"Loke! Teach that drunkard a harsh lesson for me!!"
The green-haired Karen gritted her teeth and shouted loudly.
Karen's completely unrestrained behavior naturally attracted the attention of everyone around her.
The guild masters present—no matter how weak—were all at least S-Class Mages. Even though there were differences among S-Class, there were no weaklings here. So Karen suddenly summoning Loke of Leo in this place immediately caused a stir among everyone.
A bunch of people turned their heads to look, making Loke feel pressured. Although Celestial Spirits cannot die, and even if defeated they merely return to the Spirit World to rest, Loke had no intention of getting beaten up for no reason.
"Karen, what exactly is going on?"
Unlike normal Celestial Spirits, Loke was rather strong-willed, and he clearly had no intention of obeying Karen unconditionally.
"Obey my orders, Loke!"
Loke's attitude enraged Karen. To her, Celestial Spirits were tools—tools that should just obey. What was he questioning her for? A Spirit shouldn't have their own will!
"…"
Karen's attitude made Loke frown. His dissatisfaction toward her kept growing. One day, sooner or later, it would explode. He was never someone who simply endured everything—Leo represented courage and dominance!
Watching this scene, Moen couldn't help feeling amused.
This Karen summoned a Celestial Spirit—yet the Spirit refuses to listen. How does someone end up with such a relationship with their contracted Spirit? This Karen is truly a gifted individual!
"How about… you two resolve your internal conflict first?"
Moen helpfully suggested as he looked at Karen and Loke arguing. This made Bacchus laugh loudly beside him. He found Moen quite amusing—how could the gap between Celestial Spirit Mages be this huge?
"Bastard! You just keep running your mouth on the side!"
Karen glared angrily at Moen. His casual remarks from the side made her even angrier, and his expression made it seem like he was looking down on her.
Clatter—!
Seeing that Loke was refusing her commands, Karen immediately pulled out a weapon—a thin silver chain. Though she was a Celestial Spirit Mage, she wasn't completely defenseless. She at least had some means of self-protection.
"Pa!"
Fueled by rage—anger from multiple sources—Karen struck without thinking, swinging the chain directly toward Moen.
"Clink!"
Moen's hands instantly manifested the warm white Orion Gauntlets. He easily caught the chain, gripping it firmly.
Looking at the chain, then at the furious Karen, Moen's expression turned strange. He was about to lose his composure.
'Sis, remind me—who's the Saint Seiya here? Green hair, red clothes, and a chain… Don't tell me your name is Shun? Nebula Chain, right?!'
The moment she took out the chain, Moen had déjà vu. Was she trying to be Andromeda Shun from Saint Seiya?!
But jokes aside, Moen's expression wasn't pleasant. This Karen was truly outrageous. Her temper was so terrible that anyone who didn't know better would think she was a princess from Fiore traveling incognito.
Her arrogance was one thing but what was truly absurd was that she tried to buy someone else's Golden Zodiac Key the moment she met them. That was basically trying to steal someone's livelihood.
This wasn't a matter of politeness anymore. As Bacchus had said, was she brain-damaged?
"Clink!"
Moen tugged lightly. Karen stumbled forward, nearly falling. Her face turned bright red as she struggled with all her strength, but Moen didn't budge at all—he was like a giant boulder.
Not only could she not pull him—she was being pulled toward him, inch by inch, as Moen casually rotated his wrist and reeled in the chain.
"Enough."
"Clink!"
Loke spoke coldly as he grabbed the chain, stopping Karen from being dragged any further.
Karen's pathetic state was too much even for Loke to watch. Though he was displeased with her and they clearly had growing conflicts—he still couldn't just watch her suffer humiliation without reacting.
"Let's end it here."
Loke looked at Moen. He didn't want to fight. He knew Karen was at fault, and he would not abet wrongdoing.
So, he asked Moen to stop. Karen had already embarrassed herself enough—she should at least keep a shred of dignity.
"End it here?"
Moen stared at Loke in disbelief. This Spirit was suggesting that after he got struck without reason, he should now "end it here"? And acting like he was doing Moen a favor?
"No!"
But before Moen could respond, Karen suddenly shouted, excited and unwilling to stop.
