Kyoka glanced at Lucy's desperate, hoarse cry and sneered.
"Have you lost your mind? I already told you—your companions have all been swallowed. No one is coming to save you."
"Someone will…"
Lucy's voice was weak, but she forced the words out.
"She may be a little far away, but she'll hear me…"
"What?"
Kyoka frowned.
The next instant, an intense wave of pain suddenly erupted throughout her entire body.
"AAAAH!"
The agony struck without warning, tearing a scream from Kyoka's throat.
The whip restraining Lucy loosened and fell away.
At the same time, every trace of pain vanished from Lucy's body. Her mind immediately cleared, and she felt herself falling into a warm, soft embrace.
Lucy looked up with a relieved smile.
"Thank you. I knew I could count on you…"
The tall woman holding her gave a helpless smile.
"I was relaxing in the Celestial Spirit World when I suddenly heard someone calling me. I only came over because I was curious, but I certainly didn't expect to find all of you in this situation."
The one who had come to Lucy's rescue was naturally Ophiuchus—the only Celestial Spirit almost entirely free from ordinary restrictions, able to travel between the two worlds whenever she pleased.
Lucy smiled awkwardly.
"I'll apologize to Ankh afterward. But when I thought about someone who could counter that demon's ability, you were the only one who came to mind…"
For a Celestial Spirit Mage to suddenly call upon another Celestial Spirit Mage's Spirit for help…
It admittedly felt a little shameless.
"It's fine. Ankh told me before that if Mirajane, Erza, or the others ever called me during an emergency, I was free to help."
Lucy pointed at herself in confusion.
"What about me?"
Ophiuchus glanced at her.
"Ankh said that if Lucy couldn't summon Natsu, I should help take care of his little sister-in-law."
"What?!"
Lucy's brain shut down again.
Visible steam practically poured from the top of her head.
In truth, Ophiuchus had made that part up.
Ankh had never given her instructions anywhere near that specific.
Still, the Celestial Spirit contract between her and Ankh was not so much a contract anymore as it was…
Well, something closer to a marriage certificate?
That was not quite the right term, but the meaning was close enough.
They were deeply connected and supported one another, yet remained independent individuals.
Ankh had therefore told her that, aside from helping his family, Ophiuchus was free to decide whether she wanted to aid her own friends.
That was why Lucy had been able to summon her.
Technically speaking, anyone could now call upon the Celestial Spirit Ophiuchus.
They merely had to go shopping with her more than a hundred times, share face masks and baths, visit every fashionable restaurant together, and become one of her closest girlfriends like Lucy had.
Otherwise, Ophiuchus probably would not even notice their voice from the Celestial Spirit World.
After their brief exchange, Kyoka rose in humiliation and rage.
She glared at Ophiuchus, who had been treating her as though she did not exist.
"Another Celestial Spirit eager to die!"
Kyoka increased the amplification of her pain.
Ophiuchus's brows drew together slightly.
A faint light passed over her body, and the pain was immediately transferred back to Kyoka.
"So that's your ability…"
Kyoka hurriedly canceled her Enhancement Curse and stared warily at Ophiuchus.
In the end, she chose to use the Curse upon herself instead.
"Self-Enhancement!"
Kyoka's body began to transform.
Armor covered in white fur formed across her body.
Beneath her helmet, her skin darkened, and her figure grew far larger and more imposing.
If her Curse was useless against them again, then she would simply overwhelm them through Demonization.
There had to be a limit to how much damage that Celestial Spirit could redirect.
Before reaching that limit, Kyoka would kill the troublesome Celestial Spirit Mage first.
Realizing that the battle might be slipping from her grasp, Kyoka abandoned her plan to keep Lucy as a pet.
Her demonized body exploded forward, and she thrust a vicious claw straight toward Lucy's chest.
"Wait—!"
Lucy's heart jumped.
She narrowly twisted away from Kyoka's indecent attack, then hurriedly pulled out a Celestial Spirit Key and summoned Loke once again.
