Three wizards stood atop the flying rat. They were members of the former Lamia Scale: Yuka the Wave, the pink-haired beauty Sherry, and the dog-headed man Toby!
"What?! They're attacking from above?!"
Lucy followed Natsu's line of sight, spotted the incoming enemies, and immediately clutched her head in despair.
"Then that means... my trap really was useless!!"
Panic spread like wildfire through the village. The terrified villagers began screaming and fleeing in all directions.
They were all just ordinary people completely powerless and without the courage to face battle-hardened mages.
At that moment, the giant flying rat hovered right above the village.
"It took a little longer than expected to finish preparing the poison jelly... but since all the Fairy Tail wizards are already here, we don't have to waste time searching," Sherry said, peering down at the panicked crowd below.
The corners of her lips curled in a flirtatious smirk beneath her bright pink lipstick.
"As expected... this must be fate the divine connection between me and Lord Leon~"
"That has nothing to do with this situation," Yuka replied flatly, clearly used to her delusions.
Tired of her antics, he turned to the growling man beside him. "Toby, come with me. Let's drop the poison jelly and end this stupid farce already. We need to "
"I have to return in time to witness Deliora's death."
"Don't order me around, you jerk!!!" Toby snarled, his temper flaring.
He clearly wasn't the calm, cooperative type.
But despite his outburst, the three of them still grabbed hold of the large container filled with poison jelly and lifted it over the side.
Drip.
A single drop of glowing green goo splashed to the ground near Lucy's feet.
Sssss! White smoke hissed up from the ground. A small section of earth was instantly eaten away, leaving behind a blackened, smoldering hole.
Lucy's pupils contracted in horror.
Before she could even react, a massive shadow blocked out the purple moonlight above her.
A monstrous glob of poison jelly large enough to blanket half the village was plummeting from the sky!
"Dammit! No way I'm letting that thing hit!!"
Natsu roared, flames bursting from his body as he turned toward the sky.
"Happy! Can you still fly?!"
"Aye, sir!!"
Happy immediately understood. With a flap of his tiny wings, he lifted Natsu by the arms and launched into the air toward the falling poison bomb.
BOOM!!
A fiery explosion lit up the night sky, sending shockwaves through the air. Natsu's flames erupted outward, colliding with the jelly midair.
The intense heat burned away most of the green goo in an instant, evaporating it before it could ever reach the village.
The remaining poison jelly, partially burned away by Natsu's flames, rained down in smaller droplets across the village like toxic drizzle.
Everywhere it landed, the earth sizzled and scorched corroding walls, rooftops, and roads in an instant. Within moments, the once peaceful village was reduced to a steaming, devastated ruin.
Thankfully, all the villagers had already been evacuated to safety. No one was critically injured.
Amid the rising white smoke, several figures leapt down from the sky, landing on the ground with sharp impact.
Natsu, fists blazing with fire, squared off from a distance against Yuka the Wave and the brawny, beast-like Toby.
Meanwhile, Lucy stepped forward whip in hand to confront Sherry, who had been moments away from fulfilling Emperor Zero's order to eliminate the villagers standing in their way.
"So you're the famous Fire Dragon of Fairy Tail," Yuka said calmly, hands tucked behind his back as he stared at Natsu. "Come to think of it, we were once part of a legal guild Lamia Scale. I wonder if you ever "
Before he could finish, his view exploded into flames Natsu had already lunged forward and launched his attack.
Yuka didn't even flinch. He lifted his right hand, which glowed with a white aura, and casually flicked his wrist. The wall of flame dissolved instantly.
"At least let a guy finish his sentence," he said, pretending to be annoyed as he picked up where he left off. "My magic neutralizes all magical energy. Back when I was with Lamia Scale, I specialized in fighting other wizards."
"I don't care about your backstory!" Natsu shouted, flames roaring around him. "All I need to do is knock you out of my way!"
Wreathed in fire, Natsu charged in without hesitation.
The two immediately clashed fist against nullifying palm as the battle erupted.
On the other side
Lucy was getting completely overwhelmed by a massive rock monster controlled by Sherry's magic.
Sherry's ability, Puppet Magic, allowed her to control any non-human object or creature even celestial spirits.
Lucy was at an absolute disadvantage. Worse yet, her own summoned spirit Taurus the Bull had nearly taken her head off with his axe.
"What am I supposed to do?! I don't have any spirits that can handle that rock monster. Even if I summon one, she'll just take control of them!"
As she thought desperately for a solution, Lucy twisted her body in a desperate, gymnast-level dodge, narrowly avoiding a crushing blow from the rock monster's fist.
And then...
She continued running in full panic.
"Hey! Where are you going?!" Sherry called mockingly from atop the monster. "Weren't you the one bragging about protecting the villagers?"
She pointed at the terrified villagers still hiding nearby and smirked cruelly.
"No wonder your own Celestial Spirit said something perverted like, 'My master has the best body.'"
"That was that pervert Taurus who said that!!" Lucy yelled back, breathless as she ducked under a swinging arm.
It was at that exact moment that Lucy suddenly caught sight of Chase and the Dark Magician Girl standing calmly at the front of the crowd of villagers.
Oh! I completely forgot about Brother Chase!
An idea sparked like lightning in her brain. The panic on her face vanished instantly, replaced by a sly, calculating smile.
She skidded to a halt mid-run.
"Huh?" Sherry blinked in confusion. "Why'd you stop? What now are you going to confront your pathetic, incompetent love head-on?"
"You said your magic can control anything that's not human, right?" Lucy asked sweetly, flashing her a challenging grin.
"Of course! My love for Lord Leon transcends all laws of magic and reason!"
"In that case…"
Lucy took a deep breath, extended one pale finger, and pointed directly at the blonde girl standing beside Chase.
"That girl with the golden hair she's not human. She's a card monster. If you've got the guts, try controlling her!"
Checkmate.
Chase had said earlier that he wouldn't interfere in any conflict tied to this mission.
But what if the enemy, unprovoked, targeted him first?
Then it would only be natural for him to fight back.
Lucy's grin turned just a little wicked.
"She doesn't have the aura unique to humans..."
"Well then, I'll kindly give you the honor of witnessing what true love can accomplish!"
Just as Lucy predicted, the arrogant and hopelessly lovesick Sherry fell right into the trap.
Without hesitation, she turned and began guiding her giant rock monster toward Chase and the Dark Magician Girl.
BOOM! BOOM!
Each stomp sent tremors rippling through the earth. The villagers screamed in terror and scattered like ants.
In the blink of an eye, the area was cleared only Chase and the Dark Magician Girl remained, standing side by side in the middle of the road.
"Some might call this a little opportunistic," Chase murmured, hand resting casually on his chin, "but making smart use of the tools around you is a mark of a truly capable mage."
He watched the approaching golem with no hint of fear.
"Nicely played, Lucy."
"What are you muttering about over there?!" Sherry snapped. "Are you a wizard too?"
Annoyed by how calmly Chase stood, she commanded the rock monster to attack him directly.
BOOM!!
The golem's massive fist crashed down like thunder, slamming into the ground with a deafening impact.
A towering cloud of dust exploded into the air, blotting out the sky.