"This shit's way too convenient!" Cana yells, eyes wide at the chaos below.
But she shakes it off—ain't time to geek out over Celestial Spirit bullshit.
She slices her left index finger across her right wrist, a razor-thin line of magic glowing at the tip.
Blood beads up like rubies.
She hovers the bleeding wrist over a card painted with a golden chalice.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
The blood hits the card and the chalice drinks it—gold bleeding into crimson, glowing like a demon's wet dream.
Cana's face pales as the blood drains.
When the chalice is blood-red, she screams: "Gemini—NOW! HEAL ME!"
"On it, Cana-nee!" Gemini rushes in, hands glowing blue, slapping 'em on her wrist.
The cut seals faster than a guilty conscience—no scar, no nothing.
The second it's closed, Cana hoists the now-crimson card high, pumping magic like a goddamn firehose.
[Blood Fragrance]
BWOOOOOM—!
A thick, rusty-sweet stench explodes outward—like iron and honey had a bastard lovechild. It slams into everything, a scent-wave that'd make a vampire cream its pants.
Down below, the retreating zombies freeze.
Sniff. Sniff. SNIFF.
Their eyes roll back. Rational thought? Gone. Primitive hunger? FULL THROTTLE.
Lord's orders? Retreat? FUCK THAT.
"ROOOAAAAR!!!"
"AWOOOOO!!!"
The horde loses its goddamn mind. Every zombie—B-rank trash to S-rank nightmares—charges like they just smelled prime rib dipped in mage blood.
Some stack like idiots, trying to pyramid up the wall. Others barrel through stairwells, trampling their own to climb.
"CANA! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?!" Lucy shrieks, voice cracking as she spams earth magic—stone walls, spikes, anything to knock the climbers back.
Gemini's roaring wind blasts, yeeting flying zombies like ragdolls.
"Rounded 'em up for a barbecue!" Cana grins like a maniac, flinging four more cards at the rooftop walls.
They stick like magnets.
"The stronger the mage, the purer the life-force in their blood," she rattles off, eyes locked on the swelling tide below. "That card? Distilled my blood into a hunger bomb. To these blood-junkies, it's like tossing a bleeding steak into a starving wolf pack—they can't resist."
She's slapping cards everywhere—walls, floor, like she's decorating for a serial killer's birthday.
"Don't blow 'em away! Herd 'em tight! The denser, the better!"
"Got it!" Lucy yanks another key.
"Open, Gate of the Ram—Aries!"
Pink light. A fluffy sheep-girl in a wool dress, horns trembling. "U-Um… what do you need? S-Sorry…"
"Aries! Wool-net the shit outta every zombie climbing! Glue 'em to the walls!"
"R-Right! I'll try! Sorry!"
Aries claps her hands, magic exploding.
[Wool Wall: Full Coverage]
FWOOOOOSH!
A tsunami of pink, sticky wool erupts from her palms, cascading down the building like cotton-candy hell.
Zombies touch it? Stuck. Thrashing, screaming, but pinned like bugs in amber.
Even the ones bursting through fire doors get yeeted back, entombed in fluff.
In seconds, the whole street-facing side of the building is wrapped in a thick, pink wool sweater. From afar? Looks like the tower's cosplaying a goddamn sheep.
Aries sways, drained. "I-Is that okay? Sorry…"
"OKAY?! THAT WAS FUCKING PERFECT!" Cana's cackling. "This is exactly what I needed for the grand finale!"
Lucy puffs up. "Post-Oración Seis training + power boost = super wool! Told ya my spirits are badass!"
"Hell yeah! Picking you as partner? Top-tier life choice." Cana pauses. "Wait—when'd you pull off dual summons?"
"After we smoked the Oración Seis. Erza's hell-training + killing one of 'em = magic control and boost. Dual gates eat magic like Natsu eats fire, though—only use 'em when shit's real."
Cana nods, eyeing the street. No more zombies pouring in. The building's stuffed. Wool bulging from pressure.
