Mira leaned in curiously. "Does summoning Aquarius require water?"
"You bet!" Lucy perked up, momentarily forgetting her earlier embarrassment. "Aquarius is the strongest Celestial Spirit I've got! She used to only be summonable near water, like a secret weapon."
"But after we beat that enemy and I got water magic, I trained hard for weeks. I still can't use it to attack, but I can create a small water orb now! That means I can summon her anytime, anywhere!"
She added under her breath, "Though sometimes summoning her is scarier than the enemy."
Natsu looked enviously at the crowd sprawled across the hall. "That move must've earned you a ton of magic power! Who knew there were so many wizards here?"
He leaned back, hands behind his head. "Lucy, since your magic power's so weak, you don't have to hold back. You can just go all out. Lucky you."
"Not sure if that's a compliment or an insult," Lucy muttered, rolling her eyes. But she quickly got lost in the thrill of her newfound power. Thirty-two thousand points! It was the first time she'd gained such a massive amount of magic power at once!
"Even if Aquarius is gonna chew me out later, it was worth it!" she said, clenching her fists, her eyes gleaming with excitement.
She pulled out a silver key and twirled it in front of her.
"Open the Gate of Lyra! Lyra!"
Ding!
A girl with long, golden hair and a pink hood appeared, cradling a massive harp. She waved her hands so fast they blurred, her face lit up with a huge smile. "Lucy! It's been forever!!"
Lucy grinned back. "Hey, Lyra!"
"Ugh, seriously~" Lyra propped her cheek in one hand and playfully tapped Lucy's shoulder with the other, pouting. "You haven't summoned me in ages! I wanna be more active, you know!"
"Me? Neglectful?" Lucy gave her a flat look. "When we made our contract, you said I could only summon you three days a month."
"Huh?" Lyra blinked, tilting her head. "Did I say that?"
Happy, hovering nearby, had three black lines over his head. "Yup, none of Lucy's spirits are normal."
Lyra brushed it off and eagerly lifted her harp. "Whatever! So, what song do you want me to sing today, Lucy?"
Lucy pointed at the crowd, their eyes swirling dizzily. "Can you sing that lullaby we got before? The one that puts people to sleep?"
"Lullaby?" Lyra thought for a moment, then her face lit up. "Oh! You mean that song that popped into my head that makes people sleepy?"
She looked amazed. "This is the first time I've met a Celestial Wizard who could give a spirit new magic!"
Lucy sighed. "Honestly, it's my first time too."
Lyra's enthusiasm surged. She placed her fingers on the harp strings. "Alright, here we go~!"
Her slender fingers danced across the strings, producing a soft, flowing melody. Her clear, ethereal voice filled the now-quiet hall:
"Bubble, bubble, ripples float so light~"
"Swish, swish, waters sway in flight~"
"The sun rises here to greet the morn~"
A gentle green glow spread with her song and music, bathing the room in a warm, sunlight-like aura.
Almost everyone couldn't help but smile, their tense shoulders relaxing.
Erza crossed her arms, a hint of admiration in her eyes. "What a beautiful voice."
Millianna practically melted, her expression blissful. "It's like basking in warm sunlight. So cozy, meow~"
As she spoke, her body swayed, and with a thud, she collapsed onto the floor, smiling sweetly in her sleep.
"Huh?" Happy struggled to keep his eyes open. "Why… do I suddenly feel so sleepy…?"
Lucy, pinching her arm to fight the overwhelming drowsiness, explained sluggishly, "Lyra's lullaby affects everyone in range. It makes you sleepy. If your magic power's lower than mine, you'll pass out. If it's higher, you just feel relaxed."
Happy's body wobbled. "Lucy's magic doesn't even spare her allies. That's… such a lame skill~"
"Shut up!" Lucy snapped, her brain feeling like mush. "It's the only group sleep spell I've got! You need a control skill to finish off enemies!"
"If you're so great, why don't you have crazy strong magic like Roger and the others?!"
Before she could finish, Happy faceplanted with a thud, snoring softly.
