Fairy Tail: Saint Seiya Magic Unleashed

Chapter 38: Gotta Raise the Price

"K-Kagayama! "

Seeing his comrade sprawled unconscious on the ground, Piado's whole body trembled. Not out of concern—but because he'd just witnessed his own fate through Kagayama.

"Stop! I surrender!"

As Moen slowly approached, fists clenched and wearing a sinister grin, Piado collapsed to his knees with a thud, throwing himself to the ground in submission.

Moen narrowed his eyes.

He looked down at the groveling figure before him—his eyes full of disgust.

"A man can be weak in many ways," he thought, "but if your spine gives out—then you're no man at all."

People like this didn't deserve an ounce of respect.

"Boom!"

Without hesitation, Moen kicked Piado hard, sending him flying into the wall and knocking him out cold.

"Trash like you… no sympathy needed."

These were Dark Guild scum. They may be young, but who knew how many lives they'd already taken? A bit of power in evil hands could wreak havoc beyond imagination. Regular people didn't stand a chance.

In a world where magic wasn't just fantasy, but reality—the only forces standing between civilians and chaos were official mage guilds like Fairy Tail.

That's why people respected guild mages. They weren't just flashy performers.

They were the shield between innocents and monsters.

"You coming out on your own, or should I drag you out?"

Moen didn't pause. He turned his attention to a seemingly ordinary wall ahead.

To a bystander, it might've looked like he was talking to a wall. Crazy, right?

But Moen could sense it—the faint ripple of magic. Someone was hiding there.

"Tch."

The wall shimmered faintly—magic ripple confirmed.

"Boom!"

Moen smashed a fist straight into the wall, cracking it open, then reached in and grabbed a thick neck, dragging the hidden figure out with sheer force.

"Move, and I snap your neck."

Moen smiled grimly, his voice cold and calm.

The man—a chubby mage trembling like jelly—froze instantly, not daring to flinch.

"Crack!"

With a sharp pull, Moen yanked the man fully out, causing the wall to break even more.

He tossed the guy on the ground like garbage.

"Where the hell did your little group crawl out from, anyway?"

He dusted off his hands, frowning. "Never even heard of you guys. And your strength? Laughable."

"You come messing with Fairy Tail mages with this level of skill? Are you serious?"

Moen flipped his hair back with a mock-stylish motion, then narrowed his eyes at the now pale, sweating fat mage.

"…"

The guy didn't dare make a sound.

He glanced at his unconscious companions, then visibly shivered.

To be fair, this man could've escaped during the fight—he had a real chance.

But he'd been so paralyzed by fear that he didn't move an inch while hiding in the wall.

He hadn't dared to strike or flee.

So now here he was, plucked out like a beetle from under a rock.

"Who hired you?"

Moen crouched down, his eyes sharp, voice low.

"I-It was M-Mr. Haros! Haros, sir!!"

The fat mage broke instantly, ratting out the client without hesitation.

Absolutely no loyalty.

Dark Guilds were supposed to at least protect their clients' privacy—they thrived in the underworld, and if word got around they couldn't be trusted, no one would hire them again.

Then again, most people who worked with Dark Guilds weren't exactly known for their ethics either.

Usually, they used intermediaries—or "gloves"—to do the dirty work.

"Haros? Never heard of him."

Moen frowned.

Clearly, this wasn't personal. The attack wasn't aimed at him—this was about Deno, his client.

Probably someone Deno pissed off who hired this bunch to sabotage the job.

Moen crossed his arms.

"Well then… Deno's definitely paying extra for this."

This kind of surprise ambush? Totally the client's responsibility. He never mentioned danger like this in the briefing.

Responsibility in these situations was pretty easy to determine.

If Moen had done something foolish—like flaunt his wealth or power—and attracted greedy eyes, then of course it would've been his fault.

But this?

He'd done nothing wrong. Yet he was ambushed. Someone had gone out of their way to hire mercenaries just to interfere with the job.

This was clearly targeting the client's commission, not Moen personally.

So the blame?

All on the client.

Moen picked up the black magic rope dropped earlier and started binding the four knocked-out Dark Guild mages together—loop after loop, until they were tightly squashed into a human meatball.

He tugged the rope at the front, and the massive "meatball" rolled awkwardly behind him.

It was a bizarre sight.

Naturally, he attracted a lot of attention. People on the street stopped and stared. Even the city guards began to approach, suspicion on their faces.

But it was the Theater Festival, after all.

Orbas was crawling with all sorts of strange folks from all across Fiore—and the guards were already stretched thin, dealing with troublemakers, thieves, and eccentric performers.

Moen managed to calmly explain things along the way. After some back-and-forth, he got clearance and dragged the "meatball" all the way to Mr. Deno's mansion.

When the butler came out to receive him, he froze mid-step, staring at the bizarre sight with a look of horror.

"M-Mr. Moen… I'll go inform Mr. Deno right away!"

The butler stammered, then practically tripped over himself running back inside.

At that moment, his thoughts were not on hospitality.

"When did Mr. Deno get into human trafficking…? And in broad daylight?!

Do you get a reward for reporting this kind of thing…?"

But his suspicions didn't last long.

Because soon, Mr. Deno himself came into the yard, looking just as confused.

His eyes landed on the strange scene—Moen grinning, and a giant ball of unconscious people tied together like some kind of twisted parade float—and Deno's face went from polite curiosity to pure bewilderment.

"Mr. Deno," Moen said casually, "I'm afraid I've got bad news. Looks like you'll need to add a little something extra to the payment."

"Some key details were left out of the mission briefing...

For example: the part where people would be waiting at the train station to ambush me."

Deno's confused look turned into one of sudden realization the moment Moen mentioned the name:

"Mr. Haros."

He blinked.

Then sighed.

Like someone who just remembered a very annoying debt.