Hearing Happy's explanation, Edolas Lucy angrily argued, her voice rising in volume.
"AAAAAH~ Natsu, Lucy's terrifying!!"
Seeing Lucy's furious and contorted face, Happy immediately cowered behind Natsu in fear.
"Hmph." Edolas Lucy, unimpressed by Happy's cowardly display, chose to ignore him.
"Hey, I'm still curious about your Lucy," Edolas Lucy said, stroking her chin thoughtfully.
"Our Lucy…"
In an outdoor cafe, Edolas Lucy's boisterous laughter filled the air.
"Hahaha, you mean our Lucy also writes novels? And she's a rich heiress? Uses Celestial Spirit magic?"
Edolas Lucy sat expansively in her chair, repeatedly slapping the table, her face beaming with unrestrained amusement.
"Well, your personalities differ greatly, but you're both equally loud," Finn remarked.
"In that case, I'd really like to see the two Lucys meet," Nancy mused thoughtfully.
"But that's probably not going to happen. After all, Lucy is most likely already transformed into a magic crystal by now," Carla stated flatly.
"Unless we manage to rescue our comrades from the guild. Then we'll have Fairy Tail versus Fairy Tail. Just imagining it is exciting," Happy added with a grin.
"That's right, Happy! Once we rescue everyone, we can have a showdown between the two Fairy Tails to see which one is the strongest! That would be incredibly fun," Natsu exclaimed, his face alight with anticipation as he seemed to lose himself in a fanciful daydream.
"I'm really curious as to why you're all so optimistic," Edolas Lucy commented, shaking her head in disbelief.
Despite her awareness of Finn and his companions' objectives, Edolas Lucy remained unconvinced that their small group possessed the strength necessary to rescue their captured comrades.
"Um… I seem to have forgotten how to use this magic tool," Wendy confessed, her voice laced with uncertainty as she fiddled with the small box she held in her hands.
"You idiot! Be careful not to let anyone see it!" Edolas Lucy exclaimed, her voice sharp with alarm as she urgently gestured for Wendy to conceal the magic tool.
"I'm so sorry!" Wendy responded, immediately realizing her mistake and quickly stowing the magic tool away.
"Didn't I just say that the use of magic is currently prohibited throughout the entire world?" Lucy reiterated, her voice laced with caution as she scanned her surroundings with heightened vigilance.
"But wasn't magic always an integral part of our lives?" Carla questioned, her voice laced with confusion.
Lucy paused for a moment, her expression complex as she responded. "That's precisely the point. Those individuals in the kingdom, driven by their own selfish ambitions, have ruthlessly stripped us of a vital aspect of our culture."
"Then all we need to do is defeat those guys in the kingdom, and magic will surely return to this world!" Natsu declared, his face still adorned with an optimistic smile.
"You utter fool! What kind of delusional nonsense are you spouting?!" Lucy exclaimed, her voice sharp with disbelief as she was taken aback by Natsu's naive statement.
"There's absolutely no way that we possess the strength to challenge the might of the entire kingdom!" she added emphatically.
"Confronting the kingdom isn't necessarily impossible," Finn stated calmly, his voice unwavering.
"Pfft!!" Edolas Lucy, who had just settled into her seat and taken a sip of tea, abruptly sprayed the liquid across the table in astonishment.
Her gaze was fixated on Finn, her eyes wide with a mixture of shock and disbelief.
"Do you even realize what you just said?" she demanded, her voice laced with incredulity.
In response to Lucy's incredulous inquiry, Finn offered a calm nod. "I'm perfectly aware of what I said. There is nothing in this world that is truly invincible, not even a kingdom that you believe to be insurmountable."
"Easy, easy now. That's just how confident he is," Nancy interjected soothingly, gesturing for Edolas Lucy to remain calm.
After all, Nancy had heard Finn express similar sentiments countless times before.
She had long since grown accustomed to his unwavering self-assurance.
"We found them! Seal off the city entrance immediately!" A thunderous roar echoed through the air, abruptly shattering the relative calm of their conversation.
"The Royal Army!" Lucy reacted instantly, her voice sharp with alarm.
"You there! You're the Fairy Tail mages, aren't you? Stand right where you are and don't make a single move!" The voice of the Royal Army's leader boomed across the square, his words laced with menace.
"They found us this quickly?" Carla exclaimed, her voice laced with surprise at the remarkable speed with which the Royal Army had managed to locate them.
After all, they had taken considerable care to disguise themselves.
As the throng of Royal Army soldiers charged towards them, Finn made a move to confront them, only to be restrained by Natsu.
"Heeey, Finn, leave these insignificant grunts to me!" Natsu declared with a confident grin, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.
After all, he had yet to properly test the capabilities of the newly acquired magic tool.
He produced the fiery red hilt he had recently purchased. "Let me give this new magic a good test run. Here I go!" he announced, his voice brimming with excitement.
With a decisive press of the switch embedded within the hilt, he unleashed his attack. "Witness the power of my flames!!"
A torrent of intense flames erupted from the fiery red hilt, forming a raging whirlwind that completely obscured Finn and his companions from view.
Meanwhile, Wendy continued to fiddle with her own magical weapon, her brow furrowed in concentration.
"Carla, how on Earth do I use this thing?!" she cried out, her voice laced with anxiety.
"How should I know?!" Carla replied, her face mirroring Wendy's confusion.
