The Dragon Chain Cannon Key

Gray and Natsu met at the corner, bumping into each other forehead to forehead with a dull thud.

"Ouch, you idiot, watch where you're going!"

Gray covered his forehead, grimacing.

"You weren't watching where you were going either!?"

Natsu rubbed his forehead and roared back defiantly.

The two started fighting as soon as they met, pushing and punching each other.

Lucy's scream, sharp and panicked, echoed in the distance, reverberating through the empty corridor.

Natsu and Gray immediately stopped fighting, exchanged a glance, and rushed towards the direction from which the sound came.

Natsu put the smell out of his mind.

The two rushed into a huge room and saw Lucy and Coco being chased by a giant octopus.

The octopus was as tall as a three-story building, its tentacles as thick as buckets, and every step it took made the ground tremble.

"Wow, I don't have any keys on me, stop chasing me!"

Lucy ran while turning back to shout at the octopus, her face full of grievance.

Upon hearing this, Gray instinctively tossed the Celestial Spirit Key to Lucy, flicking his wrist as the key traced a silver arc in the air.

"Lucy! Take the keys!"

Lucy turned her head and saw the keys being thrown at her. She stumbled and frantically caught the keys, almost tripping over her own foot.

"Taurus, open the door!"

Taurus Taurus, responding to the call, descended in a dazzling golden light, striking a bodybuilding pose and showing off his muscles.

Miss Lucy...

Before he could finish speaking, a tentacle swept across, sending Taurus and his bull flying. Talos tumbled several times in the air before crashing into the wall and creating a crater.

"Moo~ Miss Lucy, I tried my best~"

Taurus stretched a hand out of the pit, gave a thumbs-up, and then slid down.

"Taurus, you jerk!"

Lucy's lips twitched, and she moved her feet even faster.

An octopus tentacle was about to sweep across Lucy, and the wind pressure had already whipped her hair.

Natsu lunged forward, scooped up Lucy, and dodged to the side.

The two rolled twice on the ground, narrowly avoiding the attack. The tentacle slammed into the ground, creating a large crater and sending debris flying.

Natsu.

Lucy climbed out of Natsu's arms.

Natsu grinned, revealing his signature row of sharp teeth.

"Lucy, you're so lame."

Lucy stopped giggling and punched Natsu right in the forehead.

"Stop talking nonsense!"

As the two were catching up, Gray called out urgently.

"Hey, stop chatting and watch your step."

Natsu looked down and saw that his feet were already sinking into the ground, as if he had stepped into a swamp. The more he struggled, the deeper he sank. His eyes widened.

"Why has the ground softened!?"

A burly man in pink armor walked out from the other door.

"That's really touching."

He crossed his arms, a smile playing on his lips.

The giant octopus Byro, spoke, its voice deep and resonant.

"Sugarboy, go and get the key back."

The octopus tentacles slammed against the ground repeatedly, shaking the entire room. The rubble and dust obscured the view, creating an opportunity for Sugarboy.

Coco clung tightly to the key to the Dragon Chain Cannon.

"No, Lily will die."

"Coco! She's Exceed, and she's not on our side!"

Sugarboy's voice carried a hint of impatience.

Natsu and the others were completely baffled by their infighting and looked at each other in bewilderment.

Taking advantage of the situation, Sugarboy Boy snatched the key from Coco's arms and slid along the ground at an absurd speed, his pink armor screeching against the ground.

Coco called out to Lucy anxiously, her eyes reddening.

"That's the key to the Dragon Chain Cannon. If you activate it, the magic crystals that your companions have turned into will shatter, and they will all die."

Upon hearing this, Lucy and Natsu's expressions changed drastically, and they wanted to give chase.

Gray had already caught up on his motorcycle, the roar of the engine echoing down the corridor.

"I'll go after them!"

Byro stretched out his enormous tentacles toward Gray, trying to stop Gray; the tentacles formed a wall of flesh across the corridor.

[Fire Dragon's Roar]

Natsu took a deep breath, and scorching flames erupted from his mouth, blasting away all the tentacles blocking Gray's path. The charred fragments of the tentacles tumbled in the air, emitting a pungent, burnt smell.

"Hey, giant octopus, I'm your opponent!"

Natsu clenched his burning fist, a fierce smile playing on his lips.

Lucy also summoned Virgo, preparing for battle.

Virgo appeared with new equipment, including a whip that shimmered with starlight at her waist.

"Your Highness, this is the River of Stars in the Eridanus, a whip that can be retracted at will."

Virgo handed the whip to Lucy.

"Marvelous."

Lucy's eyes lit up, and she took the whip.

"Although Your Highness may not be of much use."

Virgo used a double entendre, turning her head away from Lucy.

"Hey! What are you saying?"

Lucy's temple throbbed.

High above the royal palace, on a floating island housing a colossal Magic Crystal.

Riyao crouched on the edge of the floating island, watching Gajeel tame the wild cat Panza Lily, the two fighting fiercely.

"Hey, Gajeel, you've found your dream cat, huh?"

Riyao tilted his head, his tone full of mockery.

"Riyao, get out of the way! This is my cat, don't you dare take it."

Gajeel glared warily at Riyao.

"I don't want a cat, I'm here to see Mira."

Riyao waved his hand, his gaze shifting to the enormous Magic Crystal, a hint of seriousness flashing in his emerald green eyes.

Happy flew over and hugged Riyao's head with a thud, his little paws gripping his hair tightly.

"Riyao, I'm so sorry..."

Happy's voice was choked with sobs, and his little head was buried in Riyao's hair.

Riyao grabbed Happy, lifted her up, and looked down at the crying kitten.

"Oh? What's wrong with you? You've wronged us?"

"It's us..."

Happy started to speak, sobbing.

"Alright, it's nothing serious, let's talk about it when we get back."

Riyao gently wiped away the tear stains on Happy's face with his thumb, his tone understated but his actions tender.

He put Happy on the ground and walked towards the Magic Crystal.

Riyao stretched out his right hand, his five fingers twisted and deformed, his nails lengthened and bent, turning into Azure Dragon, dark green dragon scales spread up the back of his hand, and the tips of his claws gleamed with a cold blue light.

He carefully examined the Magic Crystal, his golden vertical pupils lighting up after he transformed into a dragon, scanning the various colored magical energies surging within the crystal and identifying them one by one.

After a moment of scrutiny, he found a magical power within the enormous Magic Crystal. It was definitely Mirajane's magic power; he would never mistake that familiar aura.

The dragon claw swiftly sliced through the Magic Crystal, cutting across its surface as easily as slicing tofu.

A huge magic crystal was cut out.

He threw a punch and shattered it, sending fragments flying everywhere. A beam of light shot out from the broken crystal.

"Get up, Mira."