Fairy Tail: The Uncrowned King of Magic

Chapter 175: Chapter 175

"Congratulations to Lucy on officially becoming a member of Fairy Tail!"

"CHEERS!"

"Thank you! Thank you, everyone!"

Lucy had finally passed Fairy Tail’s membership assessment the previous week, graduating from her provisional status and becoming a full-fledged member of the guild.

At long last, she had earned the right to receive Fairy Tail’s guild mark!

To celebrate, Marshall had thrown a party for her at Cake Tower, and naturally, a huge number of their friends had shown up.

At least, Lucy initially believed they had come to congratulate her.

She soon discovered that congratulating Lucy was merely the excuse.

The important part was gaining unrestricted access to the food, alcohol, games, and entertainment inside Cake Tower!

Her brief happiness at realizing how popular she apparently was lasted all of several minutes.

Soon enough, half the guild was stuffing themselves with meat and alcohol while the other half sang, danced, wrestled, gambled, or gathered into their usual little social circles.

Everyone seemed to be having a fantastic time, yet almost nobody was paying attention to the supposed star of the party.

There were more people gathered around Wendy feeding little Sloth than there were people talking to Lucy!

Lucy felt tears gathering in her eyes.

She wanted to be popular too!

"Lucy, Lucy! You know so much! That’s amazing!"

Lucy immediately brightened.

Finally!

Someone was praising her!

She turned around with a delighted smile—

only to see a crowd gathered around Greed, laughing and chatting happily with the miniature Lucy.

They hadn’t been complimenting her at all!

Even Marshall’s Apostle was more popular than she was?!

Lucy’s shoulders collapsed.

At last, she was forced to accept the cruel reality that despite being the protagonist of today’s celebration, she was somehow still background scenery.

She quietly retreated into an abandoned corner and began mourning her social standing.

...

Elsewhere, Marshall had finally escaped a group of overly enthusiastic older girls who insisted on fussing over him whenever they got the chance.

As he passed through one of the quieter corners of the party, he noticed a familiar blonde figure sitting by herself with a visibly depressed expression.

"Lucy?"

Lucy looked up.

Marshall tilted his head innocently.

"Why are you hiding over here by yourself? Aren’t you going to enjoy the party?"

The completely innocent question stabbed directly into Lucy’s heart.

She looked at him pitifully.

"Marshall..."

Her eyes watered.

"(╥_╥) Nobody wants to play with me."

Marshall nearly laughed.

"Levy was with me earlier, but then she suddenly started acting all mysterious and disappeared somewhere. I don’t even know where she went."

"Oh?"

Marshall was just about to make fun of Lucy’s tragic popularity when a telepathic report suddenly arrived from the Gugas assigned to monitor—

’Ahem.’

[Boss! Report! Miss Levy has just infiltrated Boss’s bedroom!]

Marshall stopped.

’?’

[What is she doing?]

A moment later—

[Report! Miss Levy is rolling around on Boss’s bed!]

"..."

Marshall stared blankly ahead.

Lucy noticed immediately.

"Marshall?"

He didn’t respond.

Then another message arrived.

[Boss! Miss Levy has infiltrated Boss’s wardrobe!]

’?’

Marshall’s confusion deepened.

[Report! Miss Levy has stolen one of Boss’s personal undergarments!]

’???’

A vein almost appeared on Marshall’s forehead.

’What the hell is Levy doing?!’

"Marshall? Marshall?"

Lucy waved a hand in front of his face.

"What happened? Say something!"

Marshall took a deep breath.

Whatever bizarre operation Levy was conducting upstairs could wait.

He had come looking for Lucy because he actually had something important to discuss with her.

"So, Lucy."

Lucy blinked at the sudden change in subject.

Marshall smiled.

"I heard that during the Phantom Lord battle, you defeated Kisame with Aquarius."

Lucy stared at him.

"That happened ages ago."

Her expression became increasingly unimpressed.

"You’re only mentioning it now? Kisame—well, Gill—is practically about to become an official Fairy Tail member himself."

Marshall coughed awkwardly.

"I’ve been spending most of my time buried in the laboratory lately. I haven’t exactly been hanging around the guild."

Then he smiled.

"What I’m trying to say is that your Celestial Spirit Magic is pretty good."

Lucy immediately perked up.

