He raised his right hand, adorned with a massive black onyx ring, and sneered, aiming it at Lucy: "Now... the game is over. Become my new collection! Shadow Binding!"
Buzz!
Several viscous, asphalt-black shadow snakes shot out from the ring! Carrying bone-chilling coldness and a powerful will to bind, they swiftly coiled around Lucy! Their speed was far greater than before!
"Lucy!" Christian instantly released his mimicry! The blue gelatinous substance rapidly expanded as if inflated! It transformed into a giant blue water shield, blocking in front of Lucy! The Predator force field was fully activated!
Puff! Puff! Puff!
The inky black shadow snakes violently crashed against the water shield! They seemed to sink into a viscous quagmire! A powerful suction erupted from within the water shield! The shadow snakes struggled and writhed frantically, their bodies torn and stretched by an invisible force, and the dark magic that formed them was rapidly stripped away and devoured!
[Alert! Contact with high-intensity shadow-attribute magic... Nature: binding... erosion... Analyzing... Skill acquired: 'Shadow Resistance (Medium)'... Erosion resistance increased...]
"What?!" Duke Abal's sneer froze on his face, turning into an expression of disbelieving shock.
"It can actually devour my shadow magic?! The intelligence wasn't wrong... You Slime are indeed a nuisance!"
"Your evil... ends here!" Lucy seized the opportunity to summon! "Open, gate of taurus, Taurus!"
The Celestial Spirit Taurus appeared with fierce anger and a magnificent aura! "Miss Lucy! I am willing to serve you!"
"Taurus! Take down that demon duke!" Lucy pointed at Abal, her voice high-pitched with fury.
"Gladly!" Taurus swung his giant axe, letting out a roar that tore through the air, and charged straight at Abal!
"Stop him!" Abal shrieked, backing away. The butler and the elite guards immediately pounced like mad dogs! The butler formed hand seals, and a dark purple energy shield instantly formed; the guards' sharp swords and magic (fireballs, wind blades) also poured out!
"Trash! Get out of the way!" Taurus roared, his golden fist shadows raining down like a storm! The butler's hastily conjured energy shield instantly cracked! The guards at the very front were swept by the force of the punch, screaming and spitting blood as they flew backward!
Amidst the chaos, Abal looked at his subordinates, who were being suppressed by Leo, with a mix of shock and anger, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes. He raised his hand again, this time aiming at Lucy and Christian! A ring embedded with an eerie blood-red gem glowed with dazzling light!
"Since the pet is so bothersome... then I'll destroy it first! Taste the pain of a torn soul!"
[Painful Shriek]
Buzz—!
An invisible, yet high-frequency, terrifying mental shockwave instantly spread out! Its target was the floating Christian and Lucy!
"Ugh ah—!" The people in the cells bore the brunt, letting out terrifyingly shrill screams, clutching their ears in agony, their bodies convulsing violently, some even starting to bang their heads against the cold stone wall!
Lucy also felt an intense headache! The noise made her vision blur, and she could barely stand steady! Mental defense was her weak point!
"Lucy! Mental attack!" Christian's core instantly analyzed the nature of the attack! Priority: Protect Lucy! "'Omni-Perception'... Mental barrier... Maximum power! Target: Lucy! Range... Cover all life forms in the cells!"
Buzz!
A mental force field, even more solid than before, with a faint blue glow, suddenly expanded from Christian's center!
Although it couldn't completely negate the terrifying mental shriek, it acted like the toughest filter, forcibly weakening and filtering out the most deadly, soul-tearing high-frequency parts!
Lucy's intense pain suddenly lessened. Although her head still throbbed, her consciousness returned! The screams of the people in the cells also turned into painful groans, temporarily escaping the danger of self-harm.
"Damn it! It's you again, you cursed Slime!" Abal was enraged and completely lost his mind! He used both hands, and several rings simultaneously burst out with dazzling light!
"All of you die! Fireball! Ice Cone/Spike! Wind Blade! Shadow Tentacle! Drown them!"
Boom! Whoosh! Swish! Thud!
Blazing fireballs! Sharp Ice Cone/Spikes! Spinning wind blades! And more, thicker shadow tentacles! Like a torrential storm, carrying a destructive aura, they overwhelmingly blasted towards the blue Slime protected by the earth wall! Abal poured all his magic into this single strike, vowing to utterly obliterate this monster that had repeatedly ruined his plans!
"Chris! Be careful!" Lucy watched the terrifying torrent of magic!
"No matter." Christian's voice remained steady, even carrying a hint of cold calculation. Facing a magical storm capable of melting steel, his blue gelatinous body instantly liquefied!
'Water Flow Movement'! Activate!
No longer a solid defense, it transformed into a true, flowing liquid! Like a deep blue river, it displayed a ghostly agility within the confined space! It rapidly weaved, twisted, dispersed, and converged through the gaps in the dense magical attacks!
'Predator'! Precise pinpoint strikes!
Puff! A fireball the size of a washbasin was enveloped by a detached puddle of blue gelatinous substance, instantly devoured and extinguished! [Alert! Fire resistance slightly increased!]
Sizzle! An Ice Cone/Spike was precisely met by another wisp of water flow, decomposing and vaporizing upon contact! [Alert! Ice resistance slightly increased!]
Whoosh! Several shadow tentacles entwined with purple-black magic were wrapped and squeezed by a stream of water, quickly shriveling and disappearing as if swallowed by a giant python! [Alert! Shadow resistance increased!]
