Laxus answered Lucy and Kiria's unspoken question.
"We fought once before we ran into you."
"That's right."
Kirin nodded when Kiria looked at him for confirmation.
'So this guy is really that strong!'
Kiria was genuinely surprised.
Kirin was the strongest member of the Black Dragon Slayer Knights, yet Laxus looked completely unruffled after fighting him.
Kirin placed his coffin upright in front of himself and bared his teeth in a grin.
"Lightning Brother, how about you and I have ourselves a battle between men, while these two ladies settle things between themselves?"
Laxus glanced sideways at Lucy.
"Can you handle her?"
Kirin was an opponent who demanded his full attention. Once their battle resumed, Laxus probably would not be able to spare any focus for Lucy.
Lucy took a deep breath and nodded firmly.
"I'll be fine!"
"Let's give the ladies some room, Lightning Brother."
Kirin left the chamber first.
"Be careful. If things get bad, call for help."
After giving Lucy one final warning, Laxus followed him.
"No one's here to save you now!" Kiria shouted. "I'm going to cut you to pieces!"
She stamped hard against the floor and rushed forward.
Lucy met her knife-hand strikes with the twin blades of her Cancer Star Dress.
"When Laxus showed up, I thought victory was guaranteed. Looks like when it really matters, I still have to rely on myself..."
Kiria knew Lucy had already figured out that her ability to "cut away strength" was merely hypnosis, so she did not bother trying it again.
"Blade Dragon Twin Rupture Slash!"
Remembering how Lucy had stripped her completely naked, Kiria swung both hands in fury.
The two slashes snapped the Cancer Star Dress's blades cleanly in half.
"Cancer's scissors!"
While Lucy stared in shock, Kiria seized the opening and kicked her away.
Lucy endured the pain and drew Fleuve d'Étoiles in midair.
She wrapped the whip around one of the thick roots growing through the chamber and used it to stabilize herself.
Kiria continued driving her backward.
Even while defending herself, Lucy desperately searched for a way to turn the battle around.
'I wasn't careless. She's simply that strong... If I want to beat her, I'll need an attack powerful enough to decide everything.'
"Star Dress Mix: Leo and Virgo Form!"
Light enveloped Lucy.
She emerged wearing a dress that blended formal eveningwear with a maid uniform, along with white thigh-high stockings.
Three pairs of wings spread from her back.
When Kiria charged again, Lucy crossed her clenched fists before her chest.
The Fairy Tail emblem shone on the back of one hand, while the symbols of two Zodiac Keys appeared upon the other.
"Leo Alpha's Light and Virgo Alpha's Radiance—Lion Maiden!"
Golden light erupted beneath Lucy and immediately flooded the entire chamber.
"My blades can cut through Magic itself!!!"
Kiria roared and charged straight into the blazing light.
"Blade Dragon Overlord Sword!"
She swept her knife-hand upward.
A slash capable of severing Magic tore straight through the golden radiance without losing any speed and flew toward Lucy.
Lucy appeared frozen in place.
The Blade Dragon Overlord Sword struck her directly, and blood burst from her chest.
"???"
Kiria frowned.
"I didn't put enough power into that to kill her..."
On the other side of the wall, Laxus sensed that something was wrong and tried to check on Lucy, but Kirin swung his coffin into his path.
Then the wounded Lucy vanished in a puff of white smoke.
"Piri-Piri!"
"That was close, wasn't it?"
"It sure was!"
The Lucy struck by Kiria's attack had been a copy created by Gemini.
"A decoy?"
Kiria immediately scanned the chamber for the real Lucy.
However, no counterattack came.
Instead, an enormous grandfather clock appeared before her.
Horologium spoke from inside his casing.
"Although you may wish to say, 'Wait! Where are my clothes?!' I am afraid this is simply how my protection works, and there is nothing I can do about it."
"Damn it!"
Kiria understood what had happened.
Lucy had not suddenly devised a clever Gemini trick. Horologium had rescued her before the attack landed.
"You presumably wish to say, 'Thank you, Horologium and Gemini. You saved me.' However, I can only use this defensive ability once, so please exercise greater caution from now on, Miss Lucy."
With a puff of smoke, Horologium disappeared.
Lucy was left crouching on the floor, trembling with her arms wrapped around her bare body.
"Wait!!! Where are my clothes?!"
"Aries Star Dress!"
Lucy quickly changed into her Aries Star Dress and rose to her feet with a sigh of relief.
"Whew... That was close."
"I heard him. That defensive trick only works once, right?"
"I'm pretty grateful it worked even once."
For a moment there, Lucy had genuinely thought she was going to die.
"Then I'll tear you apart with the next attack!"
Kiria charged once more.
"Wool Shield!"
A huge mass of pink wool appeared between them, blocking Kiria's path.
"I already told you! My blades can cut through anything!"
Kiria swung both arms repeatedly, carving through the wool barrier.
She broke through and slammed a heavy knife-hand strike into Lucy's crossed arms.
Lucy slid more than ten meters backward before bracing both hands against the floor and finally stopping herself.
'She's so strong...'
"ORA ORA ORA!!!"
Kiria supplied her own sound effects as she unleashed a relentless barrage of stabbing knife-hand attacks.
Her assault fell like a violent storm.
Lucy could do nothing but block and retreat, suffering more and more wounds with every exchange.
"An enemy like this... No matter how hard I try... I can't defeat her alone."
Covered in injuries, Lucy collapsed onto the floor and struggled for breath.
Since Laxus had given her his coat earlier, Kiria chose not to finish Lucy off while she was down.
She simply stood over her, looking down from above.
"What are you talking about, Lucy?! What do you mean, alone?"
Laxus's voice carried through the wall.
"You have your Celestial Spirits, and we're only one wall apart! We're fighting side by side!"
He could not shake Kirin and reach Lucy yet, so all he could do was shout encouragement to her.
"You're right, Laxus!"
Lucy forced herself back to her feet.
Kiria looked genuinely surprised.
She had not expected Lucy to stand again after taking so much damage.
"You're still going to fight with those injuries? You're just a little girl standing alone after being cut to ribbons."
"I'm not alone!"
"The memories of every battle I fought beside my companions are always with me!"
Images flashed through Lucy's mind one after another.
Lullaby and Eisenwald.
The Oración Seis.
Grimoire Heart.
Tartaros.
The Spriggan 12.
Zeref and Acnologia.
The Wood Dragon God Aldoron.
Every battle she had survived beside her friends.
Natsu, Happy, Erza, Raizel, Kagura, Ultear, Mira...
And all the smiling faces that had welcomed her when she first joined Fairy Tail.
"Star Dress Mix: Aquarius and Gemini Form!!!"
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