novelraw Chapter 517 - 517
Chapter 517 - 517
But now, thanks to Lucy's suggestion, he had decided to intervene.
At the very least, he had to step in for the Celestial Spirits who were constantly bullied and abused by their Contractors.
Even if it was just to uphold the legitimacy and justice of the Celestial Spirit Contracts—and to prevent another "Leo Celestial Spirit" incident—he had to address this situation.
"Leo, I'm entrusting this matter to you," the Celestial Spirit King declared. "From now on, if any Celestial Spirit encounters such a problem, have them register with you. Then, you will report to me, and I will handle the resolution."
Although he had decided to intervene, the Celestial Spirit King still wanted to slack off a bit.
He would only handle the final problem-solving; the initial tasks of registration and verification would be delegated to his subordinates.
He had no desire to waste time on such trivial matters.
"Yes! I understand! I will fulfill my duties without fail!"
Leo was naturally overjoyed by this appointment.
He was inherently warm-hearted and loved to fight for the underdog.
Otherwise, Aries's plight had nothing to do with him. Karen Lilica would never have dared to abuse him, so why would he have gone to such lengths?
Meddling in others' affairs? He had nearly gotten himself killed for it.
But Leo, the Leo Celestial Spirit, possessed an unyielding sense of justice.
He had to intervene.
He had to speak up for others
The task the Celestial Spirit King had given him was exactly what Leo wanted.
He was overjoyed, silently vowing never to spare a single abuser and never to let another Celestial Spirit suffer such a fate again!
"Until we meet again, Daughter of an Old Friend, Child of All Stars."
With the matter perfectly resolved, the Celestial Spirit King's voice echoed as he bid farewell to Lucy and Marco.
Though he hadn't spoken much to Marco, it was clear he was highly aware of his presence.
After all, Marco was the founder of "New-Style Celestial Spirit Magic," a "Child of All Stars" even more favored by the cosmos than the Celestial Spirits themselves.
It would have been strange if the Celestial Spirit King hadn't been wary of him.
His initial silence upon appearing wasn't out of disinterest, he had been observing, trying to gauge Marco's stance and any hidden motives in the day's events.
For now, it seemed Marco held no ill will toward the Celestial Spirits and had no intention of exploiting them.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have shown such disinterest in the Leo Celestial Spirit, the leader of the Zodiac.
The Celestial Spirit King was quite satisfied with the current situation.
He didn't want to disrupt this delicate balance but rather maintain it.
Thus, he chose not to breach the unspoken boundary between them, instead conveying his goodwill.
He hoped Marco would continue to coexist harmoniously with the Celestial Spirits.
Most importantly, the Celestial Spirit King couldn't act against Marco under the current circumstances.
Coming to the mortal world wasn't a simple matter for him.
Currently, only Lucy could summon him.
But given her relationship with Marco, the daughter of his old friend would clearly never support a battle between them.
Moreover, none of the Celestial Spirits who could be summoned to Earthland were strong enough to defeat Marco.
Besides extending goodwill, the Celestial Spirit King had no other choice.
The Celestial Spirits were simply powerless against Marco.
"Farewell, Celestial Spirit King!"
Lucy happily bid him goodbye.
She had achieved all her goals, even gaining the Leo Celestial Spirit and keeping Leo in Fairy Tail.
It was a resounding success—a perfect outcome she hadn't even dared to imagine at the start!
Initially, the best-case scenario Lucy had envisioned was simply sending Leo back to the Celestial Spirit World so he could return home.
Of course, this meeting with the Celestial Spirit King had also allowed her to learn more about her mother, which made Lucy incredibly happy.
Her mother had passed away when she was young, and there were many things Lucy didn't know about her.
Her father never spoke of them, as recalling those memories would only bring him immense pain.
"Rest assured, Celestial Spirit King. I won't do anything excessive. I hold no hostility toward you or your Celestial Spirits."
As the Celestial Spirit King was about to completely disappear, Marco spoke with a smile.
His words were quite direct, partly to reassure the King, who had been cautiously probing him just moments before.
The Celestial Spirit King's figure dissolved into countless points of light and vanished completely.
Just before he disappeared, he seemed to nod in response to Marco's words.
Marco had also gained a great deal from this meeting.
The Celestial Spirit King was indeed no longer a cause for concern.
Although the King possessed immense power, his inability to come to Earthland was a critical weakness.
No matter how strong he was, if he couldn't unleash that power, it was as good as nonexistent—nothing to worry about at all.
Of course, there was no need to deliberately antagonize him. Since the Celestial Spirit King was willing to coexist peacefully, Marco had no objections.
After all, given the King's relationship with Lucy, he could serve as her ultimate trump card.
In a truly desperate situation, Lucy could summon him directly, and he could likely eliminate most enemies.
This essentially gave Fairy Tail another ace up its sleeve.
Besides, Lucy was certain to remain with Fairy Tail indefinitely. Her entire life—her family, her home, her relationships—was now fundamentally tied to the guild.
"Great, everything ended perfectly."
Makarov, who had been keeping a low profile until now, finally spoke up.
It couldn't be helped, the Celestial Spirit King hadn't paid him any mind at all. Besides, he was just an observer, so there had been no need for him to interject.
"It went even more smoothly than I imagined," Marco added, echoing the old master's relief.
Master Makarov had been worried sick earlier, but now he could finally relax.
"That Celestial Spirit King knows his place," Makarov blustered. "He may be huge, but if I used my Titan Magic, I could've given him a fight!"
It was clear from his nonsensical boasting that he was truly at ease now, even able to joke about the situation.
While the Celestial Spirit King had been present, Makarov had been tense, ready to transform into a giant and fight the massive being to the death at a moment's notice.
"I think you'd have him beat," Marco said with a grin, playing along and stroking the old master's ego.
Makarov rolled his eyes.
He wasn't an idiot.
The Celestial Spirit King's Magic Power was so immense that he couldn't even enter Earthland.
How could Makarov possibly be a match for him? The gap in their Magic Power was simply too vast.
He was, after all, only human—and not even the strongest among them.
He couldn't dream of challenging the Celestial Spirit King.
Even if Lucy summoning the Celestial Spirit King limited his power, it would still likely be beyond what Makarov could handle.
"He seemed a bit afraid of antagonizing you, didn't he? Or was that just my imagination?" Makarov asked, dropping the playful banter and looking genuinely puzzled.
Marco's final words seemed to confirm his suspicion.
"You're right," Marco replied, not hiding the truth from the old master. "He can't do anything to me, but I can influence the Celestial Spirits—even forcibly summon them. Faced with that, he definitely wouldn't want to start a conflict with me."
Marco's existence was truly unique.
To the Celestial Spirits, it was as if another king had appeared above them—a king who could influence them within the world of Earthland.
"You did the right thing. There's no need to antagonize them," Makarov said, expressing his support after Marco's explanation.
Besides, Celestial Spirits weren't inherently evil creatures.
There was no real reason to target them.
It was the Mages who truly determined whether their actions were good or evil.