Brandish
"Hehehe, I won! Honey, don't forget our bet!"
Riyao looked at Mirajane with a sly grin, making her ears turn red.
The two of them made a bet when they got off the airship.
"Or is it true? Natsu struck first, Lucy is the real blockhead."
Mirajane's cheeks were flushed a light pink, her little hands were behind her back, and the tips of her shoes were drawing circles in the sand.
She deliberately turned her gaze to the battlefield where the betting was in full swing, pretending that she hadn't placed any bets.
Riyao had a mischievous smile on his lips, tilting his head and staring at her with a half-smile.
Mirajane's cheeks grew hotter and hotter under his intense gaze.
Two warm little hands cupped Riyao's cheeks and pulled him towards the center of the street.
Stop looking, go help!
"No rush, no rush, Natsu and the others can handle it."
In the center of the street, the battle had fully commenced.
Erza and her companions joined the battle, and these ordinary soldiers were no match for them.
The flames on Natsu's fists distorted the surrounding air as he smashed the black-gold armored soldiers who rushed at him, sending them sprawling.
Gray clasped his hands together, and icy blue magic exploded in his palms, causing sharp icicles to quickly condense on the ground, freezing the soldiers in the distance.
Juvia followed behind Gray, and with a wave of his hands, several streams of water lashed out like whips, knocking the flanking soldiers off balance.
Erza didn't even draw her weapon. She deftly dodged the spear by sidestepping it, and then delivered two swift knee strikes, sending the two Imperial officers sprawling into the sandpit with their eyes rolling back in their heads.
In just over ten seconds, more than twenty imperial soldiers lay on the ground, their cries of agony echoing across the area.
Lucy was already terrified of being mistaken for a spy, and when she turned around, the two guys were still under the tree eating bananas and whispering to each other.
"Why are you all still watching the show? We've all been exposed."
Lucy yelled at the top of her lungs, waving her hands wildly in the air, her golden twin tails swaying on her head.
"We're definitely going to be exposed, don't worry, because, you know, it was me who reported us."
Riyao laughed as he told Lucy something that shocked her.
The crisp sound drifted in the sea breeze, sounding exceptionally light and cheerful.
Not only was Lucy stunned, Erza and the others were also dumbfounded.
What's going on?
Lucy's forehead veins bulged, and she roared even louder than before.
"What are you doing, you cunning bastard!?"
Riyao laughed even harder. Backstabbing teammates really does bring a lot of joy.
Seeing Lucy's expression, which was almost fainting from anger, he felt completely relieved.
Anyway, this is part of the plan.
Erza was only stunned for a moment before she realized what was happening and defeated all the remaining soldiers.
A crimson figure flashed through the crowd, and the last two Imperial soldiers were knocked unconscious by her two casual chop blows.
"You're being too reckless."
Erza dusted off her hands, glared at Riyao with annoyance, and picked up the paper bag from the ground again.
The others gathered together, watching the Riyao.
Just as everyone was preparing to discuss the next step...
A strange, magical ripple suddenly spread through the air.
"Pass! Pass! Beautiful woman, pass!"
A sharp, frivolous laugh echoed in the air.
Marin appeared behind the group, and everyone turned around to look at her.
He had curly hair, a lewd smile on his face, and his eyes were fixed on Erza and Lucy.
That magic power carried an extremely strong sense of spatial distortion, making the surrounding air thick and viscous.
Erza's eyes turned cold as she sensed the threat, and she placed her hand on her waist.
He subconsciously used Requip Magic to try and summon Edgeless, but failed.
The light from the magic circle flickered for only half a second before being extinguished as if by an invisible hand.
Lucy on the other side also hurriedly reached for the Celestial Spirit Key at her waist.
Holding the golden key in his hand, no matter how much magic he tried to activate it, the runes on the key remained lifeless.
"What's going on?!"
Marin hovered in mid-air, looking down at the two women with a smug expression.
"Oh dear, within my domain, spatial magic is ineffective and will even be punished."
