"What… where did that huge sword even come from?" Moulin Rouge clenched her teeth, cold sweat beading on her forehead as she stared at the massive two-handed greatsword.
"They're gonna fight! Run!"
Ultear and Kagura didn't make a move.
Erza was more than enough to handle this on her own.
The two of them stepped aside to let the customers flee, taking up positions by the entrance to block the exit.
"So it looks like people from Fairy Tail saw through me."
"Have you thought of your last words?" Erza asked.
"Don't make me laugh. I'm Moulin Rouge, the swiftest gun in town." She felt guilty, but she refused to lose a war of words.
"Like hell you're catching me that easily!"
She lowered her stance and shot past Erza at astonishing speed.
So fast!
Shock flashed in Erza's eyes.
Bracing herself with the greatsword, Erza admitted she underestimated her opponent.
Thinking back to how Ultear often told her never to look down on an enemy—that even a lion hunting a rabbit uses its full strength—she felt ashamed.
After mocking Erza, Moulin Rouge turned to make her escape.
"Requip!" Erza didn't dare drop her guard. S
he switched into her Clear Heart Clothing. Her eyes sharpened, as if she meant to cut the imposter into a thousand pieces.
"I won't let you escape again!"
"This woman is terrifying!" Moulin Rouge gritted her teeth, dodging Erza's strikes.
But in terms of speed, Erza in her Clear Heart Clothing had the upper hand.
Erza caught Moulin Rouge by the head with one hand and slammed her into the wall.
Bang!
"W-What happened?"
"Something came crashing through the wall!" The customers in the tavern, who just escaped disaster, cried out in panic.
As the dust cleared, a massive hole appeared in the wall between the tavern and the dessert shop.
The patrons saw Moulin Rouge sprawled on the floor, and Erza standing there with her hands on her hips, her gaze sharp as a blade.
"So it was that woman from before."
"The one on the ground… that's Moulin Rouge, right?"
"I must still be half-asleep. I have to be." One customer rubbed his eyes and looked again. "Why'd you bring her over here?!"
Ignoring the patrons, Erza kept her eyes locked on the thief.
"Get up. The real show is just beginning."
"Be careful! She's famous as the fastest draw around!" a bystander yelled.
"Go ahead and draw." White light glowed from Erza's right hand, and the demon blade Benizakura appeared in her grasp.
"Hah? You're planning to use a sword against my gun? My quickdraw is the best on the continent. How could a flimsy little sword like yours stop it?" Moulin Rouge sneered with a villainous grin.
"You talk too much. Come on, then."
"Die, you bitch!"
She drew, chambered, and fired twice in one fluid motion.
To be fair, her draw was fast.
But Erza stood where she was and flicked her blade, knocking both bullets back.
Moulin Rouge refused to believe it.
She fired several more shots in succession, but Erza swatted every one of them aside with her sword.
At that point, fear set in, and she made as if to run.
Erza wasn't someone she could beat. And there was something wrong with that sword, too!
"My turn." Erza stepped back with her right foot, then stomped down hard.
In an instant, she was right in front of Moulin Rouge and struck her down with the back of the blade.
She was so fast that Moulin Rouge couldn't react.
Her eyes couldn't even keep up with Erza's movement!
The heavy armor Erza usually wore restricted her speed.
What was more, she often trained in that armor under Kagura's Gravity Magic.
She had also trained her explosiveness against the fierce winds kicked up by Raizel when he used Take Over: Dynasmon.
Once she shed her armor and switched to the Clear Heart Clothing, her explosive power became terrifying.
"This ends here." Erza's blade pointed at Moulin Rouge, who had collapsed onto the floor.
The thief trembled, forcing herself to pretend she was about to fire again, but her shaking hand betrayed her.
"Go ahead and shoot. But my blade will be faster than your bullet."
In the imposter's eyes, the red-haired demon in front of her showed no emotion, even while staring straight at the muzzle of a gun.
"Damn it…" Tears welled in her eyes.
She lowered the gun, shut her eyes, and choked out through trembling sobs, "I'm sorry…"
The tavern customers looked as if they had seen a ghost.
"She surrendered…"
"Good grief."
Perhaps sensing a trace of genuine remorse in her, Erza's expression softened.
She withdrew her blade and requipped her usual armor and blue pleated skirt. "The crime of impersonating Fairy Tail is a serious one."
"Because… I'm an immigrant."
"So what if you're an immigrant?" Erza asked, puzzled.
"I can't find any work on this continent."
"Even if you can't find work, that doesn't mean you get to become a thief and a robber."
"If I don't steal, how am I supposed to live? Look at me now—I'm not someone who likes luxury!"
Erza looked over her clothes: denim shorts, a tank top, a jacket.
Both the material and the style were plain and cheap at a glance.
Aside from the gun, everything on her looked like worthless street-stall goods.
Erza found herself believing the thief.
"The money I stole… I used it to buy medicine for Sunny's illness." Moulin Rouge's tears spilled out once more.
"Moulin Rouge… so you were this kindhearted…!"
Even the tavern staff started crying!
"I'm sorry. I swear I won't do anything bad again. Please let me go. If I'm not there, then Sunny…"
With her head lowered, she sobbed through her trembling body.
Erza extended a hand.
Thinking Erza had forgiven her, Moulin Rouge also reached out.
Just as the customers were about to be moved to tears—
"How could I let you go?!" Erza smacked her flying with one palm, wrecking yet another table.
"Eh?!"
"Stop hitting her! Another table got destroyed!"
"I don't care whether you steal or shoot. But impersonating Fairy Tail—that is the one thing I won't forgive, no matter the reason." Erza slowly walked toward her, her tone severe.
"I won't let it slide. I won't forgive it! Every member of our guild is proud of the guild. The mark on our bodies isn't decoration. It's proof of family. We live and die with our comrades. We stake our lives on our vows and bear that resolve in our hearts. Since someone dared trample on that sacred oath like this… then whether it was done out of kindness or malice, I'll cut that person down."
Erza reached the collapsed imposter and looked down at her from above.
"Don't kill me! I'm sorry… I'm sorry…" Moulin Rouge raised both hands in surrender.
When she saw Erza extend her hand, she squeezed her eyes shut, fighting back her trembling.
What met her was the cold touch of an armored gauntlet, and Erza's gentle voice.
"This… is what a guild is. Don't forget it."
The gauntlet was cold, but to Moulin Rouge, it felt warm.
---
Sorry guys completely forgot to took out the boring part, this will be the last as we will be moving to tartaros arc and a little bit a hundred year quest arc where examon will finally debut.