Chapter 7: The Phantom's Gambit
Time passed bit by bit. Inside the mayor's mansion, the atmosphere became increasingly tense.
Outside the reinforced windows, the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in shades of blood-orange and deep purple. The shadows in the room grew long and menacing, and a heavy silence settled over the main hall, broken only by the nervous shuffling of the Rune Knights stationed outside and the frantic, quiet prayers of Mayor Cost.
Elfman stood by the main door like a stone statue, his arms crossed. He was trying to project an aura of pure "manliness," but Ren could see the slight tremor in his hands. The trauma of S-Class missions was clearly still fresh.
Ren himself sat calmly in a chair, his eyes closed, seemingly resting. In reality, he was conserving every ounce of mental and physical energy. He had a 1.5-Star magic container and a 3-minute time limit. This wasn't a duel; it was a desperate race against the clock.
As the last sliver of sun vanished, the night turned unnaturally still. The cicadas stopped. The wind died.
"They're here," Ren said, his eyes snapping open.
At that very moment, on the roof of a distant building, thirteen figures stood silhouetted against the pale moon. They were precisely the thirteen great thieves of the Phantom Bandit Gang.
"Oh, oh! So many people! Look at all those little knights," a member with an afro chuckled, putting his hand to his eyes to peer at the heavily guarded Mayor's Mansion in the distance. "Leader! Wouldn't it be better if we just made our move directly? Why bother sending out a notice?"
"Idiot! This is the Leader's plan! Right, Leader?" another member with a yellow fringe said, looking admiringly at the man in the middle.
The man was tall and slender, draped in a black cloak that seemed to drink the moonlight. A silver mask covered his face, and his voice, when he spoke, was cold and metallic, devoid of any human warmth. This was the leader of the Phantom Bandit Gang, known as the 'King of Assassins,' Camille.
"This world needs a terror to announce our return," Camille said, his voice carrying easily on the dead air. "This mayor is the perfect target. I want everyone to understand that anyone targeted by our Phantom Bandit Gang, even the Magic Council, cannot protect them!"
His voice dropped to a hiss. "Anyone who dares to provoke us, once given a death ultimatum, will only face death!!!"
He raised his hand. "Go! Tonight, the name of our Phantom Bandit Gang will resound throughout the world! We will become this world's nightmare!!!"
"Oh oh oh oh oh oh!!!"
The bandits roared and leaped from the roof.
Boom!!!!
A massive explosion rang out from the mansion's courtyard as the main gate was blasted off its hinges.
"Enemy attack!!!!"
The Rune Knights shouted, their formations instantly tightening as they raised their shields.
The Mayor was instantly startled, yelping and diving behind a sofa.
Elfman's nerves also tightened, his whole body tensing. "They've arrived?!"
Ren nodded, his expression grim. "It seems so."
The Mayor, now peeking over the sofa, became flustered. "Mr. Ren, what should I do?"
"You don't need to do anything," Ren said, his voice sharp and clear, cutting through the panic. "Just don't cause any trouble. This place has already been set up with a ritual barrier by the Rune Knights. As long as you don't foolishly run out yourself, you'll be fine for a while."
Ren walked to the window, peering through the curtains at the battle that had erupted in the courtyard. The Rune Knights were not as useless as depicted in the anime. They were a well-trained magical army. In terms of magical power alone, they were comparable to an average guild Mage, and with their excellent equipment, their strength was even greater. They had formed a phalanx, their magical shields interlocked as they faced the incoming bandits.
However, the Phantom Bandit Gang tore through them like paper.
"Earth-Shake: Spikes!" one of the bandits roared, slamming his hands on the ground. A dozen stone spears erupted from the earth, impaling three Rune Knights before they could even scream.
"Hah! Weak!" the yellow-fringed bandit cackled, his hands glowing as he threw stone after stone, each exploding with the force of a small bomb, shattering the Knights' shield wall.
"This... this is S-Class..." Elfman whispered in horror, watching the one-sided slaughter.
Even such a well-trained force of Rune Knights was now being beaten back, step by step. Before long, their formation broke, and it became a massacre. All the Rune Knights had fallen to the ground, either dead or dying.
Seeing this, the Mayor became even more panicked: "Mr. Ren... they... they're all..."
Ren turned away from the window, his face grim. "Elfman, protect the Mayor. No matter what happens, do not let him leave your sight. That's your 'man's' duty."
"Ren, you... what are you going to do?!"
"I'll take care of them."
Ren walked calmly toward the main door.
At this moment, the thirteen members of the Phantom Bandit Gang gathered in front of the house's main entrance, laughing.
