"Wh... what is this?!"
Gray was shocked to see Takeshi conjure a boat. He had naturally seen Takeshi in this state before. His powerful Fire Magic was even stronger than Natsu's. But he had never heard that Takeshi also knew Spatial Magic.
Takeshi asked, "A small boat. Don't you recognize it?"
Gray shook his head. "No... I certainly recognize a boat. The problem is, how did this boat appear?"
"How? Of course, it was materialized."
Takeshi had known this when he used Take Over Magic. He could materialize equipment owned by anime characters, like Yoriichi's Nichirin Blade or Whitebeard's Murakumogiri, by consuming magic power.
"Materialize? Don't you use Take Over Magic? How can you also use Materialization Magic?"
Gray looked at Takeshi in disbelief, while also getting onto the boat. Since the front of the boat was a single seat, he could only stand behind the propulsion port, gripping the mast.
"I did use Take Over Magic. This small boat is the original equipment of the character I transformed into, Ace, who is a pirate."
Ace's single-person speedboat was also one of his commonly used pieces of equipment. A few months ago, Takeshi had taken an S-Class Quest to eliminate ten pirate groups. At that time, he had used this small boat to defeat those pirates, earning him the title 'Flame Emperor'.
"Hold on tight. We're off."
Gray was a little confused by what Takeshi said, but he soon understood.
Whoosh!
Takeshi put his hands in his pockets, and flames burst from his feet. Immediately after, flames erupted from the rear and left propulsion ports, creating a terrifying thrust. With a ninety-degree drift, the speedboat shot forward rapidly.
"Ahhhhhhh! Fast! Too fast—!"
Gray clutched the mast with both hands, his whole body swaying like a flag, screaming in terror.
...
After about twenty minutes, Takeshi and Gray arrived at Galuna Island.
Gray's face was pale. He had never ridden such an exhilarating boat in his life. The boat's speed was simply too great. Takeshi had covered a journey that would normally take four or five hours in less than twenty minutes.
After the two landed, Takeshi deactivated the transformation, and the small boat disappeared.
"According to the request form, the client is in a village on this island. The village chief is the client for this quest, so let's go find the village first."
Takeshi led Gray to search for the village. The village was not difficult to find, there was a path in the woods, and following it straight led to the village.
The two soon arrived in front of the village. It looked like a primitive tribal village, surrounded by tall wooden walls to prevent wild beasts from attacking.
At this moment, the village gate was tightly shut, and two large characters were written on it: "No Entry."
"No Entry? What's going on with this village? Is anyone there?! Can you open the gate?!" Gray stepped forward and shouted loudly.
At this moment, Natsu and the others inside the village were startled by the sound.
"Gray!"
The few of them immediately panicked.
"What's happening?! Why is Gray here?!"
"I don't know. He's not here to drag us back, is he?"
"Isn't this too fast?"
They had secretly snuck out last night, and as soon as they entered, the other party had already found them.
The village guard asked from below, "Who are you?"
"We are Mages from Fairy Tail. Have you seen a small blue cat, a blonde girl, and a very conspicuous guy with pink hair, a very annoying face, and an extremely bad personality?"
Natsu gritted his teeth in anger upon hearing Gray describe him like that. "Gray, that jerk! Underwear thief!"
He quickly said to the village chief, "Shh... Don't say you've seen us. He's here to take us back, and if we get caught, no one will be able to help you lift the curse."
The village chief immediately shook his head, signaling the guard.
"No... haven't seen them."
"Then can you let us into the village? It's getting late, and we'd like to rest here for the night."
"No... you can't. This village doesn't welcome outsiders."
"I see. Then we'll leave."
Hearing Gray say they would leave, Natsu and the others breathed a sigh of relief.
Suddenly—
Boom!
The village gate exploded.
"Whoa!"
Everyone was startled.
A mature male voice emerged from the smoke. "Did you think we would just leave like that?"
"This... this voice..."
"No... no way..."
Hearing this voice, Natsu and the others were instantly terrified.
Soon, everyone clearly saw the appearance of the person at the gate.
Black hair, black eyes, a black T-shirt, gray pants, and flat shoes, looking utterly unremarkable.
But it was this appearance that made Natsu and the others scream in terror, as if they had seen some terrifying monster, or rather, a monster more terrifying than any monster.
"Takeshi!!!"
The village chief and villagers were also somewhat panicked at this moment, quickly hiding and secretly peeking in their direction.
Creak! Creak!
Takeshi stepped over the shattered gate fragments and entered the village.
"Yo! Quest thieves? Good evening." Takeshi said with a smile on his lips.
"Eek—!"
But this smile, to Natsu and the others, was even more terrifying than a devil's smile.
Gray alone was fine, he and Natsu usually fought to a draw. But Takeshi was different; he was a complete monster.
The most crucial thing was that his current transformed state, Tyrant, was said to be his most brutal state. It was rumored that in this state, he had beaten everyone in the guild, and Natsu and Gray apparently couldn't get out of bed for three days.
Although Lucy hadn't seen Takeshi beat up the guild members, she had witnessed him in this state destroy the entire Eisenwald.
Lucy and Happy hugged each other, trembling all over. Natsu was not much better, involuntarily retreating, his body constantly shaking.
"Ta... Ta... Takeshi..."
"Takeshi, it's not my fault! Natsu and Lucy forced me to do it!"
Happy was the first to buckle under the pressure and immediately chose to betray them.
Lucy hadn't seen it, but Happy had. Takeshi in his Tyrant state was the most terrifying.
Lucy, seeing Happy's behavior, immediately shouted, "Traitor cat!"
Gray advised, "You guys are really bold, daring to sneak out to do an S-Class Quest. Master sent me to bring you back. It's still not too late to go back now, or else you'll be kicked out of the guild. Let's go back."
Natsu suppressed his fear and said, "No. No matter what, I must do an S-Class Quest."
Bang!
"Wahhhh!"
As soon as Natsu finished speaking, he was sent flying.
Boom... Boom...
Natsu's body smashed through several houses.
Takeshi appeared where Natsu had just been, using his pinky finger to pick his ear. "Hmm? What did you just say? I didn't hear clearly. Can you say it again?"
***
50 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter