Tower of Heaven, Part Three

Mirajane crouched down, his fingers receiving the claws, and gently hooked them.

Lucy's hands and feet were numb from being tied up. As soon as the ropes came loose, she collapsed to the ground like a lump of mud, panting heavily.

Lucy rubbed her wrist, which was red from being bound, and moved her stiff joints.

"Thank you, Mira."

Riyao walked to the card table, bent down to pick up a card, and held it up to examine it carefully.

Trapped inside the card was a middle-aged man, wearing a floral shirt and clutching a handful of chips. He looked awkward and uncomfortable being stared at by Riyao.

The middle-aged man shrank back into the card, his face slightly flushed.

"Hey buddy, could you stop staring so intently?"

(´つヮ⊂︎)

Riyao smiled and examined the card from all angles, then pinched the edge of the card, feeling the residual magical energy fluctuations on it, before nodding.

"I was just trying to figure out how to help you untie it. Now it seems it will untie automatically once the magic runs out, so don't worry too much."

He laid all the cards flat on the ground, one by one, spreading them out evenly to avoid them piling up when they came out, which wouldn't look very nice.

He then found a staff member and explained the situation.

"Come and help me out. Watch these cards and wait for the people inside to come out on their own. Don't let them get lost."

The staff member walked over cautiously, looked at the cards scattered all over the floor, swallowed hard, and nodded.

Lucy got up from the ground, ignoring the pain in her wrist, and was extremely anxious.

"I heard Erza was taken away, and Natsu and Gray are in danger too! Riyao, you need to go check on them!"

Riyao and Mirajane exchanged a glance and quickly walked towards the ruins of the bar.

The bar counter was completely destroyed, with shards of wood and glass scattered all over the floor, and the lingering magical energy still hung in the air.

In the middle of the ruins, a Gray lay there with his eyes rolled back, his expression stiff and motionless.

Riyao glanced down, then raised his foot and kicked out.

Bang!

Gray's body shattered into several pieces, ice shards flying everywhere and glittering under the lights.

Lucy screamed in terror, her voice loud enough to be heard throughout the entire casino.

"Riyao! What are you doing!? Gray is shattered!"

Σ(っ°Д °;)っ

She rushed over in a panic, frantically trying to piece the broken ice back together, picking up one piece and pressing it onto another, but the ice wouldn't stay together at all, and it just kept breaking apart.

Riyao spoke slowly from the side, waving his hand.

"That's just Gray's ice sculpture."

Lucy froze, looked down at the ice cube in her hand, then at Riyao's indifferent expression, opened her mouth, and hesitated, unsure of what to say.

Just then, a stream of water surged from the side, and the water droplets gathered, swirled, and condensed in the air, eventually forming the outline of a person.

As the mist dissipated, Gray appeared before everyone, unharmed, though a little wet.

Lucy saw Gray emerge from the water and jumped back in fright, hiding behind Mirajane with only half her head showing.

Juvia stood beside him, her hands clasped to her chest, her voice as gentle as if she were speaking of the happiest thing in the world.

"Lord Gray is safe and sound inside Juvia."

Riyao stroked his chin and suddenly spoke.

So, is Gray now essentially Juvia's child?

The entire room fell silent for half a second.

Juvia's face instantly turned bright red, steam billowed from his head, and he looked like a kettle that had been boiled. He made "whooshing" sounds, covering his face with his hands, but the smile peeking out from between his fingers was impossible to hide.

She muttered to herself, her voice growing softer and softer, but the steam rising from her face grew thicker.

"Child... child... Gray Gray's child..."

⁄(⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)⁄

Mirajane reached out and poked Riyao's forehead, her tone slightly reproachful.

"Say less."

Gray stood there, soaking wet, his lips twitching several times, his fists clenching and unclenching repeatedly.

He really wanted to beat up Riyao, he really did, but he couldn't, and Mirajane was watching.

He took a deep breath, and while taking off his soaked shirt, he said in a low voice, "It all went black at once. I made an ice double to check the situation, but as soon as the double was finished, Juvia swallowed me."

Lucy peeked out from behind Mirajane and asked timidly, "Swallow it?"

Juvia's steam billowed even more fiercely.

Riyao sat to the side, munching on sunflower seeds with a look of anticipation, only calming down after being glared at by Mirajane.

Just then, Natsu also woke up.

He sat up abruptly, his mouth opening and closing a few times as if sensing something, then let out a roar.

"Who would be so kind as to shoot someone in the mouth?!"

Lucy rolled her eyes and retorted, "What kind of good person would survive being shot in the mouth?"

-_-||

Riyao cast a Healing Magic, and green light enveloped Natsu's head, causing his injuries to heal at a visible speed.

"We almost didn't make it in time. If we had been any later, Natsu's mouth wound would have healed. I also checked if you had any mouth ulcers."

Lucy was at a loss for words.

So you mean Natsu can heal on his own, and your Healing Magic was just there for show?

Natsu rubbed his forehead, feeling much better, then suddenly stood up, his face full of anger, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked.

"Damn bastards! I'm going to catch you and beat you up!"

He charged out like a raging bull, his footsteps thundering so loudly that the corridor floor shook.

Lucy called out from behind, "We don't know where they are either!"

Mirajane smiled slightly, clasped her hands in front of her, and looked confident.

"Natsu has a really good nose. Whenever I lose something, I ask Natsu to help me find it. I've never lost anything."

(^ワ^)

Lucy felt that tonight's complaining energy was almost overflowing, and the corners of her mouth twitched as she spoke.

"Mira, you're treating Natsu like a dog."

Mirajane tilted her head, looking completely innocent.

"Isn't it very easy to use?"

Lucy was speechless.

Natsu rushed all the way to the beach, the sea breeze making his clothes flutter.

He stood on the beach, cupped his hands to his mouth, and shouted at the top of his lungs towards the dark sea.

Hey! You guys come back here!

The sound echoed across the sea, startling a few seagulls into flight, and then all fell silent.

The sea did not respond, nor did the enemy; only the sound of waves crashing against the beach could be heard.

The others ran out after him and, seeing Natsu shouting at the sea, all covered their faces in unison.

Lucy sighed helplessly, "That idiot."

Gray crossed his arms, turned his head away, and pretended not to know Natsu.

Riyao, cracking sunflower seeds, nodded. "Yeah, definitely silly."

Mirajane suppressed a laugh and patted Natsu on the shoulder.

Natsu turned his head to look at Mirajane, then at the dark sea, and scratched his head.