Requip Magic summons armor through space, while Celestial Spirit Magic opens spatial portals with keys; both are severely countered in this realm.
Marin chuckled and raised his right hand, hooking his index finger and thumb together.
Snap
The crisp sound echoed through the street.
Erza and Lucy stared wide-eyed, a bad feeling creeping over them.
The two women adopted a defensive stance, their nerves on edge.
However.
A gentle breeze blew by, stirring up a few scraps of paper from the ground.
Several seconds passed, and nothing happened.
There was no lightning from the sky, and space itself wasn't torn apart. Erza and Lucy stood there unharmed, not even a single hair missing.
Just as Marin snapped his fingers, a terrifying pressure flashed past from behind everyone, like a mountain, forcefully pressing the spatial turbulence into the soil.
This time it was Marin's turn to be shocked. Her smile froze on her face, her eyes widened, and she snapped her fingers seven or eight times in a row.
The surroundings remained calm and peaceful.
"What's going on? My Space Lock didn't work? That's not right, I clearly suppressed your magic just now."
Marin was sweating profusely and shouting incoherently, completely unable to comprehend what was happening before her eyes.
Natsu didn't care what he was thinking.
Seeing that this guy was up to no good, Fire Dragon's fists were already itching to pounce.
Bang!
The stone slab beneath Natsu's feet shattered instantly, and he transformed into a streak of fire, soaring into the sky!
The flaming fist slammed heavily into Marin's face. Marin screamed and spun three times in the air before crashing through the wooden railing by the roadside and convulsing in the pile of rubble.
Marin hadn't taken them seriously and planned to teleport away before Natsu's attack, but her magic failed.
He lay on the ground, spitting out blood, unable to understand why his spatial transfer had suddenly stalled.
Erza turned around thoughtfully and saw that Riyao had changed his appearance.
"It was you who made the move?"
"Of course, otherwise you would have been arrested and punished long ago. Quickly say thank you."
Seeing Riyao's face, Erza couldn't bring herself to say thank you; instead, she wanted to beat the bastard up.
Lucy patted her chest and breathed a sigh of relief.
"I was so scared just now, it felt like I was being held captive by something."
Riyao looked at Lucy with surprise.
As Celestial Spirit Mage, Lucy's sensitivity to spatial fluctuations is indeed very strong.
But I didn't expect Lucy to be so sensitive to space; Erza didn't even feel it that clearly, but Lucy was able to describe it.
Riyao's brow suddenly twitched.
He raised his head, his gaze passing over a row of wooden houses on the street corner, and looking towards the dock.
It was an extremely heavy and vast magical power, like an entire ocean compressed into a person's body, causing the surrounding void to tremble slightly.
The playful expression on Riyao's face softened somewhat.
"It seems this is one of the Spriggan 12."
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately turned around and looked over.
In the sea mist at the end of the street, a tall figure slowly walked along the wooden boardwalk.
The newcomer was none other than Brandish μ, one of the Spriggan 12 Nation Destroyer.
She had short, bright green hair, wore a cross hair ornament, a bikini, and a large fur coat.
Her exquisitely beautiful face bore a world-weary expression; her steps were slow and languid.
This powerful mage, capable of destroying a nation, didn't even glance at his subordinate lying on the ground.
She stopped in front of the ruins at the street corner, staring blankly at the spilled jam and broken planks scattered on the ground.
"Hey, why did the Starry Night Ice Cream stand collapse?! I wanted to get some."
She poked the melted icing with her finger, her eyes filled with grievance, muttering that she had gone to all that trouble only to not be able to buy any.
The aftershocks of the battle had almost completely destroyed the surrounding stalls and other structures.
The magical pressure emanating from that petite body heavily enveloped the entire Caracole Island.
The air was so heavy it was hard to breathe, and the fine sand on the ground seemed to float silently.
"This magical power is terrifying!" Lucy exclaimed, her mouth slightly agape.
Cold sweat instantly soaked her back. She stared intently at the green-haired woman squatting on the ground muttering to herself, and the hairs on her body stood on end.