Jera was acutely aware of one thing: his current self was no match for that king.
But that wasn't what he truly wanted anyway. He had already found out who the practitioner of Black Magic was—Zeref.
As long as he paid the right price, he could summon unfathomably powerful Black Magic. It sounded so simple.
However, he couldn't obtain that power just yet. But if he handed this girl over to the king, he could get his hands on the necessary catalyst.
That old bastard definitely didn't know he had already figured out the source of his power.
Once he mastered Black Magic himself, he would become the strongest man in this empire.
The Lucy family was actually quite powerful. The old Jera would never have been a match for them, but meeting Zeref had changed everything.
Even without obtaining full Black Magic, he had absorbed some of that demonic aura, making him vastly stronger than before.
Yet, even so, Jera knew he still couldn't defeat the king. He glanced at his subordinates and spoke slowly.
"The strong fighters protecting that girl have already been dealt with by us," he said. "Now, I want to see just where she thinks she can run."
"Even if God himself descended today, he couldn't save her."
He then added with a lecherous smirk, "It's a bit of a pity, though. This little girl is quite the looker. I'm somewhat tempted myself. But thinking about how that damn old man is going to torture this little beauty to death..."
"Even I feel a twinge of pity for her."
"Enough talk. Sweep the entire town. Once we find that girl, our mission is complete."
"And then, it'll be time for me to settle the score with that emperor."
Just as Jera finished speaking, his men scattered in all directions to begin their search.
Meanwhile, Shin was completely disoriented. He had just been wondering where he was when he suddenly slammed face-first into the ground.
Brushing himself off, Shin felt incredibly exasperated. He stood up and looked around. The surrounding architecture was entirely medieval. Is this the world of Fairy Tail? Is this a world of magic?
However, it didn't seem too chaotic. Wasn't this supposed to be the era where dragons and humans were constantly fighting? Why didn't he see a single dragon?
But just as he was thinking about how peaceful this era seemed, a man was suddenly sent flying right past his eyes, landing covered in blood and staring at him.
Shin abruptly turned around and saw a girl sitting there crying, surrounded by a group of men dressed in black.
Their clothes bore a large minotaur emblem—likely their guild mark.
Shin knew that in this world, guilds were the homes of these adventurers.
These people relied on guild quests to survive.
He hadn't expected to witness a guild executing a mission the moment he arrived. It looked quite interesting.
However, having just arrived in this world, it was probably best not to cause unnecessary trouble.
He lifted his foot, preparing to walk away.
But then, he heard a voice from behind.
"So you're Lucy. You really are quite a beauty. No wonder the king has been obsessed with you for so long. Just be a good girl and come with me."
"I promise I won't hurt you. Though I can't touch you... letting us cop a feel shouldn't hurt, right?"
"Right, boys?"
"Hahahaha!"
Waves of lecherous laughter echoed from the surrounding men.
The man leading them spoke slowly again, "Although your butler was tough, you ran into me—a mage from the most powerful guild in the empire."
"Even if your father came here himself, he couldn't defeat me. So give up on any thoughts of running away. Following me obediently is your best option."
Shin had originally intended to ignore the situation, but... Lucy? Wasn't that... wasn't that the Lucy? Natsu's main squeeze?
But that was too absurd. How could it be? This wasn't Natsu's era. How could there be a Lucy here?
He turned his head to see if that person was actually Lucy. But just at that moment...
A fierce-looking man coincidentally turned his head and locked eyes with Shin.
Shin smiled. It seemed he couldn't avoid this trouble today no matter what. He spoke slowly, "You guys are really something. Bullying a little girl? What kind of men are you?"
"I've never seen anyone as thick-skinned as you lot. You truly are the scum of humanity."
"And you have the nerve to call yourselves the 'most powerful guild' in this empire?"
Honestly, given Shin's usual temperament, he would have slipped away long ago. After all, even if that girl really was Lucy, it had absolutely nothing to do with him.
But that man had glared at him. According to standard plot progression, even if he didn't say anything, they would probably yell something like, "What are you looking at??" He might as well strike a cool pose first.
Actually, Shin could feel that his strength had diminished somewhat due to the laws of this new world.
His abilities were heavily restricted.
But even so, beating up the so-called "strongest in the empire" shouldn't be a problem.
If push came to shove, relying on the power from the Bleach world, combined with his Naruto abilities, would definitely be enough to crush the man in front of him.
For some inexplicable reason, Shin could clearly discern the man's magic power level. He wasn't sure exactly what allowed him to gauge their magical strength so precisely.
Because of Shin's words, the other men, including Jera, slowly turned to look at him.
They looked as if they wanted to swallow Shin whole.
At this point, Shin couldn't hold back either. What is this, a staring contest? He immediately mocked them, "Is this the strongest guild? All of you, come at me together. I don't want to be accused of bullying you."
The men burst into roaring laughter.
"Did I hear that right? This snot-nosed brat wants to challenge our entire guild?"
"Hahaha, that's hilarious! Kid, are you out of your mind? You? Challenge us?"
"York, teach him a lesson. Don't kill him outright; leave him with one breath so he knows the terror of the Minotaur Guild."
The moment the man spoke, the onlookers on the street, who had been watching the spectacle, panicked and began to scatter.
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