(One week later)
Lucy stood on the hotel rooftop with a determined look, with Allen, Erza, and Juvia watching silently behind her.
"Okay!" Lucy pulled a golden key from her pocket while channeling her magical power. "Open, Gate of the Archer, Sagittarius!"
A magical circle appeared before everyone, heralding the arrival of the celestial archer spirit. Lucy had obtained this golden key as part of the reward from the Galuna Island mission. For Lucy, the Zodiac keys were special, and she seemed determined to collect as many as she could.
....
Wade – Sagittarius, huh? I'll bet three kilos of white powder… definitely not mine, that it's gonna be a horse!
Rick – I'm in! But I'm betting it's a centaur!
Amanda – Huh?! If you're gonna bet, at least make it money!
Kara – No, that's not okay either. Gwen?
Gwen – Mmm, as long as they don't specify and keep it private, I don't wanna know. You know, it's exhausting dealing with so many idiots…
Annie – Hey, you can't be serious!
MJ – Don't worry, Gwen hasn't been sleeping lately…
Annie – Gwen, are you okay? Do you miss Allen?
Gwen – Yeah, but don't worry :)
Tony – Wait, didn't Diana say Allen visited her?
Natasha – About that, well…
Natasha went on to explain that it was true Allen couldn't leave that world until he reached a certain point in the story, which was never specified. But that didn't mean he was trapped. So, Allen came up with an almost ridiculous strategy.
Drawing inspiration from the dolls and combining it with knowledge of Bleach's gigai, Allen created a chibi avatar version of himself, like the dolls, and sent it back.
Gwen and MJ were in the living room, worried about Allen, when his voice startled them. They turned to see a mini floating Allen. No need to say it was an emotional rollercoaster. Soon, the news spread through the Harem's Chat, and since then, Allen took advantage of this to return every time he slept, even if it was only his consciousness that could cross over. The only downside might be that there can't be any nighttime activities, but those are minor details when the important thing is not worrying the girls back home.
Maria Hill – Natasha, is it okay to say that in the Chat?!
Lucifer – Doesn't bother me. Technically, Allen hasn't left the current world. No, better yet, did you really think you could do that without me noticing?
Albedo – Tsk…
Rebecca – I can't stand this guy, but he's right. If doing that violated their agreements, this guy would've stopped it.
Many in the Chat understood why the bastard's girlfriends were so calm despite the situation. He'd been secretly visiting them the whole time.
....
Returning with Lucy, the light faded, and the "majestic" appearance of Sagittarius emerged.
"Ah... Huh?"
Lucy's smile froze when she saw a tall, lanky middle-aged man. But the most surreal part was that he was wearing a full-body horse costume, topped with green clothes.
"Good morning, everyone, Moshi Moshi," Sagittarius said, using a strange verbal tic.
"This is Sagittarius?" Erza rubbed her chin, still confused.
"Juvia can't find any charm in Lucy's fetishes…"
"They're not fetishes, they're their tastes!" Lucy shouted, embarrassed. It was true that the Spirits had their own world and society and were free, so how they dressed or appeared was up to them.
"I'm sorry if my appearance isn't entirely perfect, but my archery skills are top-notch, Moshi Moshi," Sagittarius declared with supreme confidence.
Lucy understood that any of the twelve Zodiac Spirits couldn't be weak. However, seeing him in a horse costume stripped away all the grandeur of his introduction. She glanced at Allen, hoping not to see disappointment. She was also trying to get stronger, or she'd never be able to take on the same missions as Allen. Plus, her main rival was Titania—she couldn't fall behind.
"Moshi Moshi… huh," Allen hadn't spoken until now, just observing the celestial spirit, a bit disappointed since he'd expected a humanoid horse, not a guy in a costume.
"If you doubt my skills, I can give a demonstration," Sagittarius said, eyeing Allen.
Allen shook his head as he chuckled. "Oh~ being confident is good, so show me your skills... and don't let me down..."
"Huh? Huh?! But I'm the one who summoned you!"
Lucy felt ignored. Erza, trying to comfort her, approached and pulled Lucy's head to her chest, but since she was wearing armor, Lucy only felt pain.
Allen, meanwhile, felt something odd, as if Sagittarius already knew about him. Considering he had a semi-contract with Virgo, had seen Taurus, and supposedly Aquarius knew of him, it wasn't impossible that rumors about him were spreading in the celestial world.
Without wasting time, Allen stood in front of Sagittarius with his hands in his pockets.
"Let's keep it simple. Just do your best to hit me with an arrow. I won't use any magic or defensive spells…"
"Excuse me, Moshi Moshi…" Sagittarius's gaze sharpened. "But I think you're underestimating me…"
Allen blinked slowly, his presence putting pressure on Sagittarius. "We'll see..."
