Chapter 69: Chapter 69: Ascension – Phantom Lord Arc (Part 3)
"So that's how it is."
Juvia turned around calmly, gazing at the blonde girl in front of her.
Faced with the scrutiny of two strange people, Lucy instinctively stepped back, having caught a key word in their conversation—
"Target?"
"Precisely, the lovely Miss Lucy Heartfilia," the green-haired man said with a deep bow and a bizarre grin. "Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Sol of the Earth, one of the Element Four of the Phantom Lord guild. I have come to sincerely invite you to be our guest."
Despite the bow being polite in form, Sol's flamboyant attire and over-the-top tone made the entire scene come across as deeply disturbing.
If one had to describe it in a word… it would be creepy.
Yes, it turns out that in this case, "gentleman" equaled "creep."
"And this is another of the Element Four, known as Juvia of the Sea~ Miss Juvia~~"
"Phantom Lord's Element Four… you're the ones who attacked our guild!"
Lucy's grip loosened, and the bag of bread and fruit in her arms fell into the puddle with a splash.
A flash of tension appeared on her pretty face, and her right hand instinctively moved toward the keyring at her waist.
Within the Kingdom of Fiore, both Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord were among the most powerful magic guilds—and long-time rivals.
Recently, this rivalry had flared to a breaking point.
Just days ago, Phantom Lord launched a sudden assault on Fairy Tail's headquarters, leaving the building in ruins and several members gravely injured—some of them even crucified to a giant tree in the city park.
Witnessing their comrades harmed, Fairy Tail's mages were driven into a frenzy.
Today, almost the entire guild had stormed Phantom Lord's base, leaving only a few lower-tier combatants behind to tend to the wounded.
Lucy was one of them.
And now the strongest members of Phantom Lord, the Element Four, had come after her?
Before Lucy could even reach her keyring, a thin jet of water shot through the air and knocked it out of reach, sending it clattering across the ground.
The next moment—
Rain droplets in the air rapidly gathered together and formed a massive sphere of water nearly three meters in diameter, encasing Lucy completely.
The water sphere hovered midair with incredible resilience. No matter how hard Lucy struggled, she couldn't break free.
"Mm-mm!!" she cried, holding her breath, her panicked eyes locking on the blue-haired girl under the umbrella.
"Give up. Juvia's Water Lock spell is impossible to escape," said Juvia calmly.
"Juvia won't kill you. Just come with us to Phantom Lord… drip drip drip…"
"Mm-mm!!"
Trapped inside the sphere, Lucy's struggles grew weaker. Lacking air, her consciousness began to fade…
---
Meanwhile…
"So this is magic in this world?" Tsunade muttered, brows furrowed. "They're casting without hand seals or incantations, and controlling water like it's second nature. It's even simpler than a kekkei genkai."
Hidden on the second floors of the wooden buildings flanking the alley, the Legendary Sannin had been silently observing everything.
From the conversation, they had already confirmed the identities of their targets—those involved in the main mission.
Orochimaru said nothing, his eyes filled with curiosity.
Seeing Lucy unconscious and released from the water sphere, Jiraiya watched as she collapsed into a puddle with a splash.
"That's enough. If we don't act now, we'll fail the mission," Jiraiya said, voice low and serious.
"Remember, if they're too strong to fight head-on, just grab Lucy and run."
Perhaps the trauma from Garp during their first mission had left a deep impression, but the Sannin had clearly become far more cautious during Ascension missions.
Though these two Phantom Lord mages didn't seem particularly powerful, they knew better than to judge without firsthand experience.
What if another monster like Garp showed up midway again?
Preparation is survival.
"Rokushiki: Soru."
Tsunade's feet tapped the wall several times in a blink. The force instantly shattered the connected wall sections into stone powder.
Bang!
A sonic boom echoed.
Using the boost, Tsunade activated the Body Flicker Technique—her movement a streak of golden lightning flashing across the air.
It was a hybrid of the Marine's "Soru" and the Leaf's Body Flicker Technique.
In a true instant, she crossed the distance between buildings, closing in before the enemy could react.
If not for the frailty of human bodies, she could've moved even faster.
Juvia stepped forward, just about to lift the unconscious Lucy, when a figure appeared in front of her.
Her pupils shrank.
A tall, golden-haired woman appeared out of nowhere, her long ponytail flowing behind her.
Her fist, seemingly pale and delicate, suddenly came crashing down with incredible weight before Juvia could even react.
"Monster Strength."
The moment the words left her mouth—
BOOM!
A thunderous impact erupted.
The ground in front of Tsunade's punch—nearly ten meters of cobblestone—shattered into rubble, and the alley walls collapsed on both sides.
It was only Tsunade's expert control that saved Lucy behind her from being turned to paste.
Landing lightly, Tsunade remained vigilant. "Jiraiya, protect Lucy."
"Why is it always me…" Jiraiya grumbled, but he quickly scooped Lucy into his arms and leapt onto the roof.
Given that the enemies specialized in Earth and Water, with Tsunade already engaging one of them, Orochimaru was best suited to deal with the earth-user.
After all, alongside his summoning and forbidden techniques, Orochimaru also excelled at Earth Style jutsu.
Just as Jiraiya retreated—
A watery voice echoed through the air.
"Juvia is the Rain Woman. Her body is made of water. Physical attacks can't hurt Juvia."
Rain droplets coalesced in the air and quickly formed the shape of a girl.
As the water turned blue, Juvia reappeared on the ground. She frowned, now seeing the strangers who had intervened.
"Are you Fairy Tail mages?"
"No, no, no~" Sol emerged from a pile of rubble, his voice grating.
Compared to Juvia's pristine form, Sol looked disheveled—his green hair like a bird's nest, and his face covered in dust.
"I've memorized all the strong members of Fairy Tail… but you three aren't among them."
"But it doesn't matter now. Since you dare interfere with the mission of Lord Sol and Lady Juvia, you'll pay dearly for it!"
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