"Oi, Lucy, Loke!" Yelling out from above, grabbing their attention, I fell through the sky and landed behind them while dusting myself off. "B-Big bro, what are you doing here?" "I'm here to bring your stupid ass back… H-Home." Waving my hand, dispersing the dust from my landing, I glanced at Loke, only to briefly freeze when I noticed how transparent he looked as if he were disappearing from this world.
"H-Hey, Loke, what's wrong with you? Why can I see through you?" Kneeling beside Loke, I tried to grab his shoulder, only for my hand to phase right through his transparent body, filling me with confusion and fear. "I-I didn't want our last meeting to be like this, big bro." "The fuck are you talking about last meeting? Does it have something to do with that armored guy floating in the air?"
I wanted to slap Loke for his foreboding words, but since I couldn't touch him, I was forced to settle with biting my lip as I pointed at the armored guy floating in the sky. "Hey! What the fuck are you doing to my little brother!? Stop it this instant, or I'll make you regret it." Unfortunately, despite my threatening words, that fool seemed unbothered by me. "Loke has broken the rules, and as punishment, he is unable to return to the Celestial Spirit realm."
Unsure of what those words meant, I looked at Lucy, hoping the only celestial spirit mage I knew would be able to enlighten me, but she suddenly collapsed onto the ground while the several celestial spirits she had summoned vanished. "L-Lucy!" Running over to Lucy, I quickly checked her breathing and heart rate, which were fine, but when I examined her magic power, I was unable to prevent myself from clenching my fist in fury.
'Lucy, she has a magic deficiency disease. Summoning that many celestial spirits at once was far too much for her current self, yet she did so anyway.' Magic deficiency disease usually isn't anything super dangerous, but in some rare cases, it can even lead to death. 'And Lucy is such a case.'
"Celestial Spirit King! Even if I disappear, please, help Lucy! I-I can't have two celestial spirit mages dying because of me!" Hearing Loke's desperate voice, I froze. 'Loke's going to disappear?' Knowing that Lucy's life was teetering on the edge was already too much, but to learn Loke was dying was like someone stabbing my heart over and over again.
As I gazed at Lucy while Loke continued to plead, I felt tears leave my eyes, stream down my cheeks, and drop from my chin, only to land on her face, though I was oblivious to it. "W-Why? I just want to protect my family, so why can't I? First, it was Lisanna, but now even Lucy and Loke? Why? Why does it keep happening?" I lived for my family and did everything for them, but this… This was driving me closer to insanity.
"Rules are meant to be upheld, Loke, but maybe, they're also meant to be broken? Seeing someone willing to risk their lives-" "Hey, you, you're the reason my little siblings are like this?" Standing up, I approached the edge of the cliff and stared at the Celestial Spirit King, though I didn't wait for him to answer my rhetorical question, as I already knew I was correct. "I'll kill you."
Flooding myself with magic power, far more than I've ever done so, my body was enhanced to a level I've even never gotten close to, but doing so came at a cost, pushing my body far beyond what it is capable of withstanding filled my mind with nothing but pain as my body rapidly broke down. I probably wouldn't even last thirty seconds like this, but I didn't care; the only thing on my mind was to kill the person harming my little siblings, even if it came at the cost of sacrificing my own life.
"B-Big bro-" Leaping towards the celestial spirit king, I quickly reached his face, leaving behind a trail of my golden magic power while I clenched my fist and punched his nose with every ounce of strength I was able to muster, yet, I was only able to force the behemoth backward slightly. "H-Hey! I know you're upset, b-but let me finish spea-"
Ignoring whatever nonsense coming out of his mouth, I grabbed his mustache before raising my clenched fist for a second time and punching the same spot again, forcing him even further backwards; however, my arm was bent in several directions as I broke several bones, if not all of them. Disregarding the pain, I raised my leg, preparing to kick his face, but before I could, I was flicked off his mustache and flung tens of meters into the rocky cliff.
