Check out advanced chapters on P@treon: [email protected]/CosmicKaminari
----------
Finally, after another round of Loke's combos all hit their mark, Loke—who'd had his fill—stopped, letting go of Zoldeo, who had already passed out.
"He was soloed by Lucy."
Natsu, who couldn't intervene the whole time, looked at Zoldeo with disdain. "Tch, what Seven Kin of Purgatory? Only the name is intimidating. He's so weak."
Hearing Natsu's sharp comment, Lucy was momentarily unsure how to react, but her victory didn't let down Noah's guidance and Erza's strategic experience.
However, Zoldeo's strength was indeed as Natsu said—not nearly as strong as imagined, completely inconsistent with the power an executive of the strongest Dark Guild, Grimoire Heart, should possess.
If all the Seven Kin of Purgatory were at Zoldeo's level, Lucy felt that her guild could probably wipe out Grimoire Heart with just a few people.
If it were Noah, it might even be possible for him to challenge the entire Grimoire Heart alone.
Noah, unaware of Lucy's thoughts, was currently conversing with the two Human Subordination puppets Zoldeo had summoned.
These two people had quite a reputation.
One was Hero of Rubengard, San Jiao Shin, a hero who led a resistance war to victory a few years ago. The other was Hunter of Belparaso, Samagui, a legendary hunter who guarded the northern lands and could hit targets from any angle.
In the world of magic, to be lauded for martial prowess showed their strength.
However, these two powerful and renowned warriors, who had both suddenly disappeared, were actually ambushed by Zoldeo and became puppets controlled by Human Subordination.
Originally, after Zoldeo lost consciousness, the two heroes would have been forced back into the space attached to Human Subordination, but Noah—out of respect—forcibly kept San Jiao Shin and Samagui present.
San Jiao Shin was a straightforward man, and Noah learned from him that Zoldeo had three more Human Subordination puppets, as well as a Giant he'd recently enslaved, but these people were much weaker than him and Sama Kun.
Samagui, on the other hand, provided Noah with a piece of information: when he was ambushed by Zoldeo in the past and counterattacked, he'd shot Zoldeo in the chest with his superb archery.
At that moment, a figure briefly separated from the Capricorn Celestial Spirit, Capricorn, but immediately returned.
Samagui suspected that Zoldeo had used Human Subordination on Capricorn.
As expected of a legendary hunter—his insight was impeccable.
While observing Lucy and Zoldeo's battle, Noah had also noticed some clues.
Lost Magic, Human Subordination, was a terrifying enslavement magic that could summon the enslaved like Celestial Spirits. It was rumored that this magic was also called "the magic of rulers" and "the magic of kings."
However, this magic could only be used on humans. Using it on other creatures would cause irreversible accidents, just like Zoldeo, who'd fused with the Capricorn Celestial Spirit, Capricorn, and had remained so until now.
Besides marveling at the wonders of magic, where all sorts of strange things could merge, Noah also wanted to complain about the Celestial Spirit King.
This guy really didn't care about anything. Even if the flow of time in the Celestial Spirit World was different from Earth Land, Capricorn hadn't returned to the Celestial Spirit World for over two hundred days.
Didn't he even look for him?
With such a negligent king, the Celestial Spirits were truly blessed.
Having talked enough with the two heroes, Noah had to deal with the main business. There was only one way to free the Capricorn Celestial Spirit and the Human Subordination puppets controlled by Zoldeo at the moment.
That was death.
Because forcibly using Human Subordination on Capricorn violated the taboos of magic, causing a problem with this spell. Once enslaved, even Zoldeo himself couldn't undo it.
So only Zoldeo's death could completely end Human Subordination.
However, Noah didn't intend to let Zoldeo die painlessly.
After consulting his companions, especially Lucy, Noah cast the mental magic, Nightmare, which he'd previously used on Jose and Jiemma, on Capricorn's body.
It was a dream that would cause no harm to Capricorn, but for the other person inside his body, it was a desperate, inescapable situation.
After all, Zoldeo had done too many evil deeds.
As the Nightmare magic sank into the Capricorn Celestial Spirit's body, a tragic, desperate scream emanated from within him.
Everyone only saw a man's phantom painfully twisting, constantly separating from Capricorn's body—it was Zoldeo's form gradually returning to its original shape.
But even as a phantom, everyone could clearly see the terrified expression on Zoldeo's face.
"No!"
"Miss Layla, I was wrong for not keeping my promise. Please let me go, let me go! I'll definitely turn over a new leaf."
"Grammi, killing you was too impulsive of me. I apologize to you. I really don't want your daughter to become an orphan..."
"No! Don't come any closer!"
"Ahh! It hurts so much... It hurts so much... It's killing me!"
"I don't want to die! I don't want to die!"
"Someone save me..."
"..."
The screams gradually subsided, and Zoldeo completely separated from Capricorn, but the moment his body recovered, it instantly collapsed and disappeared.
Having violated the taboos of magic, death was only a matter of time for Zoldeo—Noah merely accelerated the process.
For someone like Zoldeo, what else could be said but that he deserved it?
As for why they didn't extract information about Grimoire Heart from Zoldeo—
Could a halfway joiner, an ambitious opportunist, know more than Ultear, who was personally recruited and trained by Grimoire Heart's master, Hades, from a young age?
Due to the death of his contractor, Capricorn—who'd been unable to return to the Celestial Spirit World for so long—instantly became extremely weak without magic support.
But Capricorn didn't immediately heed Loke's advice to return to the Celestial Spirit World. Instead, he forced his weakened body to respectfully kneel before Lucy.
"Miss Lucy, Zoldeo and I once had an agreement with your mother."
"If you embarked on the path of a Celestial Spirit Mage, Zoldeo would return the Capricorn Key and let me fight for you."
"Now that Zoldeo is dead, are you willing to let me be your Celestial Spirit?"
Lucy was, of course, willing. This was an agreement between her mother and Capricorn, and as her daughter, she naturally had to fulfill it. Moreover, with only Capricorn remaining, she would have gathered all the Zodiac Celestial Spirits.
There was even less reason to refuse.
Taking the Capricorn Key offered by Capricorn, the blonde girl recited the contract without hesitation.
"I am the one who connects the path to the Celestial Spirit World."
"Answer my call and pass through the Gate! Open! Gate of the Goat, Capricorn!"
After more than ten years, the Capricorn Celestial Gate finally opened again.
Capricorn bowed slightly to Lucy, then turned and entered the Gate home.
What a perfectly gentlemanly Celestial Spirit. Even though he was so weak it was life-threatening, he still maintained respect and politeness.
In contrast, a certain Leo... Noah squinted at Loke, who was slinging his arm around Gray, making Juvia envious, jealous, and resentful.
The leader of the Zodiac Celestial Spirits was such a slacker—it was truly disgraceful.
"Hey, Noah, are you secretly badmouthing me?"
"Have you learned to read minds, Loke?"
"Bastard, when you look down on me, at least don't look directly at me!"
To avoid being underestimated, Loke chose to challenge Noah.
One second later, everyone looked at Loke, who was sprawled on the ground, and fell silent.
-------
Just dropped a new Hollywood fanfic! Follow a transmigrated producer navigating deals, auditions, and the cutthroat film industry in 1990s LA. Updates ongoing