[Alert! Absorbed various low-level magic... Analysis complete... Obtained 'Wind Blade Structure' record... Magic reserves... Slightly replenished...]
The blue stream of water danced within the magical storm, each contact making an attack disappear, its own glow seemingly deeper and more subtle. Duke Abal's seemingly world-destroying attack was, like a master butcher carving an ox, precisely and efficiently neutralized and devoured by this seemingly soft liquid!
"No... Impossible!!" Duke Abal completely lost his composure, the fat on his face trembling violently from fear and disbelief! His proud magic rings were actually being treated as snacks by the opponent?!
"The farce... should end." A cold decision flashed through Christian's core. The blue water flow, which had been passively defending, suddenly contracted and condensed! Its volume instantly expanded!
'Predator'! Area Burst Mode — Strength Absorption!
Buzz—!!!
A suction field so powerful it slightly warped space, suddenly erupted from Christian, who had condensed into a Slime form! Like an invisible, greedy black hole! Its target was not magic, but all the charging butler and elite guards!
The butler felt his magic stagnate! His half-formed shadow magic instantly disintegrated!
The guards felt their bodies sink even more! As if instantly burdened with a thousand pounds! Not only their magic, but even the strength of their muscles, the support of their bones, and the speed of their nerve reactions were being frantically drained by an invisible force! The weapons in their hands became incredibly heavy, their steps unsteady, and their vision blurred!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The butler and all the guards, as if all their strength had been instantly drained, couldn't even scream. They collapsed limply to the ground, only faint breaths remaining, completely losing their combat ability!
[Alert! Local 'Strength Absorption'... Success. Target... temporarily incapacitated. Magic absorbed (trace).]
"Wh-what kind of monster?!" Duke Abal looked at all his subordinates who had instantly fallen, scared out of his wits! Immense fear gripped him! His only thought was to escape! But his legs felt like lead!
"Your turn! Fat pig!" Taurus had already broken through the last obstacle, his black iron fist like a falling sun, carrying the might to purify all filth, smashing fiercely towards Abal's fat face, contorted with fear! The wild punch wind had already blown off his ridiculous wig!
"No—!!" Abal let out a desperate howl, subconsciously raising his ring-laden hands to block!
Bang!!! Crack!!!
A teeth-grating thud, accompanied by the clear sound of bones shattering!
Duke Abal's obese body was sent flying like a broken sack by Taurus's punch! He slammed into the cold stone wall behind him like a fleshy projectile! The immense impact caused spiderweb cracks to appear on the stone wall! His fat body slid down the wall, slumping to the ground. His face was covered in blood, his nose bridge collapsed into a bizarre indentation, and several bloody teeth, mixed with saliva, splattered out. His luxurious silk pajamas were stained with filth and blood, and those priceless gem rings were scattered on the ground, their glow dim.
"Ugh... Ugh..." Abal groaned in pain, his eyes, swollen into slits, looked through the bloodstains with terror at Lucy approaching, the floating blue Slime, and Leo, who was like a golden war god.
"Mon... monsters... You are... the real monsters..."
Lucy walked up to him, looking down at this devil who had lost all his fangs and was in such a sorry state. There was no pity in her eyes, only cold disdain and the anger of relief.
"Compared to the innocents you tortured like livestock, you are the ugliest, most despicable monster in this world!"
She didn't spare Abal another glance, turning to Chris and saying, "Chris, please open these chains."
"A piece of cake." Chris's body flashed with blue light, precisely cutting all the heavy chains that bound the victims.
The imprisoned people helped each other to their feet. They looked at Lucy and her companions, at the floating Slime emitting a faint blue glow, and at the mighty Celestial Spirit, their eyes filled with tears of relief and endless gratitude.
"Thank you... Thank you all..."
"Benefactors..."
Lucy walked to the stone platform, looking at the golden owl statue that still gleamed under the firelight but emitted an eerie red glow. The pigeon blood ruby eyes seemed to still be greedily absorbing the lingering pain and fear in the air.
"Mr. Christian, this gem..."
"Mental induction source... and... negative emotion collector... core. Recommendation... physical destruction... complete elimination." Christian's voice carried a hint of disgust.
Lucy nodded, without the slightest hesitation, she picked up the heavy golden statue with both hands, using all her strength, and slammed it fiercely onto the cold, hard stone ground!
Clang! Crack!
The golden owl statue shattered with a crash! Two large pigeon blood rubies bounced out from the broken base, rolling on the dirty ground, their eerie red glow seeming to flicker.
Lucy raised her foot, and her foot, clad in a small leather shoe, stomped down with all her might, with immense hatred!
Crack! Crack!
The two priceless rubies shattered under Lucy's foot! Turning into a pile of crimson fragments! The oppressive and irritating mental induction wave that had enveloped the dungeon instantly vanished without a trace!
"Mission... complete." Christian floated beside Lucy, his core light peaceful and stable. "Truth revealed... victims rescued... hidden danger eliminated... reward... should be obtainable."
"Aye! 3 million J! We can buy so many, many fish!" Happy flew in at some point, looking at the mess on the ground and the rescued people, his small face full of joy.
"Next... is the cleanup." Lucy looked at the unconscious Abal and the collapsed thugs, took out her communication Lacrima, and unhesitatingly connected to the Magic Council's emergency reporting line and the Magnolia Guard Headquarters.
"This is Fairy Tail Mage Lucy Heartfilia, reporting a major crime scene discovered in Duke Abal's mansion basement..."
The moonlight struggled through the narrow ventilation shaft high in the dungeon, casting its light on the grateful faces of the rescued.