"I am the one who connects the path to the Celestial Spirit World, answer my call!"
"Pass through the gate, Ursa Minor!" Following her inner feeling, Yukino slowly chanted the incantation to summon Celestial Spirit. The surrounding Celestial Spirit Magic circles flickered with light, finally converging into a dazzling beam of Light Beam.
Yukino held the Ursa Minor Key and forcefully slashed it through the air.
Suddenly, a huge Magic Circle appeared in the air, and a giant pink mechanical bear passed through the portal in the air.
"Ursa Minor, can you make a contract with me?"
"Sure~" Ursa Minor replied softly.
Turning around, he looked at the enemy. The massive body was incredibly awe-inspiring, and the red eyes were fixed on Afu in front of him.
Afu was trembling with fear, his terrified gaze fixed on the giant pink bear.
"No... it's supposed to be Ursa Minor, so... it's not small at all..." Afu cursed inwardly. He had thought it was just a small Ursa Minor, but he hadn't expected it to be so huge and terrifying.
Looking at the group of people in front of him, he knew he had completely failed this time and had become a practice target for this little girl.
Since that's the case, he should just play the role of a sparring partner, which will leave a good impression on them.
After all, as an excellent Celestial Spirit Mage, he needs to demonstrate his strength and skills to impress others.
He decided to go all out in this battle.
"Open, Cygnus Gate~ Deniv!" Afu, holding the Cygnus Key, also made a slash in the air. A mysterious light flashed, and a gloomy man dressed in Black Feathers appeared before everyone.
The man who appeared looked somewhat gloomy, with a hint of sadness and resentment in his eyes.
The black feathered clothing exuded a faint aura of darkness, perfectly complementing his temperament.
"A swan?" Sting paused for a moment, then blurted out.
"Frosch ~ Frosch ~" Frosch also expressed confusion, putting one hand to her mouth, wearing a frog outfit, with bright eyes, looking very cute overall.
Sting and Rogue, the two little huskies, had always thought that swans were symbols of purity, beauty, and grace, but the man before them completely overturned their expectations.
I couldn't help but feel a little surprised, and even a little doubtful whether this man was really Cygnus Celestial Spirit.
Zorn, standing to the side, noticed the Cygnus who was covering his face with his hands and saw that his body trembled slightly.
I just remembered, this Celestial Spirit is the kind that's very depressed and often clashes with its master.
"You don't need to pity me. I'm clearly Cygnus Celestial Spirit, but my feathers aren't white at all. That's what you all must be thinking!" Deniv looked at Sting, who had just spoken up with a question, with a gloomy and slightly resentful gaze, as if she were accusing him of something.
The voice was filled with sadness and helplessness, giving rise to a strange feeling, a sense of guilt.
"No... no... that's not what I meant." Sting panicked and quickly waved his hands in denial, but his face was flushed.
He realized that his words might have hurt Deniv's feelings and felt very guilty. He quickly explained, "I just thought the color of your feathers was a bit unusual... I didn't mean any discrimination or dislike towards you. Please believe me, I didn't mean any harm."
Rogue nodded in agreement; he felt the same way.
Deniv's expression softened slightly after hearing Sting's explanation, but she still harbored some resentment.
"Deniv, give it your all this time! Fight properly, do you hear me!" Afu shouted at Deniv.
"Such encouraging words, are you really doing this on purpose?" Deniv kept her hands covering her face, but her words sounded rather disheartened.
"As Celestial Spirit, you should have the awareness of Celestial Spirit ~ Otherwise, what's the point of having you!" Upon seeing this, Afu frowned and said in a deep voice.
Upon hearing this, Deniv's expression turned serious, and she whispered, "I understand, I'll do my best."
Deniv's gaze sharpened, and she became serious, as if she fully agreed with Afu's words.
He rushed straight towards Ursa Minor, quickly drawing a huge triangle around it, its light as bright as day.
Immediately afterwards, a deafening roar followed, the sound of the explosion echoing throughout the entire space.
The massive body of Ursa Minor was blasted backward and crashed heavily to the ground.
"Ursa Minor!" Yukino cried out in concern upon seeing this.
Seeing this, Zorn leaned down and whispered in Yukino's ear, "Don't worry, Ursa Minor will be alright, like this, like this..."
Upon hearing this, Yukino perked up and shouted to Ursa Minor, "Polaris, use Energy Boost!"
Upon hearing its owner's words, the Ursa Minor lying on the ground immediately got up, took out a honey jar from the center of its body, and began to eat it heartily.
In an instant, a powerful surge of Magic Power erupted from the Ursa Minor's body, which radiated golden light as it roared, "The Strongest Bear!"
As the roar subsided, Ursa Minor's power instantly surged, and it charged towards Cygnus, swinging its fist and slamming it into the ground.
The ground suddenly collapsed, and countless pieces of rock flew up. Cygnus quickly crossed his arms to defend himself.
However, Ursa Minor's attack did not stop; it immediately launched its next strike, and Cygnus, caught off guard, was sent flying backward.
This sudden change stunned Runa, who had just heard clearly that Zorn had said that Ursa Minor could increase his power by eating honey.
It's important to know that Zorn is not a Celestial Spirit Mage, and even Lucy, who was standing nearby, looked surprised. Clearly, this wasn't the information Lucy had told Zorn.
Runa thought to herself, "Just how many secrets is this guy hiding from us?"
Recalling her past experiences, whether in fierce battles or the preliminary rounds of the Grand Magic Games, she always felt that there were too many unfathomable aspects about Zorn.
She couldn't help but turn her head to look at Zorn, who was smiling, her heart filled with doubt and curiosity.
"What's wrong?" Zorn suddenly turned around, noticed Runa's strange gaze, and couldn't help but ask.
He had actually noticed that Runa was staring at him with a strange look, but he hadn't found a suitable opportunity to ask her about it.
However, Runa coldly replied, "Nothing!" She seemed unwilling to let others know her inner thoughts, and thus refocused her attention on the ongoing battle.
That's strange~
Zorn grumbled.
The battle was already quite clear. Afu was sitting on the ground, holding the Cygnus Celestial Spirit Key in his hand, seemingly lost in thought.
The group returned to Town.
Immediately after Afu escaped, he boarded a ship and left the city. His departure seemed unusually resolute, as if he were bidding farewell to the past completely.
"Great! I have two Celestial Spirit Keys now!" Yukino exclaimed excitedly, clutching a delicate key pouch tightly in her hand, examining it closely with obvious delight in her eyes.
Zorn continued, "Next, we'll go find the key to the Zodiac - Pisces!"
The boss very generously revealed to them the possible location of the Pisces key.
This information came from their delivery guards responsible for protecting the goods, and the intelligence was provided by a traveling merchant.
Legend has it that in the central lake of an Isolated Island, two enormous catfish, one black and one white, were once seen swimming gracefully in the lake, but they quickly vanished without a trace.
This description perfectly matches the characteristics of the Pisces Celestial Spirit.
However, when many people rushed there, they found nothing but traces of people who had been there.
Some people even encountered a mysterious young fisherman who often gazed silently at the lake, seemingly lost in thought.
Upon hearing this news, Zorn was now certain that it was indeed the location of Pisces.
That boy was probably also a human form of one of the Celestial Spirits.
To be continued~