"…"
Loke's expression twisted with complicated emotions. He couldn't understand why Karen's personality had become more extreme as she grew older. She was becoming someone he barely recognized anymore.
"Perfect. I actually wouldn't mind seeing what kind of Celestial Spirit Magic you use."
Moen grinned widely, showing his teeth. His Orion Cloth fully manifested, with two ribbon-like tails fluttering behind him under the flow of magical energy.
Karen was unbelievably stubborn—unable to read the situation. One day, her personality would get her killed.
Of course, Moen had no intention of seriously injuring her. Out of respect for Master Bob, he wouldn't beat Karen too badly.
"Who do you think will win? Anyone want to bet?"
Nearby, the guild masters gathered to watch. None of them stepped in to stop the fight. Goldmine even opened a betting pool, inviting the other guild masters to wager on who would win.
Bacchus—who earlier was loudly wanting to fight Karen was already standing to the side watching the show. Goldmine felt no concern at all as he turned to Bob and Makarov.
"I'm betting on Moen. He's going to shock all of you!"
Makarov didn't hesitate at all. He directly took out 5,000J and placed his bet on Moen winning. He had absolute confidence in Moen's strength.
"Don't underestimate Karen. She may not be particularly good at combat, but Loke of the Lion, born under Leo, has fought countless battles. As the leader of the Celestial Spirit Zodiac, his strength definitely shouldn't be taken lightly."
Bob, naturally, supported his own mage.
The other guild masters also came over to join the fun. After a round of betting, there were actually more people supporting Karen to win.
There was no helping it. Among Karen, Moen, and Loke of Leo, the one whose strength everyone trusted the most was Loke.
"You all are going to regret this."
Seeing the result, Makarov spoke cheerfully. He wasn't upset at all, because he was certain he would win this bet!
Loke let out a sigh. He knew there was no avoiding this now. No matter what, he couldn't stand by and watch Karen get hurt.
"Buzz!"
Moen didn't hold back at all. This Loke had quite a powerful amount of magic—completely unlike something someone at Karen's level should be able to maintain—so Moen figured he had to show a bit of his real ability.
Moen took his stance. His hands moved, and the Orion Star Map faintly appeared behind him, as though he were standing within the endless cosmos.
Starlight scattered, breaking through the layers of the ceiling and falling upon Moen, draping him in shimmering radiance.
Pure magic surged forth. The overwhelming sight left the guild masters, who had just placed their bets, staring at one another in shock.
"What kind of magic is that kid using?"
People kept asking. None of them had ever seen this kind of magic before.
"Stirring the Star Map… drawing the power of the stars… the strength of Orion."
But the most shocked of all was Loke, standing opposite Moen. Looking at Moen wrapped in starlight, Loke couldn't help feeling a strong sense of doubt for a split second:
"Between him and me… who is the real Celestial Spirit?"
Compared to Moen, the Spirit of Leo was practically nothing. The stars of the heavens had never once shone for the Leo Spirit like this.
"Ignis Fatuus Saltare!"
Moen stirred the stars of Orion, pulling on their power. His Orion Cloth resonated and connected with its constellation in the sky, directly activating Orion's first ultimate technique: Ignis Fatuus Saltare.
Yes—the first. Besides it, there were a second and a third: Megaton Meteor Impact, and Orion Annihilation. The three techniques increased in power one after another.
Although "Ignis Fatuus Saltare" was the weakest among the three, it was by no means weak. Moen thrust out both palms. Magic exploded outward from his hands, and violet-blue flames surged forth like packs of hunting hounds tearing at everything.
"Regulus Impact!"
The previously stunned Loke no longer had time to stay shocked. He surged his own magic and unleashed his ultimate technique.
Also flames—a roaring lion's head shot forward, its mouth open wide, dragging a long blazing tail behind it as it lunged toward the violet-blue hounds. Golden flames and violet-blue flames collided, as lions and hounds tore at one another.
Both poured magic into their attacks, but the outcome already seemed decided. Loke's expression grew increasingly strained.
"Celestial Spirit of Leo… nothing special."
Moen grinned. This was the strongest of the Zodiac Spirits? You call that Celestial Spirit Magic? You think you can compare that to me?
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