The walk back to the guild, under the warm Magnolia sun, should have been a moment of relief, perhaps even of restrained celebration. For the others, maybe it was. For me, it was merely the extension of a tedious task, a transition from one noisy setting to another, inevitably even noisier one. The city air was thick with the mundane smells of mortal life, bread baking in a nearby bakery, the metallic tang of a distant forge, the faint odour of sewage that no city seems to be able to completely eliminate. It was an olfactory cacophony that offended my senses, accustomed to the purity of forgotten realms. I preferred the clean, honest scent of the island's forest, even if it came with the risk of being ambushed by mages with impeccable taste in perfume and dreadful disguises.
The rest of the group dragged their feet, the exhaustion of battle now being replaced by a much more primal and, in my opinion, far more pathetic complaint: the lack of payment. I walked a little apart, observing them with the detachment of a zoologist studying the complex and utterly illogical rituals of a particularly noisy and emotionally driven species. Erza, as always, led the march, her posture erect and her armour gleaming under the sun, a figure of silent authority who, by her presence alone, prevented Natsu and Gray from starting to punch each other in the middle of the street.
Natsu, of course, was the spokesperson for the financial outrage, unable to contain his discontent for more than a minute.
"Oh, man…" he grumbled, dragging his feet with a drama that deserved an academy award. "I'm exhausted… starving… and, worst of all, SKINT!" He shouted the last word with a force that made a street vendor nearly topple his apple cart. "We fought an ice mage, a time mage, a sealed demon, and we even 'destroyed the moon', and we didn't get a single measly Jewel to show for it!"
Erza, without even turning her head, replied with the coldness of a glacier, her voice cutting through the hot afternoon air. "We saved an entire island from a threat that had terrorised it for years and helped one of our comrades find peace with his past. If you call that 'nothing', Natsu, perhaps your punishment needs to be considerably more severe to teach you about priorities."
Natsu immediately shrank back, muttering something about how "peace doesn't pay for lunch." I, on the other hand, had to suppress a smile. Their concern for bits of paper and coined metal was… adorable, in its primitive simplicity.
It was then that Happy, with his impeccable feline logic, which always revolved around food or what could be exchanged for food, whispered to Lucy in a conspiratorial tone that I could hear from ten metres away: "Hey, Lucy… since Erza wouldn't let us take the money, and we're all broke, why don't you just sell that golden key? It must be worth a fortune! Think of how many fish we could buy!"
Lucy's explosion was instantaneous, glorious, and very, very loud.
"SELL IT?! HAPPY, HOW COULD YOU EVEN SUGGEST THAT?!" she screamed, stopping abruptly in the middle of the street and turning on the little blue cat with fire in her eyes. Her reaction drew curious glances from several passers-by, who quickly decided it was safer to keep walking. "My spirits are not objects to be sold! They are my friends! My family!"
To prove her point and, no doubt, to show off how incredible her new "friend" was, she held up the golden key she'd received on the island, pride shining on her face, drowning out any fatigue she felt. "In fact, I already made the contract with him before we left the island! He's amazing, strong, and a true gentleman! Want to meet him?"
Before anyone could protest or even answer, she raised the key with a dramatic flourish. "Open, Gate of the Archer, Sagittarius!"
With a golden glow and a cheerful "ding-dong" sound that seemed entirely out of place, Sagittarius materialised in the middle of Magnolia's street. And I, for the first time since leaving that damned island, felt a genuine and profound shock. Not of fear, not of surprise. But of pure and absolute comical disbelief.
He was a tall man with a serious, noble face that looked as if it had been carved from marble… wearing a horse costume. An absurdly large, ill-fitting, and ridiculous horse costume. The horse's head, with a vacant and stupid look in its plastic eyes, sat above his own, and his body was encased in the equine structure. He struck a formal pose, holding a huge bow with a seriousness that made the whole thing even more hilarious.
"Moshi-moshi!" his deep, formal voice boomed from within the suit. "I have been summoned, Mistress Lucy? Ready to serve, you know."
Natsu and Happy thought the sight was brilliant. "Wow, a horse-man!" Gray just sighed, as if his capacity for surprise had been exhausted long ago. Erza, ever respectful of others' magic, offered a formal nod. "Welcome."
I, however, remained silent. A deep and absolute silence. My eyes, which have seen the creation of galaxies and the fury of primordial gods, widened for a split second. My expression went from curiosity to disbelief, and then to a disappointment so profound it was almost a personal offence. An ancestral memory, of a vast and violent power, of warriors wreathed in starlight, surfaced in my mind again, and the contrast was… painful.
(…This is it?) I thought, the feeling of disappointment so strong it was almost physical. (Eos, please tell me this is a cosmic joke. Analyse this… this thing. And be quick.)
