"Oh—this ship is so beautiful!"
Inside the cruise ship, Lucy, wearing a fiery red dress, looked around in amazement.
The fake Salamander, Bora, placed a glass of wine on the table and set out two cups.
Sitting across from Lucy, he smiled. "You flatter me, miss."
"Your name is Lucy, right? what a lovely name."
Bora pretended to be charming as he brushed his hair.
The ring on his finger glowed faintly.
Snap!
He snapped his fingers casually, and Lucy's expression instantly went blank.
Before Bora could do anything else, Lucy suddenly stood up.
She lifted her skirt, her eyes looking at him like he was garbage.
"What are you trying to do?" she said bluntly.
"The magic you're using is a type of Charm Magic, isn't it?"
Bora was a little surprised, but then he smiled. "Oh? You know your stuff, don't you?"
Lucy's gaze was very calm.
"You've got the wrong idea."
"It's true that I want to join Fairy Tail, but that doesn't mean I want to be your woman!"
Bora finally showed his true colors, chuckling. "What a troublesome woman."
As soon as he finished speaking, several curtains in the room were pulled open.
Dozens of big, strong men walked out, carrying a few unconscious young women on their shoulders.
Lucy stared in shock. "What... what is this?"
Bora let out an evil laugh. "Welcome to my ship."
"Until we get to Bosco, you'd better behave, little girl..."
Lucy felt like ice water had been poured over her head. "What do you mean, Bosco? What about Fairy Tail?!"
Bora's eyes narrowed with mean amusement. "Just give up. From now on, you're just another piece of merchandise!"
"These women... they're all..." Lucy looked at the unconscious women and immediately understood Bora's business.
Bora's men burst into laughter. "As expected of the great Salamander! Another fine piece of goods!"
"Damn it!"
Furious, Lucy turned and pulled out a string of golden and silver keys from her pocket.
But the quick Bora immediately used his magic!
Crimson flames, like a whip, shot from Bora's hand and struck Lucy's wrist as a sharp pain made her drop the keychain, and it fell near Bora.
"Gate keys... so you're a Celestial Spirit Mage," Bora said.
"But these are useless to someone like me who hasn't made a contract with them."
Bora sneered and threw the keychain as hard as he could toward the sea outside the ship.
Without her keys, Lucy was helpless as Bora's men closed in on her.
Her heart was filled with anger and sadness.
'Why? Why would anyone do this?'
'Are the Mages of Fairy Tail all this evil?'
Lost in her despair, Lucy couldn't believe that the guild she admired could be so vile!
Just as Lucy stood there, unable to use her magic, a huge crashing sound came from the roof of the cruise ship!
Then, from the hole in the ceiling, Lucy heard a joyful cry.
"Lucy!"
Ankh stood on the surface of the sea, spinning the Celestial Spirit keychain that had just been thrown from the ship.
"That kid has a sense for drama," he remarked.
But before Ankh could finish his thought, Natsu—who had just made a super cool entrance by crashing through the roof—
Right in front of Lucy and Bora's whole crew, turned his head and threw up...
"I can't do it, I'm still so dizzy!!" Natsu clutched his mouth, his face green.
Lucy, forgetting her fear for a second, blurted out.
"Huh?! That's so lame!"
Ankh, standing gracefully on the water, covered his face.
He was embarrassed for this kid.
The biggest weakness of a Dragon Slayer was their terrible motion sickness.
Ankh didn't know why, but even second-generation Dragon Slayers like Laxus got dizzy on any kind of transportation...
The chaos on the ship continued.
With Natsu out of commission, he was an easy target.
Luckily, Happy was a reliable partner.
He grabbed Lucy by the collar and flew into the air with her.
Seeing Lucy escape, Bora panicked.
He quickly used his fire magic. "Catch that cat and that woman! If they report us to the Council, we're finished!"
Several crimson-purple flame whips shot into the sky, chasing after Happy and Lucy.
Struggling to carry Lucy, Happy shouted, "Lucy, you're so heavy!"
"How rude!" Lucy yelled back, clearly she was offended!
But then, looking down at the miserable Natsu on the deck, she asked worriedly, "Is Natsu going to be okay?"
"Don't worry!" Happy grinned confidently. "Natsu might look lame, but he's actually really strong!"
"Huh?!"
Before Lucy could ask more, she heard Happy use all his strength to yell.
"Ankh! Help us!"
'Ankh?' That name sounded so familiar... Wait, Ankh!
Wasn't that the super handsome guy from Mage Weekly? He was the masked man who was with Natsu earlier?
While Lucy was still shocked, she didn't notice the burning flame whip coming straight for her from behind!
Just then, the seawater below Lucy began to move in a pattern, then surged upward, forming a wall that blocked the fire magic.
Ankh calmly watched Happy and Lucy fly toward him.
A circular magic circle glowed on his palm.
"Gravity Lift," he murmured.
Happy, who had been struggling to carry Lucy, suddenly felt her become light as a feather.
To Lucy's amazement, the two of them started gliding smoothly toward Ankh.
Even after they landed safely on the surface of the sea, Lucy's mouth was still hanging open.
'We're... standing on water?'
Lucy loved Fairy Tail, but she didn't follow big news in the magic world very closely.
So, she didn't really understand what titles like "Ten Wizard Saints" or "S-Class Mage" truly meant.
But Lucy did have a bit of a gossipy side.
She might not have known about Salamander or other famous mages, but she definitely recognized Ankh, who was a top-tier celebrity.
Looking at the masked Ankh, Lucy didn't feel starstruck.
Instead, she felt a powerful pressure coming from him.
'This celebrity didn't seem very friendly.'
Ankh noticed Lucy staring and handed her the keychain.
"Here are your keys. For a Celestial Spirit Mage, these are more important than your life."
Lucy quickly took the keys. "Thank you! I won't lose them again!"
Ankh nodded as he slowly reached to his waist.
"By the way," he murmured, "we still need to save Natsu."
Lucy was confused.
Then she saw what Ankh pulled out, and her eyes widened!
A gate key!
'He's a Celestial Spirit Mage, too?'
'And that golden key with the black snake wrapped around it... what spirit did that belong to?'
The black-and-gold key in Ankh's hand began to glow as he chanted softly.
"Open, gate of Ophiuchus!"
Golden light instantly lit up the dark sea, but what followed was an even deeper darkness falling over them.
The colossal sky serpent, large enough to wrap around the cruise ship, made its terrifying debut