Three days later.
The guild had returned to its usual boisterous state, but with an added permanent focal point—Christian, a blue Slime that floated near the bar and occasionally stuck to Lucy's shoulder.
Its body had recovered to the size of a large yoga ball, the cracks on its surface had completely disappeared, its gelatinous form had become crystal clear again, and the light in its core was stable and profound. Only with careful perception could one detect a faint, almost imperceptible hint of purple within the blue, a subtle change brought about by its Curse Resistance.
"Chris! Try this!" Natsu, persistent as ever, handed over a glowing red iron block, heated by his flames.
"This contains the magical essence of a Fire Dragon!"
Christian extended a small portion of its gelatinous body and enveloped the iron block.
Sizzle… White smoke rose. The iron block rapidly cooled, shrank, and finally vanished.
"Notification: Absorbing high-temperature metal (trace)… Gaining a slight increase in 'High-Temperature Resistance'… Slight increase in Fire Resistance…"
"How does it taste?" Natsu asked expectantly.
"Information recorded: high temperature… iron oxide… trace sulfur… Texture: none. Taste: none," Christian replied matter-of-factly.
"Your Dragon Slayer Magic… attachment is too low… almost no residue. Suggestion… directly release flames… more efficient… but my Magic Power is too low to analyze it now."
"Tch! What a pain!" Natsu scratched his head. "Then how can I properly fight you?!"
"Wait… for analysis to complete, or… you find… a Magic Power output method… that doesn't cause conflict," a hint of helplessness seemed to flash in Christian's core.
On the other side.
"Christian," Gray, for once, was fully dressed (though it didn't last more than a few minutes), with an exquisite ice rose condensed in his hand. "Can this… be eaten? What can be analyzed from it?"
A small blue gelatinous tentacle extended and gently touched the ice rose. The ice rose instantly vaporized and disappeared.
"Notification: Absorbing pure ice magic creation… Analysis complete… Gaining 'Ice Crystal Shaping (Basic)'… Magic Power structure recorded."
"Analysis: Pure water element… low-temperature ordered structure… Magic Power guidance model recorded, can be simulated… efficiency is relatively low," Chris replied.
"Your Magic Power… control… is superior to Natsu's… structure is more stable… Analysis progress: 32%."
Gray raised an eyebrow, a rare smile of interest appearing. "Oh? So I'm pretty good?"
"Only regarding… Magic Power control precision," Christian added.
Gray's smile froze.
Lucy chuckled to herself nearby.
"Aye! Chris! Can you eat fish?" Happy flew over, holding a Little Dried Fish.
"Affirmative. But… only nutrition… no Magic Power… merely material replenishment… meaningless," Chris replied.
"Then can you make fish?" Happy's eyes lit up.
"Negative. 'Predator'… analyzes and replicates… not creates. The current me cannot…"
"Oh…" Happy went off to chew his Little Dried Fish, disappointed.
"Mr. Christian," Lucy sat by the bar, sipping juice. "Your Devour Magic… feels so convenient, but also so complex."
"Yes, Curse Magic… when analyzed, it takes a very long time… high risk… but the reward… is also high."
"Then… what about my Celestial Spirit Magic? Can you 'eat' it?" Lucy curiously took out a golden key.
Christian's Omni-Perception and Analysis and Appraisal focused on the key. "Analysis: High-intensity spatial coordinate Magic Power… contract power… conceptual existence… complexity too high… current analysis progress: less than 1%… forced contact… may trigger spatial backlash… or contract conflict… Risk: extremely high. Recommendation: maintain distance and observe."
"Ah, it's that dangerous!" Lucy quickly put the key away.
"No need to worry… non-hostile targets… will not be actively devoured," Chris reassured her.
"Cough cough." Makarov's voice rang out. He had appeared on the bar at some point. "Had enough fun? Don't forget the real business!"
The guild fell silent.
Makarov pointed to a corner where a large pile of tools lay—hammers, nails, wooden planks. "Natsu! Gray! You two rascals! Look at the guild's front door! And the tables and chairs you broke three days ago during your fight! The complaints from the Harujion Port Management Office are piled sky-high! All bills for your destruction!"
Natsu and Gray instantly deflated.
"Now! Immediately! Right now!" Makarov roared, his body instantly growing slightly larger to intimidate them.