A few minutes later, the song faded. Lucy finally let go of her bruised arm and let out a long breath. "Phew. I need to figure out how to channel Lyra's power into 'clothing' like Roger did. If I fall asleep first next time I'm fighting enemies, I'm done for."
She stepped forward to check on the crowd but froze. The sleeping cultists were frowning, their bodies emitting an ominous black glow.
"What's happening?!" Lucy yelped, quickly grabbing another key and eyeing them warily.
The black glow flickered for a moment before slowly fading. As it dissipated halfway, the cultists' furrowed brows relaxed, their frenzied expressions replaced by calm. They sank into an even deeper sleep.
"Huh?" Lucy blinked. "What just happened?"
"Maybe…" Lyra said thoughtfully, looking at the crowd, "my song has a purifying effect on people's hearts?"
"What?!" Lucy's jaw dropped. "Are you serious? It didn't do that last time!"
Lyra smiled. "That's because your magic power's gotten way stronger since then."
"How much power a spirit can use depends a lot on their summoner."
"The stronger you are, the more complete and powerful our abilities become."
"My magic power…" Lucy trailed off, suddenly remembering the notification in her mind. Her eyes widened in shock. "That's right! I gained a ton of magic power earlier! I summoned you after that! So the boost unlocked a new ability?!"
"Wait! Does that mean my other spirits will be stronger too?!" Lucy's eyes sparkled, itching to test every key she had.
Then she noticed Natsu, snoring soundly on the ground, and tilted her head. "But why did Natsu get knocked out? His magic power's way higher than mine."
Gray, arms crossed, snickered and nodded toward Natsu, who was drooling in his sleep. "That blockhead's so simple-minded, the moment he relaxes, he's out like a light."
Lucy's mouth twitched. "Talk about… impressive sleep quality."
"But seriously," she said, looking at the sleeping teens, "that black glow only faded halfway. Does that mean their hearts were only half-purified?"
"Exactly," Lyra said, stepping closer and nodding. "Your magic power isn't strong enough yet, so the purification effect couldn't fully kick in."
"Why are you still here?" Lucy asked, curious. "Don't you usually zip back to the Celestial Spirit World after singing?"
"Well~" Lyra gave her shoulder a playful pat, blushing slightly. "I'm not that eager to leave~ Actually, I wanted to talk about adjusting our contract time."
"Maybe you could summon me just a tiny bit more~"
"Huh?" Lucy blinked. "I mean, sure, but don't you have performances to do in the Celestial Spirit World?"
"I'm an entertainment spirit, after all," Lyra said, her cheeks flushing with excitement. "I've never really fought before!"
She glanced at the pile of sleeping people, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction. "My music's always been about soothing hearts, but this is the first time it's had a sleep-inducing effect!!"
Looking at the unconscious crowd, she felt an unexpected sense of accomplishment. "If I could use my songs to knock out enemies on the battlefield, I'd be the greatest Lyra in Celestial Spirit history!"
"I might even become famous among the entire Lyra family!!" Her voice grew more animated, her whole body practically buzzing with ambition.
"Uh, wow," Lucy said, a bead of sweat rolling down her forehead. "I didn't know you had such big dreams."
"That's… unexpected."
"So, what's the new summoning schedule?"
Lyra looked up thoughtfully. "Three days a week! You can summon me three days every week."
"What?!" Lucy gaped, certain she'd misheard. "Three days a week? It used to be three days a month!"
"It's way more fun in the human world!" Lyra said, her form dissolving into golden sparkles. She waved enthusiastically. "Find me more cool magic to play with, Lucy! See ya next time!"
The light faded, and she was gone.
"So willful…" Lucy sighed, staring at the empty space.
Roger stepped forward, intrigued. "Can a spirit's summoning time be changed just like that?"
Lucy perked up, explaining, "Yup! But it usually has to be the spirit's idea for it to take effect."
"If a Celestial Wizard tries to change it on their own, it breaks the Celestial Spirit World's rules, and the spirit might end their contract."
Roger nodded in understanding, and Lucy pointed at the unconscious crowd, looking troubled. "So… what do we do with them?"
Roger didn't answer. He simply waved his right hand, and an identical phantom of himself appeared beside him.
