Chapter 21 : Erza Scarlet

"Enemy!"

Lucy's heart trembled.

If Knight hadn't pulled her just now, that enormous frying pan would have crushed her.

"No, no. How can you steal from me, young wizard?"

A man with an egg-shaped head stood confidently on the long handle of the frying pan, his posture upright as he looked down from above.

"Brother, don't waste your breath talking to the thief!"

The voice came from behind.

Lucy turned and saw a tall figure falling from the sky, aiming a powerful kick at them.

Knight pulled Lucy again, effortlessly dodging the attack.

With a resounding crash, the figure's foot slammed into the ground, leaving a deep crater.

"Impressive reflexes, wizard."

The younger brother, sporting a cross-shaped afro, remained calm despite missing his mark.

"We are the Panishou brothers from the mercenary guild [Wolf of the South]. Unfortunately for you, you crossed paths with us!"

To Knight, the brothers' magic seemed weak—barely "half a heart" in strength.

"You talk big, but can't you sense the gap between our power?"

At that moment, Lucy pulled out a set of keys from her pocket. Chanting a spell, she called forth her magic:

"I am the one who bridges the path to the Celestial Spirit World. You, answer my call and pass through the gate. Open, Gate of Taurus, Talos!"

A massive, bull-headed celestial spirit wielding a double-edged axe appeared from a golden magic circle.

The Panishou brothers looked stunned.

"A Celestial wizard? And a Zodiac spirit, no less."

"Taros, take them down!" Lucy ordered.

With a thunderous moo, Taros lunged at the brothers, brandishing his axe.

"Moo!"

The ground split as Taros swung his weapon. The brothers barely managed to dodge.

The older brother retaliated, wielding the frying pan like it was weightless, and struck Taurus. Meanwhile, the younger brother charged at Lucy, his fists trained from countless battles.

"The biggest weakness of Celestial wizards? The wizard themselves!" he taunted arrogantly.

But just as he closed in, a hand suddenly gripped his head firmly.

In an instant, his vision flipped.

Before he knew it, his back slammed hard against the ground, sending tremors through the earth.

Boom!

The ground cracked. The once-arrogant younger brother lay there motionless, like a ragdoll.

"What should I call this move?" Knight mused. "Grabbing the target's head and smashing them into the ground… maybe 'Skull Splitter'?"

"Brother!" The elder Panishou, distracted, didn't notice Taurus coming up behind him.

Taurus swung his axe again, this time landing a direct hit.

With a loud groan, the older brother collapsed, unconscious.

"Are these two even trying?" Knight sighed. "Mercenary work must be tough."

"Miss Lucy, your figure is as stunning as ever," Taurus said, looking at her with adoring eyes.

"Yes, yes, thank you. You can go back now," Lucy said hurriedly, waving the key to dismiss him back to the Celestial Spirit World. "Knight, it's done! Let's find the client."

"Not so fast. There's still one more," Knight said.

He walked over to a nearby tree, squatted down, and pressed his hand against the ground.

"Earthquake."

Boom!

The ground erupted, revealing a large crater. At the center of it, Duke Abar lay unconscious.

"That creep!" Lucy exclaimed. "When did he hide underground?"

"Since the moment we left the Duke's mansion. He's been following us."

Knight approached the unconscious Duke, pulling a golden key from his pocket.

"Was I the reason he got caught?" Lucy felt embarrassed. "I thought it was you who got caught stealing the book, Knight."

Suddenly, her eyes widened as she noticed the key in Knight's hand.

"The Virgo Zodiac Key! He's a Celestial wizard too?!"

Lucy recalled the strange maids she had seen at the Duke's mansion earlier. It all made sense now—one of them had been a muscle-bound Celestial spirit.

Her eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Lord Knight~" she cooed.

"Don't even think about it. This is my prize," Knight said, holding up the Virgo key with a smirk. "Virgo, huh? Maybe I should dabble in Celestial magic."

"Celestial magic isn't that easy to master!" Lucy hurried over, practically begging. "I'll buy it off you! Please?"

"With what money?"

"Can I write an IOU...?"

Her tone was desperate, her eyes pleading.

Knight handed her the key, patting her head gently. "Don't worry. It's just 15.997 million J. You'll pay it off soon enough."

"..."

Lucy felt both elated and heartbroken at the same time. The more she owed, the deeper the debt seemed to grow.

"Let's go. The client's waiting," Knight said.

"Yes!"

Not long after, Knight and Lucy found their client, a middle-aged man living in a modest mansion.

The client was shocked to see them return with the book, but he promised to pay. Lucy was confused as to why he would offer 2 million J to destroy such a seemingly insignificant book.

Before destroying it, she skimmed through "Sunrise" and noticed something unusual. On the surface, it appeared to be an amateur adventure novel written by Duke Abar. However, as she read further, she realized it was a magic book—written by a great writer, under duress from the Duke.

The client, upon understanding the truth, broke down in tears. The book had been a gift from the writer's father—his final work.

Understanding its value, the client decided not to destroy it after all.

On their way back in the carriage, Knight remarked, "That mansion wasn't even his. He was just renting it. All for appearances."

"Huh? Really?" Lucy was surprised. "Then isn't it wrong for us to take the 2 million?"

Knight shrugged. "Think of it as teaching him a lesson. Instead of wasting it on vanity, he might as well give it to us."

"Well, that does make sense."

Upon returning to Magnolia, Knight and Lucy entered the guild.

"It's so quiet…"

Lucy glanced around, surprised at the calm atmosphere.

Knight spotted Natsu and Gray, their arms around each other in an unusual display of friendship. Standing in front of them was a tall girl in armor, nodding approvingly.

"Erza Scarlet…"

One of the guild's five S-Class mages, known as the "Fairy Queen."

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