[Analysing,] Eos's voice sounded in my mind. [Celestial Spirit: Sagittarius. Attire: equine costume, apparently non-removable. Primary abilities: Master Archer. Attack potential: B+ level. Comparison with the entity "Gold Saint of Sagittarius" from your previous life's memory: The Gold Saint Sisyphus wore golden armour forged from stardust and was revered as a legendary hero whose attack power could destroy stars. This entity's power is equivalent to approximately 0.003% of the Gold Saint's base attack power. Conclusion: the comparison is statistically irrelevant, bordering on insulting.]
(Sisyphus…) The name echoed in my mind with an unexpected weight. I remembered him. The man who tore out his own eyes so as not to fall into my darkness, who led armies and who sacrificed himself with unwavering loyalty. A tragic and magnificent warrior. (He bled, suffered, and died with honour for the name of Sagittarius. And this… this is a man in horse pyjamas who says 'moshi-moshi'. What a degradation. What an insult to his memory.)
Finally, I made a sound. It wasn't a laugh. It was a snort, a sound of pure, unfiltered contempt that cut through the air.
"So… 'this' is one of the Legendary Twelve of the Zodiac?" my voice was low, but every word dripped with mockery. I pointed a finger at the spirit. "A man inside a stuffed horse."
Lucy, who had been about to burst with pride, turned to me, her defences already up. "It's not a costume! It's his appearance! And he's an incredible archer!"
"An archer. How lovely," my tone was condescending, as if speaking to a child proud of a badly drawn picture. "I've met three of your precious zodiac spirits now. A lecherous bovine, a hairdresser, and a man in a horse suit. Blondie, with all due respect, this isn't a pantheon of cosmic power. It's the cast of a low-budget comedy. Selling one of them wouldn't be a betrayal; it would be doing the constellations' reputation a favour."
Sagittarius, ever helpful and completely oblivious to the tension, tried to intervene. "Moshi-moshi? Is the young lady insulting my attire? It is highly functional for archery combat, you know."
But Lucy's fury had already erupted, drowning out the poor horse-man's voice. "HOW DARE YOU?! You don't know anything about them! You don't understand their power, their history! They are my friends and they are strong! You're just a grumpy cynic who doesn't understand the value of a true bond!"
The situation was about to worsen, with Lucy on the verge of tears of rage and Sagittarius looking genuinely confused, but Erza intervened, her voice firm as steel. "Azra'il, that's enough." She turned to me, her gaze a clear warning. "A spirit's appearance does not define their power or their worth. You, of all people, should know that."
I shrugged, indifferent. My disappointment wasn't with his strength, but with the principle, with the heritage of such a great name. "Whatever. If you like your costumed pets, who am I to judge? Just don't expect them to stop an asteroid."
Lucy, still fuming with rage and her face red, closed Sagittarius's gate with a muttered "Thank you, Sagittarius. Sorry about that," and marched ahead towards the guild, stomping as if she wanted to leave marks on the pavement.
The rest of the walk was tense. The air was thick with Lucy's indignation, Natsu's confusion, and the ill-disguised amusement I felt. We finally arrived before the great double doors of the guild. The familiar sound of chaos, laughter, brawls, and joy coming from within contrasted violently with the heavy mood of our small group of misfits.
I didn't care about the money, the reward, or the punishment that would surely come. That was their problem, not mine. I just wanted a quiet place, away from horse-men and hormonal teenagers, to have a strong cup of tea and try to forget the image of that ridiculous suit.
"Wait."
We turned. She stood there, arms crossed, her expression serious and impenetrable.
"Before we go in, I want you to remember one thing." She looked at Natsu, Gray, and Lucy, her gaze lingering on each of them. "The mission on the island is over. You did well, despite everything. But the reason I was sent to fetch you has not changed."
A shiver ran through the group.
"You took an S-Class mission without permission," Erza continued, each word falling like a stone. "You broke one of the guild's most sacred rules. The punishment I mentioned on the boat was not a joke. As soon as we cross these doors and I make my report to the Master, the three of you will be duly punished."
The reality hit them with the force of a punch. Lucy, who was still marching furiously, tripped over her own feet in shock, nearly falling before catching herself on the wall. "Pu… punishment?!"
Natsu and Gray, who were just starting to relax, instantly tensed up, sweat beginning to bead on their foreheads. The fear of the legendary fury of Master Makarov, combined with Erza's creative potential for punishments, was a terrifying prospect.
"But… but we saved everyone!" Natsu stammered.
"That does not negate the infraction," Erza replied, impassive. "Prepare yourselves."
With that cheerful note, she turned, pushed open the guild doors, and entered, leaving behind three panicked mages, a trembling blue cat, and me, who couldn't contain a satisfied smile.
Ah, yes. The drama never ended. And I was beginning to think that was exactly why I liked this place so much.