Chapter 71: Clearing the Board
The Tower of Heaven was a labyrinth of cold stone and colder memories. Its corridors twisted in on themselves, designed to confuse and demoralize. For the three teams of Fairy Tail mages, however, it was a hunting ground.
Natsu, with Happy flying circles around his head, was a bloodhound on the scent. "I smell 'em! Someone strong is this way!" he yelled, his voice echoing as he charged recklessly down a dark hallway, his fists already glowing with anticipation.
Moving with more caution, Gray and Juvia ascended a wide, spiraling staircase. "A strong magic signature up ahead," Gray noted, his hand already tracing patterns in the frigid air. "It feels erratic. Stay sharp, Juvia." Juvia nodded, her expression shifting from adoration to the calm focus of a powerful mage. "Juvia is ready to protect Gray-sama."
Meanwhile, Lucy and Gajeel had taken a path that led them deeper into the tower's lower levels. The air grew damp, the walls slick with moss. "This place gives me the creeps," Lucy muttered, clutching her Celestial Keys.
"Just keep your eyes open, Bunny Girl," Gajeel grunted. "The sooner we smash these jokers, the sooner I can get out of this dump."
His words were cut short as a figure dropped from the ceiling in a blur of motion, landing silently between them. It was Millianna. Before she could even speak, another figure appeared at the far end of the hall: Sho. The hunt was over. The battles had found them.
Elsewhere, in a grand, torch-lit chamber near the tower's peak, Mew was exploring. Having fulfilled its duty as a Trojan Horse, its curiosity got the better of it. It floated playfully, phasing through a solid stone wall into a room where three figures sat in bored silence. Its human soul recognized them instantly—a major threat. Its emerging Mew nature, however, saw something else: three very serious, very arrogant people who desperately needed to be messed with.
"How much longer must we wait?" Ikaruga, a woman with the severe grace of a master swordswoman, sighed as she polished her katana. "This is dreadfully boring."
It was then that Vidaldus, a green-haired rocker, noticed the small, pink creature floating near the ceiling. "Yo, check it," he said, pointing with his guitar's headstock. "What is that pathetic-lookin' thing? A lost pet?"
Mew tilted its head, its wide blue eyes blinking with innocent curiosity. A slow, mischievous grin spread across its face.
"I'll dispose of it," Ikaruga said, her patience gone. She rose to her feet and vanished in a blur of speed, reappearing directly in front of Mew. Her blade was a streak of silver light aimed to cleave the creature in two. "Moon Flash!"
The blade connected, but not with the clean shing of steel on flesh. Instead, there was a disgusting, wet schlorp.
Mew hadn't dodged. At the last possible nanosecond, it had transformed. Ikaruga's legendary katana was now buried to the hilt in the gooey, purple, and utterly foul-smelling body of a grinning Muk. She tried to pull her prized weapon free, but it was stuck fast in the toxic sludge. "What is this filth?!" she shrieked, her legendary composure shattering into pure disgust.
"Hah, you're too slow!" Fukuro, the bizarre owl-man, yelled from across the room. "My turn! Jet!" He launched himself into the air, his back opening up to reveal a rocket engine that roared to life, creating a powerful vacuum to suck his target in.
The Muk let go of the sword, sending Ikaruga stumbling back. It was then pulled into the vortex. Instead of fighting it, it playfully dove right in, its form shifting and expanding mid-flight. Fukuro's engine sputtered. His body began to swell, distending like a parade float. With a strangled squawk, he crashed to the ground, his engine hopelessly plugged by the enormous, sleeping form of a Snorlax that now protruded from his back. Its gentle snores echoed through the chamber.
"You damn freaks!" Vidaldus screamed, leaping to his feet in a panic. He thrashed his hair, which morphed into his Succubus guitar. "Time to rock you to your doom! Rock of Succubus!"
A wave of discordant energy and screaming skulls shot towards the Snorlax. But before it hit, the giant creature vanished in a pink flash. In its place floated a tiny, pink, and utterly unassuming Jigglypuff. It took a deep breath and, just as the sound wave was about to hit, it began to sing.
Its melody was impossibly sweet, clear, and powerfully hypnotic. It didn't clash with Vidaldus's rock music; it completely overwrote it. The screaming skulls dissipated. Vidaldus's frantic head-banging slowed, his eyes grew heavy. Ikaruga, who was still trying to wipe the purple goo from her sword, slumped against a pillar, her eyes fluttering shut. Even the Snorlax-plugged Fukuro went limp. Within seconds, all three master assassins were fast asleep.
