Natsu's battle ended quickly.
Unable to hit anyone, Natsu could only rage helplessly and unleash magic at random. In half an hour, he had exhausted all his magic power and was finally bound by [Lust]'s vines. To keep him from shouting, a thick tree root was even shoved into Natsu's mouth.
To keep Lucy from causing trouble, she and Happy were also bound with vines.
Lyon and Gray, on the other hand, remained locked in a stalemate for a long time, even showing faint signs of losing. Lyon's magic power was clearly a notch stronger than Gray's, but he had insisted on casting with one hand to look cool, and ended up overplaying his hand.
Shouting, "Don't underestimate Fairy Tail mages!" Gray erupted with a burst of power and smacked Lyon's spinning top away.
Aibo couldn't stand watching any longer and had Ultear give Lyon a hand.
With Ultear joining in, Gray was ultimately no match for the combined force of his senior brother and senior sister. They gave him a thorough beating, and Aibo felt there was at least a little personal grudge involved.
Then the three-person-one-cat group was all captured, bound to crosses by vines in humiliating defeat.
Natsu and Gray both lowered their heads in silence, their eyes hidden in the shadows of their hair. They looked as though they had suffered a devastating blow.
Only Lucy, who had not been hurt much, cried her eyes out. She couldn't tell whether the current situation was part of Aibo's plan, and she was afraid that calling for help too loudly would expose his existence. All she could do was mutter endlessly like a broken record, "I'm so stupid, really. I never should have accepted this S-Class request. These enemies aren't something we can handle at all... boohoo... I