"Lucy, are you okay?" Mira approached from behind.
"I'm fine, Sister Mira," Lucy answered automatically.
"Mooo! Lady Lucy and Lady Mira have such amazing figures~!"
With a perverted grin, Taurus sprang out of the ground, hearts in his eyes.
"Love~ Chase, you're going too far! Don't steal our spotlight!"
Happy swooped down from above, planting himself on top of the fallen thug and throwing punches at the air like a show-off.
Plue found it hilarious and waddled over to the other thug, mimicking Happy's movements like a shaky old man.
"Get back here, you perverted ox!" Lucy shouted at Taurus.
"And you how come you weren't so brave a minute ago?!" she snapped at Happy.
"Plue, don't play with that stupid cat! He'll teach you bad habits!"
"And why are Brother Chase and Sister Mira here?!"
The complaints tumbled out in rapid fire. In Fairy Tail, Lucy was the only one who could fire off commentary at this speed.
"I was surprised when I heard the commotion," Mira said with a chuckle. She was dressed in the same loose casual clothes as Lucy, her damp white hair tied back clearly fresh from the baths.
"Wait… if it's just Sister Mira and Brother Chase, that means…" Lucy's eyes softened with realization.
"I had two tickets. Elfman was busy, so I came here with Chase." Mira raised a hand to adjust her hair, speaking casually. "Besides, Chase has helped me a lot since the ruins of the Demon Island."
That again? Lucy twitched. Do you really need to be grateful for a lifetime over something that small?
But thinking of her own father, she swallowed her retort and forced a smile.
"There's definitely something going on between them~" Happy teased, puffing his chest out.
"Puff, puff~" Plue echoed in his silly voice.
No one paid them any attention. Because someone else appeared at the end of the path.
"Thanks for the assist, Chase. I was after those two myself."
Loke approached, pointing at the unconscious thugs.
"Loke?!" Lucy gasped. "Why are you here too?!"
This remote hot spring town was starting to feel like the guild itself.
"These two scumbags have been harassing women around here. They were my commission," Loke explained seriously. Then, just as quickly, he retreated at high speed, keeping a "safe distance" from Lucy, the Celestial Spirit mage.
"You actually took on this kind of commission? Don't tell me you were planning on a 'hero saves the damsel' routine to charm some girl!" Lucy accused, seeing right through him.
But this time, she was wrong. The current Loke had no interest in chasing women.
"It's exactly as you said. Anyway, I'll hand the commission in."
With effort, Loke hauled the two thugs onto his shoulders and walked away, his back strangely lonely.
"…Loke's been off lately," Mira said with a touch of concern. She had noticed the same in the guild for weeks. She had even mentioned it to the master, but Makarov's reply had been vague at best.
"Probably just got exposed for dating too many women at once and dumped," Lucy sighed.
"That guy wouldn't be crushed by something so small," Chase said bluntly, brushing dust from his clothes.
Judging from the timing… it's about when Lucy should start dealing with Loke's problem.
"Huh? A small thing? Now that you mention it…" Lucy looked puzzled. "Then what is it, really?"
"Lucy, do you know why Loke gets along with every other girl in the guild, but avoids you?" Chase asked suddenly.
"Love! I know this one!" Happy raised his paw like a student in class. "Because Lucy has no feminine charm!"
"Lucy Kick!"
With a furious yell, Lucy sent Happy flying into the bamboo grove, where he dangled pathetically from a stalk, fluttering in the wind.
No one checked if the cat survived.
Instead, Taurus appeared again, eyes sparkling, and wiggled his backside. "Princess, me too! Give me one!"
Lucy held her forehead, exasperated.
In recent weeks, under the Dark Magician's training plan, her magic power had grown stronger, and her bond with her Celestial Spirits had deepened. More and more, they were able to cross between the Spirit World and the human world freely.
"You just don't want to miss out, do you…"
Ignoring Taurus's antics, Lucy turned back to Chase.
