Chapter 527 - 527: Lucy Is No Longer the Mage She Used to Be

"Ahhh, I need to hurry! If I'm too slow, I'm going to miss Ankh getting back to the guild!"

As evening settled over Magnolia, a blonde figure raced through the streets toward Fairy Tail, muttering anxiously to herself the entire way.

Boats drifted lazily along the canal, and the fishermen called out to her with the same pointless teasing as always.

"Hey, Lucy! Careful running that fast or you'll fall into the river!"

And just like always, Lucy completely ignored them, keeping her head down as she hurried toward the guild.

She had taken a fairly difficult job on short notice that morning, clearing out a village that had been occupied by a band of thieves.

The job had taken considerably longer than expected, and she had only just finished when Levy sent her an urgent message through a communication lacrima.

Ankh was coming back today.

The moment Lucy heard the news, she had rushed home as fast as she could.

In the past, a job like clearing out an entire bandit group would normally have been assigned to a full team.

At the very least, Natsu probably would have gone with her.

Things had changed considerably over the last six months.

Ishgar was now the last of the three continents still relatively untouched by foreign invasion, which meant its external enemies were temporarily being held at bay.

Internally, however, things had become even worse than before.

The guild's request board made that painfully obvious.

Every day brought more pleas for help than the last, and after Fairy Tail began formally cooperating with the Magic Council, the guild also started receiving regular assignments involving disasters, violent incidents, and other problems too difficult for local authorities to handle.

Naturally, everyone's workload had increased.

No one complained.

After the war six months ago, the entire guild had been living with the same tension hanging over them.

Helping the Council protect the place they called home—and getting paid for it at the same time—was hardly something anyone objected to.

As a result, even powerful teams like Natsu's group and the Thunder God Tribe had started splitting up from time to time so they could handle more jobs at once.

Fortunately, Lucy was no longer the inexperienced newcomer who had first walked into Fairy Tail.

After creating Star Dress Magic and continuing to develop it, she had become one of Ishgar's better-known female mages.

Taking down a bandit hideout by herself was hardly beyond her anymore.

As she thought about finally seeing Ankh again after half a year, Lucy couldn't help feeling relieved.

'Once Ankh's back, maybe Natsu and the others will finally calm down a little…'

Still thinking about the guild, she turned sharply into a narrow alley.

It was a shortcut.

Bang!

A gunshot suddenly tore through the quiet street.

Lucy's pupils contracted in shock, but her body reacted before her mind could.

She twisted sideways.

An orange-red streak cut through the darkness beside her.

Months of constant fighting had sharpened Lucy's instincts considerably.

She successfully avoided the shot, though the sudden movement threw her off balance and sent her landing hard on her backside.

The moment she hit the ground, figures appeared from both ends of the alley.

Apparently convinced the ambush had worked, they immediately rushed toward her.

"Nice shot! Got her in one!"

"Hurry up! Same deal as always! You guys get the Magic Power, we get the woman!"

Lucy's surprise vanished instantly.

Anger flashed through her eyes as she pulled out one of her Celestial Spirit Keys.

"Open, Gate of the Golden Bull! Taurus!"

Brilliant golden light filled the alley.

"Moooo!"

The enormous bull spirit appeared with his massive battle-axe already swinging.

One strike sent several charging attackers flying.

Lucy sprang back to her feet and used the moonlight to get a proper look at the people surrounding her.

The ones in front were a group of burly men dressed in ragged black clothing, greed written plainly across their faces.

There were more than a dozen of them—some mages, others ordinary men carrying guns and various weapons.

Behind them stood two mysterious figures in immaculate white robes, their faces hidden beneath deep hoods.

After Taurus sent the first three or four attackers flying, the rest came skidding to a halt.

The alley immediately filled with confused shouting.

Their apparent leader was an especially unfortunate-looking man whose face seemed to have lost a fight with several different blunt objects.

His filthy gaze crawled over Lucy from head to toe before he flashed a mouthful of yellow teeth.

"Hahahaha! And she's a pretty one too! Almost feels like a waste to sell her!"

Lucy's expression turned cold.

"Who the hell are you people?"

"Like we'd tell you, idiot!"

The ugly man's grin disappeared as he waved one hand.

"Get her! And keep her alive—we're having some fun first!"

The men around him practically started drooling.

With delighted howls, they rushed toward Lucy.

One of the white-robed figures reached out and placed a hand on the leader's shoulder.

"Do not forget our agreement."

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

The man waved him off impatiently, lust already burning in his eyes.

"You only want her Magic Power. We'll send her over when we're finished, and then you can take apart whatever pieces you need."

A faint trace of disgust flashed through the white-robed man's eyes.

He said nothing.

All he cared about was fulfilling the doctrine of his cult. Whatever these pieces of trash intended to do afterward was none of his concern.

If they hadn't needed local criminals to help locate suitable targets, they never would have bothered working with people like this in the first place.

Unfortunately for them, while both sides were already thinking about what they would do after capturing Lucy, the fight itself was going in a very different direction.

The supposedly delicate blonde girl was beating the hell out of them.

"Triple Gate!"

Lucy raised another pair of keys.

"Capricorn! Loke!"

Two more bursts of golden light erupted beside Taurus.

Over the past six months, Lucy had trained just as relentlessly as everyone else in Fairy Tail, with particular emphasis on increasing her Magic Power.

Now she had finally reached what was traditionally considered the theoretical limit for a Celestial Spirit Mage—

opening three gates simultaneously.

And thanks to her continued development of Star Dress, her understanding of Celestial Spirit Magic had deepened even further.

Maintaining three spirits at once was no longer something she could only manage as a desperate last resort.

For short periods, she could now use it as a normal part of her fighting style.

What followed was a nightmare for the attackers.

Three overwhelmingly powerful Celestial Spirits tore through them at once.

Taurus charged through the alley swinging his giant axe, sending anyone in his path flying.

Capricorn moved with precise, polished martial arts, slipping through the crowd and knocking several men down with effortless strikes.

Loke blazed with golden light as Regulus Magic erupted around him, scattering enemies left and right.

While the gang leader stared in disbelief, the supposedly helpless blonde changed as well.

Black fabric flowed across Lucy's body, forming an elegant and imposing dress.

Golden kingly light gathered around her fist.

Leo Star Dress.

The ugly man barely had time to register what was happening before Lucy drove her glowing fist straight into him.

"Take this—Lionheart Light: Lucy Punch!"

Boom!

The entire gang that had charged in so confidently was flattened in moments.

Their leader collapsed with the rest, thoroughly defeated by Lucy's questionably named finishing move.

If nothing else, it was undeniable proof of how much she had grown over the past six months.

Lucy brushed herself off and turned toward the only two people still standing.

"I recognize that man from the wanted posters."

Her expression became serious.

"They're a roaming trafficking group. Women, children, illegal organ sales… basically anything they can make money from."

Her eyes narrowed.

"So who are you two?"

The white-robed men had watched her wipe out the entire gang without showing the slightest sign of panic.

Instead, one of them stared at her with open contempt.

Beneath the hood, his face twisted into a sinister expression.

"We are followers of the White Magic Cult."

His voice echoed through the alley.

"Lucy Heartfilia—and Fairy Tail itself."

"You will all be returned to the White Nothingness!"

The cultist smiled in satisfaction when he saw Lucy's expression slowly change.

She looked genuinely shocked.

Then, in the very next second, Lucy suddenly pointed behind him with a delighted expression.

"Ankh?!"

The white-robed man went rigid.

"?!"