Lucy stared at the man standing in front of her.
She couldn't believe her eyes.
"Loke?" she whispered.
She never expected that her rescuer would be Loke, the playboy of the guild.
Usually, he avoided her like the plague.
Whenever she walked into a room, he would run away. Their relationship couldn't be described as close—in fact, they had barely exchanged more than a few words since she joined Fairy Tail.
But now, he was standing between her and a powerful enemy.
Loke's expression was grim.
He didn't have his usual flirtatious smile. He pressed his thumb against the silver ring on his finger.
Hummmm.
A glowing green magic circle appeared, floating in the rainy air.
Juvia, the Rain Woman, looked at Loke coolly.
Her face was emotionless.... like a doll.
"Are you going to interfere with Phantom Lord's business?" Juvia asked, tilting her head.
"I won't let you hurt her," Loke said through gritted teeth.
He channeled his remaining magic power into his ring.
"Ring Magic: Twister!"
Several beams of green magical light shot toward Juvia, spinning like drills.
Juvia didn't even blink.
She simply raised her pale hand and the millions of fine raindrops falling from the sky seemed to obey her command instantly.
"Water Slicer."
The rain transformed.
The soft droplets hardened into sharp, high-pressure water arrows.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Countless water blades shot forward. They slammed into Loke's green light, shattering his magic easily. The water arrows didn't stop there—they continued their assault, striking Loke directly.
"Argh!"
Loke grunted in pain.
His suit was instantly shredded by the sharp water. His blue sunglasses were knocked off his face and sent flying into a puddle.
The once elegant and handsome man was reduced to a pitiful sight in seconds.
He collapsed to his knees, gasping for air.
"Dammit!"
Loke pounded the wet pavement with his fist in frustration. Sweat mixed with the rain on his face.
"Damn it..." he muttered under his breath, clutching his chest. "My body... why now of all times? Why am I so weak?"
He felt sick.
It was a sickness he had been hiding for a long time—the sickness of a Spirit banished from the Spirit World.
Juvia turned away from him. She didn't care about the fallen man. Her mission was Lucy.
She turned back to finish the job, but her eyes widened slightly.
While Loke had bought her a few seconds of time, Lucy had already scrambled to her feet.
She was running desperately toward the muddy puddle where her key pouch had landed!
A Celestial Spirit Mage is powerful, but their strength depends entirely on their Keys.
Without them, Lucy was just a normal girl.
She would struggle to do anything in a real battle.
Seeing this, Juvia frowned slightly.
"You cannot escape," Juvia stated.
She waved her hand toward the running blonde.
A swift current of water rose from the street, transforming into a slashing blade. It cut through the air, aiming for Lucy's back without mercy!
"Lucy! Watch out!"
Midway through its path, the water slash was abruptly intercepted.
Loke had forced his body to move.
He appeared behind Lucy and took the heavy blow with his own back.
Smack!
"Gah!"
Loke cried out in pain, dropping to one knee again.
He was trembling, but with great effort, he managed to stand up.
Witnessing this, Lucy grew even more anxious.
Tears welled up in her eyes.
"Loke! Stop it! You'll get yourself killed!"
She dove for her pouch and grabbed it. Her fingers fumbled with the leather strap. She didn't have time to think.
She grabbed the first Golden Key she touched.
"Please... help us!"
She raised the key high into the rainy sky and released all her magic power.
"Open! Gate of the Water Bearer!"
"AQUARIUS!!"
DING!
Usually, summoning Aquarius required a water source.
But in this heavy storm, with deep puddles covering the street, it was no problem at all.
The problem was... the personality of this particular Spirit.
A massive golden magic circle appeared on the ground. Its ancient patterns glowed with solemn grandeur.
The silhouette of a mermaid slowly rose from the light.
Aquarius materialized. She had flowing aqua-blue hair and a silver headpiece.
She held a large, twin-handled white porcelain vase in her hands. Instead of legs, she had a long, elegant blue fish tail.
Combined with her beautiful face and her bikini top, she looked like a gorgeous mermaid.
However, this mermaid was currently furious!
She glared at Lucy with a face full of demonic rage.
"YOU!" Aquarius screamed.
"Eeep!" Lucy squeaked.
"You lost the key again, didn't you! I was in the middle of something!"
Aquarius grabbed Lucy's head and started shaking it like a watermelon.
"And!" Aquarius yelled, pointing at the muddy street. "You actually summoned me in a filthy puddle of rainwater?! Do you want to get beaten up?! My scales are going to get dirty!"
Her words dripped with murderous intent.
Lucy broke out in a cold sweat.
Her voice trembled. "G-Gomenna sorry! We are being attacked!"
Nearby, Loke didn't turn to look at Aquarius.
He kept his head bowed, hiding his face.
He sensed the Celestial Spirit's familiar Magic Power and felt a deep sense of nostalgia and sadness.
'This Magic...' Loke thought. 'It's been so long since I've seen her...'
Juvia tilted her head curiously at the angry mermaid.
"Is that... a fish?" Juvia asked innocently.
Lucy finally snapped out of her fear. She pointed a shaking finger at Juvia.
