"Again...again...it's always like this..."
The atmosphere was just right, but then they were interrupted again.
The veins on Takeshi's forehead bulged, and the expression on his face clearly showed he was in a very bad mood.
Natsu and Happy saw Takeshi and Mirajane's posture and knew they had caused trouble.
"Oh no! Run!"
"Aye!"
Natsu and Happy immediately bolted.
"Pfft!"
Mirajane couldn't help but find Takeshi's angry expression a little funny.
Mirajane said, "Let's go take a look too."
Takeshi nodded. "Alright."
He was actually quite interested in gambling. A little gamble is pleasant, but a big gamble is harmful.
The two changed their clothes and went together to the underground casino.
The underground casino was very luxurious and huge, with all sorts of gambling areas.
People came and went, and almost all the tourists who were on the beach during the day were gathered here. After all, those who could come here for vacation were all either rich or noble, and gambling was just a pastime for these people.
"What should we play?" Mirajane seemed unfamiliar with the casino, looking like a curious child.
"Since we're here, let's try everything."
Takeshi was actually very unfamiliar with such places. He had only seen them in movies in his previous life.
"Okay.'
At this moment, at the roulette table.
"Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!"
Natsu was sprawled on the roulette table, desperately blowing on the small ball that had already stopped.
"Sir, please don't do that."
The dealer quickly tried to stop him.
Natsu said, "I clearly saw it fall into 17! But then it clattered into another number! What kind of trick is this?!"
"Aye."
"How could that be?"
The dealer was a bit helpless, and the people around them all looked over.
"Haha! That guy is hopeless." Gray couldn't help but mock Natsu when he saw him like this.
"Gray-sama."
A voice sounded behind Gray.
Gray froze. He turned his head to look back, and saw a blue-haired girl standing behind him. It was Juvia, one of Phantom Lord's Element 4.
Gray was startled when he saw her clearly. "You...you are...what are you doing?!"
The incident with Phantom Lord had not long passed, and their guild still hadn't finished rebuilding because of it.
Juvia had fought him in the Onibus arena. Although he had won that duel, he knew very well that he had taken advantage of elemental weaknesses. In terms of magic power and magic, her strength was superior to his.
The two came together in front of the casino bar. They had fought because of their guilds, but in reality, they had no personal conflict.
"I heard Phantom Lord disbanded?"
Gray remembered something: shortly after Fairy Tail won that duel, Phantom Lord had announced its disbandment.
That incident had caused quite a stir, as Phantom Lord was the largest Mage guild in the Kingdom of Fiore, and its strength was among the best.
Juvia nodded. "Yes, Juvia is now a free Mage."
"Oh... so you want to join Fairy Tail?"
"Yes. Juvia really wants to join."
"In that case, I can introduce you. The old man should agree."
Although she was once a member of Phantom Lord, that was mainly a conflict between guilds. Now that Phantom Lord had disbanded, their past grudges naturally vanished.
"Really?! Thank you very much, Gray-sa..."
Suddenly—
A large hand slapped Juvia from behind, sending her to the ground.
"Juvia!"
Gray quickly stood up and looked behind him. "What are you doing, you bastard?!"
"You're Gray Fullbuster, aren't you? Where's Erza?"
On the other side, Natsu was still entangled with the dealer.
"I told you I saw it with my own eyes! It's not that easy to fool me."
"Boy."
At this moment, a man's voice sounded from behind.
Natsu and Happy looked over.
"In an adult's playground, you need to have some gentlemanly demeanor, understand?"
"Squ..."
"Square?!"
Natsu and Happy were stunned when they saw the man's appearance. He was completely square, looking as if he was made of building blocks.
"Boy, let me tell you something. A man only has two paths: either live elegantly as a mature man..."
The block man rushed towards Natsu, grabbed his scarf, pressed him onto the gambling table, and shoved a pistol into his mouth.
"...or stop moving and die, understand?"
"It's a gun!"
"Ahhhhh!"
Everyone around screamed and scattered when they saw this scene. In the magic world, guns could also kill people.
"What are you doing?!"
"Where's Erza?"
In the Stud Poker area.
Erza was currently dominating here, a royal flush drawing exclamations from many onlookers.
"Amazing, Erza!"
Lucy excitedly hugged Erza's shoulder, she was practically becoming Erza's fangirl.
"Hehe, I'm just lucky today."
"It's time for a new dealer."
A young man with yellow hair, dressed as a dealer, pushed aside the panicking dealer.
Erza calmly said, "Right now, no matter who my opponent is, I won't lose."
Lucy echoed, "That's right."
The young yellow-haired man skillfully shuffled the cards. "Then, how about we play a special game? This time, we won't bet with chips."
Saying this, he dealt five cards, placing them in front of Erza.
Each of the five cards had a letter on the back: D, E, A, T, H, which spelled out 'Death.'
"How about we bet with our lives, Erza-nee?"
Erza looked up, and when she saw the man's face, her pupils contracted, and her body trembled slightly. "Shô..."
"Long time no see, nee-san."
"Huh?"
Lucy was confused at this moment. What was going on? Why was he calling Erza sister?
Just then—
The entire casino suddenly went dark, and when the light returned, everyone around had disappeared.
"Whoa?!"
"I'm over here, nee-san."
Shôz scattered a large number of cards from his hand. Inside the cards were people, constantly calling for help.
"The people are all in the cards?!"
Shô said, "Incredible? I can use magic now too."
"Magic...what exactly have you..."
"Meow!"
"Ahhhhhh!"
Accompanied by a small cat's meow, a rope tightly bound Lucy's body.
"Wh-what is this?!"
A girl who looked very much like a cat greeted Erza, "Meow, full of spirit? Long time no see, meow, Erza."
"Millianna? What are you doing?! Lucy is my companion! Let her go!" Erza immediately shouted when she saw Millianna grabbing Lucy.
"Weren't we companions once too, before you betrayed us?"
"..."
Hearing this, Erza trembled all over.
"Stop bullying Erza like that, Shô. A mature man should learn to control his emotions, understand? You've become so feminine, Erza."
One by one, block cubes appeared out of thin air and then formed a block man.
"That voice...is that Wally?"
Wally seemed a bit hurt by Erza's uncertainty and found an excuse for himself, "It's no wonder you don't recognize me. Compared to when I was called 'Mad Dog Wally,' I have indeed smoothed out a lot."
"You can use magic too..."
"There's nothing to be surprised about. As long as you grasp the trick, anyone can use magic, right, Erza?"
A magic circle lit up on the ground, and a large man emerged from it.
"Simon?! Why are you here? Let Lucy go!"
"We've come to take you back."
"Meow."
"Let's go back, nee-san."
"If you don't cooperate properly..."
Wally aimed his pistol at Lucy and cocked it with a click.
"Eek!"
Lucy immediately screamed in fright.
"Stop it!"
Just then, Wally's arm appeared out of nowhere behind Erza's body.
"Here's a sleep dart."
Bang!
A bullet hit Erza's waist.
"Erza!"
"Target acquired, let's retreat."
Suddenly—
A voice sounded in the casino.
"Full Body Take-Over: Gojo Satoru."