The long-awaited sensation of wielding fire once again sent a wave of exhilaration through Natsu, prompting him to erupt into a burst of unrestrained laughter.
"Are you sure you shouldn't be helping them?" Nancy questioned from her perch atop Finn's shoulder, her voice laced with concern.
"Don't worry about it. That guy's got a serious competitive streak; he doesn't like others interfering in his battles. Besides, they're just a bunch of low-level grunts. Natsu can handle them easily enough," Finn responded, exhibiting a complete lack of concern.
"Is that so? But from what I can see, things aren't looking too good for him," Nancy countered, her gaze fixed on the scene that had been revealed once the flames and smoke had finally dissipated.
Even Natsu himself seemed momentarily taken aback by the unexpected turn of events.
"Shields?" he muttered, a hint of disbelief coloring his voice.
As the flames and smoke finally cleared, the soldiers stood unscathed, their hands raised to display magically-constructed shields that had successfully deflected Natsu's fiery onslaught.
"In that case, prepare to receive another one of my attacks!" Natsu declared, his voice ringing with undeterred resolve as he once again pressed the switch on his magical weapon.
"Pfft!"
This time, instead of the expected torrent of flames, a mere puff of smoke emerged from the hilt.
Natsu's eyes widened in astonishment, his face paling as he stared at the unexpected outcome.
"You absolute idiot! Didn't I tell you that magical energy is severely limited in this world, and consequently, all spells have a fixed number of uses?" Lucy exclaimed internally, her voice laced with a mixture of exasperation and disbelief.
"You mean this thing can only be used once?!" Natsu exclaimed, his voice filled with a mixture of shock and panic as the full implications of Lucy's explanation dawned upon him.
"With proper control over the intensity of the flames, it could have been used up to a hundred times," Lucy retorted, her voice sharp with rebuke.
Witnessing this turn of events, Finn let out a weary sigh. "Honestly, it seems I'll have to step in and handle this myself," he muttered.
Just as Finn was about to step forward, Wendy, who had been diligently fiddling with the Sky Crack Cannon, inadvertently opened the box completely.
Instantly, the surrounding air became saturated with a powerful gust of wind.
"Hmm?" Finn turned his head in confusion, his gaze falling upon Wendy's bewildered expression.
In the blink of an eye, a violent whirlwind erupted, instantly engulfing Finn and his companions.
"Whoa!!" The sudden sensation of weightlessness left Finn momentarily disoriented, primarily because he hadn't anticipated an attack from behind. Before he could react, the powerful gust of wind had already swept him away.
"AAAAAH!!" Nancy's shriek of terror pierced the air.
"Wendy~ What in the world have you done?!" Natsu roared, his voice barely audible above the howling wind as he was tossed about within the heart of the whirlwind.
"I'm so incredibly sorry~~" Wendy managed to apologize, her voice strained and barely audible above the roar of the wind, despite being disoriented and tossed about within the vortex.
The whirlwind ascended towards the heavens, carrying Finn and his companions towards the opposite side of the city, where they were violently thrown to the ground, creating a cloud of dust and debris.
This unexpected turn of events left not only Finn and his companions stunned, but even the opposing Royal Army soldiers momentarily speechless.
"Captain? Why did they just attack themselves?" one of the soldiers blurted out, his voice laced with confusion as he turned to his superior officer.
The captain, after a moment of stunned silence, responded with a furious slap to the soldier's head.
"You imbecile! It's clearly a deliberate tactic! Don't you see that they've already managed to escape our encirclement?!" he roared, his voice filled with a mixture of anger and frustration.
He then surveyed the surrounding area, his gaze falling upon his bewildered troops. "What are you all standing around doing?! Get moving! Chase after them! We must capture them, no matter the cost!" he bellowed.
Inside a dilapidated dwelling, its ceiling marred by a gaping hole, Finn and his companions lay sprawled across the straw-covered floor.
"By the way, Edolas Lucy, could you possibly get off of me? You're rather heavy," a groan emanated from beneath the considerable weight of Edolas Lucy.
"Huh?!" Lucy looked down to see Finn pinned beneath her.
"Oh my goodness! I'm so incredibly sorry, Finn," Edolas Lucy exclaimed, hastily scrambling to her feet.
"This magic system is really quite difficult to master," Natsu remarked dejectedly, his face etched with a mixture of frustration and disappointment.
"Indeed," Wendy echoed, her voice filled with a similar sense of dejection.
"It seems that Natsu and Wendy have become utterly useless," Happy declared, his voice laced with a hint of sarcasm.
Natsu and Wendy's spirits plummeted even further upon hearing Happy's assessment.
"The Royal Army is approaching again," Nancy announced, her voice sharp and alert as she peered through a crack in the door, her gaze fixed on the approaching soldiers.
"I'll handle this," Finn declared, rising to his feet, prepared to confront the troublesome soldiers.
However, before Finn could take action, a familiar voice echoed from outside the dwelling.
"Let go of me! And just what reason do you have for arresting me?!"
"That voice… it sounds just like Lucy!" Happy exclaimed, a sudden thought occurring to him.
"Huh? My voice?" Edolas Lucy questioned, her brow furrowed in confusion.
Finn cautiously opened the door, only to be met with a sight that left him utterly speechless.
Standing before him, surrounded by a throng of Royal Army soldiers, was none other than Lucy—Earthland Lucy.
__________________
for more advance chapters visit patreon.com/bars45.
For 10$- All advance chapters.