"Get to the port! Fix all the dock facilities you destroyed! Don't come back until you're done! No taking quests!"
"Eh—?!" The two cried out.
"Lucy!" Makarov called her name.
"Here!" Lucy jumped.
"Lucy, go supervise them! Prevent those two idiots from tearing down the port again!"
"Huh? Me?" Lucy pointed to herself.
"Aye! Lucy is so pitiful!" Happy sympathized.
"Chris!" Makarov finally looked at the blue Slime.
"Present," Christian's core flickered.
"You go too. Keep an eye on them with your Omni-Perception. And… see if you can 'devour' any Magic Power that overflows uncontrollably from them, to reduce the damage." The old guild master seemed to be plotting something.
"Understood," Christian replied.
Harujion Port.
The sun was bright, and a sea breeze gently blew. But one corner of the port was a mess—broken wooden piles, charred planks, frozen and shattered stone blocks… all remnants of Natsu and Gray's "masterpieces."
"It's all your fault! Droopy Eyes! You used too much ice!"
"Huh? It's you, Squint Eyes, who burned too fiercely!"
Natsu and Gray blamed each other while clumsily trying to repair a crooked jetty with hammers and nails. Clang, clang, clang, accompanied by the sound of more planks breaking.
Lucy held her forehead, looking desperate. "Supervising them… this is a disaster…"
Happy was eating fish. "Aye~"
Christian floated beside Lucy, its core operating steadily. "'Omni-Perception' fully engaged… monitoring energy overflow… preparing to intervene."
"Watch me! This is how you nail it to make it sturdy!" Natsu swung his hammer down, but his strength wasn't controlled.
Boom! The entire thick plank exploded directly! Wood chips flew! Sparks scattered!
"Fire Dragon idiot!" Gray cursed, subconsciously condensing ice to freeze the flying wood pieces.
Cold Air spread! It not only froze the wood pieces but also instantly froze several innocent wooden barrels nearby and a small patch of seawater!
"Ice idiot!" Natsu backhanded a fireball at the ice surface!
Boom! Ice chips and steam flew together! The newly frozen sea surface exploded into another large hole! Water splashed all over Lucy, who was supervising on shore!
"Ah ah ah! My new dress!" Lucy shrieked.
"You two—!!!" Lucy was furious, her hair practically standing on end.
"Warning! Energy overflow exceeded limits!" Christian's core emitted a warning sound.
The blue gelatinous body instantly liquefied! Water Flow Movement! It transformed into a thin, watery barrier, blocking in front of Lucy! At the same time, an invisible Predator force field precisely covered the Magic Power sources of Natsu and Gray, which were about to go out of control!
Whoosh… Poof!
The flames that had just emerged on Natsu's fist instantly withered and extinguished! The Chilling Aura condensed at Gray's fingertips was forcibly drawn away, dissipating as a wisp of white mist!
"Eh?" Natsu and Gray simultaneously froze, feeling their Magic Power stagnate.
The water barrier blocked all the splashing ice chips and water, leaving Lucy unharmed.
"Lucy. Safe," Christian reformed its shape.
"Tha… thank you, Mr. Christian…" Lucy was still shaken, then glared angrily at the two culprits. "You two! Get serious! Fix it properly! No more magic!"
"Tch… fine…" The two grumbled.
"Chris! What was that move you just did? It was amazing! You just 'pinched' my fire out!" Natsu got excited again.
"Precise Magic Power extraction… localized," Christian explained. "Before Magic Power loses control and erupts… instantly draw away the source… or… devour the scattered portion. Efficiency… depends on Magic Power Perception (Skill) precision… and… target Magic Power stability." It paused. "Your Magic Power… is very unstable."
"Hahaha! That's how you unleash stronger power!" Natsu said, unashamed.
Gray, however, was thoughtful. "Precise extraction of the source… that control…" He looked at his hands, seemingly getting some new ideas.
Under Christian's invisible "supervision" and Lucy's furious shouts, the port repair work proceeded haltingly. The rate of destruction finally slowed down, becoming less than the rate of repair.
At dusk, the three humans, one cat, and one Slime returned to the guild, dragging their exhausted (mostly mentally) bodies. The port was barely repaired (the appearance was not commendable).
Before they even entered, they heard Mirajane's gentle but undeniable voice from inside:
—"So, Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Christian, your 'punishment' isn't over yet."
The four (?) froze at the doorway.