In the basement of the resort hotel, the magnificent casino was filled with bright lights and the roar of a bustling crowd.
Riyao was pulling Mirajane along as they swept through the casino.
Well, to say they were sweeping through was an overstatement; it was actually Mirajane who was winning big, while Riyao was mostly holding her back.
For some reason, while Riyao was invincible in battle, his luck was absolutely abysmal.
He lost every bet he made—if he bet on big, it came up small; if he bet on small, it came up big. He even managed to guess a coin toss wrong ten times in a row.
Looking at the chips that had been lost once again, Mirajane sighed helplessly and then pushed all the remaining chips forward.
"All in! Riyao, why don't you give it a try?"
Riyao rubbed his hands together, looking nervous as he picked up the dice cup, muttering under his breath.
"Spirits of heaven and earth, all the gods above, please bless me—I have to win this time!"
ヘヘ)
He suddenly lifted the cup, and the three dice spun rapidly on the table before finally coming to a stop.
The dealer called out, "1, 2, 1—Small!"
Riyao's face instantly slumped, his mouth twitching.
The opponent slowly opened their cup, and the dealer continued, "1, 2, 2—Banker wins!"
Riyao stared at the mountain of chips being swept away, looking as if his soul had been sucked out. His eyes were vacant, his mouth slightly agape, and it felt like his spirit was about to float right out of his mouth.
(ಡωಡ)
Mirajane patted Riyao on the shoulder, comforting him in a gentle tone.
"It's okay, let's go play something else."
Riyao whimpered and hugged Mirajane, burying his face in the crook of her neck, his voice muffled.
"Waaaah, let's leave this place of sorrow and get some fresh air. This place is jinxing me, it really is."
"Alright, alright, let's go out and watch the float parade."
ヾ(❀╹◡╹)ﾉ~
Mirajane stroked Riyao's head, a doting smile playing on her lips.
Riyao clung to Mirajane like a big golden retriever, hanging onto her arm as they walked out of the casino, leaving behind a pile of lost chips and the echoes of Riyao's wails.
By the bar, Juvia and Gray were sitting side by side.
Around Juvia's neck hung a necklace with the Fairy Tail Guild emblem, the golden pendant sparkling under the lights.
She had her hands on her knees, nervously twisting the fabric of her skirt, stealing glances at Gray every now and then with a face as red as a ripe tomato.
"Juvia is now a free Mage."
She plucked up the courage to speak; her voice trembled slightly, but her tone was firm.
Gray took a sip of his cocktail, set the glass down, and turned to look at her.
"So, are you saying you want to join Fairy Tail?"
Juvia nodded like a chick pecking at grain, her head moving so fast she nearly toppled off the bar stool.
Gray leaned against the bar, absentmindedly swirling his glass, his expression thoughtful.
"I don't really mind, but after what happened recently—Phantom Lord attacking the guild—you were one of Phantom's people, after all. The others might not be able to accept you right away."
Juvia suddenly straightened her back and clenched her fists, looking dead serious.
"Juvia is willing to do anything!"
Gray glanced at her, his voice flat but sincere.
"Don't say things like that so lightly."
Juvia blinked, then her face turned even redder as she lowered her head and whispered.
"Juvia is serious."
On the other side, Natsu was taking his frustration out on a lottery machine, slamming his fists into it one after another. The machine wobbled under his blows, the balls inside rattling loudly.
"Dammit! Why can't I ever win anything!"
A nearby staff member was sweating profusely as he tried to intervene.
"Sir, please calm down, you're going to break the machine."
Erza and Lucy were sitting at a card table, playing a game of cards.
Lucy was having a streak of good luck, counting her chips with a look of triumph.
Just then, a dark-skinned, yellow-haired young man walked over, a sinister smile on his face. He was nimbly flipping a deck of cards like an acrobat.
Sho dealt the cards, his tone nonchalant.
"Why don't we play a more interesting game?"
Five cards were dealt in front of Erza. She looked down and saw five cards, each with a letter.
"D, E, A, T, H."
Death.
Sho's smile became even more sinister, his voice carrying a sense of suppressed hatred.
"Let's use our lives as the stakes. Erza-neesan, I want to gamble for your life!"
Erza stared at the dark-skinned youth, her pupils shrinking in disbelief as she spoke.
"You are... Sho."
Sho spread his hands, his expression cynical, though the hatred in his eyes was impossible to hide.
"Long time no see, Sister."
Lucy's eyes widened in surprise beside them.
"Sister?"
