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Lucy returned dejectedly.
She was so foolish—she clearly knew Natsu and Happy were joking, yet she still fantastically tried to use that method to sneak in. It was truly embarrassing... However, upon seeing Noah and his two companions arrive, the golden-haired girl's smile broadened.
Because the purpose of their trip overlapped with Natsu's team's job, Noah informed Natsu and the others that they were tracking members of Eisenwald.
When they heard that the other party was a Dark Guild and related to Everlue, Natsu and Lucy's eyes immediately sharpened.
Natsu was already a battle-hungry individual, eager for a big fight.
Lucy, on the other hand, was still fuming about being called "ugly" and wanted to punch Everlue to vent her anger.
The five people and one cat immediately formed an alliance.
Night fell.
The grand villa was brightly lit, but as they walked through the large building, they saw no one, which made Noah's infiltrating group feel strange and further confirmed that Duke Everlue was suspicious.
Passing through one empty room after another, they finally stopped in the study and quickly found the book titled "Daybreak" that Natsu's team's job required.
"Wow, it's actually a work by that great literary master, and it's never been published!"
Because it was an unreleased work by an author she admired, and driven by curiosity, Lucy immediately used the Magical Tool "Speed Reading Glasses" to quickly read the book.
However, the greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment.
The content of "Daybreak" was entirely a eulogy for the perverted noble!
In Lucy's impression, the literary master who'd passed away many years ago was not someone who would flatter those in high positions, so how could he have written such a shoddy work... Noah took the book "Daybreak" from Lucy's hand, reached out and touched the cover. "Yo-ho, isn't this Word Replacement Magic? It's a rare Magic."
Lucy looked at Noah in surprise. "Could it be that there's more to this book?"
"Exactly, the Magic Word Replacement has hidden the true content of this book."
Noah returned the book to Lucy, not responding to her expectant gaze. "I do have the ability to dispel this Magic, but the person this book wants to convey its message to won't be me."
Lucy instantly understood that the qualified person was the client for this job, so she stopped pressing for answers.
"Hey everyone! I found a secret passage!"
Natsu and Happy rushed back excitedly—relying on his Dragon Slayer's sense of smell, he successfully discovered a hidden passage beneath the villa.
Arriving at the entrance of the passage, Erza drew her sword and prepared for battle. Her intuition told her that both Everlue and the Mages from Eisenwald were down there.
A strange wind echoed through the damp passage. Natsu, leading the way, ignited an orange-red flame on his fingertips, illuminating the dim surroundings.
After many twists and turns, as everyone rounded the last corner and was about to reach the end of the passage, dense magical runes suddenly surged from the cracks in the stone, forming a vast dark vortex, as if it was about to twist the passage.
"Watch out, it's a triggered barrier!"
Before Noah's warning had finished, Erza instantly used Requip to don her Black Wing Armor. A vertical and horizontal cross-shaped sword energy instantly slashed through the magical barrier.
The shattered barrier fragments transformed into purple starlight in the air. Amidst the escaping dark currents, Natsu suddenly ignited flames, and his scorching Magic cleared the way as he rushed to the end of the passage.
The others followed closely behind.
Passing through the passage, they found themselves in an underground palace. Something was being performed on the altar in the center of the underground palace.
Everlue and his four maids, along with several Mages from Eisenwald, were all there. Besides them, there were more than twenty people dressed in religious attire.
Looking at the familiar white attire of the leader, Noah couldn't help but lament the persistent presence of the Black Magic Cult—they seemed to pop up everywhere.
However, the leader of this Black Magic team was an acquaintance: Dachiru, the Black Magic Priest who'd escaped from Mira in Silent Town.
Because the barrier had been triggered, the dark forces had already prepared in advance. When Natsu burst into the underground palace, he was met with a barrage of magical attacks.
"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!"
Natsu swept his arms, and his flame wings instantly cleared away the Magic attacks from the weaklings. The remaining Magic was easily dodged by him.
"Hmph, Fairy Tail, it's you meddling guys again."
Black Priest Dachiru gritted his teeth, glaring at the newcomers. His humiliating defeat in Silent Town was etched in his memory, and he resented those who'd ruined his plan.
Mira, who'd used Satan Soul, kindly reminded her former subordinate whom she had defeated. "Don't talk big. You should think about how to escape, after all, the underground palace isn't big, and there's only one way out."
Recalling the humiliating memory of narrowly escaping death from the "Demon," Dachiru's face darkened. He raised his hand, and a rain of inky Magic instantly shot toward Mira.
The trash-talking ended, and battle was imminent.
Everlue immediately spotted Lucy, who was hiding behind Erza. "You're that ugly girl who came for an interview today!"
"You're the ugly one! Your whole family is ugly!"
After her childish retort, Lucy held her golden key and drew it through the air in front of her. With a "ding-dong" sound, a brilliant starry Magic circle opened, revealing a starlight gate with the Cancer zodiac sign.
Cancer, the Celestial Spirit, appeared, holding two scissors and wearing glasses, like a "crab spirit."
"Miss Lucy, what kind of hairstyle would you like today, ebi~"
Despite being Cancer, his verbal tic was "ebi." Despite being a powerful Celestial Spirit, his dream was to be a barber... With no time to complain about her eccentric Celestial Spirits, Lucy pointed at Everlue. "No haircut today, fight, Cancer!"
Even if Lucy didn't say it, Cancer knew what he should do. His initial question was just to lighten the mood. He charged at the enemy with his scissors.
"The twelve Zodiac Celestial Spirits, and a Celestial Spirit Mage who can hold Gold Keys, you're not the only one who knows about them!"
Everlue sneered, pulling out a Gold Key from his clothes. On the key was clearly the symbol of Virgo, one of the twelve Zodiacs.
"Gate of the Maiden, I open thee..."
"Don't open it! Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
Natsu's figure suddenly burst out from the side. His fist, imbued with a dark luster, slammed into the unprepared Duke, instantly igniting his Magic Power and unleashing a scorching Dragon Slayer flame that swept through half of the underground palace.