Athena fell silent.
Lucy did not press her any further, instead giving her time to think things through on her own.
Athena lowered her head and remained lost in thought for quite a while before Lucy finally spoke again.
"You're thinking about it right now, aren't you? That feeling is called confusion."
Athena looked deeply conflicted, one hand resting against her chest.
"But I received orders from the guild master. I'm currently carrying out a mission."
"What do you want to do?" Lucy asked seriously. "If you really have emotions, then stop relying on someone else's orders and think about what you want for yourself!"
"!!"
A distinctly human look of shock flashed through Athena's eyes.
She fell silent again, struggling with Lucy's words.
"I..."
...
Deltara Forest—
The surroundings had already returned to normal.
Raizel, Wendy, and Carla were once again standing in the forest, while Luso's distorted Fantasy Death World had vanished as though it had never existed.
Having watched Raizel destroy her transmuted world with a single slash, Luso looked both furious and visibly frightened.
Enny quickly came to a decision.
"Capture the girl. She's the one carrying the dragon Magic Power we need."
After seeing Wendy use Dragon Slayer Magic earlier, Enny had already marked her as the real target.
As far as she was concerned, Raizel was someone best avoided unless absolutely necessary.
Raizel immediately stepped in front of Wendy and looked at the Signario Sisters.
"You're talking about taking Wendy away right in front of me?"
"Do you really think transmuting 'worlds' is all we can do?" Enny replied. "Transmute—Armor of Ruin."
The elegant dress covering her body vanished and was replaced by a suit of black armor, while a serpentine blade appeared in her hand.
Raizel looked mildly surprised.
"Requip Magic?"
Weren't they supposed to be alchemists?
Why was she suddenly copying Erza's entire routine?
"This isn't Requip Magic," Enny answered expressionlessly. "This is also alchemy. I simply transmuted the armor beforehand and equipped it when needed. Alchemy is a power that surpasses Magic."
With that, she stamped one foot against the ground and charged straight at Raizel.
Just as Enny was about to reach him, Raizel disappeared.
By the time she realized what had happened, he was already behind her.
His light blade swept across her back in a single clean strike.
The armor Enny had created through alchemy shattered instantly, and blood sprayed from her mouth as she crashed face-first onto the ground.
Raizel showed no inclination to go easy on her just because she was a woman.
He broke both of Enny's arms, then rested the point of his sword against her throat before turning toward the stunned Luso.
"Remember this. It isn't a matter of alchemy being superior to Magic, or Magic being stronger than alchemy. What matters is the person using it."
Both Signario Sisters possessed armor created through alchemy, and Enny, as the elder sister, was the stronger of the two.
If Raizel could defeat Enny in an instant, then doing the same to Luso was merely a question of whether he felt like it.
Only now did Luso begin to understand something far more terrifying.
Raizel had probably been playing along with them from the very beginning.
If he had genuinely intended to kill them, the sisters might have died the moment they met him.
Neither Enny nor Luso had even been able to follow his movements with their eyes just now.
Raizel dismissed his Take Over and turned toward Wendy.
"All right, Wendy. Let's go. Ultear and Mira seem to be having plenty of fun over at Gold Owl."
Luso hurried to her sister's side to check Enny's injuries.
She did not dare pursue Raizel, Wendy, and Carla as they walked away.
Watching the three eventually disappear from sight, Luso had the uncomfortable feeling that the shadow Raizel had cast over them today would linger in the Signario Sisters' hearts for a very long time.
Their strength had been far below what Raizel had expected.
They were not even comparable to Misaki.
Their alchemically transmuted armor was astonishingly fragile, and their offensive power was nothing special either.
The only remotely impressive ability was their power to transmute "worlds," which could certainly intimidate people who had never encountered illusion-based abilities before.
Against anyone experienced enough to see through the spectacle, however, there was far less to fear.
...
Gold Owl Guild Hall—
"You want dragon Magic Power?" Ultear asked with a frown.
Duke stood with his hands behind his back and nodded calmly. "Exactly. I simply didn't expect the two of you to be the ones who came here. Neither of you is a Dragon Slayer."
Ultear narrowed her eyes.
"So you already know who the Dragon Slayers are?"
"I investigated the major Dragon Slayers of Ishgar."
God Serena immediately seized the opportunity to insert himself into the conversation.
"You could've just asked me! I could have told you everything in a perfectly GODLY fashion!"
Gennai stared at him speechlessly.
"You aren't interested in anyone besides yourself."
After spending some time around Serena, both Gennai and Kotetsu had long since figured out what kind of person he was.
God Serena was an extreme narcissist who barely seemed capable of noticing anyone else unless they somehow became relevant to him.
Instead of denying it, Serena suddenly put on an almost bashful smile.
"GOD! That's absolutely right! I don't know anything about them! Wahahahaha!"
Mira suddenly spoke up.
"Wait. If you need dragon Magic Power, wouldn't Diabolos be much closer? They're a Dragon Eater guild here in Guiltina. Going all the way after Dragon Slayers from Ishgar seems unnecessarily complicated."
Kotetsu answered in Duke's place.
"The Magic Power of Dragon Eaters is too impure."
Gennai continued, "Originally, seventy-two Dogramag Cores would have been enough to complete Athena. Since those are no longer available, we have no choice but to make up the difference with the purer Magic Power of Dragon Slayers."
In truth, Dogramag had possessed more than seventy-two cores. Counting those scattered elsewhere and those inside Dogramag himself, there had been a total of one hundred and eight.
Unfortunately for Gold Owl, Raizel and the others had destroyed all of them.
"I have no need for two women who don't possess Dragon Slayer Magic," Duke said coldly. "Disappear."
He was just about to make his move when a woman's voice interrupted him.
"Master, please wait!"
Duke, Ultear, and Mira all turned toward the entrance in surprise.
Athena stood in the doorway with both arms raised as though trying to stop the confrontation.
"Athena?!" Gennai and Kotetsu exclaimed.
What surprised them even more was that Natsu, Lucy, Kagura, and Erza were standing directly behind her.
"So that's Athena?" Ultear looked from her toward Lucy and the others. "Why are you all together?"
"I'm here too!" Happy called out, proudly raising one paw.
Duke kept his hands behind his back as he stared at Athena, his voice noticeably heavier than before.
"Why are you with these people?"
Athena was just about to answer when a red magic circle suddenly appeared in front of Ultear and Mira.
Raizel stepped out alongside Wendy and Carla.
"Well, everyone's here."
He glanced around the guild hall with interest.
"Looks like I didn't arrive too late."
Raizel and Wendy's appearance clearly caught Duke's attention.
His single visible eye settled on Raizel and carefully examined him from head to toe.
Natsu opened his mouth, apparently ready to explain what had happened, but Lucy immediately grabbed him.
"Natsu, you should probably let me handle this. You'll either explain it badly or somehow start another fight."
Raizel gestured toward Athena.
"Please, continue."
Athena turned back toward Duke.
"Master, we don't need their Magic Power anymore."
There was a smile on her face as she spoke, and for the first time, genuine happiness could be clearly heard in her voice.
Duke's remaining eye widened.
"What did you say?"
Athena looked at him with unmistakable excitement.
"I already have emotions."
"Now all you have to do is use your power to make me complete!"
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