Removing myself from the small cave my body made, I dashed out of the cliff and leaped into the air as I violently kicked his face, knocking his head to the side while my shin shattered with sharp pieces of bone jutting out from my skin.
"Haa, please, child, just let me finish speaking, I'm trying to help your siblings now; if you continue with this farce, you'll die." Although I heard his mouth moving, my eardrums had already burst, so I had no idea what he was saying, but I didn't care; wrapping my other leg around his mustache, I reached down and yanked one of the sharp pieces of bone out of my leg and stabbed his neck. Well, I at least tried to; my bone was barely able to draw blood, let alone do any severe damage.
However, that didn't deter me as I continued to stab at his neck repeatedly, only to cough up blood as my heart suddenly stopped beating. 'D-Deeper.' Using the last of my strength, I struggled to push my bone deeper into the celestial spirit king's neck before falling from his neck while my vision faded.
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3rd POV
As Cooper fell to his death, the celestial spirit king suddenly extended his arm, causing not just Cooper but the whole area to be enveloped within a sphere that froze time and space itself, except for Loke and the celestial spirit king himself; everything within the sphere was frozen. "Ha, what a reckless child; still, I can't help but like him, same for that lass; to think I'd meet two exceptional beings willing to risk their lives for you, Loke."
With a wave of his hand, he floated Cooper down towards the cliff, placing him beside the unconscious Lucy before shifting his gaze to Loke, who was even more transparent than before. "As I was saying before I was interrupted; although rules are meant to be upheld, for the sake of this precious bond you've managed to forge, I'll break the rules and allow you to return to the Celestial spirit realm."
"T-Thank you, but even so, I still need to repent for my past." "If you want to repent, serve Lucy; if you don't, she might die from the magic deficiency disease." With the words of the celestial spirit king, Loke didn't hesitate to accept his new owner; with the help of the king himself, even with Lucy unconscious, she became the owner of Loke the Lion, the leader of the twelve zodiac keys.
"Also, here's this, Loke." Materializing a blood-red key above his palm, the celestial spirit king floated it over to the confused Loke, who now returned to his original appearance as one of the twelve zodiac spirits. "W-What is this key? I-I've never seen anything like this." "Of course, you haven't; it's a key I just made, that's why. Give it to Cooper. Tell him when he's ready; I'll be waiting for him in the celestial spirit realm for a proper battle."
With a hearty laugh, the king grinned and glanced at Loke, who hesitantly nodded before storing it in his breast pocket. "Now, go, Loke; that child's life force is unnaturally vigorous, but if he isn't treated quickly, he'll die." Offering a final smile, the king's figure slowly vanished, and when he fully disappeared, time and space returned to normal.
Without wasting a single second, Loke picked up both Cooper and Lucy and dashed to Magnolia, moving as fast as possible. "Dammit, big bro! Why couldn't you just stop and listen for a single second?"
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Cooper POV
Slowly coming to, I opened my eyes and gazed at the ceiling in confusion; however, as memories of what occurred flashed through my mind, I quickly sat upright while grunting and groaning in pain. "Argh! Fuck!" Gritting my teeth, I glanced at the numerous bandages around my body and the cast on my right arm and leg before trying to stand up. However, before I could, the door to the room was opened, only for Porlyusica to enter, causing me to grunt, but I didn't have time to deal with her.
"Tch, Lucy, and Loke are fine." Freezing in place, I furrowed my brows and eyed Porlyusica before heaving a sigh of relief a few moments later. "T-That's good." "Now that you're awake, get the hell out of my cabin." Grabbing my arm, she yanked me off the bed, causing me to hiss in pain as I gently shoved her away. "Tch, leave me be; I can walk on my own!"
Just as I reached the door, I stopped and glanced at her, confused as to why she treated me since she'd never done so ever since our agreement or argument. "Why did you treat me?" "Tsk, do you think I wanted to? I spent nearly 30 hours awake tending to your injuries… But, I couldn't say no when Makarov came here begging me on his hands and knees."
Nodding lightly, I opened the door and left. "Thanks." "Bah, just get the hell out!"