"This damn thing… is even more troublesome than Zero!" Natsu gasped, trying to suppress the surging killing intent in his heart.
"What do we do? Are we just going to watch Ezreal be trapped in there?" Lucy's voice was tearful.
A desperate atmosphere once again permeated the air. They had gone through countless hardships to get here, found Ezreal, but couldn't even get close to him!
Just then, Lucy's gaze fell on the Horologium key she held tightly.
"Horologium…" she murmured, a faint glimmer of hope flashing in her eyes, "Maybe… maybe it can…"
She took a deep breath, enduring the discomfort in her mind, and poured her Magic into the key!
"Open, Gate of Horologium! Horologium!"
Buzz—!!!
A gigantic golden Magic circle, inscribed with time scales, unfolded before Lucy.
A Celestial Spirit—Horologium—ancient in design, immensely huge, like a peach wood grandfather clock come to life, slowly emerged from the Magic circle.
It had a long pendulum, and the hands on its face slowly rotated, emanating a steady and ancient aura.
"Miss Lucy, why have you summoned me? Hmm? This place…" Horologium's voice carried a hint of surprise. Its gigantic "clock face" turned towards the crystal ball emitting a terrifying dark aura. "Oh? A corrupted Nirvana core? And… a self-sealed Mage? A truly rare situation."
"Horologium!" Lucy said urgently, "My friend Ezreal has sealed himself together with that dark-corrupted Nirvana crystal ball!"
"We can't get close, or our minds will be corroded by the dark will inside! Can you… can you put them both into your internal space? Bring them back to the real world? Then we can figure out what to do…"
Lucy's idea was simple: use Horologium's ability to contain large objects to pack up the entire crystal ball, along with Ezreal, and take them out of this dangerous dimensional space.
However, on Horologium's giant face, the hands subtly swayed, making soft "tick-tock" sounds, as if it were thinking.
After a moment, it let out a light chuckle: "Hehehe, Miss Lucy, your idea is very creative, but there's no need for such trouble. I have a better solution."
"A better solution?!" All five exclaimed simultaneously, their eyes blazing with incredulous light!
"Horologium! Hurry! What solution?!" Natsu roared impatiently.
"Please tell us!" Lucy's voice trembled with excitement.
Horologium unhurriedly said: "You humans are corroded by the dark will within Nirvana because that darkness is a curse specifically created to target human minds. However… we Celestial Spirits are different."
Its gigantic "clock body" leaned slightly forward, as if observing the crystal ball.
"The essence of Celestial Spirits is different from humans. This dark curse, originating from human negative emotions, is… ineffective against us Celestial Spirits."
"Ineffective?!" Everyone was shocked again!
"Exactly." Horologium affirmed, "Not only that, the immense dark energy contained within Nirvana's core is, for us Celestial Spirits, actually a kind of… 'tonic'."
"Tonic?!" Cana was incredulous.
"Yes." Horologium explained, "The Zodiac Celestial Spirits all possess a deeper form of power, known as the 'Eclipse Celestial Spirit' form. It is a forbidden form that temporarily leans towards the dark side, sacrificing one's own lifespan in exchange for greater power."
"But!" Horologium's voice took on a hint of amusement, "The dark power within Nirvana's core is not a purely evil source in its essence, but a collection of vast Magic that has been twisted and cursed. It is powerful enough, but it cannot truly twist the core will of us Celestial Spirits! Because it 'doesn't recognize' us!"
"So…" Horologium revealed the key, "Celestial Spirits can actively absorb this dark power and use it to activate the 'Eclipse Celestial Spirit' form! Furthermore, because this power does not originate from ourselves, it will not truly pollute our core, so it will not consume our lifespan! Instead, it will allow us to gain a powerful boost in the Eclipse form, and… after the power is exhausted, we can safely withdraw, without any side effects!"
"This… how is this possible?!" Max felt his worldview being shattered.
"Two birds with one stone!" Horologium summarized, "Celestial Spirits absorb the dark power, removing Nirvana's threat to your friend, and simultaneously gain a power boost. And your friend Ezreal will also be saved and freed from the seal!"
"That's great!!!" Lucy cried tears of joy!
"He's saved! Ezreal is saved!" Natsu jumped up excitedly, not caring about his injured wounds.
Cana, Max, and Levy's eyes also erupted with ecstatic light!
This was truly a turning point from despair!
"However…" Horologium's tone shifted, "Although this dark power is immense, its 'quality' does not seem sufficient to support multiple Zodiac Celestial Spirits simultaneously completing the Eclipse transformation. A conservative estimate… it's only enough for two Celestial Spirits to complete the transformation at most."
"Two…" Lucy immediately understood, "I understand! Horologium, thank you! Please go back for now!"
"It is my pleasure to serve you, Miss Lucy." Horologium nodded slightly, and its gigantic clock body slowly sank into the Magic circle, disappearing.
"Lucy! Quick! Summon other Celestial Spirits!" Natsu urged.
Lucy nodded, looking at her companions: "I need everyone's Magic! Summoning Zodiac Celestial Spirits consumes a huge amount, and my current Magic isn't enough for continuous summoning!"
"No problem!"
"Use mine!"
"Take it all!"
Cana, Max, Natsu, and Levy placed their four hands on Lucy's shoulders, unhesitatingly transferring their remaining, limited Magic to Lucy without reservation!
Buzz—!!!
Lucy's entire body glowed with brilliant Magic!
She took a deep breath and consecutively threw out three golden Zodiac keys!
"Open, Gate of Aquarius! Aquarius!"
"Open, Gate of taurus! taurus!"
"Open, Gate of Cancer! Keisha!"
Three giant Magic circles lit up simultaneously!
Aquarius, the short-tempered, blue-haired mermaid beauty holding a giant water urn;
Taurus, the muscular Minotaur carrying a giant double-bladed battle-axe;
Keisha, the Cancer Celestial Spirit with an exaggerated hairstyle holding sharp scissors;
The three Celestial Spirits appeared at the same time!
"Lucy! Summoning us in such a hurry, what trouble have you gotten into… Hmm?!" Aquarius stopped mid-sentence, her gaze drawn to the Nirvana crystal ball emitting a terrifying dark aura.
Taurus and Keisha also instantly became alert, sensing the unsettling power.
Lucy quickly explained the situation and Horologium's plan.
"Using this dark power to activate the Eclipse form? With no side effects?" Aquarius frowned slightly after listening. She coldly glanced at the dark crystal ball, a hint of disdain flashing in her eyes.
"Hmph!" Aquarius snorted, proudly raising her chin, "This filthy, inferior dark power, does it even deserve for this lady to condescend to absorb it? It's not even good enough to wash my bottles! Lucy, you've got the wrong person!"
With that, she didn't give Lucy a chance to speak again. With a flick of her giant fish tail, she transformed into a blue light and instantly disappeared into the Magic circle, returning to the Celestial Spirit World.
"…" Lucy and the others were speechless for a moment. Aquarius's temper was indeed still as bad as ever.
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