"So, Brother Chase… why is Loke so afraid of me?"
Hearing Chase's words, Mira perked up immediately. She wanted to hear this "melon" too.
Under the stares of the two beautiful girls, Chase coughed, paused a moment, then said calmly:
"I don't know either."
"Pffft!" Lucy collapsed to the floor.
Why did I expect anything from this deadbeat?!
Mira just folded her arms, puffing her cheeks out in mock displeasure.
"But…"
Chase smiled faintly, lifting a finger. "If you think in reverse, the reason isn't hard to guess."
"For example what do you have, Lucy, that no other girl in the guild does?"
"Eh? Something I have that others don't?" Lucy blinked in confusion.
"I know! A super-sexy, bold set of seductive outfits!"
Happy shot his paw into the air, describing in detail the "treasures" he'd seen in Lucy's closet.
Lucy's face went scarlet. She pounced at lightning speed and strangled the cat.
"Ahhh! I can't believe Lucy really likes that kind of thing~"
"But that would only get Loke even more excited."
Mira teased with a sly smile, tilting her head. "If I'm not mistaken, Chase means Celestial Magic, right?"
"Celestial Magic?" Lucy released the harpy-cat, whose soul was halfway escaping.
"Exactly. Maybe we should ask another Spirit."
Chase's gaze fell on the masochistic maid still lingering nearby. If something this serious involved Loke Leo, leader of the Zodiac then Taurus couldn't possibly know nothing.
Lucy and Mira both turned their eyes toward him.
"I I know nothing, Princess!"
Flustered at once, Taurus panicked. Forgetting all about his usual eagerness for punishment, he vanished in a burst of starlight, fleeing back to the Spirit World.
"What a weird reaction! Then… Loke really is connected to the Celestial Spirits?!"
Even Lucy could see the truth now.
If Taurus refused to answer, there was only one option. She decided to summon the Spirit most versed in cosmic knowledge: Crux, the Southern Cross.
Since summoning a Spirit on a public street wasn't wise, they returned to the inn where Team Natsu was staying in Impatiens Village.
The hall was a disaster zone. Erza, dressed in a sexy nurse outfit for some reason, was "treating" Natsu's pillow-fight wounds. His injuries looked worse than what he'd gotten from fighting a Dark Guild.
"Oh? Lucy, Happy you're back already?"
Erza pressed a bandage so hard it crushed Gray's face beneath her slipper. Then her eyes widened as she noticed the newcomers. "…Why are Chase and Mira here too?"
"It's a coincidence. They came to the hot springs as well," Lucy explained.
"He… he… the two of them, taking a hot spring bath together?!"
Erza's face turned crimson. Steam poured from her head as her imagination ran wild with images far from child-appropriate.
Thanks to that distraction, Natsu managed to crawl free from her "treatment."
Chase ignored the chaos, found a relatively untouched spot, and sat down. "There's no time to waste. Lucy, let's begin."
"Begin? A new pillow fight?!" Natsu sprang up, bandages flapping.
"No!" Lucy shouted, veins popping.
After a quick explanation, even Natsu, Erza, and Gray grew serious. The life of their guildmate was at stake they couldn't keep joking around.
Lucy pulled out a silver key.
"Open, Gate of the Southern Cross!"
Starlight flared, and Crux appeared, dozing with his cross-shaped head and beard.
Bound by Spirit laws and confidentiality, Crux couldn't reveal Loke's true identity outright. But he did hint: Loke was connected to a Celestial Mage named Karen, once of Blue Pegasus, who had died.
That was enough.
With Mira's reminder about Karen the famous Magic Weekly model Chase pieced it together immediately.
Loke might be a Celestial Spirit.
Lucy's face drained of color.
As a Celestial Mage, she knew what that meant.
If a Spirit whose contract had been severed remained trapped in the human world, their only fate was to eventually turn to ash.
