didn't care.
He stepped forward, now holding a branding iron glowing red-hot with fire magic.
"Let's get that slave mark on you first. It'll sting a bit, but you'll live."
Using magic to deceive people and even sell them as slaves...
This wasn't the justice I believed in.
This was not what a true wizard stood for.
If this man really belonged to Fairy Tail—the guild I admired—there was no way he could commit such a vile act.
All I ever wanted was to become a great wizard like the one who saved me when I was a child.
I clenched my teeth and prepared to fight back, struggling violently—
"W-What the?!"
"H-Huh?!"
Suddenly, a lavender mist began to creep through the room.
The men who were restraining me collapsed like puppets, sprawled lifelessly across the floor.
Even Salamander flinched and dropped the branding iron he'd been holding, immediately shifting into a combat stance.
Then I heard it.
A cold, chilling laughter—so quiet, yet so sinister—echoing from within the mist.
I froze, instinctively falling to the floor as a shiver ran through my spine.
[Ku fu fu fu fu...]
"W-Who's there?! What the hell are you?!"
[Anyone who claims to be a Fairy Tail wizard… could never commit something this disgusting.]
"F-Fairy Tail...?!"
The mist before me swirled and condensed, slowly taking the shape of a man.
Eventually, he stood fully formed in front of me.
He had long, black-blue hair tied in a low ponytail.
His coat—a sleek, jet-black longcoat with ornate markings on the shoulders—billowed slightly with his movement.
Black trousers, black gloves, and a long, dark spear in his right hand.
Everything about him was wrapped in darkness.
He stood with his back to me, so I couldn't see his face.
But strangely... I felt like I had met him before.
There was something eerily familiar about him.
"Bora whether you are good or evil matters not to me.
But falsely claiming the name of Fairy Tail—that crime must be punished."
"H-How do you know my real name?! Who the hell are you?!"
Salamander backed away in fear, but the mysterious man only chuckled again.
"Ku fu fu fu fu... To create what does not exist, and erase what does— To become the illusion that hides the truth of the guild. That is why I am here."
"What are you even saying—GAAAHHHH!!!"
"Wh-What the—?! A pillar of fire in the middle of the ocean?!"
Just as Salamander prepared to cast a spell at him, a massive flame pillar erupted from beneath his feet, engulfing both him and part of the ship, roaring into the sky.
What kind of magic... is that?!
Before I could process anything, the man turned his head slightly to look at me.
His eyes—glowing red with strange markings carved into them—were just like the owl's I saw earlier.
Dangerous.
Unfathomable.
And far from human.
"It seems... like you, too, are destined to be caught up in chaos. Just like her."
"You... You know about me...? Who are you?"
"Ku fu fu fu... I can say no more. Everything follows its path. One day, you'll understand."
"What are you talking about?!"
"...I'd like to stay and talk more, but it seems... this is as far as I go. The rest... I leave to that boy."
With that final whisper, his body dissolved into violet mist—And vanished.
The roaring fire vanished with him, as though it had never existed.
The deck was untouched.
But the unconscious bodies of Salamander and his men lay sprawled across the floor, eyes rolled back.
"What… just happened…?"
Still in shock, I tried to stand.
And then—
CRASH!!
The ceiling caved in, and someone came crashing down from above.
A pink-haired boy with a well-built frame.
"Which one of you bastards claims to be from Fairy Tail?! Show me your face!!"
"Natsu?!"
"Huh...? Lucy? Wait—why are you here? Ugh... oh no…"
"W-What's wrong?!"
"I... I can't… I'm gonna throw up…"
"Huh?! N-No—wait!! Not on me!! This dress was expensive! STOP—!!"
"UuuhhhwaaAAAARRRGHHH—!!"
Just like that, Natsu Dragneel—who literally smashed through the ship to arrive—vomited all over my dress.
My expensive, designer dress.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!
...
Atop a desolate lighthouse at the outskirts of Hargeon, far from the eyes of any soul, a white owl landed quietly on the railing.
Its right eye sparkled like a sapphire—
But its left glowed red, engraved with a single black rune.
"It seems... this is the limit of what I can currently do."
Though its beak did not move, an unplaceable voice echoed from the owl's body.
It looked toward the ship burning far out at sea, its feathers gently ruffling in the night breeze.
"Lucy Heartfilia... You too, it seems, have been pulled into the current of fate."
With that final murmur, the owl spread its wings wide—And soared into the open sky.
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