Chapter 133: Sister
"Again...again...it's always like this..."
The soft, magical atmosphere on the balcony shattered. The veins on Ren's forehead bulged. He was literally millimeters from kissing Mira, and the moment was ruined. Again. The expression on his face clearly showed he was in a very, very bad mood.
Natsu and Happy, who had burst onto the balcony with all the subtlety of a train wreck, saw Ren's thunderous expression and Mira's flustered, bright-red face as she quickly stepped away from him. They instantly knew they had caused trouble.
"Oh no! Run!"
"Aye!"
Natsu and Happy immediately bolted, disappearing back into the hotel hallway.
"Pfft!"
Mira, seeing the look of pure, murderous frustration on Ren's face, couldn't help but find his angry expression a little funny, even as her heart was still pounding from the near-kiss.
Mira, fanning her face, said to Ren, "Well... since we're up... let's go take a look too."
Ren let out a long, heavy sigh, his anger deflating. "Alright."
He was actually quite interested in gambling; as the saying goes, a little gamble is pleasant, a big gamble is harmful. And right now, he felt like punching something, so the high-stakes, noisy atmosphere of a casino was probably for the best.
The two changed their clothes and went together to the underground casino.
The underground casino was incredibly luxurious and huge. It was a cavern of flashing lights, the constant, cheerful jingle of slot machines, and the low, excited murmur of wealthy patrons. People came and went, dressed in expensive suits and sparkling dresses. 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?" Mira seemed unfamiliar with the casino, looking around at the flashing tables and roulette wheels like a curious child.
"Since we're here, let's try everything," Ren said, his mood improving as he took in the new sights. He 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, his cheeks puffed out, desperately blowing on the small ball that had already stopped.
"Sir, please don't do that!" The dealer, a man in a sharp tuxedo, quickly tried to stop him, his professional smile strained.
"I clearly saw it fall into 17!" Natsu yelled, pointing an accusatory finger. "But then it clattered into another number! What kind of trick is this?!"
"Aye!" Happy agreed, floating next to him.
"How could that be?" The dealer was a bit helpless, and the people around them all looked over, amused.
"Haha! That guy is hopeless," Gray, who was watching from the bar, couldn't help but mock Natsu when he saw him like this.
"Lord Gray."
A soft, hesitant voice sounded behind Gray. Gray froze, a drink halfway to his lips. He turned his head to look back and saw a blue-haired girl standing behind him. It was Juvia Lockser, 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. 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 still 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 asked, trying to break the awkward silence.
He also remembered something: shortly after Fairy Tail won that duel, Phantom Lord announced its disbandment. That incident caused quite a stir, as Phantom Lord was the largest Mage guild in the Kingdom of Fiore, and its strength was among the best.
"Yes," Juvia said, her eyes downcast. "Juvia is now a free Mage."
"Oh...so you want to join Fairy Tail?"
Juvia's head snapped up, her eyes wide with hope. "Yes! Juvia really wants to join!"
"In that case, I can introduce you," Gray said with a shrug. "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, Lord Gray...Oh dear!"
Suddenly!
A large hand directly slapped Juvia from behind, sending her sprawling 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?" a man with a strange, blocky face and a top hat said. "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 my magma!"
"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," the block man said, adjusting his top hat. "A man only has two paths: either live elegantly as a mature man..."
The block man rushed towards Natsu, grabbed Natsu's scarf, pressed Natsu onto the gambling table, and shoved a pistol into Natsu's 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. She had just laid down 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," Erza said with a rare, relaxed smile.
"It's time for a new dealer," a new voice said.
A young man with yellow hair, dressed as a dealer, pushed aside the panicking dealer from the table.
Erza, still riding her high, calmly said, "Right now, no matter who my opponent is, I won't lose."
Lucy echoed, "That's right!"
Shhh-la shhh-la!
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, the young man dealt five cards, placing them in front of Erza.
Each of the five cards had a single, bold letter on the back: D, E, A, T, H, which spelled out 'Death.'
"How about we bet with our lives, Sister Erza?"
Erza's blood ran cold. The smile vanished from her face. That voice... that name...
She looked up, and when she saw the man's face, her pupils contracted, and her body trembled violently. "Sh... Sho..."
[Akarin's Note: Sho, Millianna, Wally Buchanan, and Simon are Erza's childhood friends from their time as slaves at the Tower of Heaven.]
"Long time no see, Sister."
"Huh? Huh?" Lucy was completely confused at this moment. What was going on? Why was he calling Erza 'Sister'?
Suddenly! Just then.
The entire casino suddenly went dark.
When the light returned, everyone around—all the tourists, all the dealers—had disappeared.
"Whoa?!" Lucy yelped.
"I'm over here, Sister." Sho said, his voice now cold. He scattered a large number of cards from his hand. Inside the cards, tiny, screaming people were trapped, calling for help.
"The people are all in the cards?!" Lucy gasped.
"Incredible? I can use magic now too."
"Magic...what exactly have you..." Erza's voice was shaking.
"Meow!"
"Ahhhhhh!"
Accompanied by a small cat's meow, a thick, pink rope shot out and tightly bound Lucy's body.
"Wh-what is this?!" Lucy struggled.
A girl who looked very much like a cat, with cat ears and a striped tail, landed on a nearby table and greeted 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, Sister?" Sho's voice was laced with venom. "...Before you betrayed us?"
"..."
Hearing this, Erza trembled all over, as if she had been struck.
"Stop bullying Erza like that, Sho. A mature man should learn to control his emotions, understand?"
One by one, block cubes appeared out of thin air and then formed the block man who had attacked Natsu.
"You've become so feminine, Erza."
"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," a deep, calm voice said. A magic circle lit up on the ground, and a large, muscular man with a prominent jaw emerged from it. "As long as you grasp the trick, anyone can use magic, right, Erza?"
"Simon?! Why are you here... Let Lucy go!"
"We've come to take you back, Erza."
"Meow."
"Let's go back, Sister."
"If you don't cooperate properly..." Wally aimed his pistol, not at Erza, but at the bound Lucy, and cocked it with a click.
"Eek!" Lucy immediately screamed in fright.
"Stop it!" Erza yelled, her hands starting to glow.
Just then, Wally's arm on the gun broke apart into cubes, flew through the air, and reassembled directly behind Erza's body.
"Here's a sleep dart."
Bang!
A sleep dart directly hit Erza's waist.
"Erza!" Lucy screamed, as Erza's eyes widened and she collapsed.
"Target acquired, let's retreat."
Ren and Mira, who had been observing the chaos from the casino entrance, saw the lights go out. When they came back on, they saw Wally with the gun to Lucy's head and Erza surrounded by her... "friends."
Ren had been about to move, but in that split second, Wally's magic arm had moved, the dart had fired, and Erza was down.
"Mira, get the others," Ren said, his voice dropping to a dangerous low.
Suddenly! A new, cold voice echoed through the casino, overriding Simon's.
"Full-Body Take Over: Gojo Satoru!!"
[Akarin Note:
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