While Magnolia was experiencing battles on two fronts, back at the guild, Levy was working hard trying to decipher Fried's runes, though it was clear she was having trouble. Gajeel and Natsu were playing rock-paper-scissors, having grown too bored to argue; lastly, Makarov was sitting at the table alongside Romeo, who was nervously silent.
"Rock-paper-scissors-shoot! Rock! Tch, damn you, Gajeel!" Cursing under his breath, Natsu glared at Gajeel's hand, which covered his rock, causing the latter to smirk while Natsu demanded a rematch.
"Levy, how is it going?" Breaking his silence, Makarov glanced at Levy, who lowered her head in shame and frustration. "Worse than I thought. I'd underestimated Fried; I would've never considered that his understanding of runes was so advanced." Tapping her magic pen on her notebook, she looked at the barrier while rubbing her temples.
"Urgh, tch, dammit! You must be cheating, you bastard! You're throwing your hand out slower!" Upset at losing, Natsu erupts into anger and slams his head against Gajeel's, who responds with equal ferocity. "Hah!? I ain't cheating fucker! Not my fault that I'm taking my time to throw my hand out; you're just going too fast." "Tch, must be the same reason why I beat you, you tortoise!" "Who are you calling a tortoise!?" "You, you slowpoke!" "You're the tortoise, I'm the hare, you bastard!"
As the two dragon slayers argued about the tortoise and hare while aggressively poking each other's chests, their teeth grinding in anger, Levy, who was trying to focus, suddenly froze before her eyes began widening in a moment of eureka. "That's it!" Hearing Levy's excited voice, the duo stopped arguing and shifted their gaze to her figure, watching as her pen sped across her notebook.
"What's it, Levy? Did you figure it out?" Ignoring Gajeel, Natsu approaches Levy, standing beside her as he looks down at the notebook, prompting Gajeel to do the same on the other side.
"Yes! I've been going about this all wrong! I kept trying to add my own runes to the barrier, but that was wrong. Instead, I need to decipher two separate grammars at different rates, then I need to convert them into another form! After that, it's just a matter of syncing it with the rest of the spell!"
The two Dragon slayers, listening to Levy's enthusiasm, silently nodded, pretending as if they'd understood a single thing that had escaped her mouth.
"Hah, awesome, Levy! Knew you could do it!" Happy that she's made progress, Natsu grinned while flexing his muscles, eager to escape the guild. "Huh, didn't realize you had some worth." Gajeel, nodding with a faint grin, folded his arms, just as eager as Natsu to escape the guild hall.
While Levy was working on getting the two dragon slayers out of the guild, back at the Mall, the battle between Lucy, Cana, and Bickslow had moved to the roof.
Loke, having been summoned by Lucy after Saggitaturs's defeat at Bickslow's hands, uses his magic, Regulus, covering his fists in a golden light, empowering his melee performed with explosive power punches, destroying Bickslow's dolls with a punch.
Lucy and Cana work together to deal with dolls headed their way. Lucy uses her whip to pull in dolls before finishing them with her 'Lucy Kick' while Cana uses her magic cards, summoning a small tsunami and a bolt of lightning or fire and wind.
Cana, noticing Bickslow's arrogance at standing close, slowly backs into Lucy and communicates with her, her voice covered by the sound of battle. "Lucy, try to attack Bickslow; he's not that strong, only his dolls are." Lucy, breaking a doll-manquin with a snap of her whip, briefly glances at Bickslow. "Uhh, if you say so."
Although hesitant, Lucy trusted Cana, and slowly, she made her way closer to the none-the-wiser, Bickslow; once she got within reach, she spun and snapped her whip at him. Having not expected the attack, Bickslow was too slow to react, and the whip hit him squarely in the face, forcing him back while his mask was knocked off.
"Nice, Lucy! Go, Lucy!" Shouting happily, Loke shot Lucy a grin, using the brief respit where the dolls remained locked in place to lunge at Bickslow, who suddenly leaped back, dodging the attack before landing atop a flagpole. "Tch, damn."
As the three regroup, the dolls return to Bickslow, heaving a deep sigh through the silence. "You've really pissed me off." Clenching his fists, he released his magic power, a far cry from what Lucy or Cana is used to experiencing, but it was still very much a threat to them.
"Shit, his mask is gone. Close your eyes, Lucy!" Clicking her tongue, Cana shut her eyes; Loke, already knowing in advance, did the same. Seeing her teammates closing their eyes, Lucy did the same, just in time to miss Bickslow removing his hand, revealing a bloody gash across his face as well as glowing green pupils.
