The phantom of the Celestial Spirit King stood with his arms crossed, floating above the lake behind the guild, standing amidst the stars.
At his feet, the waves on the lake seemed to have been paused. The suspended droplets of water were clearly visible, silent.
The King of the Celestial Spirit World appearing in the human world would have a huge impact, especially in a densely populated town.
So the Celestial Spirit King hadn't descended in his true form. He was more like a star projection — only Celestial Spirits and Celestial Spirit wizards could perceive his existence and communicate with him.
"Three years. Loki has suffered for three whole years!"
Lucy stood fearlessly before Loki, who was on his knees, and stared resolutely at the Celestial Spirit King. "He did it for his comrade! For Aries! He had no choice!"
"I also grieve for my old friend's pain..." The Celestial Spirit King's voice was faint and calm.
"Old friend? I'm talking about my current friend! Are you even listening, Beard Dad?!" Lucy stepped forward.
The Celestial Spirit King's expression changed slightly. Beard... Dad?
"Loki is innocent! I cannot accept anything but 'not guilty'!"
Lucy clenched her fists, gritted her teeth, and released magic power beyond her own limits. "I absolutely cannot accept it!!!"
"That's enough, Lucy! Don't continue!"
Loki's face turned pale with fear. He shouted in despair, "Only by disappearing like this can I cleanse my sins!"
He didn't want to drag Lucy or the others into this. He just wanted to leave quietly.
"Even if you disappear, Karen won't come back. Doing that would only create new sadness."
Having experienced the Phantom Lord incident, Lucy had clearly matured. She argued back, "There's nothing wrong with caring about your comrades!"
HUM!!
Golden light bloomed. Figures emerged one after another.
Aquarius, Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Plue, Horologium — the Celestial Spirits had felt and responded to their master Lucy's call. They appeared one by one, standing firmly by Lucy's side with determined expressions.
Even though it lasted only a fleeting moment, the scene of those sparkling stars was truly shocking!
"Opening multiple gates at once? Even Karen couldn't do that..."
Loki's expression was dazed. He stared blankly at Lucy's back.
Even the Celestial Spirit King couldn't help but turn his head.
His deep gaze saw something in Lucy — a magical fluctuation different from her mother Layla's.
The golden light faded. Lucy, having lost all her strength, went limp and fell into Loki's arms, which he quickly reached out to catch.
Lucy looked up at the Celestial Spirit King. "Since you're a Celestial Spirit too... you surely understand how Loki and Aries felt... right?"
The atmosphere fell into a slightly oppressive, brief silence.
"To be criticized so harshly by an old friend... it seems the only thing at fault is the rule itself."
"Leo, who sinned for his comrade, and my old friend, who risked everything to save him..."
The Celestial Spirit King slowly lowered his arms from his chest. "For the sake of this beautiful bond, this matter will be treated as a special exception."
"Give thanks to the guidance of the stars, Leo. You are pardoned. I allow you to return to the Celestial Spirit World!"
Hearing this, Lucy sighed heavily in relief. She gave the Celestial Spirit King, standing beneath the starry sky, a thumbs-up. "That's more like it, Beard Dad. That was pretty cool."
Heh.
The Celestial Spirit King's perpetually tense expression relaxed. He grinned.
The two objects (nose hairs) swayed along with his movement, their white strands unusually conspicuous.
"But... I..." Loki lowered his head in guilt.
He didn't feel his sins could be washed away so easily.
"If you truly want to tone, from this moment on, protect my old friend with your life."
The Celestial Spirit King's massive form began to dissipate into starlight. His voice came faintly from the void. "She is a comrade worth doing that for, is she not?"
In that instant, the lake surged. Water splashed.
A gentle night wind blew, bringing some comfort and ease.
The flow of stillness time returned to normal.
"Hey! Lucy! Loki!"
Urgent shouts came from behind.
Natsu, Gray, Happy, Erza, and Mira had worry written all over their faces as they ran toward them.
In contrast, Chase, who knew what had just happened, was much calmer, a faint smile on his lips.
Judging from Lucy and Loki's condition, the matter had been satisfactorily resolved.
Unfortunately, he hadn't gotten to meet the Celestial Spirit King and chat with him.
Fighting someone at that level — if he could get a card drop, its quality would definitely be high!
Even if he would most likely be beaten into a Muggle.
After all, the Celestial Spirit King was at least on the level of Mard Geer, the real master of Tartaros.
An opponent like that was still too much for him at this stage.
Learning from Lucy that Loki was safe, everyone sighed in relief.
"I didn't know you were actually a Celestial Spirit, Loki. Do you turn into a big
strong gorilla like Virgo?"
Natsu jumped around Loki, eyeing him with curiosity.
"Sorry, Natsu. I'm Leo, yes, but I'm a human-form Celestial Spirit. I don't transform." Loki managed a smile.
"Wahaha! Leo — that's like a grown-up cat, right? So cool~"
Happy looked yearning, seeing in Loki the cool version of his future self, and started admiring himself vainly.
Lucy jumped in and shredded the beautiful fantasy in Happy's mind. "...Lions and cats aren't even the same species. Not to mention 'Leo' is just a name!"
The reason she had recovered her energy so quickly after overdrawing her magic power was, naturally, because she had drunk Chase's Energy Potion.
"What a beautiful key. So, Lucy, does Loki belong to you now?" Erza noticed the Leo key in Lucy's hand.
"Yes! He's a Celestial Spirit — but more importantly, a comrade!" Lucy added with a smile.
"Wait, Loki. What about our previous agreement...?" Gray asked.
"Don't worry. When the time comes, we'll just have Lucy temporarily terminate the contract." Loki gave a matter-of-fact gesture.
Lucy: We haven't even signed the contract yet, and you're already scheming about unwinding it?!
"Ara. Then Lucy and Loki will be inseparable from now on~" Mira gave them an suggestive look.
Lucy: "Don't jump to conclusions, Mira-nee QAQ!"
Just as she finished speaking, Loki swept her up in a princess carry. "That's right. From now on, I'm Lucy's very own prince charming!"
"Hey, hey! Where did your sadness go?! Put me down!"
"Ahhh, I want my own Celestial Spirit too! Preferably a domineering fire dragon!"
"Celestial Spirits aren't for fighting!"
"Loki, I have experience. If you throw Lucy high into the air, you'll get a nice girly scream."
"That's not— wait, damn card addict — GO DIE!!"
***
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