"Celestial Spirit Cloth, Taurus!"
With Lucy's loud shout, a flash of light enveloped her as her outfit transformed.
She now wore a black-and-white cow-print bra top, matching cow-print arm guards, and black pants that left her right leg bare up to the thigh.
The entire ensemble had a distinct cowboy style, and her hair was tied into two small buns, making Lucy appear exceptionally lively and spirited.
"That's somewhat resembles Requip Magic, even her hairstyle changed," Marco commented.
This was far more like "Requip Magic" than their usual Cloth or combat gear changes, since they didn't alter their hairstyles.
"I call this magic Celestial Spirit Cloth. The inspiration for this ability came from the Cloth, and I never expected it to actually succeed," Lucy explained from within the duel arena.
"The Taurus form greatly enhances strength. Be careful, Hisui."
As she spoke, Lucy charged toward Hisui opposite her.
She wielded a whip resembling a cow's tail—increasing strength while using a whip as a weapon was quite fitting for the cowboy theme.
A small pouch resembling a gun holster hung at her waist, though unfortunately, it contained no gun.
Crack!
A loud bang echoed as Lucy lashed out with her whip.
The force was truly terrifying—the Celestial Spirit Cloth Lucy wore, empowered by Star Magic, produced an overwhelmingly fearsome effect, even surpassing the enhancements the Taurus Celestial Spirit itself received.
After all, this power was directly applied to the Celestial Spirit Cloth, bypassing the Celestial Spirit's intermediary 'cut.'
Every bit of magic expended was fully reflected back.
Twang!
Hisui remained perfectly calm.
While stepping back, she plucked her harp strings, releasing several sharp, thread-like energy slashes that shot directly toward Lucy's long whip.
Whoosh!
Lucy swung her whip, dispersing all the flying blades.
She sprinted forward, her footsteps thundering with each step, then threw a punch.
The momentum was intimidating—the sound of her fist cutting through the air alone was enough to shake her opponent's resolve.
Twang!
Hisui swiftly dodged and continued to counter with slashes.
She refrained from using other abilities, as the primary goal was to test Lucy's new power, not engage in a real battle.
BOOM!!!
Lucy's fist smashed into the ground, sending dust flying everywhere.
The punch left a massive crater, an utterly exaggerated display of force.
The strength enhancement was overwhelmingly dominant—turning Lucy, a slender-limbed girl, into some kind of monstrously powerful dairy cow.
"Taurus is renowned for its strength," Lucy remarked, retracting her fist.
The Taurus key was something she had acquired only recently, painstakingly collected by her father, which made Hisui quite envious.
After all, the royal family had also been gathering keys, yet the Heartfilia Conglomerate had secured this one.
Naturally, Hisui envied Lucy.
Including the Aquarius and Cancer keys left by her mother, Lucy now possessed three golden keys.
If the Capricorn key hadn't been lost, she would have had four—directly owning one-third of them all!
Even now, three golden keys accounted for a quarter.
Hisui didn't have a single one.
If she hadn't learned "Celestial Spirit Lyra Magic," she might have been twisted by envy herself.
"This Celestial Spirit Cloth magic... it only works well with Zodiac keys."
Watching the imposing Lucy, Hisui sighed.
For now, this ability seemed useless to her.
Celestial Spirit Dress was a magic derived from "Old Celestial Spirit Magic," allowing a portion of a Celestial Spirit's power to reside within the summoner.
This enhanced the summoner's magical power and granted them access to some of the spirit's abilities—truly an extension of magic where spirits and summoners fought together.
Over the past year, Lucy had devoted herself to studying ancient texts, absorbing knowledge related to "Old Celestial Spirit Magic," and eventually managed to achieve something remarkable.
The final result was this Celestial Spirit Dress—a magic that allowed her to use Celestial Spirit abilities without summoning the spirits themselves.
Of course, using this magic required the spirits' consent; otherwise, borrowing their power would be impossible.
Merely giving consent without physically appearing was already quite convenient.
If the situation turned unfavorable, the spirits could still be summoned to fight, which was acceptable to everyone.
By developing this magic, Lucy had fulfilled her wish.
Her ultimate goal was to create Celestial Spirit Magic that didn't require summoning the spirits, similar to Marco's "New Celestial Spirit Magic."
"Indeed, weaker spirits wouldn't be of much use with Celestial Spirit Dress, though they might offer some functional assistance. But in terms of combat, don't expect them to be helpful."
Marco nodded.
Celestial Spirit Dress was primarily meant for the Zodiac spirits.
These spirits were inherently powerful, versatile, and magically robust.
Sharing a portion of their power with the summoner could genuinely enhance the summoner's strength.
As for ordinary spirits, if they lacked the capability themselves, how could they possibly share power with the summoner? It would be asking too much of them.
"I feel there's more potential to explore—like using multiple spirits' abilities simultaneously?"
Marco thought for a moment and offered a suggestion.
His Saint techniques had already begun merging, so why not this Celestial Spirit Dress?
"I thought of that too!" Lucy looked at Marco in surprise.
Her next research direction was precisely that—simultaneously harnessing the power of multiple spirits!
If she could fuse the powers of two spirits, she would undoubtedly grow stronger.
And what about three? Four? Or even all twelve? This magic still held vast untapped potential.
"If you fused all eighty-eight, it would essentially be a Celestial Spirit Dress version of Urano Metria."
Marco chuckled and shook his head.
The idea sounded wonderful, but execution was far from simple.
Still, having confidence was good—where there's a will, there's a way, and solutions always outnumber difficulties.
"Hehe~ It's really tough. Using one spirit's power already drains magic quickly. Summoning more would only accelerate the consumption. If it weren't for the Cygnus Star Chart constantly supplying magic, I wouldn't be able to maintain this state for long." Lucy smiled as she spoke.
She was just fantasizing—after all, this was a new magic she had worked hard to master, and she naturally hoped it would prove useful.
For now, using just one spirit's power posed no burden to her.
With the "Cygnus Star Chart" continuously replenishing her magic, she could maximize the potential of Celestial Spirit Dress.
"Don't focus all your attention on this Celestial Spirit clothing. You should also devote more effort to Urano Metria. Don't be discouraged if you can't master it immediately - keep observing and practicing, and you'll eventually grasp it one day."
Looking at Lucy and Hisui, Marco reminded them.
So far, these two hadn't even touched the threshold of Urano Metria.
It had to be said that this ancient Super Magic was truly extremely difficult.
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