"Of course it is! My mother was one of the finest Celestial Spirit Mages in all of Fiore!"

Marshall smiled awkwardly, then casually steered the conversation toward his actual target.

"Lucy, what do you think the relationship between a Celestial Spirit Mage and their Spirits should be?"

Lucy blinked.

"That came out of nowhere."

"I was just thinking about it. You seem really close to your Spirits."

Lucy’s expression softened.

"They’re my companions."

She smiled warmly.

"I grew up around Celestial Spirits, so I’ve always thought of them as family."

Marshall nodded thoughtfully.

"I see."

Lucy looked at him.

"You get along with Celestial Spirits really well too. Virgo especially seems to love spending time with you."

"Me?"

Marshall considered it.

"I get along with them, sure, but I wouldn’t say I treat them like family. They’re friends."

Lucy seemed surprised.

"For me, relationships with people are still more important."

"Huh?"

Lucy frowned.

"Why? Celestial Spirits aren’t really different from humans, are they?"

"You misunderstood me."

Marshall shook his head.

"I obviously recognize Celestial Spirits as independent people with their own souls. That isn’t what I meant."

He paused, searching for the right way to explain himself.

"It’s just that Spirits can potentially remain around for an incredibly long time. Compared with them, the people beside me have much more limited lives."

His smile became slightly embarrassed.

"So naturally, I spend more thought and effort on the people who are here with me right now."

Lucy stared at him.

Marshall continued.

"You don’t deliberately spend every day trying to please your Celestial Spirits either, right?"

"Eh?"

Lucy froze.

She opened her mouth.

Then slowly closed it again.

Actually...

Marshall had a point.

Lucy loved her Spirits and sincerely thought of them as companions, but most of the time she only summoned them when she needed them.

Outside of those moments, she naturally focused on her own life, her guildmates, her work, and whatever was happening around her.

If that was the case...

Did she really have the right to casually call herself their family?

Lucy’s shoulders drooped.

"Okay..."

She looked a little discouraged.

"Maybe saying they’re family is too grand when I don’t actually spend that much time with them."

She sighed.

"But I guess there’s no helping that. We all have our own lives."

Marshall immediately gave her a reassuring smile.

"You’re already doing very well."

Lucy looked up.

"Compared with certain Celestial Spirit Mages who treat their Spirits like slaves, you’re practically a saint."

Lucy’s eyes widened.

"What?!"

She sat up straight.

"There are Celestial Spirit Mages like that?"

"Of course."

Marshall’s expression became more serious.

"I heard about one who used to belong to Blue Pegasus. Her name was Karen Lilica."

And with that, Marshall began telling Lucy the story of Karen, Aries, and Leo.

By the time he finished, Lucy was furious.

"What kind of horrible woman does that?!"

She slammed both hands against the table.

"I refuse to acknowledge someone like that as a Celestial Spirit Mage!"

Then something else occurred to her.

Her anger immediately became anxiety.

"Marshall!"

She started pacing around him.

"What happened afterward? What happened to Leo and Aries?"

Lucy stopped directly in front of him.

"You saved them, right?"

Marshall shook his head.

"Unfortunately, no."

Lucy froze.

"Karen eventually died on a job after losing Leo’s assistance."

Marshall’s voice became quieter.

"And because Leo’s actions indirectly caused the death of his contract holder, he violated the laws of the Celestial Spirit World."

Lucy’s expression slowly changed.

"The Celestial Spirit King permanently exiled him from the Spirit World."

"What...?"

"The last time I encountered Leo, he was already close to death."

Marshall sighed.

"By now, he’s probably almost reached his limit."

Lucy’s face flushed red with anger.

"That’s ridiculous!"

She shot to her feet.

"What kind of law is that?! What did Leo even do wrong?!"

Her fists clenched.

"He was protecting Aries!"

Lucy’s voice rose.

"Is there something wrong with the Celestial Spirit King’s head?!"

Marshall sighed heavily.

"Leo himself accepted the punishment."

He spread his hands.

"At this point, what can anyone do?"

"No!"

Lucy immediately rejected that.

"I won’t accept an ending like that!"

She grabbed Marshall by the shoulders.

"Can you take me to Leo?"

Marshall blinked.

"Lucy?"

"I want to save him!"

"But what could we possibly do?"

Marshall looked doubtful.

"That’s a law of the Celestial Spirit World. Neither of us has authority over it."