Erza didn't answer. Her hands were trembling slightly as the past came rushing back like a tide.
At that moment, the entire room suddenly plunged into darkness, and screams erupted throughout the casino.
When the lights came back on, everything had changed.
Natsu was lying on the ground with black smoke coming out of his mouth. Wally, the blocky man, had fired a shot directly into Natsu's throat, sending him collapsing into the wreckage of the lottery machine.
Happy had been snatched away at some point, without even having time to let out a cry.
Gray and Juvia were lying in the ruins of the bar; a blast of magic from Simon had blown the counter to pieces.
The two were half-buried under rubble and wood chips. Gray's cocktail was spilled everywhere, and Juvia's skirt was covered in broken glass.
Erza stood up abruptly, looking around in shock.
"Where is everyone?!"
The entire casino was empty. The bustling tourists were all gone, leaving only their group and a few unfamiliar figures.
The cards in Sho's hand floated down, landing one by one on the table.
Trapped within the cards were the figures of the tourists, their expressions filled with terror, their mouths open in silent screams.
Sho tilted his head, a cold smile on his face.
"Are you surprised, Erza-neesan?"
"I've learned how to use magic."
A sweet voice came from behind the card table as Millianna appeared out of thin air, her cat-ear headband particularly striking under the lights.
With a flick of her wrist, a rope shaped like a cat's tail flew out, precisely binding Lucy's limbs and body.
Lucy was tied up tightly, like a mouse caught by a cat, unable to move.
Erza was shocked once again.
"Millianna?! You've learned magic too?!"
Millianna tilted her head and said in a sweet voice, "Er-chan, long time no see, meow."
Seeing Lucy struggling and her face turning red from the restraint, Erza quickly spoke up, "Let Lucy go! She's my comrade."
Sho's face darkened, his voice icy. "Erza-neesan used to be our comrade too—right up until the moment you betrayed us all."
Wally, the blocky man, appeared out of thin air beside Sho. His square body looked like a walking set of building blocks as he put an arm around Sho's shoulder, his tone mockingly relaxed.
"Sho, don't bully Erza like that. A gentleman should know how to suppress his anger."
Erza looked at the blocky man, asking in uncertainty, "Are you... Wally?"
Wally performed a standard gentleman's bow. His movements were elegant, but combined with his square body, it looked utterly ridiculous.
"It's no wonder you didn't recognize me immediately. Compared to the days when I was called 'Mad Dog Wally,' I've become much more 'rounded' now."
Lucy, tied up on the side, struggled to turn her head and glanced at Wally, unable to help but comment, "No matter how you look at it, you've definitely become more square."
Erza looked at them in astonishment, unable to believe that her old companions from the Tower of Paradise had all learned magic.
Simon also appeared out of thin air behind Erza, his voice deep and calm.
"As long as you grasp the trick, anyone can find a way to use it, Erza."
Erza spun around to face Simon, then looked at Sho, Wally, and Millianna, her voice trembling slightly.
"Why are you all here?"
Wally answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"To take you back, of course."
As soon as he finished speaking, Wally's arm suddenly vanished, reappearing behind Erza a second later with a gun pointed at her back.
Erza's face paled as she tried to turn, but it was already too late.
Bang!
The shot hit its mark. Erza's body stiffened before she slowly collapsed, her consciousness instantly stripped away.
"Erza!" Lucy struggled desperately, but the cat-tail rope was too tight for her to move.
Wally hoisted the unconscious Erza onto his shoulder and nodded to Sho and the others. "Let's go."
Their figures vanished from the casino, leaving behind the bound Lucy, a dazed Natsu, and Gray and Juvia buried in the ruins.
At that moment, Riyao and Mirajane had just finished watching the parade outside and walked back in, hand in hand.
The two pushed open the casino doors and were simultaneously stunned by the scene before them.
Lucy was tied into a bundle by the cat-tail rope in a rather unseemly position, her face flushed red as she struggled with all her might.
Natsu was facedown on the floor, black smoke drifting from his mouth.
Gray and Juvia were lying in the wreckage of the bar, their status unknown.
Riyao looked at the way Lucy was tied up, then at the empty casino, a meaningful smirk curling on his lips.
"Oh my, does Lucy actually have this kind of hobby?"
Mirajane leaned in as well, resting her chin on her hand as she curiously examined Lucy's bound posture.
"I didn't realize Lucy was so open-minded."
Lucy's face turned beet red in an instant, and she shouted in a mix of anger and desperation.
"You two black-bellied jerks! Untie me already!!!"