The ceiling exploded with a deafening crash.
Ankh quickly shielded Anmi and Mira beside him as he crouched down, while everyone else hurriedly dropped to the floor.
"Damn it!"
The flames suddenly drew inward.
Natsu raised his head, fire spilling from his mouth, and swallowed up the entire explosion in one breath.
Then he glared fiercely at the huge hole in the ceiling and roared, "Who was that?! Get out here!"
Amid Natsu's roar, a tall, powerful man clad in golden armor appeared through the hole in the ceiling, staring down at them with a sneer.
"Loke?"
Lucy stared at Loke in shock.
His appearance had changed so much that she almost failed to recognize him.
Loke snorted coldly, then quickly withdrew from the roof.
Seeing that, Ankh's eyes turned fierce as he flew out after him.
'He blew up one of my rooms and thinks he can just run?!'
Natsu and the others also hurriedly jumped onto the roof and chased after him, while Lucy and the rest quickly opened the door and rushed toward the courtyard.
In the manor's courtyard, over a dozen figures stood together aggressively.
The one leading them was Loke, who had launched the attack earlier.
Looking at these familiar yet unfamiliar faces, Ankh quickly recognized their true identities.
They were the ten Zodiac Celestial Spirits contracted to Lucy.
Loke, who stood at the front, was no longer wearing his suit and sunglasses. Instead, he wore battle armor, looking like a majestic general.
The perverted bull Taurus had changed into a suit, his powerful muscles stretching the clothes tightly over his body.
He wore a golden bull mask on his face and held a book in his hand, putting on the air of a gentleman.
Cancer's hands had become crab claws.
His hair was styled into an afro, his upper body was bare, and his attitude had become arrogant, completely unlike before.
Aquarius had changed from a mature mermaid beauty into a little human girl, and the water jar beside her had become even taller than a person.
Aries had also gotten her wish and turned dark-skinned, now looking like a little delinquent girl instead of the timid good girl she had once been.
The rocker-style Scorpio had become an elegant young man, while Capricorn, the tall and slender butler-like white goat, had turned into a short, fat black goat.
Gemini had changed into a human boy and girl. Sagittarius had gone from a "horse-man" costume into a true centaur.
Virgo had completely abandoned her maid image and now wore leather clothes while holding a whip, looking as though she was very skilled at tormenting people.
"So after being corrupted, even their appearances changed?" Ankh observed the surroundings but did not find Ophiuchus anywhere.
Lucy looked at them anxiously and called out with a pained voice, "Loke, don't you remember us?"
"I hate it when woman call me in such a familiar tone, fool."
The general version of Loke glanced at her indifferently, his voice icy as he said, "The Celestial Spirit contracts have disappeared. We are free now!"
"How could this…"
Lucy looked deeply hurt.
Natsu shouted at him in irritation, "Hey, Loke! What the hell are you trying to do?"
Loke narrowed his eyes and said coldly, "Do not call me by that filthy name. I am Leo, captain of the Twelve Zodiac Gates!"
"The old Loke is dead. We have nothing to do with you anymore, Lucy Heartfilia!"
Lucy clenched her fists and bit her teeth hard.
Ankh, meanwhile, was not about to indulge him.
Coils of death aura wrapped around his arms as he said coldly, "So you came all the way here and destroyed my house just to say that. You're pretty brave, Loke."
"I said my name isn't Loke!" Loke shouted in displeasure.
But in the next instant, his vision blurred. Ankh's fist, as large and fierce as a sandbag, was already closing in on his face.
Bang!
Loke's head snapped backward, and his entire body bent into a C-shape before flying away like a broken sandbag.
Seeing Ankh launch a direct attack, the remaining Celestial Spirits were instantly enraged and attacked together.
Virgo, who had gone from adoring punishment to becoming terrifyingly aggressive, charged forward with a crazed smile, swinging a whip-like river of stars at Ankh.
A surging torrent of water swept through, instantly submerging the river of stars.