Jigglypuff finished its song with a triumphant flourish. The room was silent, save for the snores of the defeated. It giggled, then produced a black marker pen seemingly from thin air. It floated over to each of its victims, carefully drawing angry eyebrows on Ikaruga, a curly mustache on Vidaldus, and a pair of glasses on Fukuro.
With a final, satisfied look at its handiwork, it transformed back into Mew, gave a silent, happy little clap, and phased through the floor, leaving the elite assassination squad utterly, and humiliatingly, neutralized.
The tower's other battles were decided just as quickly, though with far less comedy.
Natsu and Happy burst into a vast storeroom to find Simon waiting, his arms crossed. "Natsu Dragneel," he said, his voice a low rumble. "If you wish to proceed, you must go through me."
"Fine by me!" Natsu roared, his speed far greater than Simon anticipated. "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
Simon, confident in his own colossal strength, raised a massive forearm to block the attack. He expected to hold his ground against the fiery mage. He was wrong. The force of Natsu's punch was on a completely different level now. It didn't just connect; it exploded. Simon's block shattered, and the sheer power of the blow sent him flying across the entire room. He crashed through a stack of crates and slammed into the far wall, slumping to the ground, winded and in utter shock.
Natsu stood where Simon had been, his fist smoking. He didn't charge again. "We're not here to play games," he said, his voice serious. "We're here to stop Jellal. Are you going to stay in our way?"
In the wide, circular chamber above, Wally sneered at Gray and Juvia. "So, the traitor's friends have come to play." His arms morphed into magic cannons and he unleashed a relentless volley of energy bullets.
Gray didn't bother with a simple shield. With a speed that stunned Wally, he slammed his hands down. "Ice-Make: Prison!"
Before the first bullets could even cross the room, a complex cage of interlocking ice spikes erupted from the floor and ceiling, forming a perfect dome around Wally. His barrage pinged harmlessly against the inside of his new prison. As he stared in shock, Juvia's body dissolved into water, flowed through the bars of the cage, and reformed right beside him, her hand glowing. The fight was over in less than three seconds.
"The game is over," Gray said coldly from outside the cage. "Now you're going to listen."
And in the damp corridor below, the ambush was, for a moment, successful.
"Yay! I caught the big metal man!" Millianna cheered as her binding tubes shot out, wrapping tightly around Gajeel's arms and torso before he could react. He grunted, straining against them. They were far stronger than they looked.
"And you're not going anywhere either!" Sho yelled at Lucy. "Card Tower!" A dozen cards flew out, surrounding Lucy and forming a solid, inescapable prison of magic before she could draw a key.
"Lucy!" Gajeel roared, struggling fruitlessly against his bindings.
Inside the dark prison, Sho's voice taunted her. "This is for taking Erza from us!"
Lucy closed her eyes. She didn't panic. She took a deep breath, feeling the flow of energy Mew had taught her to sense. A faint, golden aura began to emanate from her. "You're right," she said, her voice calm and clear, easily heard through the magical prison. "We did take Erza. We took her back to her home."
She opened her eyes, which now glowed with a faint psychic light. "And I'm done playing games."
With a sharp cry, she flared her aura. The Card Tower didn't just break; it exploded outwards in a shower of shredded paper. Sho stared, dumbfounded.
Lucy didn't give him a chance to recover. "Open, Gate of the Lion! Open, Gate of the Golden Bull! Loke! Taurus!"
In a single, blinding flash of golden light, two Celestial Spirits appeared at her side. The sheer magical pressure was immense.
"MOOOO! Lucy, your body is looking as powerful as ever!" Taurus bellowed, brandishing his giant axe.
"Two at once..." Loke said with a proud smirk, pushing up his glasses. "As expected of my owner."
"Taurus, help Gajeel!" Lucy commanded. "Loke, if you would?"
"With pleasure."
Taurus charged forward with a mighty roar, swinging his axe not at Millianna, but at the tubes binding Gajeel. They were severed in a single, clean strike. At the exact same moment, Loke appeared in front of the still-stunned Sho, his hand glowing with the light of Regulus, and gently tapped him on the forehead. Sho's eyes rolled back and he collapsed, completely unconscious.
The entire confrontation, from capture to conclusion, had taken less than thirty seconds. Gajeel rubbed his arms, looking from the defeated duo to Lucy, who stood calmly with her two powerful spirits. He let out a low whistle.
"Geez, Bunny Girl," he grunted, his eyes wide with genuine shock. "Where the hell did that come from?"
Lucy looked at the unconscious forms of Sho and Millianna, her expression not triumphant, but sad. "We aren't your enemies," she said softly. "We're Erza's friends. Please... just let us tell you the truth."
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