A tear slipped from the corner of Loke's eye, and his voice trembled:
"I only meant to make her reflect on herself through a peaceful protest, to improve how she treated celestial spirits. I thought... at worst, she wouldn't be able to take jobs and would rest at the guild for a while."
"But I was wrong. After holding out for three months, I finally adapted to the Human World. Just when I thought three months of punishment was enough and I could forgive her, I heard she'd died..."
"Being unable to take jobs for so long drove Karen out of her mind. She secretly accepted a job behind Guild Master Bob's back, gambling on whether she could unleash enough magic power all at once to open two gates. In the end, she couldn't withstand the drain of keeping two gates open..."
"I caused her death. If I hadn't been so stubborn, if I'd just gone back, she wouldn't have died. For a celestial spirit to cause their master's death, even indirectly, is an unforgivable crime in the Celestial Spirit World. So I was stripped of my right to return."
"...So," Loke struggled to pull his lips into his usual flippant smile, but couldn't manage it, "now you know. I'm a celestial spirit who caused his master's death."
"Just leave it at that... let me down and leave me alone. It's not like... I have much time left anyway."
"Are you kidding me?!"
Natsu finally couldn't take it anymore. He rushed forward and grabbed Loke by the collar, his eyes practically blazing with fury:
"That Karen used her own friends as shields! All you did was stand up for that Ari-whatever friend of yours, and then she got herself killed, but somehow it's all your fault? What kind of logic