Three days maybe four was the limit for most Spirits.
But Loke had been holding on for far, far longer.
It was… impossible.
The strongest team and especially Gray, who had always been close with Loke broke into a cold sweat as the truth sank in.
If their speculation was correct, then Loke, who had been acting strange for so long, was in mortal danger.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, they hurried out of Impatiens Village and began searching frantically.
Following Natsu's sharp nose, they finally found Loke sitting alone at the bar of the new guild's half-lit hall.
"Chase, Lucy, everyone !"
Loke started in surprise, quickly hiding the letter in his hand behind his back. His expression faltered.
That letter was meant for Master Makarov. Its contents? His farewell to Fairy Tail.
"Loke! We know everything. You're actually Karen's Celestial Spirit Leo the Lion, aren't you?!"
The situation was too urgent for hesitation. Lucy stepped forward and spoke straight from the heart.
Loke froze, then lowered his head, dejection washing over him. "…So you found out."
He never imagined his identity would be exposed like this. And since Lucy had even said Karen's name, there was no point hiding. He'd be gone soon anyway.
"Loke! What are you planning?!"
Gray stormed over, fury in his eyes. He grabbed Loke by the collar, shaking him. "Didn't we agree to take the S-Class Wizard Exam together this year?!"
"…I'm sorry, Gray. I can't keep that promise."
He didn't resist. In his condition, he couldn't.
Chase and the others gathered around. "Then tell us. What's going on?"
Loke looked at their worried faces and managed a faint, pained smile.
"I violated the laws of the Spirit World. I killed my own master, Karen Lilica. Because of that, I've been forbidden from returning to the Celestial Spirit Realm."
Moonlight streamed through the window, casting a pale glow over him. Bathed in that cold light, Loke began his confession.
He explained how he couldn't stand Karen treating the Spirits as tools for profit. In order to protect Aries, he forced himself to remain in the human world.
Because Karen's magic couldn't support two contracts at once, she lost her ability as a Celestial Mage. Her career ended.
Loke's intent had been to make her reflect to realize that Spirits were living beings, not objects.
But Karen never changed. She accepted a job anyway, forcing open a gate her body couldn't endure. Her magic tore her apart, and she died on the mission.
For that sin, Leo was banished forever, exiled to the human realm.
"A star that cannot return to the sky."
"That's what happened," Loke said, voice hollow. "It was my fault. A sin that can never be forgiven."
He placed the letter on the counter and turned toward the guild doors. His body swayed with exhaustion.
"In what little time I have left, I want to go to her grave. To say I'm sorry… until I disappear."
"No! It's not your fault!"
Lucy rushed forward, clutching his arm. "I won't accept that you should be exiled just for protecting your friend!"
"Lucy…"
Loke froze, stunned. For the first time, he saw her with a seriousness he had never seen before.
"I'm a Celestial Mage. Trust me, Loke. I'll close Leo's Gate myself!"
Without giving him the chance to refuse, Lucy drew in a deep breath, pouring every last drop of magic power into her cry.
"Open Gate of the Lion, Leo!!"
"Open! Gate of Leo!!"
"Open! Gate of Leo!!!"
Boom!
Golden light blazed across the entire hall, dazzling and fierce. Lucy shouted again and again, straining her magic to the limit.
"Stop! That's impossible you'll be assimilated and disappear too!!"
Loke's composure broke as he saw her body becoming faint and translucent in the torrent of magic. His panic rose into a scream.
"Trust Lucy."
Chase raised a hand to stop Natsu from rushing forward. His expression was calm, but his tone was firm.
Just then, a low hum filled the air.
A mysterious, overwhelming wave of power rippled through the hall.
Time froze. The stars outside shone brighter. Space itself warped, and a colossal shadow emerged, radiating oppressive majesty.
Twin white mustaches like flowing banners appeared first.
The ruler of the Celestial Spirit World had arrived.
The Celestial Spirit King stood before them.
....
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