"No way," Mirajane said with a playful wag of her finger, her eyes glinting with mischief.
"Only you, Erza, can strike fear into Natsu and the others. You go out there and do your thing, then I'll swoop in to reveal the truth. The looks on their faces are gonna be priceless!"
Erza shook her head with a sigh. "You have such bad taste."
Cana strolled up with a cheeky grin, holding out a delicate bow-shaped pin to Mirajane.
"Check this out—I just won this mini camera. All you need is a bit of magic power, and you can snap photos with a thought!"
She dragged out the last word, adding a suggestive, "You know what I mean~"
Mirajane took the bow and deftly pinned it to her collar, her fingers brushing over it as a knowing smile spread across her face. "Leave it to me."
Roger stood nearby, his massive white wings slowly unfurling behind him, their feathers shimmering faintly in the sunlight.
Mirajane closed her eyes, and a dark mist swirled around her. When she opened them again, she'd transformed into her Satan Soul form.
Erza flashed with white light, and a stunning cyan suit of armor instantly covered her body, etched with intricate white patterns. Wing-like ornaments appeared on either side of her hair, and as the armor's patterns glowed softly, two pairs of massive wings made of cyan wind spread out behind her.
The trio exchanged a nod and took to the sky. In no time, they reached the port of Hargeon.
With a casual wave of Roger's right hand, a luxurious ship materialized on the water's surface.
They boarded, and the ship sailed smoothly toward Galuna Island, the salty sea breeze brushing against their faces. As they neared the island, a system notification chimed in Roger's mind:
[Ding! Gained 2000 Magic Power. Acquired Wave Magic.]
[Ding! Gained 1200 Magic Power. Acquired Puppet Theater Magic.]
Roger opened his system panel and saw four new defeat notifications. (When contractors defeated enemies, the system only alerted for dropped magic, which Roger also received.)
Looks like all the enemies are already taken care of. That was fast.
"Over there!" Mirajane suddenly pointed toward the beach, her eyes wide. "Is that Lucy sitting on the ground in front of that giant rat?"
Erza followed her gaze and sure enough, there was Lucy, slumped on the ground, with a massive rat in a maid outfit looming over her.
Erza crossed her arms, her brow furrowing in clear disapproval. "Looks like she's completely out of magic power. What was Natsu thinking, letting her face an enemy like that alone?"
Mirajane nudged her with an elbow and winked. "Time for you to swoop in like the hero you are, Demon Sister~"
Her teasing tone made Erza shudder. "Don't talk like that."
A flash of white light enveloped Erza as a crimson magic circle appeared beneath her feet.
[Re-Equip: Wind God Armor]
Her cyan armor reappeared, and the sea breeze around her seemed to pause before surging again, now tinged with cyan. Transparent air currents swirled around her, propelling her toward the beach at breakneck speed.
Watching her streak off, Roger shook his head with a wry smile. "Is this a hero saving the day or justice crashing down from the heavens?"
On the beach, Lucy stared in despair as the mountain-sized rat charged toward her. She tried to stand and run, but her legs gave out, and she collapsed with a thud, her body overwhelmed by the exhaustion of drained magic power. It felt like she hadn't eaten in a day, leaving her too weak to even lift a hand.
What do I do?! she wailed internally. I knew I should've started with low-level missions!
Greed really does come back to bite you! QAQ
A sharp whoosh cut through the air as a cyan wind blade sliced over her head, striking the rat. The thin blade expanded on impact, morphing into a small tornado that swept the rat up and hurled it into the distance.
"What was that?!" Lucy gasped, still reeling. Before she could process it, the familiar clank of metal armor reached her ears.
She turned instinctively and shouted in delight, "Erza!! Miss—"
Her smile froze as she caught Erza's icy glare.
Her inner voice screamed in panic: Oh no, oh no! I snuck out to take on an S-Class mission! Erza, the guild's disciplinarian, isn't gonna beat me up, is she?!
The clanking of Erza's armor grew closer, and Lucy's heart pounded in sync with her steps. Swallowing hard, she sprang into action—dropping to her knees, pressing her hands to the ground, and bowing her forehead against them in a perfect dogeza pose.
"I'm so sorry! I know I messed up! I swear I'll never do it again! Please forgive me!!"
She'd rehearsed this apology in her head at least twenty times on the way here. This has to look sincere, right?
"Lucy~! Natsu's side is all sorted. You okay~?" Happy's voice called from the west.
Erza looked up, locking eyes with the approaching cat.
Happy froze midair, his gaze darting to Lucy kneeling on the ground. He screeched to a halt like he'd hit an invisible wall, then spun around, his wings glowing blue as he bolted in the opposite direction.
"Gotta go! Forgot something important! Catch you later!"
Erza raised her left hand, a cyan glow forming in her palm. The light shaped into a translucent giant hand that shot forward, cutting Happy off.
Duang!
Happy slammed headfirst into the hand, his momentum grinding to a halt. The impact left him dizzy, his wings flopping uselessly as he plummeted like a pancake.
The cyan hand grabbed his tail, yanking him back to dangle in front of Erza.
Lucy's face lit up with relief. Thank goodness I didn't try to run!
That jerk Happy was gonna ditch me and bolt! Serves him right!!
Erza gave Happy a gentle shake, but he didn't respond. She pulled him closer, narrowing her eyes. "Oh? Passed out, huh?"
Under her gaze, beads of sweat began to form on Happy's forehead, and his ears twitched involuntarily.
Lucy stared, deadpan. This guy's acting is awful. He can't even fake fainting properly.
Erza's lips curled into a faint smirk before she reverted to her stern expression. She tightened the cyan hand's grip on Happy's tail, swinging him lightly in the air.
"Well, if he's out cold, I guess we'll have to use some special methods."
At that, Happy's sweat poured faster, dripping down his fur as his tail tip curled nervously.