Violent Tremors

The island beneath Natsu and the others suddenly shook violently, even more violently than the previous tremor.

Even the sea surface was churning with continuous waves.

The entire space was shaking violently.

Natsu stumbled and had to grab onto a nearby coconut tree to steady himself, Happy, covered his head in fear.

"Happy, you're blocking my view."

"Aye, how scary."

Wendy, holding Carla, swayed and fell to the ground.

"What's going on? It feels like the end of the world."

Every space was affected.

Inside the door of Aquarius.

Lucy turned pale with fright and instinctively hugged little Aquarius, seeking a sense of security.

"Wow, what's going on? Was it an earthquake?"

"You're so useless, you panicked over such a small noise, it's embarrassing."

Little Aquarius rolled her eyes, her disdain almost overflowing.

Despite her small stature, she exuded a commanding presence, crossing her arms and holding her head high, looking just like a lecturing elder.

Lucy was speechless, wanting to retort but unable to find the words.

She was indeed frightened.

"I'm tired of playing, I'm going back to sleep."

Without a word, Aquarius grabbed Lucy's hand, took the key to the locked door, and put it on her head.

The little arms were raised above the head with a very nimble movement.

A flash of light.

To Lucy's surprise, Aquarius successfully closed the door.

Little Aquarius's figure gradually faded away, and she even snorted at her before leaving.

"Huh? It worked already?"

Lucy took a while to recover, but her mind was still foggy.

Just a moment ago she was complaining about her useless little princess, and now she's gone?

She opened her mouth, the words "You're just going back like that?" stuck in her throat, but she swallowed them back.

Before she could catch her breath, a wave of eerie green energy blasted down from above, engulfing her entirely.

The energy came quickly and fiercely, like an invisible hand grabbing her and throwing her away violently.

The world spun around.

When she opened her eyes again, she was already in Natsu's arms, causing Natsu to stumble back half a step.

Natsu stared blankly at Lucy in his arms, his jaw nearly dropping.

"Lucy? You got blasted away too? What a coincidence."

Lucy's cheeks were burning hot. She struggled to get out of the way, and her head was still buzzing after she regained her balance.

"Oh no... how did I get here? Wasn't I just in Aquarius's amusement park?"

How did she end up in Natsu's arms?

"I know that. I was also blasted away by a burst of energy, and boom—bang—and here I am."

Natsu recounted his experience with a grin.

This abrupt and nonsensical statement left Lucy speechless, but she roughly understood what was going on.

"Miss Lucy, are you injured anywhere? Do you need my help treating you?"

Wendy came to Lucy's side and asked her kindly.

Inside the door of Libra.

Yukino lowered her center of gravity and swept one leg across, creating a sharp whistling sound.

Libra jumped back, lightly dodging the kick by touching the edge of the platform with his toes, his movements as relaxed as if he were taking a stroll.

She takes one step forward, she takes one step back.

Between two steps, offense and defense were clearly distinguished.

Yukino knew that she wouldn't gain anything by continuing to pursue the matter.

Just then, the tremors also spread to this area.

The platform began to shake violently, like a deck being repeatedly pounded by waves, with gravel tumbling down with a clatter.

Yukino made a quick decision, lying flat on her stomach and bracing herself with her limbs to keep herself from slipping.

She turned her head to look at Libra, her pupils shrinking.

Libra was hanging on the edge of the platform, his hands gripping the rock edge tightly.

A small piece of gravel was shaken off the ground and fell silently into the mountains, the sound of it hitting the ground not being heard for a long time.

"It seems this is the end for me."

Libra showed little emotion, speaking in a flat tone, as if he had expected this outcome.

"Libra, give me your hand."

Yukino moved forward little by little, each step extremely steady, her fingertips digging into the ground as she shuffled forward.

"You can use the door lock key now."

Libra's words reminded Yukino.

"Oh, right, I forgot the key to the lock."

Yukino took out the key to the door, leaned over, and pressed the key to Libra's forehead.

A flash of light.

Libra successfully closed the door.

Yukino didn't even have time to be happy.

Click.

The mountain peak, which bore the entire weight of the platform, cracked with a sharp crack.

The platform suddenly sank down, splitting open a huge crack in the middle, which spread out to both ends like a living thing.

The crack spread extremely quickly, and under Yukino's watchful gaze, the platform broke in two.

With a loud crash, half of the platform flipped over, carrying her down into the mountains.

The sound of wind rushed into her ears, a feeling of weightlessness gripped her stomach, and pebbles grazed her cheeks.

She closed her eyes and clenched her fists.

Bang!

A wave of eerie green energy ripped through the air, striking the falling Yukino and carrying her away in an unknown direction.

Inside the door of Ophiuchus.

Princess Hisui and Arcadios are exploring along the passage.

The passage spirals forward, seemingly endless. It's entirely pink, hard in texture, and each step echoes with a thud, like walking inside a giant seashell.

The two walls were smooth, gleaming with a faint light like the inner wall of a seashell, and the light curved at the corner.

A faint, indescribable scent lingered in the air.

A large hole has been torn in the wall above our heads.

Gravel fell to the ground with a clatter.

Yukino fell out of the cave, rolled half a circle on the ground, and fell heavily to the ground.

Arcadios instantly gripped the hilt of his sword with his right hand, his body tensed, and his eyes sharpened.

Only after he realized that it was Yukino who had fallen did he lower his guard slightly and loosen his grip on the sword hilt.

Princess Hisui leaned out halfway and looked at Yukino.

"Yukino? How did you fall from the ceiling? Weren't you over in Libra?"

"Your Highness and Arcadios, what are you doing here?"

Yukino was also bewildered. She pushed herself up from the ground, dusted herself off, and looked around.

"I just successfully closed the door on Libra and fell into the mountains. During the fall, I was blasted into this place by a surge of energy."

"It seems that the tremor just now affected the entire space, and the frequency of the tremors is getting more and more frequent and the noise is getting louder. This is not a good sign."

Princess Hisui's expression turned serious as she stated her judgment.

Before they could finish speaking, a voice came from behind them.

The group turned around at the same time to look behind them.

"Oh, you guys are here too?"

Natsu strode over with a nonchalant air.

Mirajane, Erza, Gray, and others followed behind.

The sound of footsteps echoed in the corridor.

Everyone assembled.

Princess Hisui and her two companions were taken aback.

The tremor just now had a deeper impact than Hisui had imagined.

In a corner they hadn't noticed, Ophiuchus Ophiuchus, emerged from the wall.

The wall wasn't cracked or broken; it just rippled like water as it silently seeped in.

Without a sound, without a trace, it was as if it had floated up from the bottom of the water.

It walked past the crowd, its gaze settling on a certain spot, and spoke.

"They're all clustered together, this is going to be difficult, nurse."