"...!" Before finishing, Sagittarius fired an arrow straight at Allen's chest. "Quick Shot." The arrow traveled at tremendous speed but was caught by Allen's hand.
"…" Sagittarius didn't seem surprised. He grabbed three arrows and fired them. "Triple Shot."
Same as before, Allen caught them with one hand.
"If this is your level, I couldn't trust Lucy's safety to you…" Allen said in a cold voice, surprising the girls as things suddenly got serious.
Lucy blushed, while Juvia muttered a curse. Erza stayed silent, understanding Allen's words. A celestial spirit mage relies on their spirits to fight and can't train like other mages. So, from Allen's perspective, if they weren't worthy of protecting Lucy, they could go back to the celestial world.
Lucy tried to say something to stop this but chose not to, seeing Allen's seriousness and Sagittarius's determination.
"Sagittarius."
"Yes, Lucy-sama?" Sagittarius, still a spirit summoned by Lucy, didn't ignore her.
"I read a ton about the legendary Sagittarius. I believe you can do it!" Lucy smiled.
Sagittarius relaxed a bit and then smiled with renewed determination. "Sorry, Danna (Master), I can't look bad in front of my new master."
"Then come on..."
Sagittarius raised his bow and fired five arrows into the sky, then aimed at Allen and fired five more, then another five. The arrows from the sky fell as if drawn to him. Allen narrowed his eyes, noticing Sagittarius deliberately shot the second round slower so the third round would catch up and collide, altering their trajectory. They then hit the falling arrows, changing their path to attack Allen from all directions.
Allen smiled, stepped to the right, dodging two arrows aimed at his head from behind, leaned slightly to avoid one from the right, and shifted his right foot slightly as two passed by his side.
'Can he predict my arrow's trajectory?! Or is he just reacting?! Either way, it's absurd!'.
Sagittarius shook his head in disbelief, gritted his teeth, and kept firing, but Allen dodged everything effortlessly, occasionally catching an arrow. The arrows flew one after another and a strange phenomenon occurred, as it almost seemed as if Sagittarius was missing the arrows on purpose.
"Impossible!"
Sagittarius knew each arrow was aimed at a vital point, and none hit. But the harsh reality is that Allen dodged with so little movement that it seemed as if he wasn't moving at all.
'What the hell?! Is he really a mage?! How can he fight at this level without using magic?!'
Allen smiled and started walking as Sagittarius's fingers began to bleed.
Step by step...
Allen walked through the rain of arrows until he stood before him.
At that moment, Sagittarius stopped his attack. For an archer, zero distance is game over. He lowered his bow, remaining silent, sweat dripping from his forehead. Then he looked at Lucy.
"I'm sorry, Lucy-sama, it seems I failed."
Lucy quickly shook her head. "No way, you did amazing!"
Juvia tilted her head. "Juvia thinks so too. Not fainting in Allen-sama's presence is already an achievement."
"Allen, can't you go easy on him?" Erza asked with a sigh.
Allen stayed silent before chuckling. "What are you talking about? You passed…"
"What?!"
To answer Sagittarius's question, Allen raised his hand, showing a cut on his sleeve. Many might think it's nothing, but considering his terrifying opponent, it was incredible what he achieved.
Sagittarius collapsed to the ground, and Lucy ran to them.
"So?" Lucy asked, looking at Allen.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to tell you which spirits you can contract, Lucy. I only tested him because he asked," Allen smiled, making Lucy feel cheated, but his gaze turned serious. "Though it's true that without testing him, I wouldn't entrust your safety to this horse… So Sagittarius, I admit you're a genius with the bow"
"Thank you for the words, Mr. Walker, Moshi Moshi."
"Hm? Did I tell you my name?"
Sagittarius tensed at that and immediately shut up. Allen didn't press him, but it seemed his initial guess was right—his existence was known in the celestial world.
After that, Lucy was so happy she invited everyone to eat at a restaurant. Unfortunately, she quickly regretted it when she saw the bill and remembered she was no longer the daughter of one of the country's richest men.
....
A couple of days later, the guild was filled with tension, and it was because of Laxus, who was facing off with Natsu, wearing an arrogant smirk.
"Say that again, Laxus!"
"I'll say it as many times as I want, but that empty head of yours will never get it. This was all the old man's fault. He's always been soft on conflicts, so that idiot Jose could manipulate him. If the guild were in my hands, Phantom Lord's trash would've never raised their heads! Under me, Fairy Tail would be the strongest guild of all! Haha."
Mirajane's face darkened. "Shut up, Laxus! You weren't even there! What right do you have to talk?!"
"Oh, it's been years since I saw that look on you," Laxus mocked. "I'm just saying this all started because of that new girl—I don't even remember her name. It had nothing to do with me, so of course I wouldn't help. On the contrary, they should hold her responsible and kick her out!"