"Showtime." Her eyes flash. She hurls the blood card sky-high.
"Gemini! Aries! IGNORE THE CARD—RUN!"
She slaps a blue-wing card at their feet.
[Gale Wings: Glide]
Four pairs of wind-wings sprout.
"JUMP!"
They launch, soaring in arcs, landing on a shorter rooftop dozens of meters away.
Lucy spins to warn the spirits—
[Wool Bomb]
Aries conjures a fluffy cushion under them. They bounce twice, wool vanishing in sparkles.
And then—
KABOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!
The building detonates.
A furnace of orange hellfire erupts from every window, shredding concrete, steel, and zombie chunks into a meat-grinder smoothie.
The wool? A pressure cooker. Trapped the blast, superheated the core. Zombies scream—then silenced by fire and force.
The tower groans, splits, and collapses into a smoldering grave.
[B-Rank Zombies Left: 0]
[A-Rank Zombies Left: 0]
[S-Rank Zombies Left: 4]
[SS-Rank Zombies Left: 2]
[SSS-Rank Zombies Left: 1]
"WE FUCKING DID IT!" Lucy tackle-hugs Cana, tears of joy. "All B and A-ranks gone! Plus a chunk of S and SS!"
"We're this close to S-Class!"
Cana wheezes, patting her back. "Easy, tiger. Recharge first. The big boys are still out there—if they hit now, we're fucked."
Lucy lets go, beaming at the spirits. "You guys were amazing! Gemini, Aries—total MVPs!"
Gemini reverts to twin blue gremlins, waving in sync. "Piri piri~ Happy to help!"
Aries bows, blushing. "I-I'm glad I could help, Master…"
They vanish in golden light.
Cana tosses Lucy some crystals. They sit, absorbing magic like sponges.
Lucy frowns at the leftovers. "We killed thousands. Why only this many crystals?"
"Higher ranks = better drop rate," Cana shrugs. "B-ranks? Maybe one in fifty. Trash magic, too."
"That blood card was nuts," she grins. "Even SS-ranks couldn't resist. But Aries' wool? Chef's kiss. Perfect seal."
"Oh—Gemini's copy?" Lucy explains. "Fused with a memory magic drop. Stores up to seven targets under my magic cap. Ten minutes each. Saved slots, not overwritten."
"Like save files? Dope. But no Natsu-level copies, right?"
"Nope. Their magic's too busted."
[S-Rank Zombies Left: 0]
[SS-Rank Zombies Left: 3]
[SSS-Rank Zombies Left: 1]
Ice-water alert.
Lucy pales. "Another S-rank eaten."
Cana grabs her wrist. "Boss is escalating. We're bait. Move!"
She spots a dusty car. "Jackpot. Wheels = speed + trap setup."
Lucy squints. "A car? You can drive?"
"Duh. Watched Erza with the magic four-wheeler. Same deal—four wheels, go fast."
Lucy: "But… license?"
"Phantom zone, no cops!" Cana's already running.
She conjures a key card, unlocks the car. They pile in.
Lucy buckles—wait, Cana didn't.
"Seatbelt!"
"Later!" Cana jams the key, floors it.
VROOOOM!
The car lurches, pinning Lucy to the seat.
"TOO FAST!!"
No answer. She looks—Cana's panicking.
"YOU CAN'T DRIVE?!"
"IT'S A WHEEL, NOT A JOYSTICK!"
The car swerves toward a brick wall.
"STOP!!"
SCREEEEECH!
Lucy flies forward, forehead SMASH into windshield.
CRACK. Spiderweb fractures.
"OW! MY SKULL!"
"Sorry! Forgot the belt—"
CRUNCH! BOOM!
Spiked vines erupt, spearing the car, lifting it like a shish kebab.
They bail just in time.
Five carnivorous flower buds burst from the ground where Lucy stood.
Cana's card detonates them into ash.
She yanks Lucy behind her. "Plant-controller zombie. Eyes up—this ain't over."