"Who?!" Jose was shocked, turning around abruptly to see Hope, who had appeared behind him at some unknown point, wearing a playful smile on his face.
"Impossible! How are you here?!" Jose lost his composure, not because Hope, who wasn't on the Allied Forces' list, had appeared, but because this kid had managed to approach him without any magical fluctuations.
Hope shrugged, "I obviously just walked over. Did you think everyone is like you, needing an army of ghost soldiers to pave the way just to make an entrance, making such a big scene?"
As he spoke, Hope looked around at his companions surrounded by ghost soldiers and Dark Mages, and whistled, "Whoa, quite the setup. Looks like we arrived just in time, Erza."
A murderous aura came from the other side. Erza, clad in Heaven's Wheel Armor, descended from the sky. With a wave of the long sword in her hand, the fierce Heaven's Wheel sword formation instantly cleared a large area of ghost soldiers.
Seeing Erza appear, Natsu excitedly shouted at Hope, "Why are you guys here?"
Hope patted Jose on the shoulder like an old friend, "Oh, we heard that two losers who didn't learn their lesson were out causing trouble again, so we came over to check things out."
His gaze swept toward Brain, "And while we're at it, meet the legendary Oración Seis."
Jose slapped away the hand on his shoulder and, carried by dark magic, floated ten meters away from Hope. He hadn't forgotten that this kid could Take Over the powerful body of Deliora.
Last time, he had been held in place by him while his body was locked by magic, and then Erza had cut off one of his legs. Now that he saw this reckless duo again, Jose naturally wouldn't give them another chance to get close.
Looking at Jose's cowardly appearance, Hope laughed disdainfully, "So timid, were you traumatized by our Guild Master? Why not just surrender? The Council can ensure you're well-provided for for the rest of your life."
Well-provided for in a prison cell, that is.
Dark magic erupted around Jose, "Slick-tongued brat! This time Makarov isn't here, let's see who can save you now!"
At this moment, Cobra and Hoteye returned to the battlefield.
A large purple snake coiled around Cobra, spitting poison mist at him. Under the effect of the Poison Dragon Slayer magic, he quickly recovered his stamina and magic power by consuming the poison gas.
As for Hoteye, because Mystogan's magic was interrupted by Brain, the incomplete magic caused those deleted Memory to return to his mind.
Now, the high-level combatants on the "Oración Seis" side included Brain, Midnight, Jose, Hoteye, and Cobra—five people.
Conversely, on the Allied Forces side, the only ones worth fearing were Hope, Erza, Mystogan, and Natsu in his Dragon Force state.
The Blue Pegasus's The Thunder God Tribe and Sherry had been heavily injured by Hoteye earlier, their combat effectiveness greatly reduced. Gray and Lyon were skilled, but facing over a hundred surrounding Dark Mages, they were struggling to hold their own.
As for Lucy and Wendy?
Brain and Jose completely disregarded them; a Celestial Spirit Mage with a fragile body and a little girl whose magic power hadn't yet matured were nothing to fear.
Whether in terms of high-level combat power or numbers, they were crushing the opponent.
The advantage is mine!
Brain waved his hand, "Kill them all!"
The battle was on the verge of breaking out, and the shouts of the Dark Mages shook the sky.
Brain struck first, unleashing a blast of dark magic that shot toward Hope.
Mystogan, known as the "most mysterious man in Fairy Tail," had already revealed his magic style, and "fairy queen" Erza was already famous; the strengths and weaknesses of her magic were easy to see through.
Only this young man who could silently approach Jose was someone Brain couldn't see through. It was better to eliminate such an unstable factor first.
Cobra took the initiative to face Mystogan. Hoteye's "Heavenly Eye" couldn't see the opponent's magic flow, but his "Heavenly Ear" could "hear" it clearly.
Hoteye had intended to attack Mystogan, who had nearly deleted his Memory, but upon second thought, he turned and walked toward Lucy and Wendy.
A Celestial Spirit Mage with at least two golden keys.
One was a healing Mage who could be called a "rare creature."
They were too valuable, and Hoteye was the type of guy who would do anything for money. As long as he had enough money, he could redeem his brother.
Seeing Hoteye heading toward Lucy and the others, Erza was about to intervene, but her path was blocked by Jose, "That sword strike of yours back then was truly ruthless. Although I replaced it with a magical prosthetic limb, it really hurts."
"Today, I will make you pay in blood!"
"Dark Spiral!"
Spiraling dark magic swept in. Erza couldn't support Lucy and was forced to fight back.
Natsu's battle with Midnight continued, while Gray, Lyon, and the others were doing their best to deal with the hundred Dark Mages eyeing them like tigers.
Looking around and realizing her companions were tied up, Lucy shielded Wendy behind her and drew the Leo key.
In theory, Loki was the strongest of the twelve Zodiac spirits, but due to his long stay in the human world, his power had been severely damaged.
Although he could recover quickly in the Spirit World, the flow of time in the Spirit World was much slower than in the human world, so Lucy wasn't sure how much strength Loki had recovered.
Watching Hoteye approach, suddenly, Lucy had a flash of inspiration and said to him, "You said before that you wouldn't want to forget a relative named Wally even if you became an idiot. I also know a man named Wally; maybe you know him too..."
"Impossible."
Hoteye held his book, "My brother Wally was bought by someone from the Tower of Paradise eight years ago. Brain told me only a sky-high price could redeem him."
Lucy was overjoyed. The only Tower of Paradise in existence eight years ago was the one they had visited a while back, wasn't it?
In that case, that blocky man Wally, whose body became square because of magic, must be Hoteye's brother.
"Brain lied to you. Wally was never bought by anyone; he was in the Tower of Paradise the whole time."
"Nonsense! Why would Brain lie to me!"
Hoteye had once been a slave at the Tower of Paradise. Ten years ago, he was abducted by the Dark Magic Cult and forced to separate from his brother. Later, he was spotted by Brain, which allowed him to escape that hellish darkness.
Although Brain wasn't a good person either, compared to Lucy, who was an enemy, he was still more willing to believe Brain.
Lucy sighed helplessly. Had this guy really been conditioned by Brain to this extent that he could actually ask such a question? "Why would Brain lie to you? Obviously because he needed you as a tool, just like Jellal deceived Wally into helping him build the Tower of Paradise."
"Wally is free now. Do you know what he wants to do most after regaining his freedom?"
"He wants to find his brother."
Looking at the wavering Hoteye, Lucy slowly launched her final verbal attack, "If I remember correctly, when we were chatting, Wally once said his brother's name was Richard."
As soon as these words were spoken, Hoteye's eyes widened.
How many years had it been? Ever since his name was taken away by Brain, he hadn't heard anyone call him by his original name for a long time.
So Wally was already free... that's wonderful.
So, Brain really was lying to him.
Hoteye... no, Richard's expression turned fierce, and powerful magic erupted from his entire body. The terrifying pressure caused the surrounding Dark Mages to go weak in the knees, but Lucy and Wendy felt nothing.
"Brain!!"
Richard turned around and let out a roar, but then he froze, because the object of his fury was currently being pinned to the ground and repeatedly rubbed into the dirt by someone else...
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