Juvia stood in front of Virgo with a serious expression.
Seeing this, the little-girl version of Aquarius quickly gathered the water back, while Gray slashed at them repeatedly with ice blades.
Taurus and Sagittarius hurriedly moved to attack, and Gajeel and Levy also joined the fight.
In an instant, a chaotic battle involving dozens of people broke out.
Lucy stood blankly at the back.
Seeing that Natsu was about to rush forward as well, she quickly grabbed him.
As if Natsu could see the unease in her heart, he smiled and said, "Don't worry, Lucy. We'll hold back."
With that, Natsu also charged toward Loke, and Naciel excitedly followed him.
Grinju looked at the saddened Lucy, forced a stern expression onto his little face, and comforted her.
"Are you okay, Aunt Lucy? As long as we capture the Celestial Spirits and ask them about their goal, we should be able to solve this."
"Thank you… Also, can you not call me aunt…"
"Damn humans!"
Loke climbed up from the ground, flames burning in his eyes.
He raised his hand, and a ball of dark energy appeared in his palm before crashing forward like an overwhelming tide.
Mirajane, transformed into her demon form, knocked the black spheres aside one by one.
Natsu used that cover to rush forward, with a little follower beside him.
"Fire Dragon's—"
The father and daughter's voices rang out at the same time.
Natsu puffed out his cheeks, and Naciel puffed up her little face.
Blazing, high-temperature flames surged out.
"Roar!"
A double roar erupted, as the vortex of flames closed in, Loke sneered disdainfully.
The dark flames in his hand burned even more fiercely, swallowing the flames from both of them in the blink of an eye.
Natsu frowned and could not help muttering to himself, "Did he get stronger after breaking away from Lucy?"
"That's right, human. This is the true power of us Celestial Spirits."
Loke's expression twisted somewhat, and he laughed like a madman.
Then he waved his large hand and ordered, "Celestial Spirits of the Twelve Zodiac Gates, show them your true power!"
The moment Loke gave the order, the attacking efficiency of all the Celestial Spirits suddenly rose, and their Magic Power climbed by another level.
Aquarius giggled as she lifted her water jar.
Countless high-pressure water bullets rose and fell like rain, smashing into the ground and leaving dense, deep craters.
Garell dodged around irritably. Looking at Aquarius as she laughed at them, he angrily raised his hand and wrote in the air.
Crimson letters floated before him, then he slapped them hard into his own chest.
The next moment, flames burst from Garell's body, turning him into a living fireman.
As his finger continued writing, countless fiery words began appearing around him, rushing toward the sky.
The high-pressure rain was dissolved.
Levy, recognizing Garell's magic, stared blankly and said in surprise, "That's… Solid Script Magic?"
Grinju said calmly, "That's right. Garell combined Solid Script, Jutsu Shiki, Oriental Script, and all sorts of other word-based magic, so he can adapt to many different situations."
Before he could finish speaking, a large hole suddenly opened in Grinju's chest, and a huge fist pierced straight through him.
Levy was instantly startled.
Grinju, however, calmly turned his head and looked back.
Taurus, who had launched the sneak attack, stared at him in a daze.
The hole in Grinju's chest had turned into extremely cold ice, and that chill was now spreading wildly from Taurus's fist across his entire body.
"Ice-Make: Ice Tachi."
An ice blade suddenly condensed in Grinju's hand.
His body turned into flowing ice, and without hesitation, he slashed behind him.
Taurus had no choice but to retreat in panic.
Watching the battle not far away, Ankh looked rather surprised by the youth's fighting style and said.
"He's pretty impressive."
"Yeah, but… do we not need to worry about Galena?" Gray asked with some concern as he watched Galena charge toward Aquarius and Scorpio.
Anmi waved his hand, smiled mysteriously, and said, "Don't be fooled by how Galena looks. Just like me, she's one of the strongest candidates of Fairy Tail's new generation!"
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