"Ankh?"
Lucy certainly remembered that name - Ankh was the person that save her alongside Natsu and was the only Celestial Spirit Mage she had encountered since joining the guild.
The powerful Celestial Spirit Mage who commanded the Thirteenth Zodiac Ophiuchus.
Based on Natsu's attitude before, Lucy had thought Ankh was around the same level as Natsu.
But judging by Erza's expression now, could he be even stronger?
Upon hearing Cana's words, the other guild members all breathed sighs of relief as if a great weight had been lifted.
'The savior! He's finally making his move!'
Natsu's eyes immediately lit up, while Gray stopped sweating nervously.
The two boys who had seemed like exhausted weaklings moments earlier suddenly found their backs no longer aching and their knees firm again!
The entire guild's atmosphere became extremely lively...
Mirajane noticed Lucy's confused expression and once again transformed into the understanding big sister.
"You're new here, so you wouldn't know - Ankh is the person Erza fears most in this guild."
Lucy exclaimed in disbelief, "Someone who can make the powerful Erza afraid? Is Ankh even stronger than Erza?"
Mirajane shook her head and said.
"That's not the reason. The main thing... is because Ankh... is Erza's older brother."
"Eh? What!" Lucy's expression showed she'd stumbled upon juicy gossip.
Erza, who had been so authoritative moments before, finally saw her stern expression become animated, visibly showing signs of panic...
Erza's mind involuntarily recalled past experiences with her brother.
To put it simply, in front of others, Ankh was indeed a gentle and good older brother, but once they were somewhere no one could see...
Ankh became like a demon coach, relentlessly training Erza in physical combat and weapon skills.
Erza still vividly remembers to this day, after one evening when Ankh finished training her and they had both gone to sleep, something unexpected happened...
In the middle of the night, Ankh actually picked up a sword and suddenly started fighting with her again!
He... was sleepwalking!
And this time, he was actually sleepwalking and trying to cut people - can you believe it!
Even now, when Erza recalls the dangerous experience from that night, she can't help but feel lingering fear.
The next day, when she asked Ankh about it, he didn't remember anything at all...
It was from that day on that Erza never dared to ask Ankh to sleep with her again...
At the time, Ankh naively thought that his little sister had finally grown up and understood the differences between men and women...
Besides this, Ankh had made many training plans for Erza, but for Erza, they were all nightmare-like experiences.
So when it comes to her brother, Erza can be said to both respect and fear him...
It took Erza quite a while to slowly snap out of her thoughts.
She took a deep breath, as if gathering her courage.
"Understood, I'll go find my brother now."
After another moment, Erza finally responded.
Gray and Natsu cheered inwardly, excited to see Erza embarrassed again!
Every time Erza was called by Ankh, she would return in a miserable state, which had become their only little source of amusement.
However, no matter how amusing they found it, they didn't dare show it on their faces.
Once, Natsu couldn't hold back... and laughed out loud, and Erza nearly pulled out his tongue...
After finishing her instructions about guild matters, Erza left the guild and headed toward Ankh's house.
Finding her way to Ankh's house with familiar ease, Erza hesitated for a moment, confirming that her Magic Power was sufficient, before cautiously knocking on the door.
Incidentally, Erza also changed out of her armor, transforming it into a white shirt.
Before long, the manor door was opened by a plump maid, who exclaimed happily upon seeing Erza's face.
"Miss Erza, you're here!"
"Master Ankh has been waiting for you for a long time."
Erza naturally recognized the servants at Ankh's manor.
She nodded naturally and was led by the maid to the small villa behind the garden.
"Brother!"
Erza looked at Ankh standing at the doorway, feeling somewhat surprised.
Ankh smiled, looking at Erza who had become even more beautiful after two years apart, and said.
"Long time no see, I've been waiting for you for quite a while."
Hearing this, all the muscles in Erza's body immediately tensed up with instinctive alertness.
Among all the special training she had undergone, Ankh's sudden attacks were specifically designed to test Erza's reaction speed.
Every time, Ankh would be chatting and laughing with Erza one moment, then pull out a sword and stab at her the next.
Thanks to Ankh, after such rigorous training, Erza's reaction speed and alertness had become exceptionally high - she could even detect when a mosquito was trying to bite her.
Ankh raised an eyebrow, noticing Erza's tense posture, and couldn't help but laugh.
"Alright, I'm not going to do any special training. You've grown up so much, you're already mature."
Hearing this, Erza still didn't relax. Instead, she seriously counted off.
"Brother, you said the same thing two years ago, but you still ended up ambushing me."
Ankh was taken aback for a moment, then awkwardly rubbed his chin and said nonchalantly.
"Huh? Did that really happen?"
Erza nodded with an air of seriousness.
Ankh shook his head helplessly and smiled.
"Forget it then. I just wanted to ask you something—I heard you fought with Mirajane after I left?"
Erza carefully controlled the Magic Power within her while cautiously replying.
"Yes. After you left, Mirajane seemed to become too impatient and ran into some trouble with her Magic training. I just wanted to knock some sense into her."
Ankh furrowed his brows and continued, "And then, Mirajane's personality became like that?"
Erza nodded, also somewhat puzzled as she said, "She was fine during that period until one day, it was as if she had figured something out and suddenly became how she is now."
After hearing Erza's description, Ankh fell into confusion again.
Mirajane suddenly changing to her current personality without the original setbacks felt rather abrupt...
While deep in thought, Ankh looked up and suddenly noticed Erza standing far away.
He chuckled and said, "Alright, I really don't plan to train you anymore. Come here."
Erza shifted her little feet, her face showing a conflicted expression.
She twisted her body slightly but refused to move.
It was hard to imagine that such a shy and adorable girl would be the famous Fairy Queen of the guild.
Ankh knew Erza was wary of his training and couldn't help but feel a bit upset.
It seemed he had been too harsh on her before.
Thinking of this, Ankh deliberately put on a bitter smile, lowered his head, and sighed.
"It's my fault. I shouldn't have been so strict with you before..."
"I understand why you're afraid of me and don't want to come near me..."
Erza suddenly froze for a moment.
Watching Ankh sitting on the steps, lost in his sorrow, she also felt uncomfortable.
She wasn't a fool, of course she understood that everything Ankh did was to train Erza's temperament and abilities.
Although... Erza had a hard time enduring the special training Ankh gave her, hadn't Ankh always been by her side throughout?
Erza was a sensitive girl.
When someone treated her well, she could clearly feel it.
Ankh was not only her brother but also the person who treated her the best...
Thinking of this, Erza couldn't help but restrain the Magic Power within her and quickly sat down beside Ankh.
So what if she got ambushed!
Even so, she couldn't let someone who loved her get hurt!
Erza hugged Ankh's arm, her perfect heroic features blooming with a gentle smile.
Her voice carried a mature tone, but her words were like a playful child acting cute.
"Brother—I was just joking with you! Don't be mad."
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