Chapter 31: Phantom Lord – The Beginning of War (4)
The headquarters of the wizard guild Phantom Lord.
The place was steeped in a damp, chilling aura that seemed to seep straight through the walls.
Lucy awoke there.
"…Nngh? …Huh? …Wha—?!"
Slowly opening her eyes, she glanced around, only to realize her hands were bound. She scrambled up in alarm.
"What is this?! Where am I?!"
"You're awake, Miss Lucy Heartfilia."
"Who's there?!"
She turned toward the voice.
The heavy iron door swung open, and in stepped the master of Phantom Lord, Jose Porla, walking toward her with a measured, almost gentlemanly stride.
"Phantom Lord?!"
At the sight of him, Lucy's memory came rushing back.
She'd just finished visiting the injured Levy and her friends, and was debating whether to head for Phantom Lord's guild when a well-dressed man and woman appeared before her.
They had introduced themselves as members of the Element 4. And then… they attacked.
Only now did she truly grasp the situation—she had been kidnapped. Lucy glared at Jose.
"Untie me right now!"
"I realize this filthy cell and these restraints are terribly rude… but you are a prisoner at the moment, so I ask for your understanding."
"Prisoner? You bastards attacked Levy and the others—!"
"Depending on your attitude, I'm prepared to treat you not as a prisoner, but as our most honored guest."
Hearing Jose say he would give a Fairy Tail wizard such treatment only deepened Lucy's suspicion. She fixed him with a sharp glare—
—but then yelped and fell on her rear when a bug scuttled past her leg.
Jose chuckled.
"Not fond of cells, are we? Behave yourself, and I'll move you to a suite."
"Wh… why did you attack us?!"
"'Us'?"
Jose touched his chin in mock thought before answering with smug arrogance.
"Ah, you mean Fairy Tail? That was just a bonus."
"What?!"
"Our real objective is to capture a certain individual. They just happened to be in Fairy Tail, so… we figured we'd wipe you out in the process."
"What individual?"
"For the heiress of the great Heartfilia family, you're rather slow to catch on."
Jose closed the distance, raised a finger, and pointed directly at her.
"Why, you, of course—Lucy Heartfilia of the Heartfilia fortune."
"H–How do you know that?!"
"It seems you've been hiding your identity inside the guild. I can't imagine why the daughter of one of the wealthiest families in the country would be wasting her time on dangerous, poorly paid work."
"So this is… a kidnapping?"
"No, no, nothing so crude. The one who commissioned me to bring you here was none other than your father."
Lucy's eyes went wide. Her heart sank.
She had run away over a year ago, without a single word or letter. Her father had never reached out—not once. And now he was looking for her?
And worse—Phantom Lord had attacked because she was in Fairy Tail. Her body trembled.
"No… no way… why would he…?"
"Well, obviously, any father would look for his runaway daughter."
"No! He's not the kind of man who'd care about something like that! I'm never going back! I'm not returning to that house!"
Jose sighed at the defiant young woman's glare, dismissing her words as the naïve outburst of a sheltered girl.
"My, my… what a troublesome young lady."
"Untie me. Now."
"That, I cannot do."
"…Then at least let me use the bathroom."
"Ah, the classic trick."
"No, seriously… I really have to—please~"
Jose wasn't about to be fooled. He'd already assumed she'd try to escape under that pretense, so he pointed to a battered bucket in the corner.
"There. Use that."
"Eh?!"
"Hohoho… there are plenty of countermeasures for such old-fashioned ploys."
"A… a bucket?"
"W–Wait! You're actually going to—?!"
Jose had meant to mock her for trying such a transparent trick, but then Lucy lifted her skirt and fiddled with the waistband of her panties right in front of him.
Caught off guard by the sight of a young girl unabashedly preparing to undress in front of a man, Jose hastily spun around.
"Y–You really are a shameless young lady!"
As vile as his deeds were, Jose still fancied himself a gentleman—he had no desire to be a pervert watching a woman relieve herself.
Which was exactly what Lucy was counting on.
The moment his back was turned, she adjusted her underwear and, with all her strength, kicked Jose squarely in the groin.
"Gwahhh—!!"
Even the master of curse magic wasn't immune to that kind of pain.
Jose crumpled to the floor, howling in agony.
Lucy smirked down at him, tossing his earlier words right back at him.
"Guess old-fashioned tricks still work after all."
"Aaaarghhh—!!"
"Well then, take care of yourself, ♥"
Now all she had to do was escape.
Just as Lucy was about to slip through the iron door that Jose had entered from, thinking she could escape, she was forced to halt.
"Huh?"
Beyond the iron door, there was no hallway—only an open exit.
She stepped out onto a narrow ledge, and the sight before her took her breath away. From here, she could see far into the distance, the view as high as the top of a massive clock tower.
"Oh no… this is an aerial prison…"
…
Jose, who had managed to grit his teeth and endure the pain, slowly got to his feet and walked toward her.
"How dare you… do that to me…"
Behind her was a sheer drop. In front of her stood Jose. There was nowhere to run.
Lucy's mind went blank, panic welling up inside her.
If she jumped, she would die.
If she stayed and let Jose capture her, she would be locked in an even more secure place and lose any chance of escape.
"Now… come this way. It's time you were punished. I'll show you just how terrifying Phantom Lord can be."
Unable to think of any escape, Lucy turned her head to look outside again.
It was at least as high as the great clock tower—falling from here meant certain death.
As she swallowed hard, still searching for an answer, a voice echoed in her mind.
[My, my… you really do have a knack for getting into danger, don't you?]
