Once Taurus finished off her opponent, the job would be as good as done. But she'd apparently forgotten that Ebar was the actual master of this estate.
"Useless, worthless fools, can't even handle one little girl. Looks like I'll have to step in myself."
Watching one brother lying wounded and the other pinned down in a losing fight, Ebar, seething with frustration, pulled out a golden key. Lucy's attention snapped to it instantly, her eyes going wide and bright.
"A Zodiac key? You're a Celestial Spirit Mage too?"
"Hmph. Don't lump me in with a commoner like you."
As he spoke, Ebar raised the key in front of him, preparing to summon his own spirit. Seeing this, Lucy suddenly had an idea, remembering the moment her own casting had been interrupted earlier. Following the same idea, she unhooked the long whip from her waist and cracked it out, wrapping it around Ebar's key-wielding right hand, then yanked back hard.
Ebar hadn't expected Lucy to pull something like that. He stumbled forward two steps under the sudden force, and his grip loosened just enough that the key slipped free and clattered to the floor.
"Now's my chance, Lucy Kick!!"
Seizing the opening, Lucy unleashed her signature technique, the Lucy Kick. She launched herself into the air and drove the heel of her boot down with everything she had, right into the middle of Ebar's ugly, oil slicked face, sending him tumbling across the floor like a rolling gourd.
Having finished the move, Lucy tucked into an elegant midair roll and landed gracefully on one knee. Without even sparing a glance at the sent flying Ebar, she rushed over and scooped the golden key up off the floor, turning it over in her hands to admire it.
"This symbol is Virgo! Hehe, good thing Sis Sorano isn't here, or this key would never have been mine."
Delighted with herself, she was about to tuck the key straight into her bag when a flat, even voice sounded right behind her.
"Hiding loot from a job behind your teammates' backs is a serious offense, strictly forbidden by the guild."
"Eek, Sis, Sis Sorano, when did you two get here?"
Lucy jumped, startled half out of her skin, and turned to find Sorano and Meredy watching her with pointed stares. She froze up and gave them an awkward little wave.
"Right about the time you got kicked across the room looking absolutely pathetic."
"Wait, so you've been watching this whole time? Then why didn't you come help me sooner?"
Just bringing it up made the dull ache in her stomach flare again, and her expression turned unmistakably resentful. Sorano, however, didn't take the bait, and simply carried on.
"Given that you were about to pocket a valuable Zodiac key without telling anyone, I think we need to hold a proper team meeting after the job's done to discuss your behavior. But that's a problem for later. Let's deal with these two first."
With that, Sorano ignored Lucy, who'd gone from indignant to thoroughly deflated, and stepped forward to call off Taurus, who by now had the fight completely under control. She turned to the shorter brother.
"You two work for the South Wolf mercenary guild, don't you. I'll give you one chance to grab your partner and get out of here. Unless you'd rather get beaten down too, and watch him bleed out right in front of you."
The shorter brother was nearly at the end of his strength by this point. Panting hard, he glanced first at Taurus, axe in hand and eyes locked on him, then at Sorano and Meredy, both radiating quiet menace. Knowing the job was already a lost cause, he didn't waste any more words, simply nodded, muttered a quick "much obliged," and hauled his unconscious brother out of there as fast as he could.
Ebar, who'd only just picked himself up off the floor, a clear boot print still stamped across his face, watched the two brothers walk away without so much as a backward glance, and felt his heart sink straight through the floor.