"Haha~! These Magic Council guys are too weak! It's not exciting enough! Not exciting at all!"
"They join the Council precisely because they're weak! What ambitious Mage would want to join there?"
"Now all that's left is to kill that mayor and the mission will be over, right? Let's finish it quickly then!"
Several of the bandits stepped forward, confident in their victory.
Bang!!
An invisible wall of magic shimmered in front of them, blocking their path.
"Heh! A ritual barrier! Interesting. Watch me break it!" one of them said, placing his hand on the barrier and beginning to chant a counter-spell.
"Creak!"
The door opened.
Ren stepped out, his hands in his pockets, and walked straight towards them, passing directly through the barrier and moving beyond its range to stand on the blood-soaked grass of the courtyard.
"Huh! Someone actually came out to die."
At this moment, Camille noticed the guild emblem on the back of Ren's right hand. "It's Fairy Tail. So that's it, the Mayor requested aid from a Mage Guild."
"Fairy Tail? Is that the Mage Guild that's been particularly active recently?"
"That's right! It's that guild!"
The yellow-fringed bandit grinned. "Heh! Kid, knowing we're the Phantom Bandit Gang, you still dared to take on this mission. You've got a lot of guts!"
"Phantom Bandit Gang?" Ren said, his voice flat. "Sorry, never heard of it."
He had heard of the Phantom Troupe, but that was from the Hunter x Hunter anime. There really wasn't such a segment in the Fairy Tail anime. According to the timeline, the plot hadn't even started yet.
Camille looked at Ren and said, "Kid, seeing as you're ignorant, if you give up the mission now, I can let you go."
The yellow-fringed member exclaimed in surprise: "Huh?! Kid, you're really lucky! The Leader is rarely this merciful."
Ren shook his head, refusing. "I've already accepted the commission, so it's naturally impossible to abandon the mission. You've targeted my client, which makes you an enemy of Fairy Tail."
"Kid, since this is the path you've chosen, there's nothing more to say. Let's do this!" Camille was merely acting on a whim; like seeing an ant pass by, there was no need to stomp on every single one.
A cold, hollow spiritual pressure erupted from Ren.
"Full Take Over! Ulquiorra Cifer!"
The air temperature plummeted. Ren's body began to change. His simple clothes transformed into a white-faced, black-backed, high-collared, long-sleeved jacket. His lower body was a white kimono-style skirt-pant, cinched with a wide black obi. A Zanpakutō was tucked into the obi. His skin became slightly pale, his eyes turned green, with green tear-marks below them. The left side of his head was adorned with a white, horned helmet.
"Hahaha!! What a flashy transformation! Die!!"
The yellow-fringed member, seeing Ren's new form, was the first to act. He raised his hand and threw a magically-charged stone at Ren.
Ren, his expression now completely devoid of emotion, simply raised his hand and caught it.
Boom!!!!
In the very next instant, the stone exploded like a bomb, engulfing Ren in the blast.
"Hahahaha!! What an idiot! How can you just catch something someone throws at you! Hahahaha~!" The yellow-fringed member clutched his stomach, laughing heartily.
"Ren!!" Elfman, watching from the window, roared in panic, his heart stopping.
Suddenly!
Bang!!
A powerful spiritual pressure erupted from the center of the explosion, scattering the smoke and flames.
Ren reappeared, standing in the exact same spot, without a single sign of injury on his body. His hand, which had caught the stone, was pristine.
"What?!" The members of the Bandit Gang were all greatly astonished. They had all witnessed Ren holding the explosive as it detonated.
"You... you're not dead?!" the yellow-fringed member stammered, his laughter gone.
"Hierro," Ren said, his voice a cold whisper. His skin, harder than steel, was not something such a weak attack could even scratch.
"Damn it! I don't believe you can't be killed by an explosion!" Stones appeared in the yellow-fringed member's hands, and he rapidly threw them at Ren, creating a barrage of explosions.
Ren simply stood there, letting the attacks wash over him, his white uniform untouched.
"Sonído."
Whoosh!!!!
Ren's figure vanished instantly.
The yellow-fringed member froze, his eyes darting around wildly. "Where'd he—?!"
The next moment, Ren reappeared behind him.
"Pfft!!!!"
A long, slender blade pierced through the yellow-fringed member's body from behind.
"Wh-what...?" The bandit looked down in disbelief at the blade protruding from his chest.
"Sorry, I'm in a bit of a hurry."
Ren said indifferently, pulling his Zanpakutō free. His magical power was too low. With only a 1.5-Star container, he could only maintain this Take Over for a maximum of three minutes. If he didn't eliminate these guys within that time, he would be the one eliminated. Therefore, he had to finish this quickly.
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