Pursuit

"Damn it! A troublesome guy has shown up!"

Meanwhile, on the street, Gildarts noticed Makarov behind him.

A few unnatural beads of sweat appeared on his cheeks, followed by a terrifying burst of magic power from his body.

"Girls, hold on tight! I'm speeding up!"

As Gildarts spoke, his figure became a blur as he shot toward the fishing boats at the docks.

"Uh..."

The two girls Gildarts was carrying turned pale with fright. The fierce wind made it impossible for them to even open their eyes.

"Th-This..."

"What kind of monster is that?!"

"Naiwa, speed up! Speed up!"

As for the owner riding atop the towering mage behind Gildarts, he too noticed Makarov sprinting after them. His face filled with terror as he repeatedly urged the mage beneath him onward.

"Oh!!"

The mage named Naiwa pulled out a bottle of milk from his pocket and kept pouring it into his mouth.

As the milk entered Naiwa's stomach, bursts of milky-white vapor instantly rose from his body, and his speed climbed to an entirely new level in an instant...

"What kind of bizarre creature is that?"

Ywen, watching the three people racing down the street from the hotel's second floor, felt the corner of his eye twitch slightly.

"Ywen, what's going on out on the street?"

"What are the Guild Master and Gildarts doing?"

Just as Ywen stared at the three people racing down the street, unable to put his current feelings into words, the door behind him was forcefully pushed open. Ul strode inside and asked him.

"Whatever it is, they're definitely not having a footrace..."

"I'll go take a look. Ul, stay here and watch the children."

After saying that, Ywen flew straight out the window and headed for Gildarts.

A few minutes later...

Gildarts had already reached the docks first. Looking anxiously at the captain, he said, "Captain, I'm going to hunt Unicel."

"Are these two girls going to hunt Unicel too?"

The middle-aged captain, a pipe clenched between his teeth, looked Gildarts up and down before glancing at the two girls in his arms and asking.

"Of course. We're together!"

Gildarts nodded lightly, then hugged the girls tighter and jumped aboard the ship.

"Set sail, set sail!"

"It wouldn't do to miss the opportunity!"

After boarding, Gildarts smiled at the captain of the hunting vessel below.

"What a monster!" The captain gave Gildarts a somewhat surprised look, then turned and immediately gave the order to the sailors beside him. "Boys, we're heading out to sea!"

"Aye, aye!!"

Upon receiving the captain's orders, the sailors all boarded the hunting ship.

At once, amid a series of whistle blasts~

The hunting vessel meant to hunt Unicel finally set off toward the open sea.

"Gildarts!!"

Not long after the ship set off, a towering figure came roaring to the docks.

"H-Hey?! That's a giant, isn't it?"

Hearing the voice, the sailors aboard the hunting ship turned around. At the sight of the massive figure standing on the docks, all of their eyes widened.

Even in this world filled with magic, giants were not a common sight.

"As expected of Makarov! He really is fast..."

Seeing Makarov already at the docks and not all that far from them, a few cold beads of sweat appeared on Gildarts's face.

"Get this ship moving! If he catches up, we'll be in for it!"

After casting Makarov a wary glance, Gildarts spoke to the sailors aboard the ship.

"Don't worry, Mage! This is the sea. No matter how huge that giant is, he can't possibly walk on water!"

One of the sailors replied with a relaxed expression after hearing Gildarts's words.

"Not necessarily!"

Gildarts shook his head after hearing the sailor. If things were really as the sailor said, that would be wonderful.

"Gildarts!"

As Gildarts's words fell, the giant standing on the dock let out a series of thunderous roars and stepped into the sea.

At the same time, his body began growing larger and larger, until even standing in the ocean, his upper body still rose above the surface.

Then the giant took great strides toward Gildarts and the others.

"Eh?!"

"You've got to be kidding, that giant can grow even bigger?!"

The sailors stared wide-eyed at the suddenly enlarged Makarov.

"If this were a joke, that would be great..."

"This is trouble..."

Gildarts looked at Makarov, feeling a headache coming on. He wondered how he was supposed to explain things to Makarov. But in this situation, even if he seriously explained himself, would Makarov listen?! And, strictly speaking, he really had snatched these two girls away from that idiot boss...

In any case, intending to explain things to Makarov first, Gildarts looked at him and shouted, "Guild Master, it's not what you think!"

"Then give back the girls you took!"

Makarov shouted back.

"That's not happening!"

Without even thinking, Gildarts immediately replied.

"Let's just retreat with everything we've got!"

Seeing that he could not come to an agreement with Makarov, Gildarts spoke to the sailors beside him.

"O-Oh! Right..."

The captain and sailors aboard the hunting vessel nodded repeatedly in understanding after hearing Gildarts's words.

"This is bad, he's going to catch us!"

On the hunting vessel, the helmsman watched Makarov steadily close in on them, his forehead covered in cold sweat from nervousness.

Anyone being relentlessly pursued by a giant so massive he could stand in the sea, like some kind of super monster, would probably be too frightened to keep their hands steady, right?

"Wait!"

Meanwhile, golden light blazed in Makarov's eyes as he continued advancing. Today, he absolutely had to teach Gildarts, that bastard who was corrupting the guild's atmosphere, a proper lesson.

"Guild Master, it really isn't what you think!"

As Makarov continued drawing closer to their hunting vessel, Gildarts tried once again to explain himself.

"You, Ywen, all of you are nothing but bratty bastards who never listen to anyone! I have nothing to say to disobedient brats like you! Talking is pointless!"

Makarov seemed to have been completely blinded by the fury in his heart. He looked utterly incapable of listening to anything anyone else said as he pushed through the wind and waves toward the hunting vessel.

"Looks like there really is no other way!"

Gildarts looked at Makarov, a white light flickering in his eyes. No matter what, he could only finish this job first and explain things to Makarov afterward. In any case, he could not delay the task his employer had given him.