"Aquarius, please! Put aside the grudge for a minute! Quick! Defeat this woman! She's an enemy of the guild!"
Aquarius closed her eyes impatiently.
She rolled them so hard it looked painful.
"Tch!"
"What kind of attitude is that..." Lucy cried.
Ultimately, Aquarius didn't refuse the request.
She turned her glare toward Juvia. Her beautiful eyes suddenly erupted with a ferocity that didn't match her appearance.
"Fine! I'll wash everything away!"
Aquarius roared.
She lifted her massive vase and aimed it at the street.
"Giant Wave Attack!"
WHOOSH!
The vase spewed out a massive flood.
Rolling waves began to run rampant through the narrow streets of Magnolia, charging toward Juvia like a blue beast ready to devour its prey!
BOOM—
The earth-shaking impact sounded like thunder exploding on the ground.
The water crashed into the buildings, washing away debris, trash cans, and people.
Juvia's figure was instantly swallowed by the giant waves.
"Wait! Not me too!" Lucy screamed.
But Aquarius didn't give a shit about friendly fire.
The unlucky Lucy and the injured Loke were also swept up by the towering, surging waves.
They spun around like clothes in a washing machine.
Eventually, the water receded.
Splat.
Lucy and Loke landed on the wet pavement, soaked to the bone.
"Blargh..."
"Yuckk..."
The two of them began vomiting water, coughing violently.
Lucy caught her breath and wiped the river water from her face. She looked at the mermaid with lingering fear.
"Aquarius!" Lucy yelled. "We almost died by your hand! You washed us away too!"
"Yeah." Aquarius crossed her arms. Her expression remained unchanged.
"Just almost."
Lucy froze. "???"
'Why does it sound like your tone isn't one of fear, but disappointment?! Did you actually want to kill me?!'
Just as Lucy was about to lose her mind with anger, Loke suddenly interrupted her.
"Be careful, Lucy," Loke warned, staring ahead. "This move... it won't defeat that woman."
"What?"
As Loke said, in the center of the street where the giant waves had struck, a puddle began to move.
Slowly, a water figure reformed, turning back into the blue-haired woman.
Juvia picked up her broken parasol and tossed it aside.
She looked completely unharmed. She wasn't even wet—she was water.
"Juvia's body is made of water," she explained calmly. "Physical attacks and Water Magic are both ineffective against Juvia. You cannot drown water."
Lucy held her forehead. A massive headache was coming on.
"How can there be such Magic..." she complained. "It's unfair!"
Aquarius looked at the unharmed Juvia. She realized she couldn't do much here.
Fighting water with water was pointless.
"Well," Aquarius said, yawning. "Since I can't hit her, I'm leaving first. My hair is getting frizzy."
"Don't go!" Lucy panicked. "You can't just leave me!"
Aquarius began to fade into golden light.
But before she left, she smiled—a cruel, mocking smile.
"I have to go," she said loudly. "My boyfriend and I are going on a sweet trip, so I'm quite busy."
She winked at Lucy.
"That's right. It's with my boy~friend~."
Pop.
With a green flash, she vanished from the human world.
She left Lucy sitting in the mud with an expression like she'd just eaten a rotten lemon.
Lucy's mentality instantly exploded.
Why was this Celestial Spirit so willful?!
'And why did she have to emphasize "boyfriend" again? Was she deliberately mocking me for being single?!'
"Damn it! AAAAAH!" Lucy screamed, pulling at her hair.
Thoroughly provoked by Aquarius's top-tier taunting, Lucy completely lost her composure.
She felt bewildered.
How was she supposed to continue fighting?
Her strongest Celestial Spirit was gone.
Her other keys—Taurus, Cancer—were physical fighters. Juvia was immune to physical attacks.
'I can't win,' Lucy thought. 'There is no one who can counter a Water Mage...'
Loke saw Lucy's despair. Despite his pain, he stepped forward again to shield her.
He was terrified.
He knew he was running out of time, but he couldn't let Lucy meet the same fate as Karen, his previous owner.
"I will protect you," Loke whispered.
Juvia raised her hands.
A massive amount of water pressure began to build up around her. She was ready to end this.
But just as she was about to strike... the world changed.
The originally gloomy sky suddenly turned pitch black.
The heavy rain, which had been pouring for hours, suddenly cut off. It didn't slow down; it just stopped.
The air became thick and heavy.
"What is this?" Juvia whispered.
She looked up.
Her usually placid eyes rippled with emotion for the first time.
She stared in shock at the sky.
There, shuttling through the dark storm clouds, was a massive entity.
It was huge—larger than a building. It emanated an intimidating presence, like an ancient ferocious beast waking up from a long slumber.
Lucy and Loke stared dumbfounded at the sky.
They wore expressions as if they had just seen a god.
"That power..." Loke gasped.
At that moment, Lucy's brain clicked. She suddenly remembered something.
Before he left for the battle, Ankh had given a small wooden box to Mirajane for her.
"Use this if you are in danger," the note had said.
Lucy reached into her pocket. Her trembling fingers wrapped around cold metal.
She slowly pulled the object out.
It was a Black and Gold Celestial Spirit Key.
It pulsed with a strange, dark energy that matched the monster in the sky.
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