"Lucy, Happy—be careful." Noel still called out a reminder.
"Got it." Lucy began swinging her whip, the air cracking as it moved. She thought her display might intimidate the enemies, but the black-robed crowd surged forward regardless.
Lucy was a skilled whip-user; her strikes were fierce and precise, quickly knocking one opponent to the ground.
But then—
The man she had felled rose to his feet again and continued advancing, as though completely uninjured.
"What's going on? Is this some kind of illusion?" Lucy muttered. She was sure she'd landed her blow, yet something felt unreal.
She resorted to entangling him with her whip, then flung him aside.
"It's probably not an illusion," Noel said, charging forward. The wind daggers in his hands began to gleam with sharp power—yet they passed straight through the enemy as if cutting nothing at all.
Noel prepared to pursue, but several robed figures gathered together, chanting an unfamiliar incantation.
The blades that had fallen earlier suddenly floated into the air and began moving at high speed overhead.
"What is that supposed to be?" Lucy complained.
"Don't worry, Noel will take care of it," Happy said confidently—after all, Noel's strength was considerable.
"Not if I don't understand the principles behind this magic," Noel said helplessly.
"What?!" Happy hadn't expected that.
The speed of the blades only increased, hemming the two of them into an ever-shrinking space.
"Open, Gate of the Crab!"
Cancee made his entrance.
"Shrimp~"
"Wait—aren't you a crab? Why end with 'shrimp'?" Noel deadpanned.
"Miss Lucy, what hairstyle shall we go for today?" Cancer asked, scissors already twitching in his claws.
"This is not the time! Cut those blades down!" Lucy ordered.
"Understood."
As expected of a Zodiac Celestial Spirit, Cancer darted straight toward the floating weapons. His twin scissors snipped with dazzling speed—snip, snip, snip—and in moments, the blades fell to the ground in pieces.
"Phew, all done." Cancer even blew away the scraps from his scissors.
Noel hadn't been idle either.
"Wind Magic: Thousand-Leaf Wind Blades!"
A thousand razor-thin blades of wind, shimmering with violent green light, fanned out from his hands. The turbulent air swelled and surged, cutting into the enemies around them.
"Lucy, you've noticed it too, haven't you?"
"That magic just now was only a smokescreen. Its power wasn't nearly as terrifying as we thought—it was just posturing," Noel explained, now far less tense after discerning the trick.
"How about you go on ahead? I'll hold things here," Lucy suggested.
"Mm." Noel agreed.
But just then, the ground trembled violently. The ruins, which had been leaning, slowly righted themselves back to their original form.
"What's going on?" Lucy asked, staring at the change.
"This is the ripple of Time Magic." Even from here, Noel could sense it. "Has the ruins' time been rewound?"
"Stop right there! You will not interfere with Lord Zero Emperor's work!"
An elderly woman, hunched with age, stepped forward. From the looks of it, she was the leader of the group.
"That headpiece… You're citizens of Brago, aren't you?"
Noel recognized the design. He'd heard of that kingdom—it had been ravaged by a demon. If memory served, that demon was…
"In your current state, you can't stop us. And I have no wish to harm you. Let's both make compromises."
"I've got a bad feeling. Something big is about to happen up there—let's go!" Noel called to Lucy and Happy.
Elsewhere, atop the ruins, the magic circle was still running. With their forces scattered to defend against intruders, fewer were left to maintain the ritual, slowing its progress.
Originally, it was planned to completely melt the Absolute Ice Seal by tomorrow. But now, with the intrusion, they were forced to hasten it.
The masked man in charge frowned at the magic array. Should he… use the Arc of Time?
No, that wouldn't work. Wait—last time, they had mined magic crystals. Those could replace manpower entirely… and even increase efficiency.
He inserted a magic crystal into the center of the circle. The array flared, spinning faster, working more efficiently than ever.
"By tonight, Deliora will be revived."
Lucy and Noel sprinted toward the ruins at top speed. The tremors hadn't stopped.
"I wonder how Gray and Natsu are doing…" Lucy said worriedly.
"What's there to worry about? They won't lose," Noel replied.
"Why are you so sure?" she asked.
"Because aside from them, I have no one else I can believe in." Noel gave a faint smile. "Companions are bound by mutual trust. That's what you need to understand."
The bond between companions… It was a warmth Lucy had never felt before. Natsu and Gray might act like fools sometimes, but at the crucial moment, a single call and they would come running.
When they reached the ruins, they saw it had not only returned to its original form, but even the huge hole they'd fallen through earlier had vanished.
As expected—it was Time Magic. Time had been rewound to yesterday, and that must have cost a tremendous amount of magic power.
"ROAR—!"
A deafening bellow rose from underground.
If they were right, it was coming from where they had fallen earlier. The entire ruins shook violently.
"That… doesn't sound like a human, does it?" Lucy said, covering her ears.
"Maybe it's your stomach," Happy teased.
"Don't joke about that!" Lucy scolded.
"Looks like Deliora's been revived," Noel sighed. So they had failed to prevent it after all.
"That's the Moon Drip's light," Happy pointed at the magic circle on the ground.
The tremors worsened, the ruins shaking even more violently. The group staggered with the motion, nearly losing their balance.
The fact that the resurrection ritual was still ongoing meant Deliora was not yet fully revived. The ritual's focal point had to be at the very top of the ruins.
"Hurry—we're going up," Noel said, breaking into a run.
"Why go up? What's so important up there?" Lucy asked, still confused, but followed anyway.
They reached the altar just as an eerie light flared.
"ROAR—!"
The sound was unbearably harsh. The ruins' shaking didn't stop, and the ritual below came to a halt.
They were still too late. Deliora was likely already revived underground. That meant the first battlefield would be down there—and they had to hold it, at least until reinforcements arrived.
Pls drop some power stones supper me at my
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