Familiar golden light erupted.
The moment Loke saw the enemy before him, he charged in and punched her without hesitation.
Kyoka immediately tried to amplify his pain—
Only for Ophiuchus to transfer it straight back to her.
Loke's elbow slammed heavily into Kyoka's face.
That finally drove the demon into a complete rage.
She abandoned all attempts to manipulate her enemies' senses and relied entirely on her demonized physique, unleashing a relentless barrage of attacks.
Her claws cut through the air like steel blades.
Loke fought her at close range, repeatedly escaping by the narrowest margins.
Worried that he could not handle Kyoka alone, Lucy pulled out another key and summoned Virgo.
The two Celestial Spirits coordinated perfectly, while Ophiuchus supported them from behind.
For a time, Kyoka genuinely found herself unable to approach Lucy.
Unfortunately, a new crisis soon arrived.
Just as Lucy's group was beginning to overwhelm Kyoka, an explosion shattered every hope she had of turning the battle around.
Lucy looked back.
As expected, it was Jackal—the enemy Natsu had fought earlier.
And beside him stood Tempester, who had been battling Sting and the others.
"Need some help, Kyoka?!"
Jackal's tone was mocking, but his movements did not slow in the slightest.
The moment he spotted Lucy, he rushed straight toward her.
This woman's boyfriend had nearly beaten Jackal to the point of calling for his parents.
Then she had dragged in another Celestial Spirit Mage and ganged up on him.
If he did not repay this grudge, he had no right to call himself a demon!
Tempester said nothing, but followed Jackal into battle.
The final three members of the Nine Demon Gates charged toward Lucy with a single purpose.
Living up to her reputation as the unluckiest heroine alive, Lucy's mind went completely blank.
She hurriedly turned toward Ophiuchus.
"Ophiuchus, what's the most damage you can transfer?"
Ophiuchus gave an embarrassed smile.
"After renegotiating my contract with Ankh, I can't borrow large amounts of his Magic Power anymore, so…"
Lucy understood immediately.
In other words, a single sufficiently powerful attack from one of the demons could exceed Ophiuchus's ability to redirect it.
She would be injured and forcibly returned to the Celestial Spirit World.
The days when Ophiuchus, empowered by Ankh's Magic Power, could briefly trade blows with the Black Dragon were long gone.
"However…"
Ophiuchus suddenly spoke with complete confidence.
"My training lately hasn't been for nothing!"
"Let me show you my new finishing move!"
...
At that moment, Ankh was still having the time of his life chasing Wraith around in spiritual form.
As a ghost, Wraith repeatedly possessed the surrounding soldiers, gambling that Ankh would never dare attack his own allies.
That gamble ended each time Ankh mercilessly elbowed him straight out of their bodies.
Eventually, Wraith fled all the way to the coast.
He possessed a fish, dove into the deep sea, and finally managed to escape.
Seeing him retreat toward Guiltina, Ankh was about to pursue him when a strange golden gate suddenly opened beside him.
"What's this?"
Ankh froze.
When he sensed the Magic Power of the Celestial Spirit World radiating from the gate, he muttered,
"Did something happen over there again?"
Confident in his own strength, Ankh stepped through without the slightest hesitation.
Space distorted around him, leaving him momentarily disoriented as he was transported somewhere else.
Then a familiar voice rang beside his ears.
"Open, Gate of the Master! Ankh!"
Ophiuchus's naturally absentminded yet aloof personality had apparently been steadily destroyed by the freedom she had enjoyed over the past few days.
Ankh opened his eyes.
Before him lay the devastated surface of Cube.
There was Lucy, battered and staring at him in disbelief.
There were three demons whose jaws had nearly dropped to the ground.
And there was Ophiuchus, standing proudly with her hands on her hips, her usual elegant, icy beauty having somehow transformed into the energy of an overexcited husky.
Ankh stared at her.
"…"