บท 77: Chapter 77: What Was Our Mission Again?
The upper body of the Leopard Man was engulfed by flames, and two Stone Beetles sent a retreat request to Rhodes.
Maybe it was getting too hot for them—after all, Stone Beetles were still bugs, not stones.
Rhodes was worried that Natsu's attack might end up killing the target.
In reality, though, Natsu knew when to hold back.
He had a good sense of how much magic power the opponent could use for defense, how much of his own he needed to use for offense, and what the opponent's fighting habits were.
With two short rounds of fighting, Natsu had already figured most of it out.
This was something he was very experienced in.
In contrast, Rhodes was far behind in this aspect. If he took on a bandit subjugation mission, there was a real possibility of someone ending up dead.
Like last time when he caught a mugger on the street and casually ended up breaking their bones—his punches weren't exactly gentle.
When the flames subsided, the Leopard Man's upper body emitted a scorched smell, his fur was curled, and some spots still had lingering flames.
But he didn't fall. Instead, he roared up to the sky, smashing his fists to either side, shattering two Stone Beetles and reducing them to four mini Stone Beetles.
The mini Stone Beetles tried to continue following their "grab the legs" command but were quickly noticed by the Leopard Man, who kicked each one away with a powerful strike.
Two were kicked towards Natsu, and the other two towards Rhodes. With that kind of kick, the Leopard Man could've made a great soccer player.
"Force Recall!"
Rhodes waved his hand, recalling the mini Stone Beetles and ordering an underground Stone Beetle and the one group originally blocking the path to attack.
However, the Stone Beetles couldn't catch up to the Leopard Man as he pounced on Natsu.
Natsu raised his fist to clash head-on with the Leopard Man.
This time, Natsu was knocked back a few steps—the second phase Leopard Man's strength was certainly remarkable.
"Razorbeak Bird, Feather Shot!"
The Razorbeak Birds shot their feathers at the Leopard Man one by one to avoid injuring allies.
The Leopard Man agilely retreated two steps, just about to leap forward again when his body suddenly staggered—his tail was caught by something.
He turned to see three wolves biting into his thick leopard tail.
"Nice, Rhodes! Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
Natsu rushed up, his arms swinging as he rained fiery punches onto the Leopard Man's face and chest.
"Oh, oh, oh!!!" Natsu roared as his fists flew, "Snap out of it, you leopard bastard! Oh, oh, oh!!!"
The Leopard Man stumbled under the onslaught, growling in pain.
"Old man village chief, Sister Snu, and Clouti… they're all waiting for you to come back!"
The red glow in the Leopard Man's eyes faded, replaced by a hint of clarity, but it started to turn red again.
"Get! Back! To your senses!!!"
With a final shout, Natsu's last punch struck the Leopard Man square on the nose, sending him flying.
The Shadow Wolves released their grip as the Leopard Man, wrapped in spiraling flames, spun through the air and fell, bouncing twice before lying still on his back.
It looked like they had won.
But just to be sure, Rhodes ordered the Shadow Wolves to stay hidden, the Razorbeak Birds to keep their distance, and the Stone Beetles to burrow underground.
Ready to grab him if he made any sudden movements.
Fortunately, the worst didn't happen.
The Leopard Man's body began to glow, shrinking in size. His tail, claws, and other features all disappeared, returning him to the form of a young man.
"We did it!!" Natsu and Happy cheered in unison.
Rhodes smiled. "Finally done… Happy, can you move now?"
"Aye! Since you called for a forced recall."
Rhodes pinched Happy's face, "Then why didn't you get up earlier?"
Happy mumbled, his speech muffled, "Because it feels safe being protected by Rhodes."
Rhodes let go of Happy's face. This kid... really knows what to say.
After lightening the tense atmosphere, the three of them went to check on the condition of the young man who had reverted back.
This guy looked…
Rhodes couldn't make out what he looked like, as Natsu had smashed his nose askew, his face was blackened, and his hair was all curled up.
What a mess.
Not to mention, his shirt and pants were long gone—he was left with nothing but a pair of large underpants.
Happy asked, "Is he related to Gray somehow?"
"A freak like Gray isn't that common," Rhodes replied, "The village chief mentioned that someone found Chita's torn clothes on the mountain a few days ago. Maybe they ripped during the use of Take Over magic."
Natsu enthusiastically said, "Anyway, we've completed the mission to subjugate the Beast King! Let's take him back to the village!"
Happy added, "Aye! This is the smoothest mission ever, and Natsu didn't burn down the village! We can finally get the full reward!"
"What did you mean by that, Happy!" Natsu glared.
"I meant, it's really great that we have Rhodes here."
"Are you calling me dead weight?!"
"Aye."
"You bastard!" Natsu chased after Happy, running circles around Rhodes and Chita.
"You two might be celebrating too soon," Rhodes suddenly said, "If I remember correctly, our mission was to 'subjugate the rampaging beast herd and the possible Beast King.' This mission is only halfway done."
"What?!"
Both of them, still in the midst of their chase, stopped, their mouths agape, and Natsu pulled out the mission sheet to carefully double-check.
Rhodes sighed, "So, do you guys normally not remember what the mission actually is?"
"No, because… before we left, you asked Mira all those questions and made a ton of plans," Natsu explained word by word, staring at the mission sheet, "I almost forgot everything that wasn't about fighting…"
Happy testified for Natsu, "Aye, Natsu used to use his brain sometimes. But Rhodes took care of transportation, scouting, meals, resting, and battle plans."
"..." Rhodes was speechless. So, with me around, you two just put your brains on energy-saving mode, only taking them out when it's time to fight?
Rhodes figured that if this kept up, he'd end up as the guild's head logistician sooner or later.
With a bit more experience and power, he could even compete for Mira's position.
"Anyway, let's take him back first. Maybe if the village chief is happy enough, he'll just declare our mission complete."
...
It was nearing noon, and smoke was rising from chimneys all over the village.
Except for the village chief's house, where it had been quiet all along.
Village chief Pansell sat idly in his living room, sometimes looking up at his son's "memorial photo," sometimes leaning on his cane, pacing anxiously across the room.
Snu was busy looking after Worm, occasionally brewing fresh hot tea for Pansell.
Clouti was obediently waiting at home, just as Natsu had instructed, but soon after seeing Worm, she was attracted by its cute appearance. She wanted to reach out and touch it but didn't dare.
Since the magical beast had been left by the Magi as an emergency communication tool, both Pansell and Snu had forbidden Clouti from touching it.
Worm didn't really mind playing with Clouti, but Snu had given it lots of little snacks. After all, eating was much more important than playing.
"Village chief! Village chief!" A young man burst into Pansell's home.
"They're back! The Magi are back! They've brought Chita with them! Chita is alive! Chita is alive!"
The village chief, who had been pacing in the living room, suddenly stopped, his cane clattering onto the floor.
The elderly man didn't bother to pick up his cane, trembling as he walked outside, moving faster and faster until he was almost running.
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