Chase didn't keep them guessing. He raised his hand and pointed at Lucy's smooth, pale back.
There, the dial of an antique clock glimmered faintly through the water. Upon closer inspection, one could see the oscillating escapement and the second hand ticking forward one tick at a time.
"It's Horologium!" Natsu's eyes lit up with recognition of Lucy's Celestial Spirit that could hide people inside.
Not only the name, but this time he'd even gotten the constellation wrong as well.
"That's right. Horologium has a space completely isolated from the outside world. Lucy obtained that trait through Celestial Spirit Dress."
Chase explained. "Her keys should be hidden inside her 'body' right now."
Although his idiot sister couldn't gain combat improvements from Future Lucy, after exchanging their respective experiences, she had still realized many things.
Such as protecting her most important Celestial Spirit Keys in battle, and the "learning new magic" they'd discussed the night before.
The proper use of Horologium's Celestial Spirit Dress was probably developed under these circumstances, possibly even drawing inspiration from Erza's "Knight" magic.
"I see. No wonder her hairstyle changed too!"
"But when did she put on Celestial Spirit Dress?"
"Probably when Aries blocked the attack and created that mist."
"Sh-She thought of all that in such a short time? Is this really me?!"
"Oh my, this is what happens when you spend too much time with a sly card nerd~"
A sudden burst of powerful magic from the massive water sphere interrupted their casual chatter.
"Minerva, I'm sure you already know. Your magic can't steal my keys."
Lucy looked at Future Minerva and tried to reason with her. "So stop using those pointless little tricks."
WHOOSH!!
"Pointless? You sure have a lot of nerve."
As if triggered by those words, Future Minerva's face twisted with rage. Her magic power surged wildly, twisting both the surrounding water and space itself with chaotic energy.
"My power is absolute! I used it to become the strongest mage of the strongest guild!"
"Someone as pathetic as you has no right to be compared to me!!"
The moment her voice fell, Future Minerva vanished from her spot.
When she reappeared, her fist, charged with volatile spatial force, parted the water and slammed straight toward Lucy's head!
"Lucy!!" Loke and Aries cried out in alarm.
Her opponent's magic was simply too strange. Neither of them had even reacted before Lucy was already engaged at close range.
THUD!
A dull impact rang out, but Future Minerva's pupils contracted violently. She blocked my Spatial Explosion?!
Following her incredulous gaze, golden light blazed as it clashed with a twisted, dark green aura.
The two forces strained against each other, energy shockwaves spilling outward and shaking the entire massive water sphere.
Her black dress swaying gently, Lucy had donned Leo's Celestial Spirit Dress and was firmly holding off the assault with her fist!
Up close, staring at Future Minerva's contorted face, Lucy remembered her promise to Wendy yesterday: if she met Minerva in the arena, she would definitely say hello on her behalf.
"Is that so? Then I'll use this power."
Her golden hair whipped violently through the turbulent water. Lucy's Leo-empowered eyes were sharp, her voice resolute. "To fight for my comrades who've been mocked for seven years!!"
Regulus Shine burst forth, shattering the spatial vortex and forcing Future Minerva back.
That wasn't enough to knock Future Minerva out of the water sphere.
As she steadied herself, she conjured several explosive spatial vortexes around Lucy.
"Explosion Space!"
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!
The chain explosions engulfed the area in flames, which were quickly extinguished by the water, revealing a cracked light magic barrier and Lucy suspended within.
Seeing this, Loke let out a relieved sigh. "I didn't expect you to use my magic so skillfully, Lucy."
He knew the other Lucy could use Celestial Spirit Dress, but he hadn't realized she'd reached this level!
"Oh my! Lucy's swimsuit suddenly transformed into a black dress, and she's now engaging Minerva in a brilliant offensive and defensive battle using Light Magic!"
From the commentary booth, Chapati looked at Yajima with confusion. "Mr. Yajima, what exactly is this? Is it Requip Magic?"
"It does look similar to Requip, but this is Celestial Spirit Dress, a form that allows Celestial Spirit Mages to partially draw upon their spirits' power."
Yajima puffed out his chest with pride, wearing an expression of worldly wisdom. "It's an advanced manifestation of Celestial Spirit Magic."
What he was thinking: Good thing I asked little Makarov about the other Fairy Tail members last night, or I'd be embarrassed right now!
Indeed, even he had never heard of Celestial Spirit Magic being used this way before.
"Thank you very much! Thank you very much!" Special guest Labian continued to act like an NPC.
With the professional explanation, the audience erupted in cheers, thrilled to witness such advanced Celestial Spirit Magic.
The most shaken were Future Yukino and Princess Hisui watching from the stands.
Captain Arcadios of the Royal Knights was even sweating cold bullets. He had actually tried to kidnap such a powerful Celestial Spirit Mage?
"Nevertheless, the five-minute special rule has expired," the Pumpkin Head referee reminded them with slight disappointment.
With the time limit passed, they would now have to determine first and second place through normal competition.
But no one in the audience seemed to care.
Inside the water sphere.
Future Minerva regained her composure, staring coldly at Lucy surrounded by floating golden fragments. Her entire body radiated an even more dangerous presence than before.
A tiger gets angry at the provocation of weak prey, but when facing a beast of equal caliber, it only thinks about how to tear it apart.
After that brief exchange, Future Minerva no longer underestimated Lucy. And she was thrilled by it!
"At this rate, Natsu and the others will start mocking me for just coasting along."
Loke's body glowed with golden light as he shot toward Future Minerva at high speed.
He could feel her dense, heavy magic power building up. He planned to go first and gather more intelligence for Lucy.
Future Minerva stood expressionless, letting Loke's fist grow larger in her pupils until it was unavoidable.
BOOM!
Golden light exploded, but someone else had taken the hit.
"Aries?!" Loke's expression shifted dramatically.
"I'm sorry, Leo-san."
Aries looked equally bewildered, but still managed an apology before returning to the Celestial Spirit World.
Lucy glared at Future Minerva, who had suddenly appeared in Aries's position. "What did you do?!"
"It seems you only know the basics of my magic."
Future Minerva didn't hold back, spreading her hands confidently. "As you can see, I can exchange any object or person within this water sphere."
An effect similar to Chase's Trap Card, Swap?
Lucy was startled. She hadn't seen this ability in her world's Minerva, who had only just learned the Eighteen Demon Gods Magic.
"In exchange, would you tell me why your space..."
Future Minerva changed her tone abruptly. "...is different from the space around you?"
She had actually tried to Swap Lucy herself. Only after failing did she settle for Aries.
***
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