"Did our clothes just change? That was fast?"
Not only Raizel, but Ultear was examining her own clothes.
She was now wearing a white shirt paired with slim-fit jeans. There were also those who didn't care about their clothes at all, instead looking around at their surroundings.
"Is this the Celestial Spirit World?" Lucy, who was visiting the Celestial Spirit World for the first time, was nearly dazzled by the sight.
They were standing on a floating circular stone slab, with a winding stone path stretching endlessly out of sight.
A ring encircled the edges of the slab.
Beneath their feet, stars twinkled, and the surroundings shimmered with starlight.
Tall stone pillars stood around them, covered in various strange and colorful crystals.
There were also sphere-like objects resembling giant orbs, with various structures perched on top.
Lucy had a feeling these orbs looked close but were actually very far away.
"So beautiful!" Wendy clasped her hands together, her eyes lighting up as she looked around.
"This... doesn't seem like there's any crisis, does it?" Ultear felt something was very wrong from the start.
Firstly, there were no signs of battle, and secondly, it was too quiet—unnervingly quiet.
"You have finally come, my old friend." A voice came from above.
Raizel and the group looked up at the tall figure. It was armored, with a cape fluttering in the wind. Its most distinctive feature was the long hair that one couldn't tell if it was a nose hair or a mustache.
"So big!" Natsu stared at the towering Celestial Spirit King, sweat beading on his forehead.
He had seen Magic Giants and mechas before, but this was his first time seeing such a gigantic person.
"Mustache!" Happy, standing beside him, was nervous.
Unfortunately, his mouth was faster than his brain, and he couldn't stop himself.
Seeing the Celestial Spirit King looking calm and composed, Ultear was certain—there was no crisis.
"Celestial Spirit King." Lucy stepped forward a few paces to greet him.
"Are you the king here?" Erza stepped forward and asked.
'She used 'you' directly...' Levy and Wendy felt slightly helpless.
Fortunately, the Celestial Spirit King didn't mind the form of address.
"That is correct."
Lucy followed up, "I heard from Virgo that the Celestial Spirit World is facing a crisis of destruction. What exactly happened?"
The Celestial Spirit King crossed his arms, lowered his head, closed his eyes, and pondered deeply, looking as if he had encountered some major problem.
Lucy watched the Celestial Spirit King with a worried expression, her fists clenched tightly, waiting for his answer.
She really didn't want to hear any news about Celestial Spirits being sacrificed.
"Huh?" Lucy's expression froze in confusion, wondering if she was seeing things.
The Celestial Spirit King grinned widely, his mustache moving along with the change in his facial expression.
"Surprise!" The Celestial Spirit King raised his hands high and laughed heartily.
"Surprise!" The Zodiac Celestial Spirits and the Silver Key Celestial Spirits held by Lucy appeared from the clouds.
"Hah???" Everyone except Raizel and Ultear was dumbfounded.
"What about the crisis of destruction?" Lucy pressed Virgo, who had vanished and reappeared.
"What crisis are you talking about?" Virgo tilted her head in confusion.
"We invited you here for a banquet," Virgo added, covering her mouth with her hand.
Lucy could barely control her hands as she clench her fist!
She wanted to strangle Virgo!
Taurus burst into loud laughter and said: "Moo, sorry for tricking you all this way! But Miss Lucy's expression after realizing she'd been deceived, plus this Celestial Spirit World outfit—fantastic!!!"
As he spoke, Taurus gave a thumbs-up with pink hearts sparkling in his eyes.
Cancer raised his scissors and said: "We wanted to give you a surprise, ebi! If you need a new hairstyle for the banquet, I can start cutting right away, ebi."
Nearby, Capricorn bowed slightly and explained, "We've heard so much about the Fairy Tail members from Leo that we've been longing to meet you all. That's why we planned this banquet."
Capricorn had only met a few members before and wasn't familiar with the others.
"Although we'd love to visit the human world, we can't all go at once!"
"That's why we decided to bring everyone to the Celestial Spirit World instead. Gomen nasai," Lyra and Aries said one after another.
"Just this once, never again, WE!"
"That's right, this is a special exception," Scorpio and Aquarius chimed in together while showing off their affection.
"Piri piri..." Gemini danced and nodded rhythmically.
"I should be the one saying that..." Lucy clenched her fists to protest, but stopped mid-sentence under Aquarius's glare.
"Oh, so that's what this is about." Nearby, Natsu and Gray were already arm-in-arm with Sagittarius.
"That's how it is, mosi mosi."
"Really, why scare us like that? You could have just brought us here directly." Leo looked at Raizel, Lucy, and the others and said, "You've always helped us so much at the Guild, so today it's our turn to host you."
"Come now! Tonight let's drink heartily, sing loudly, and make as much noise as we want!" The Celestial Spirit King pulled out that pink fan from somewhere and began singing and dancing while striking bizarre poses.
"This is a banquet I'm holding for my old friend!"
"Since we're already here, let's join in." Raizel and Ultear exchanged glances and nodded.
"Woo!!!" Natsu, Wendy, Happy, and Carla cheered and practically flew up from excitement.
"Woo!!!" Many spirits Raizel had never seen before also joined the cheers.
"How have you been lately?"
"Pretty good, though it's a shame about the S-Class exam." Gray and Loke bumped fists as they chatted.
The massive banquet table had long been set up, waiting for everyone to take their seats.
The Celestial Spirit King seated Raizel beside him.
"You've grown stronger again, old friend," the Celestial Spirit King raised his enormous glass in a toast to Raizel.
Raizel hadn't expected this to be the Spirit King's first words.
After a moment of surprise, he raised his glass to clink with the King.
The Celestial Spirit King's perception was remarkable—Raizel had only just made some breakthroughs on Tenrou Island, yet the King had already detected it.
The banquet hall was vast.
Though the Celestial Spirit King had deliberately lowered his voice, his towering stature meant his words reached not only Raizel's ears but others' as well.
Some, like Natsu, had already pricked up their ears, ready to eavesdrop.
The Celestial Spirit King was perceptive.
Sensing that Raizel seemed reluctant to discuss the topic, he refrained from pressing further.
Raizel had initially been hesitant to speak, but after a moment's thought, he realized everyone present already knew and said.
"Nothing much. I encountered the Black Wizard Zeref and gained some insights from him."
All the members here had been to Tenrou Island and were familiar with Zeref, so there was no need to hide it.