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Perhaps sensing Dimaria's undisguised killing intent, the weakened Natsu suddenly found some strength, raising his head to stare intently at her.
"If you have a problem, come at me."
"If you dare to lay a hand on Lucy and Happy, I will never forgive you!"
Dimaria leaned on her battle-sword, looking at Natsu with interest. "You men are all the same. Even when you're too weak to even crawl, you still try to act tough."
"In that case, I'll grant your wish."
A cold glint flashed, and the prison bars cleanly snapped, the powerful impact easily forcing back the obstructing Lucy. Dimaria hurled her battle-sword at Natsu.
However, in the next second, the battle-sword suddenly vanished without a trace.
Just as Lucy was wondering why, Natsu let out a hiss, feeling as if his shoulder had been pricked by a needle.
Happy also noticed a trickle of blood from Natsu's shoulder. He went closer to see and realized it was Dimaria's battle-sword that she had just thrown.
It was just that, for some unknown reason, the battle-sword had shrunk many times, becoming the size of an embroidery needle.
Outside the cell, a green-haired girl appeared.
Dimaria frowned. "Why are you stopping me, Brandish?"
"I just don't want to kill innocent people."
Brandish's tone was indifferent. Natsu had merely knocked over her limited-edition ice cream. The lesson had already been taught, and she wasn't a murderer who would kill because she didn't get to eat her food.
Dimaria sneered, glancing sideways at Lucy. "Then your enemy's daughter, if I lay a hand on her, you wouldn't stop me, would you, Brandish?"
Brandish did not answer, but merely turned and stood in front of the broken cell door.
Her attitude was already very clear: she intended to protect Lucy.
Dimaria suddenly felt a pang of jealousy. Brandish was actually going against her for another woman! "I was here first..."
Consumed by jealousy, Dimaria had only one thought at this moment.
Brandish's personality was moderate.
If she said she wanted to eliminate Lucy, Brandish would certainly not agree. But at this point, if she changed her approach and intended to take Lucy back to "discipline" her properly, Brandish would most likely not object.
Lucy, right? Just wait and see if my little whip and candle wax will greet you! Speaking of which, this girl is really good-looking~ slurp.
Completely unaware that she had been targeted by a lesbian, Lucy shivered, suddenly feeling a surge of malice that made her skin crawl.
Dimaria's idea was beautiful, but as a best friend, how could Brandish not see through it?
"Don't even think about it, Dimaria."
"How these two are dealt with is up to me, if you still consider me a friend."
Dimaria didn't expect Brandish to use their friendship to threaten her, and immediately looked utterly devastated.
Just when Brandish felt she was being a bit excessive, she saw Dimaria flash a triumphant smile, and then, with lightning speed, snatched Happy.
"I can ignore the people, but I'm taking this talking cat back as a pet."
Seeing Happy being taken, Natsu struggled to his feet, his voice filled with anger. "Happy isn't a pet! He's my important companion! Give Happy back to me!"
"He can still stand up, huh?"
Feeling provoked, Dimaria's lips curved into an evil, charming smile, and the murderous Magic Power around her suddenly surged.
Brandish secretly thought that things were not good. Dimaria had been thwarted repeatedly, and her patience had reached its limit.
If it really came to a fight, Brandish wasn't confident she could save Natsu and Lucy from Dimaria, and could only hope her presence would make Dimaria calm down.
At worst, I'll just sleep with her.
Unfortunately, before "Brandish's Sacrifice" could even premiere, a soldier rushed into the brig.
"Reporting, both sirs!"
"We have arrived at the secret coast in Ishgar, but there's a drunkard there asking if we can give him a ride to the North Continent."
A drunkard? North Continent?
Dimaria frowned unhappily. This coast was secretly set up by the Empire to catch Ishgar off guard in a future war.
Logically, such a secret coast should be well disguised. Not to mention ordinary people, even mages would find it very difficult to discover.
That drunkard is suspicious!
Thinking of this, Dimaria no longer bothered with Natsu and the others, striding out of the warship's brig. Because she walked too fast, Dimaria didn't even notice that she was still holding Happy.
Brandish looked at the retreating figure disappearing down the corridor, then at Lucy in the cell. With a wave of her hand, the prison bars that Dimaria had cut earlier suddenly expanded and grew, filling the gap in the cell.
Seeing Brandish pursue Dimaria, Lucy breathed a sigh of relief, then immediately began to worry about Happy. "Natsu, do you think Happy will be in danger?"
"He won't."
Natsu's confident reply made Lucy very confused, not understanding where his self-assurance came from.
Natsu lay back down on the ground, giving Lucy a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, we're safe. I smell him."
Whose scent?
Lucy wanted to ask again, but Natsu had already fallen into a deep sleep. He had been too tired these past few days and had been forcing himself to stay awake.
Who was it that could make Natsu sleep soundly even in a prison cell?
...
Dimaria and Brandish arrived on deck, one after the other.
Several soldiers had already disembarked and surrounded the drunkard.
Facing the fully armed soldiers, the middle-aged drunkard didn't care at all. He took a swig from his hip flask and said, "Hey, can you really not take me to the North Continent? I'll pay!"
One soldier, annoyed by the drunkard's questions, couldn't help but respond.
"What nonsense are you talking about!"
"Do you even know how far the North Continent is?!"
The drunkard suddenly understood, then, feeling dejected, took another swig of wine and sighed, "Ah, if the Guild Master knew I hadn't left Ishgar after all these years, he'd surely be angry..."
"Hmph, whether he's angry or not doesn't matter."
Dimaria stood at the bow of the ship, looking down at the drunkard. "Who exactly are you? And how did you discover our secret landing point?"
Facing the aggressive Dimaria, the drunkard was completely unfazed, his gaze entirely captivated by the blue cat she was holding. He chuckled, "Little girl, your cat is very cute. My boy at home also has a cat that looks very much like it."
Hearing that the drunkard hadn't recognized him, and thinking of Natsu's predicament, Happy's tears flowed freely.
"Gildarts! I'm Happy!"
"Quick, save Natsu!"