"Hehe, how will you fight back now!?" Recalling his totem dolls from the objects he'd possessed, Bickslow attacked the trio, causing the dolls to be enveloped in a greenish energy while rapidly hitting them.
"U-Ugh, h-how do we counter-attack!?" Lucy, withstanding the onslaught, faced Cana and Luke, both in the same predicament as her. "Hahah, you can't! It's my unbeatable combo!" Laughing Bickslow opened his mouth, sticking his tongue out while raising his hands. True to his words, Loke tries to attack the totem dolls, but his punches hit nothing but air.
"Hah? Ugh, s-sure, whatever you say, Bickslow; I bet Master, Gildarts, Laxus, Cooper, Mira, Erza, and, ugh, Mystogan would agree with you." Hearing Cana's mocking voice despite being pelted with attacks, his delighted expression cracks, replaced with focused fury as he directs a few more attacks at Cana.
"Lucy, summon Horologium. I've got a plan, but I need time!" Loke, trying to shield Cana from some of the attacks, faces Lucy, who just nods, not bothering to question him, as they didn't have the luxury. Returning to Loke, Lucy grabbed another key, summoning Horologium, a large grandfather clock, which both Lucy and Cana had hidden inside, their bodies pressed together.
"Pah, can you get your chest out of my face? I can barely breathe!" Cana, growling in frustration and envy, uses her face to push aside Lucy's breasts. "I'm not doing it on purpose!"
With the two inside Horologium, Bickslows' attacks weren't working, and seeing that, he recalled them to his side, having them enter the same formation that had sent Gray flying through the roof, above his head.
"Baryon formation." As the totem dolls spin in a circle, growing faster and faster, a glove's bright green. "C-Crap!" "Lucy, dispel your spirit!" "We've got to time it!" Tightly holding the silver celestial key, Lucy stares at Bicslow, watching as the attack coalesces into the circle around the totem dolls before being unleashed, prompting her to dispel her spirit just when it was about to hit them.
Although they dodged a direct hit, they were sent flying from the explosion, skidding across the ground in opposite directions. "Haha! Easy!" However, while Bickslow was enjoying his victory, he suddenly sensed a familiar magic power, causing him to glance at Loke, who had managed to gather all of his magic power into his fist.
"D-Dammit." Just as he gathers his dolls into a shield, Loke yells. "Now!" Following his shout, Lucy and Cana, who had been faking, quickly shoot to their feet; Cana throws a card at Bickslow, causing a net to capture his totems while Lucy immobilizes Bickslow with her whip.
Using that chance, Loke opens his palm at Bickslow, launching a large lion-head at Bickslow, enveloping him entirely, only for an unconscious figure to be seen once the dust settled. "Haa, f-finally, I-I'm exhausted." "I need some booze." Regrouping, Cana and Lucy plopped onto the ground beside each other while Loke raised his fist, creating a hologram that read 'I Love Lucy and Cana.' Earning small chuckles from them.
At the same time, on the other side of the Magnolia, Fried, having been pushed into a corner by Gray, Juvia, Laki, and Bisca, had resorted to using a spell he claims to be forbidden, a spell that transforms him into a demon.
"Just fall already!" Furiously, Fried fought the four mages, yet he only managed to bring his disadvantage to a stalemate. "No way in hell!" Gray fired back while freezing Juvia's missed attacks before creating his own attack within, forcing Fried to dodge in from every angle while Laki and Bisca assisted the two from the side.
"Gray, I don't have much magic left." Whispering to Gray while standing unnervingly close, Juvia sported a troubled expression. "Alright then, it's about time we end it. Attack him with everything you've got left. I'll deal with the rest." Completely trusting Gray, Juvia gathered the rest of her magic and summoned a massive tsunami, seemingly trying to drown Fried.
"Too weak!" With a roar, Freid released a sphere of darkness magic, forcing the tsunami away from him while he flew towards them; however, he wasn't able to make it far before the entire tsunami was frozen, along with him. Yet, he didn't remain frozen for long before he managed to break through, only for him to be met with a massive cannon resting on Gray's shoulder.
"This isn't too weak, though." With a faint grin, Gray planted his feet and fired at Fried, the force nearly taking him off his feet.
Barely any time to react, Fried crossed his arms, yet the force was too much for him, and he was sent tumbling out of the air, his form crashing into the ground. Chasing after him, Gray stood at the crater, staring at an unconscious Fried who had reverted to his usual self, causing him to heave a sigh of relief while dispelling the ice-cannon. "Haa, man, that was tough." "Hehe, Gray!" With a grin, Juvia leaped into Gray's embrace, wrapping her arms around his neck.