"…Huh?"
[Lucy, don't speak—just listen.]
The voice rang clearly inside her head, and along with it came the image of a man—just like back at the hospital.
The wizard from Fairy Tail who had once saved her when she was a child.
Without saying a word, Lucy gave a small nod.
[Now… jump. Right now.]
"What?! What are you talking about?!"
Jose tilted his head at her sudden outburst.
"Hoh… has the fear made you lose your mind?"
The voice spoke again, calm and steady.
[Don't worry. Just jump. If you've remembered who I am, then you know you can trust me.]
"But…"
[You'll be safe. I promise.]
Uncertainty clawed at her, but… if this voice truly belonged to him—the man who had always appeared to save her in her most desperate moments—then she had no choice but to trust him.
Making up her mind, Lucy once again kicked Jose where it hurt most and leapt from the tower.
"Ghhhaaaah!"
Jose crumpled to his knees by the railing, clutching himself in agony. He could do nothing but watch as Lucy plummeted, too wracked with pain to even use magic.
"Y-You little—!!"
The wind roared past her ears, buffeting her body as she fell. Her heart pounded wildly, her legs trembled, and goosebumps raced across her skin.
"Aaahhhh—!!"
But then… suddenly, the rush of wind stopped. She felt something soft and cool wrap around her body.
Slowly opening her eyes, she saw she was enveloped in a pale violet mist.
"You're…!"
The mist held her gently, lowering her toward the ground. And there, catching her in his arms, was the man whose voice had guided her.
"Kufufufu… it seems we always meet in dangerous situations, don't we?"
His skin was like white porcelain, his features sharp and flawless, his crimson eyes bringing back memories of long ago—when she had been a frightened little girl, kidnapped and alone, and he had come to save her, comforting her with gentle words.
He was the Fairy Tail wizard she had longed to meet again ever since joining the guild.
"I… I…"
"Don't blame yourself, Lucy. This isn't your fault. And even if it were, everyone in Fairy Tail would still accept you."
"Wait!"
He set her down and began to fade away. Lucy reached out, desperate to at least learn his name.
But with a soft chuckle, he left her only one last sentence before vanishing into mist.
"Kufufufu… I'm afraid this is as far as I can go for now. Don't be in such a hurry—we'll meet again soon enough."
"W-Wait…!"
Her hand grasped at the dissipating mist, but before she could say more, a familiar voice called out.
"Luuucyyy!"
"Lucy!"
She turned her head to see Natsu and Happy rushing toward her.
"Natsu!"
"Are you okay?!"
"Yeah… more or less."
Natsu looked her over quickly, breathing in relief when he saw she wasn't hurt. He untied the rope around her wrists in one swift motion.
"But how did you find me? Weren't you fighting Phantom Lord?"
"I overheard that Gajeel guy talking, so I came to get you."
"I see…"
"Anyway, you're safe now! Let's head back to the guild!"
"What?! We're in their headquarters right now! That means—"
"Erza said to fall back."
"That's just because she's scared! I'm not afraid of punks like these!"
"The Master's badly hurt!"
"I'm getting revenge for the old man!"
Ignoring Happy's words, Natsu prepared to charge off—only to stop when he saw Lucy standing there with tears in her eyes, apologizing over and over.
"I'm sorry… this is… all my fault…"
"Lucy?"
"I… I still want to stay in the guild… Fairy Tail is really—"
"H-Hey! What's wrong? What happened?!"
"Lucy…?"
Lucy wiped at her tears with trembling hands, but they kept falling as she broke down again.
Natsu, who was terrible at dealing with people crying, felt cold sweat forming on his forehead.
He couldn't understand why she was saying things like wanting to stay in the guild—wasn't that obvious?
"If you want to be in the guild, then just stay! Why are you—"
"Natsu… let's just go back…"
Natsu glanced between Lucy, who was hiccupping and stumbling over her words, and Happy tugging at his pants leg. He scratched his head and sighed.
"Alright… fine. Guess there's no helping it."
He crouched down and let Lucy climb onto his back before carrying her toward the guild.
All the while, Lucy kept her face buried in Natsu's back, quietly sobbing without saying another word.
…
"Ghh…!"
Much later, Jose finally regained consciousness. Staggering down the hallway, he soon collapsed to his knees again, unable to endure the pain.
He could not—would not—forgive Lucy for humiliating him, especially after kicking him there twice.
With a face twisted in agony, he ground his teeth so hard the veins on his forehead bulged.
"Y-You'll pay for this… you wretched girl…"
Gasping for breath, Jose snapped his fingers.
From the floor, black mist began to rise, swirling until it took the form of Ciel before him.
"Hurry… help me up. I can't stand on my own—"
Without a word, Ciel nodded and slipped an arm under Jose's, supporting him.
But just as Jose managed to get to his feet, he suddenly lashed out—striking Ciel hard across the face.
"This is all—!"
"…."
"—because of your Fairy Tail!"
"…."
"You dare…! You dare…!"
Over and over, Jose slapped Ciel across the face, striking him until his own hand turned red.
Ciel endured the blows without a single word of protest, continuing to support Jose afterward as they moved down the hall.
"Tch… to think I'd have to be carried by some puppet… What a disgrace… Fine then, Fairy Tail—if that's how you want to play it, I'll answer in kind."
With a bloodshot glare, Jose gave a cold smile.
"Ciel. Prepare yourself. From this moment on—it's all-out war with Fairy Tail."
"…."
Still silent, Ciel gave a small nod and guided Jose deeper into the heart of the castle.
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