novelraw Chapter 514 - 514
Chapter 514 - 514
A colossal figure emerged from the Leo Gate, a being so towering that humans appeared as insects before him, a giant straight out of myth.
Starlight radiated from the giant's body, his massive form enveloped in a soft, ethereal glow.
He wore full plate armor in hues of white, green, and yellow, topped with a helmet adorned with two curved horns resembling a bull's.
A vast blue cape billowed behind him, swaying without wind, completing his majestic and imposing appearance.
The most striking feature, however, was his mustache: two thick, white whiskers that seemed to sprout directly from his nostrils, extending straight down to his chest, like oversized nose plugs.
"He actually came!"
Loke, the Celestial Spirit Leo, stared at the gargantuan figure with jaw-dropped disbelief.
The Armored Giant turned his gaze upon the crowd, lowering his head to regard the humans gathered near his feet.
"My old friend," he boomed, "it has been far too long since we last met."
The Armored Giant, also known as the Celestial Spirit King, uttered a sentence that left everyone stunned.
Marco and the others immediately glanced at Loke, assuming this "old friend" referred to him.
"That can't be right..." Marco reacted first.
According to Loke, his relationship with the Celestial Spirit King was far from friendly—certainly not to the point of being considered "old friends."
Moreover, if they were truly friends, would the King impose such a deadly punishment on Leo?
Most crucially, the giant's gaze seemed to be fixed... on Lucy?!
"If I may ask," Marco interjected, determined to keep the atmosphere from freezing over. "Which old friend are you referring to?"
Regardless of the King's motives, the current situation was advantageous for them.
They had to seize the opportunity and resolve the conflict without bloodshed.
The Celestial Spirit King's unexpected demeanor had thrown everyone off balance.
Instead of reacting with anger to Lucy and Hisui's actions, he had opened with a cordial greeting, leaving them completely baffled.
Marco's question naturally drew everyone's attention.
All heads turned upward, waiting for the Celestial Spirit King's answer.
"Layla, of course."
The King's response plunged the atmosphere into another stunned silence.
"Layla..."
Marco looked at Lucy, now certain that the "old friend" the Celestial Spirit King referred to was her.
However, he had mistaken Lucy for her mother, Layla.
Marco knew Layla Heartfilia was a renowned Celestial Spirit Mage, but he never imagined she would be acquainted with the Celestial Spirit King, let alone be his "old friend"!
Clearly, Marco wasn't the only one caught off guard.
Makarov, Hisui, and Leo all stared wide-eyed in astonishment.
Hisui had even met Layla and learned Celestial Spirit Magic from her.
She revered Layla, but never imagined her to be this extraordinary.
Makarov had also heard of Layla's fame.
Layla Heartfilia had indeed been a sensation in her time, but she had quickly retired home to marry and raise a family.
He knew very little about her beyond that.
The most shocked was Loke.
As a Leo Celestial Spirit, he had never encountered a Celestial Spirit King like this.
Their king, an old friend of a human? This shattered his understanding of their world.
After all, summoning the Celestial Spirit King was nearly impossible for ordinary people.
How could a human possibly become his old friend?
Yet, viewed from another angle, perhaps Lucy's connection to the Celestial Spirit King stemmed from her being Layla's daughter.
Perhaps that was why the king answered her summons.
"Layla... was my mother. I'm Lucy Heartfilia."
After recovering from her initial shock, Lucy quickly clarified her identity.
She had to admit, she and her mother looked remarkably alike.
If they wore identical clothes, they could have been mistaken for twins.
It was no wonder the Celestial Spirit King had made the mistake.
"Layla's daughter?"
Lucy's words clearly startled the Celestial Spirit King.
Though his face was obscured by a helmet, its metallic-blue pallor couldn't conceal his surprise.
He had genuinely mistaken her for Layla.
"I never imagined Layla's daughter could summon me. As expected of my old friend—her spirit lives on in you."
After a moment of stunned silence, the Celestial Spirit King began to reminisce. His gaze toward Lucy remained warm and unchanged by this revelation, still treating her as an equal worthy of conversation.
"Lucy, daughter of my old friend, for what purpose have you summoned me?"
The Celestial Spirit King asked, his gaze shifting to Leo.
In truth, he already suspected the reason.
He inwardly marveled at Leo's luck—the boy had not only encountered Layla's daughter, but she also possessed the same pure-hearted spirit as her mother, allowing him to sense her summons.
Only those who treat Celestial Spirits with genuine sincerity, cherish them wholeheartedly, and share a pure, selfless bond with them—untainted by any selfish motives—can truly move the Celestial Spirit King and earn his attention.
Layla and Lucy, mother and daughter, were such individuals.
This was an exceedingly rare occurrence, as even parents cannot fully control their children's thoughts, and children may not necessarily follow their parents' paths.
Moreover, this involved matters of the soul.
"Please allow Leo to return to the Celestial Spirit World!"
Lucy didn't overthink things; she directly stated her request.
Her sole purpose in all of this was to help Loke return to his realm.
She didn't even considered making Loke her own Celestial Spirit, which was precisely why she could move the Celestial Spirit King—her sincerity was absolute, seeking no personal gain whatsoever.
"The Leo Celestial Spirit, violated his contract and committed a grave transgression. He abused his power, causing the death of his Contractor. This is his punishment. If all Celestial Spirits behaved as he did, the very concept of Celestial Spirit contracts would become a hollow sham."
Gazing at Leo, the Celestial Spirit King recited Leo's transgressions.
He disregarded the circumstances, focusing solely on the outcome: Leo had forcibly remained in the human world, occupying one of his Contractor's summoning slots, preventing her from opening both Celestial Spirit Gates simultaneously.
This failure had ultimately led to her death at the hands of her enemies.
For such a serious offense, sentencing Leo to death was entirely justified.
After all, even if Leo died, a new Leo Celestial Spirit would be born under the Leo Gate.
The Leo Celestial Spirit wouldn't disappear, nor would Celestial Spirits in general—they might even become overabundant, like the Celestial Spirits of Canis Minor, whose numbers were already verging on excessive.
"But! That wasn't Leo's intention! He was only trying to help Aries, the Aries Celestial Spirit. Her Contractor was abusing her—wasn't that the Contractor who broke the contract first?! Does being a Contractor give them the right to mistreat Celestial Spirits?!"
After the Celestial Spirit King explained his reasons, Lucy loudly challenged him, showing no fear of the Celestial Spirit King whatsoever.
Lucy was willing to help Leo for two reasons: first, because he had once been a fellow member of their Guild, and second, because she was furious at Karen Lilica's actions.
She wholeheartedly supported Leo's defense of his Celestial Spirit companion.
"Since you're the King of the Celestial Spirits, responsible for managing them all, you should have intervened in this matter! It's ultimately your fault that Leo was forced to resort to such drastic measures!"
Lucy didn't just question the Celestial Spirit King; she even dared to loudly accuse him.
Lucy believed the Celestial Spirit King had failed in his duty.
The problem Aries faced should have been resolved by him as the leader and king of the Celestial Spirits, not by Leo, her colleague.
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