"Eh——?!"
Lucy was horrified. "And you two still plan to go?!"
"If I don't, I'll never get to do an S-Class mission!"
"Fine, then you two go—but I'm definitely not going with you!"
Lucy refused outright. One reason was the guild rules—non–S-Class mages weren't allowed to take S-Class missions. The other reason? She remembered all too well how terrifying Kaien could be—especially when he entered that "Tyrant" mode. Just standing near him had nearly scared her half to death.
If Kaien found out she'd secretly taken his mission, she didn't even want to imagine the consequences.
"Tch, fine! I was gonna invite you to come along too. Let's go, Happy."
"Aye!"
Natsu and Happy jumped straight out the window.
"Ugh!" Lucy sighed helplessly. Natsu was way too reckless—sneaking off to do an S-Class mission of all things.
"Whatever… forget it. Sleep. I just need sleep."
Just as she turned to head back to her bedroom, she noticed something lying on the floor—a sheet of paper. It was the S-Class request Happy had stolen. She froze.
"What the—?! Why didn't they take it with them?! Now it looks like I stole it! What am I gonna do?!"
Then Lucy's eyes caught something on the paper—the reward.
Not only was there 7 million J, but also… a Golden Key.
She snatched it up and read closely. "Seriously? There's actually a Zodiac Key as part of the reward?!"
For most mages, Zodiac Keys meant nothing. But for a Celestial Spirit Mage, they were priceless treasures. There were only twelve Zodiac Keys in the entire world.
To think one of them was part of this quest's reward…
"…"
Lucy immediately ran to the window and shouted, "Natsu! Happy! Wait for me!!"
"Crap—!!"
"Master! The request from the second floor is gone!"
Mirajane did her usual morning inspection to make sure all job requests were accounted for, preventing any trouble with clients.
But when she got to the second floor today, she found the board completely empty. The S-Class mission she'd set aside for Kaien had vanished.
Her heart skipped a beat. Losing an S-Class request was no small matter. She hurried down the stairs to report to Makarov.
"Pfft—!"
Makarov spat out his drink in shock. The previously noisy guild suddenly went silent.
Then came Laxus's lazy drawl:
"Last night, I saw a cat sneakily tear something off the board. Oh, and that cat had wings."
"Happy?!"
In Fairy Tail, there was only one winged cat anyone knew.
"So that means Natsu and Lucy were involved too?!"
"What the hell were they thinking? They're screwed this time."
"They actually went to take on an S-Class mission?!"
Everyone in the guild was shocked. S-Class missions weren't just difficult—they were deadly. A single mistake could cost even an S-Class mage their life. Only those approved by the Guild Master could attempt one.
Laxus turned to Makarov with a smirk.
"That's a serious violation of guild rules, isn't it, old man? When they get back, they'll be kicked out, right? Not that it matters—they probably won't survive anyway, haha!"
Mirajane stormed over to Laxus and demanded, "You knew what would happen! Why didn't you stop them?!"
Laxus shrugged, feigning innocence.
"All I saw was a breeze and a cat ripping down a paper before running off. How was I supposed to know it was Happy—or that Natsu planned to take an S-Class job?"
Mirajane glared daggers at him.
He smirked. "Heh, haven't seen that expression from you in a while."
Makarov asked her, "Which request was it?"
He hadn't seen the mission yet—it had arrived while he was at a council meeting, and he'd been busy cleaning up after Kaien's last mess since returning.
"The Cursed Island—Galuna Island."
Makarov's face turned ashen. "The Demon Island?!" he shouted.
Everyone in the guild gasped. Galuna Island was infamous—a place said to be home to real demons.
"Laxus! Go bring them back!"
"You've gotta be kidding. I've got my own work to do. Mages who can't clean up their own messes don't deserve to stay in this guild. Isn't that what you always say?"
"Ugh…"
Makarov grimaced. He hadn't expected Laxus to throw his own words back at him.
Then Mirajane suddenly remembered. "Master! Kaien! That mission was originally for Kaien! You weren't around at the time, so he held off on it."
Makarov's eyes lit up. That brat Kaien was obsessed with S-Class missions. With his strength, tracking down Natsu and the others would be a breeze.
"Sarusuke! Go find Kaien immediately!"
"Yes, sir!"
Sarusuke activated his Godspeed Magic, sprinting at incredible speed toward Kaien's home.
Morning sunlight filtered through the window as Kaien woke up, stretching lazily. The fatigue from the night of heavy drinking had completely faded—he felt refreshed and ready.
"Nice weather today. Perfect for a mission."
He packed his things, planning to head to the guild and pick up his next job.
Just then—Knock knock knock!
Someone was banging urgently on his door.
"Who is it? Coming!"
Kaien opened the door, curious who'd be visiting this early. Sarusuke stood outside, panting slightly.
"Sarusuke? What brings you here?"
"Kaien! The Guild Master needs you right away!"
"The Master?"
Kaien frowned, puzzled, but followed him back to the guild.
The moment he arrived, Mirajane rushed to him.
"Kaien! It's bad—Natsu and the others secretly went to do an S-Class mission!"
"So what? It's just an S-Class mission. No big deal."
He hadn't realized the problem yet.
"They took your S-Class mission."
"What?!!"
Kaien's voice shot up instantly. His expression twisted into a snarl.
"Those idiots—are they trying to die?! How dare they touch my mission?!"
His S-Class missions were directly tied to how fast he got stronger. They could touch anything else—but not those.
"I'm going to kill them!!"