Takeshi said, "Loke, huh... I roughly know where he is."
"You know?!"
Gray and Mirajane both looked at Takeshi.
"Really?! Takeshi, you know where Loke is?!" Gray was a little agitated.
Loke was one of his best friends, and his sudden departure worried him greatly.
"Hmm... more or less."
As someone who had watched the entire Fairy Tail anime, he naturally knew Loke. His role wasn't extensive, but not too small either.
"Where is he?"
"He should be with his owner."
"Owner?!"
Mirajane and Gray were both confused. What on earth was an owner?
"Oh. You don't know. Loke isn't human, he's a Celestial Spirit."
"A Celestial Spirit?!"
Mirajane and Gray were stunned to hear this.
They, of course, knew what a Celestial Spirit was. While Celestial Spirit Mages were rare, they weren't non-existent. For example, the guild's new member, Lucy, was a Celestial Spirit Mage.
"No? How could Loke be a Celestial Spirit?!"
"Yeah. Takeshi, how do you know Loke's identity?"
Takeshi thought of a reason and said, "Don't I receive Heroic Spirits? Heroic Spirits and Celestial Spirits are both spirits, so I can sense that he isn't human. Isn't Lucy a Celestial Spirit Mage? After the Galuna Island mission ended, when I saw the Celestial Spirit Lucy summoned, I knew Loke was a Celestial Spirit."
"Who is Loke's owner?"
"I'm not clear about that."
This was not a lie, because he genuinely couldn't remember who Loke's owner was.
"Then let's go out and look for him too." Mirajane was a bit worried about Loke's situation.
Takeshi said, "No need, I'll go alone."
"Do you know where Loki is?!"
Takeshi nodded. "Yes, I have my ways to find him."
"Really?!"
Full Body Take-Over: Ulquiorra Cifer!
Takeshi transformed into Ulquiorra. Then he placed his right palm on the ground.
Pesquisa!
Takeshi closed his eyes and rapidly spread his perception along the ground in all directions.
This was an Arrancar technique, which allowed him to sense everyone's Reiatsu in the vicinity, determine their strength and location, and display the location of the detected targets in his mind as burning flames.
Swish... Swish...
Azure flames lit up in Takeshi's mind, most of them very dim. These were ordinary people.
Some brighter ones were Mages. The brightest flame Takeshi sensed was undoubtedly Makarov, its luminosity far exceeding everyone else's.
Soon, in the mountains west of Magnolia Town, Takeshi sensed a cluster of flames, flickering erratically like a candle in the wind, threatening to extinguish at any moment. This magical perception perfectly matched Loke.
Takeshi opened his eyes. "Found him."
"Really?! That's great!"
Mirajane and Gray couldn't help but be happy when they heard Takeshi's words.
"Yes, you two go tell everyone to come back. I will bring Loke back safely."
"Okay."
Mirajane and Gray agreed.
Takeshi tapped his foot, and his body moved rapidly towards the town. Now that he remembered Loke's identity, saving Loke would require one more person.
Soon, Takeshi arrived at Lucy's rental house.
"Lucy!"
"Eek!"
Lucy had just come out of the bathroom after showering when Takeshi immediately greeted her. Lucy was startled, and her bath towel fell, revealing her perfect figure.
This made Takeshi's blood surge, and he sighed in his heart, 'As expected, such a nice figure.'
"Ahhhhh!"
Lucy also noticed her bath towel had fallen, and shyly covered her chest with both hands, then squatted to pick up the towel to cover herself.
Takeshi turned the tables and asked, "Why aren't you wearing clothes? Has Gray led you astray?"
Lucy retorted, "I just finished showering, of course I'm not wearing clothes. Besides, you're trespassing. Breaking into a girl's house late at night, no... it can't be... what do you want to do? Are you going to..."
Takeshi immediately raised his hand and said, "Don't worry. I'm not interested in you."
Lucy asked, "Hmph! Then what are you doing here?"
Takeshi answered, "Loke has left the guild and might be in some trouble. He needs your help."
"What?!"
Lucy's expression changed upon hearing this.
"Loke left the guild? Why?"
"I don't know about that. Hurry and get dressed, I'll take you to find him."
"Then you should turn around.'
...
At the West Mountain Waterfall, Loke stood before a tombstone, his gaze fixed on the grave. This was the resting place of his owner, Karen.
He didn't want the guild members to see him die. Rather than that, it was better for everyone to believe he had left. This was also the most suitable place for his final demise.
Suddenly—
A voice rang out.
"Loke!"
Loke quickly turned his head upon hearing the voice and was astonished to see Takeshi and Lucy.
"Takeshi? Lucy? How did you know I was here?"
Takeshi said, "My perception magic helped. It's quite simple to sense your location within a certain range."
Loke couldn't help but sigh with emotion upon hearing this. "You truly live up to your reputation."
Takeshi asked, "So... this is your owner's tomb?"
"You... how did you..."
"What? You don't actually think your identity as a Celestial Spirit has been well-hidden, do you?"
This time, Loke was completely shocked. Takeshi actually knew his identity as a Celestial Spirit. But thinking about Takeshi's many incredible abilities, it wasn't impossible for him to know his identity.
"You actually found out..."
"A Celestial Spirit?!"
Lucy was even more shocked. Loke was a Celestial Spirit? How was that possible? She, a Celestial Spirit Mage, hadn't even noticed.
"Are you... going to die?"
"You even know that. Yes, I'm about to die. Just as humans cannot survive in the Celestial Spirit World, Celestial Spirits cannot survive in the human world. In the human world, a Celestial Spirit's life is slowly stripped away, eventually leading to death. I've been in the human world for three years."
"Three years?! Even one year is already incredible." Lucy's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Yes, I've reached my limit now. I can't use any power at all. To avoid worrying everyone, please forgive me for leaving this way. Please help me say goodbye to everyone. Don't let them know I died. Just let them think I'm still alive somewhere else."
Takeshi raised his hand to refuse. "I'm sorry, I don't like to deliver messages for others, and I especially don't like to deliver last words. It's too unlucky. If you have anything to say, you should go back and tell everyone yourself."
Loke paused slightly, then shook his head with a bitter smile. "I can't go back."
Then, as if to vent his emotions, he began to tell the story of him and his former owner.
His former owner, Karen, was a woman with a very unpleasant personality. She liked to be praised and enjoyed toying with men, making them spend money on her. Sometimes, when those men pestered her, Karen would summon Aries to accompany them to get rid of them.
Furthermore, she would often hit or scold them, not seeing them as living beings at all, but merely as tools for making money.
To stop this behavior, Loke chose to forcibly open a gate, which prevented Karen from summoning other Celestial Spirits. He also demanded that Karen break his and Aries's contracts.
He originally intended to scare Karen, but unexpectedly, what ultimately came was news of Karen's death. It turned out that Karen, unable to summon Celestial Spirits, chose to undertake a mission and was killed during it.
Because of him, his owner died, which violated the rules of the Celestial Spirit World. So from that day on, he could no longer return to the Celestial Spirit World. The Celestial Spirit World refused to accept Celestial Spirits who disobeyed their owner's commands.
He already sensed that soon, he would completely disappear.
Loke smiled at the two and said, "Thank you for listening to me. After telling all of this, I feel much better. Even if I die now, I'll have no regrets."
Takeshi listened quietly to Loke's words, then said indifferently, "Don't worry. With me here, you won't die."