"How will we know unless we try?!"

Lucy refused to back down.

"If we explain everything properly to the Celestial Spirit King, maybe he’ll change Leo’s punishment!"

Marshall studied her for a moment.

"You’re sure?"

"I’m sure!"

There wasn’t the slightest hesitation in her answer.

Marshall smiled.

"All right."

He extended one hand.

"Hold on."

Lucy took it.

Space immediately folded and her surroundings disappeared.

One blink later, Cake Tower was gone.

When Lucy opened her eyes again, she found herself standing before an enormous golden lion.

Or rather... what remained of one.

The great beast was painfully thin. Its ribs stood out beneath its golden fur, and its once-powerful body had wasted away until it looked as though a strong wind might knock it over.

There was so little strength left in him that Lucy instinctively felt he could die at any moment.

Her eyes widened.

"This..."

She swallowed.

"This is Leo?"

The great lion slowly opened his eyes.

When he spoke, his voice sounded old and exhausted.

"Marshall... my friend."

His gaze settled on the boy.

"To see you again before the end... I suppose I’m fortunate."

Leo gave a faint, weary smile.

"Did you come all this way to see me off?"

Marshall’s expression became somber.

"Leo."

He crouched beside him.

"So you finally can’t hold on any longer?"

"No."

Leo’s eyes slowly closed again.

"I believe tonight will be my last."

There was no fear in his voice, only resignation.

"Soon, I’ll begin my final voyage and return to the sea of stars."

He breathed slowly.

"It seems the time has come for us to say goodbye, my friend."

Marshall lowered his head.

"I see."

His voice carried obvious regret.

"That’s a shame."

Leo opened one eye as Marshall glanced toward Lucy.

"I actually wanted to introduce you to Fairy Tail’s Celestial Spirit Mage."

Lucy stiffened.

"She’s nothing like Karen. She’s a genuinely good girl who cares deeply about Celestial Spirits."

Leo followed his gaze.

"So that’s her..."

The old lion’s expression softened.

"What a pity."

He closed his eyes again.

"If I had met a contract holder like that... perhaps things might have been different."

He gave a quiet sigh.

"But my life ends here."

"I’ll carry my sin with me."

Lucy couldn’t listen any longer.

"DON’T GIVE UP!"

Leo’s eyes snapped open and Lucy stepped forward.

"Leo! If you return to the Celestial Spirit World, you can keep living, right?!"

She clenched both fists.

"Then don’t just lie there waiting to disappear!"

Her eyes burned with determination.

"You didn’t do anything wrong!"

Leo stared at her.

Lucy raised one hand.

"Hold on!"

"I’ll get you back into the Celestial Spirit World!"

Magic surged through her body.

"Forced Gate Opening!"

A magical circle began forming beneath her feet.

"Open, Gate of the Lion!"

Lucy thrust her hand forward.

"LEO!"

Leo’s exhausted expression changed.

"This..."

He shook his head weakly.

"It won’t work."

The space around him trembled but refused to open.

"I betrayed my contract holder. I’ve been forbidden from returning to the Celestial Spirit World."

His voice became gentler.

"Don’t waste your magic."

"You don’t even possess my Gold Key."

"Without it, you cannot open my Gate."

Lucy gritted her teeth.

"No."

More magic poured from her.

"That isn’t what Celestial Spirit Magic is supposed to be!"

The ground beneath her began trembling.

Leo’s eyes widened as Lucy’s magic rose higher.

A vast magical circle unfolded above her, far larger than anything she had produced before, its intricate lines spreading across the sky.

"You’re not guilty!"

Lucy shouted through the rising wind.

"And if the laws of the Celestial Spirit World say you are—"

Her hair whipped around her face as the surrounding space began to distort.

"—THEN I’LL CHANGE THE LAW!"

"OPEN!"

The magical circle blazed.

"GATE OF THE LION!"

A violent wind erupted around them.

Space shuddered.

The sky itself seemed to darken as though a curtain had suddenly descended over the world.

Then—

one star appeared.

Another.

Hundreds.

Thousands.

The heavens filled with brilliant constellations, their light cascading across the earth as an immense presence descended through the impossible Gate Lucy had forced open.

Marshall slowly looked upward.

Leo stared in stunned silence.

And beneath the radiant sky—the Celestial Spirit King appeared.