The unconscious cultists floated off the ground as if lifted by invisible hands, drifting in an orderly line through the hole in the wall toward the distant sea.
The phantom leaped after them, following closely.
"The phantom will handle the rest," Roger said, turning. "Let's head upstairs and deal with Reimir."
Everyone nodded. Gray smirked mischievously and walked over to the still-sleeping Natsu, delivering two sharp slaps. "Yo, flame-brain! Get up! Time to go!"
When Natsu didn't budge, Gray slapped him harder a few more times.
Finally, Natsu sat up groggily, clutching his face, which sported bright red handprints. "Ow… what happened?"
"Nothing," Gray said innocently. "You just passed out, and I was nice enough to wake you up."
"You? Nice?" Natsu narrowed his eyes, unconvinced.
Seeing the handprints, Gray's mood lifted even more. "Believe what you want."
Natsu's head sprouted three giant question marks. "This guy didn't even argue back?! He definitely did something to me!!"
Meanwhile, Simon, who'd barely resisted the lullaby's effects, was about to wake Wally and Millianna the old-fashioned way when Lucy called out, "Oh, by the way, normal methods won't wake people affected by Lyra's lullaby. They'll sleep for three hours before waking naturally."
"Natsu only woke up because he fell asleep on his own, so it doesn't count."
As Simon pondered how to move them, Roger raised his hand, casting three soft, milky-white beams of light over Wally, Millianna, and Happy.
Purify.
Wally and Millianna stirred, yawning as they slowly opened their eyes.
Happy's nose bubble popped, and his eyes shot open. "My fish!!!"
He rubbed his eyes, looking around in confusion. "Huh? Wasn't I sitting on a giant pile of fish? Where am I?"
The surroundings jogged his memory. "Oh, right! We're in the Tower of Heaven! I got knocked out by Lucy's weird spirit!!"
Lucy's forehead twitched. "You don't need to call her 'weird,' you dumb cat!"
Happy smacked his lips, savoring the memory. "That dream was so awesome, though… I wanna go back and finish it…"
Lucy smirked proudly. "Lyra's lullaby makes you dream nice dreams you don't want to wake from. If my magic power was stronger, I could make people sleep for three days straight!"
"Lucy~" Happy flew up, grinning mischievously and pointing toward the door. "Keep explaining, and everyone's gonna leave you behind~"
"Huh?" Lucy turned and saw the others already halfway down the hall, nearly out of sight.
"Wait for me!!" she shouted, scrambling after them.
Following Simon's lead, they climbed the spiraling staircase toward the top of the tower, where Reimir awaited.
After a while, Happy glanced at the empty corridors. "No one's coming to stop us?"
Simon explained, "The Tower of Heaven's main defense is the outer magic barrier, plus the cultists inside."
"The ones in the judgment hall were pretty much the last of their main forces."
"Now, except for Reimir at the top, there shouldn't be any other enemies."
No Trinity Raven, Roger thought. In the original story, Jellal had planned for years to kidnap Erza. But we're launching a surprise attack. They didn't have time to react or hire assassins from a dark guild, so their forces are weaker.
"So lame," Natsu grumbled, kicking the wall. "I thought I'd get a real fight. Should've stayed at the casino playing slots."
Gray smirked, arms crossed. "Yeah, so you could go broke when we get back."
"Ha!" Natsu's veins popped. "You lost to Cana, and you're mocking me?!"
"Here they go again," Lucy muttered, then glanced around curiously. "But seriously, is it okay for us to be this relaxed? It's like we're on a stroll. What if Reimir escapes?"
"He won't," Erza said firmly. "This tower is the result of twelve years of his effort."
"Now that the Council's onto him, if he's dead-set on reviving Zeref, he'll have to stick to his plan no matter what."
Mira, hands behind her back, spoke with a faint trace of pity. "A plan that took twelve years, ruined just like that."
"If it were me, for safety's sake, I'd use the cultists already here as sacrifices to channel magic power instead of risking going outside for more."
Lucy shivered and instinctively stepped away from Mira. Yup, Mira's terrifying!
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