"I've had enough!" Natsu lunged at Laxus. "Fight me!"
Laxus turned his body into lightning and vanished. "I'm not interested in fighting someone who can't even touch me…"
"You bark pretty loud for a coward…"
Laxus froze. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Allen behind him. His gaze sharpened and filled with anger.
"Who're you calling a coward, WALKER?!"
"You, obviously. I'm just a new Fairy Tail member, but you're the great Laxus Dreyar. When a Saint Wizard threatened us, you should've shown up and proved your strength, but you didn't," Allen stepped closer to Laxus, who tensed. "So I had to do it, which only means you were scared…"
"BASTARD!" Laxus clenched his fist and swung at Allen, his heart pounding with rage. But to Allen, it was the rage of a wounded lion desperate to reclaim its pride.
"Laxus, stop!" Makarov arrived just in time to halt the confrontation.
"Elder… what a stupidity..." Laxus growled in displeasure before storming out of the guild.
Allen walked to the bar and sat down. Makarov sighed, his eyes heavy with sadness, then walked to the bar and sat beside Allen.
"Why'd you stop me?" Allen asked casually, but there was a hint of seriousness in his voice. The guild fell silent as the tension spread. "You should fix him before he does something stupid you'll regret…"
"Laxus is reckless, but even now, I have faith he's not bad—just going through a phase…"
Allen narrowed his eyes. "You really believe that?"
"…" Makarov pressed his lips together, not answering.
"Being a grandpa is tough…"
"Master! Allen! We got a shipment of imported coffee and beer today!" Mirajane, trying to ease the tension, served them their favorite drinks.
"Oh…" Allen sniffed the aroma, surprised since he hadn't tried this kind of coffee in this world.
Makarov downed a jar of beer in one gulp. "Haha, this is good!~"
Cana immediately approached the bar. "Hey, Mira, that's not fair! I wanna try some too!"
"There's not much, and you'd finish it in a day. Plus, you still owe 300,000 J!"
"Ugh!" Cana felt like a sword had been stabbed into her chest, but she couldn't deny Mira was right. "At least one barrel, Mira!"
Mirajane sighed. "Fine…"
"Ah, thanks!"
"Hey, I want some too!"
"That's not fair!"
"I wanna try it!"
The guild started making a ruckus as the earlier tension faded. Natsu approached the bar and sat next to Allen.
"What's up? Wanna fight me again?" Allen chuckled with a teasing look.
He'd grown used to Gray and Natsu challenging him twice a week. It got to the point where Natsu even tried breaking into his hotel multiple times, only to get beaten by 2B, Jalter, Wednesday, or Albedo—the dolls who usually took turns as his Maids. Still, it wasn't all bad for either side, as Allen could tell Natsu and Gray were getting stronger from the constant beatings.
"Not for now..." Unexpectedly, Natsu didn't get mad and stayed serious.
"Natsu?" Allen raised an eyebrow.
"Laxus is an idiot. I hate him and wanna kick his arrogant ass… but he's also a comrade…"
Natsu stood up after saying that, leaving Allen watching him go. In other words, he was saying the same thing as Master Makarov—be patient with Laxus. Both knew Allen wasn't kind enough to forgive everyone with just a few punches. Laxus was still a jerk, and eventually, Allen would lose his patience.
Allen stopped worrying about it and, taking advantage of Lucy, Juvia, and Erza not being around, spent an hour chatting with Mirajane and Laki at the bar. That was until Levy approached with an ancient book to ask his opinion, which took another hour. Finally, a drunk Cana came over and hugged him from behind.
From a corner, Loke watched Allen silently, adjusting his glasses.
...
Later that night, Allen walked home alone through the streets, his pace calm.
*Steps*
For anyone else, it might seem like a thief, but who'd dare rob Allen?
Allen stopped. "What do you want from me?"
Behind him, a human silhouette stepped into the light, revealing Loke. He didn't have his usual smug look or narcissistic attitude.
"Allen… I have a favor to ask…"
"Oh… Out of everyone in the guild, you're the second least likely to ask me for something. Tell me what's up, Loke…" Allen's eyes glinted with a golden hue. "And if it has to do with you being a spirit…"
Loke adjusted his glasses, smiling wryly. "Did you know?"
"Of course, from the start. But there was no need to meddle in your life…"
"In that case, you're saving me a lot of time." Loke's faint smile faded, his expression turning as if shrouded in a colorless veil. "I'm about to die…"
"…?" Allen's eyes widened slightly, realizing Loke was serious.
===
A/N: Thinking about it, Loke's problem could be solved in less than a chapter if it is with Allen's help, then at last the Heaven's Tower Arc would begin.
More chapters on patreon: Patreon.com/_Aizen