Too bad Lucy completely missed their "telepathic signals."
She tilted her head, thinking hard for a few seconds. She was about to say, "They're probably about equally awesome," but then she remembered Erza was right there—and she'd just witnessed Erza tear a magical beast apart with her bare hands.
To cling to this golden opportunity and score some points with Erza, Lucy flashed a dazzling smile, gave her a big thumbs-up, and loudly declared, "I think Erza's strength is on another level! I mean, she lifted that massive beast with just one arm!"
Natsu, Gray, and Happy froze, their hearts collectively going thud. A silent scream echoed in their minds: We're doomed!
They shrank into the corner, desperately trying to distance themselves from the brewing storm.
"Ohhh~?" Mirajane drawled, her smile so "radiant" it could blind someone. She leaned forward slightly. "So, Lucy thinks Erza's just a tad stronger, huh?"
Erza crossed her arms, chin raised, a smug "as expected" look on her face. "Well, it seems everyone agrees I'm stronger than Mirajane."
She was clearly in a great mood. But someone else? Not so much.
BOOM!
The train car lurched violently without warning, as if struck by an invisible sledgehammer! Caught off guard, Lucy's forehead slammed into the table with a thwack!
"Ow!! That hurts!!" Lucy clutched her instantly swollen forehead, tears welling up. "What was that?! I've ridden this train a million times, and it's never shaken like that! Did someone sabotage the tracks?!"
To keep things from spiraling further into chaos, Roger coughed lightly and casually said, "Hey, Lucy, do you know the name of the 'Demon'?"
"Name?" Lucy rubbed her throbbing forehead, wincing but trying to recall. "Um… I think… it's something like—"
She gasped, snapping her fingers, then immediately regretted it as pain shot through her head. "Right! It's Demon Mirajane!!" She laughed, still cradling her forehead. "I remember now! The Demon's title is the same as Mirajane's name. I was so shocked when I first heard it."
Seeing she still hadn't connected the dots, Gray, pale as a ghost, leaned in and whispered with a voice barely above a breath, "Lucy… 'Demon Mirajane' is the Mirajane sitting right in front of you."
"Huh?" Lucy's brain crashed, her mind going blank. She forced a smile uglier than a sob. "No way, haha, Gray, that's a ridiculous joke! Mirajane's the gentle, beautiful poster girl of Fairy Tail! How could she be the legendary 'Demon' Mirajane who could destroy an entire town?"
"Haha, hahaha…" Her dry laughter tried to mask her rising panic.
But the train car fell into dead silence. Even Happy, who never missed a chance to tease, stayed quiet. When Lucy glanced at him, he flinched, grabbed his green sack, and hid his face behind it, his paws trembling.
The eerie silence and Happy's odd reaction made Lucy's teeth chatter uncontrollably. She swallowed hard, her neck creaking like a rusty hinge as she slowly turned to the side.
Mirajane was still smiling that "radiant" smile, but her beautiful eyes now glinted with something that made Lucy's hair stand on end—a terrifying, almost "benevolent" glow.
Lucy: "…"
She wished she could rewind a few minutes and strangle her past self for opening her big mouth and sucking up to Erza! Maybe stuff a rag in her mouth for good measure!
Forcing an awkward smile uglier than a cry, she tried to backtrack. "Haha, Mirajane's so sweet, there's no way she'd compare herself to Erza, right?"
Mirajane propped her chin elegantly on her hands, leaning forward. Her crescent-moon eyes locked onto Lucy, her pink lips parting slowly, each word like an icy spike piercing Lucy's heart. "So, Lucy… between me and Erza… who's really stronger?" She emphasized "who" and "stronger" with chilling precision.
Those words hit like a thousand-pound boulder, leaving Lucy dizzy and breathless. The car was warm, but she felt like she'd been tossed into an arctic cave, shivering uncontrollably.
Say Erza's stronger? Mirajane would lose it! That smile of hers screamed, "I'll crush your bones and dump you in the wilderness!" But say Mirajane's stronger? That'd make her earlier praise of Erza sound like a mockery, and Erza would probably crush her head like that mountain she once demolished!
Either way, she was screwed!
Lucy was drowning in regret. Why did she have to bring up the "Demon" topic?!
Caught between them, her brain felt like it was about to explode. She wanted to crack a joke to wiggle out, but their piercing stares felt like ghostly hands ready to pounce if she said a single wrong word.
Mom… I think I'm done for… QAQ
Her inner self was frantically chewing a handkerchief, her brain overheating to the point of smoking. Then her eyes landed on Roger, sitting between Erza and Mirajane, smirking like he was enjoying the show. A lightbulb—brighter than the sun—dinged above her head.
Salvation!
Lucy's face lit up with a desperate, radiant smile. She clapped her hands and tilted her head cutely. "You're both super strong, of course! But if we're talking about the strongest—"
Under Erza and Mirajane's probing (and slightly dangerous) gazes, Lucy thrust both arms forward, pointing straight at Roger. "It's gotta be Roger!!"
The sudden twist stunned both Erza and Mirajane. They hadn't expected that.
Erza crossed her arms, nodded thoughtfully, and said, "Hmm, Roger's strength is indeed unfathomable. He's very powerful."
"Phew!" Lucy let out a quiet sigh, her back soaked in cold sweat.
Did I… dodge the bullet?
But Mirajane's attitude softened only slightly. Her "radiant" smile didn't waver as she silently stared at Lucy.
Lucy: "…"
Her scalp tingled again. What's going on?! Is Mirajane still not satisfied? Does she want me to say she's stronger than Erza? I'll die a horrible death!
Wait! Lucy's eyes widened. Strength doesn't always mean fighting power!
(==) Lucy, you're a genius!