Maybe it was just luck, but Lucy hadn't searched through many rooms before she stumbled onto the estate's library. Generations of the Ebar family had accumulated a collection of books here, and Lucy figured that if the book she was after, Sunrise, was anywhere in the mansion, it had to be in this room.
Sure enough, it didn't take her long to spot Sunrise sitting on one of the shelves. The moment the book was in her hands, her eyes caught the author's name printed on the cover, "Kaim Sareo." Before she could even process her surprise, the library doors were thrown open, and Ebar strolled in with his two bodyguards, looking utterly at ease.
"So this is what you were after. To think a book worth this much trouble was gathering dust in some corner of my estate all this time."
Ebar, who'd been half hoping his estate was hiding some treasure he didn't know about, couldn't help feeling let down. He waved a dismissive hand and gave the brothers their orders.
"Brothers, seize this thief. Breaking into a private residence, stealing from a noble's household, I want her taken now."
The shorter brother unslung the huge iron pot he always carried on his back and swung it one-handed, pointing it straight at Lucy, whose face had gone pale with alarm.
"Give it up, little girl. Out of respect for Fairy Tail, I'll go easy on you."
"Oh no, this is bad. If I get caught, I'll drag the guild's name through the mud with me."
Panic rising in her chest, Lucy had no intention of letting herself be taken quietly. In her mind, she called out to Meredy and Sorano, hoping they'd sense her danger and come running to help. At the same time, she pulled a celestial spirit key from the pouch on her belt and began her chant.
"Open, Gate of..."
"Too slow!"
The moment Lucy made her move, the taller brother flickered forward with startling speed, right in front of her, and swept a powerful leg into her, sending her flying into a bookshelf with a heavy crash.
He'd figured that would be the end of it, given how frail the girl looked. He'd even held back some of his strength out of fear he might kick her to death outright. But it was exactly that condescension that gave Lucy her opening to strike back.
"Open, Gate of the Golden Bull, Taurus!"
"Moo! You dare hurt sexy Miss Lucy? Now I'm angry!!"
Taurus burst out through the Celestial Spirit Gate, eyes blazing with fury, and swung his massive axe down at the younger brother with unstoppable force.
"Little brother, move!"
The shorter one shouted the warning, already lunging forward to help. But the counterattack had come too fast, and the tall brother barely managed to stumble back a step, narrowly avoiding being split clean in two. Even so, the axe blade still caught him, slicing across his chest from his left shoulder down to his right side, nearly opening him up entirely.
"Aaahh!!"
A ragged, agonized scream tore out of him as blood sprayed from his chest, and he crashed backward onto the floor, gravely wounded and no longer able to fight.
Seeing this, the shorter brother's eyes turned bloodshot instantly.
"Little brother!! You stupid, damned cow, I'll kill you!"
"Moo! Come try it then! Anyone who dares hurt Miss Lucy gets split in half by me!"
With loved ones on both sides now injured, man and spirit both went red eyed and threw themselves into the fight. The clang of the great axe crashing against the iron pot rang out without pause, every strike aimed straight for a vital point.
"Ngh, ow, that hurts. Meredy, you idiot, if you don't get here soon, I'm going to end up dying right alongside you."
Clutching her stomach, Lucy struggled to sit up off the floor. But just as the words left her mouth, she caught sight of something out of the corner of her eye: the rune marking their emotional link on her wrist had already vanished.
"You have got to be kidding me! When did that happen?"
Lucy nearly choked on her own fury. If it weren't for the situation she was in, she would have absolutely torn into Meredy for pulling something like that.
She dragged herself up using a bookshelf for support and looked over at the fight. The one with the iron pot clearly had some skill, but against Taurus, who specialized in raw strength, he was already outmatched and steadily being pushed onto the back foot.
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