"Haha... this is what I deserve..."
As Loke sat near the grave of his previous master, he couldn't help but laugh deprecatingly.
"It's been a while, Karen..."
Looking at the grave by his side, Loke sighed. "I will follow you, soon." While he knew there was still some time before his limit, as everything had been exposed, he definitely couldn't stay in the Fairy Tail.
No, he couldn't, especially after he had betrayed everyone.
Unlike Blue Pegasus, Loke loved Fairy Tail, including the males, despite how infuriating they usually were. They might fight all the time, but they cared for each other, so Loke would be lying if he didn't feel lonely to leave them. Still, he couldn't escape death; he was at his limit, and he knew that he had to leave.
Like how a cat would leave its owner when it was about to meet its end, Loke thought it would be similar to that way; he could leave them peacefully despite how unwilling he was.
Still, even so, when Loke thought that he would leave everyone in such a lonely way and accept his own death, everyone hadn't given up on him!
"There he is!"
"You bastard! How can you leave us so suddenly!"
"You still haven't paid your debt yet! Don't you dare to leave!"
With Kira leading them by using his "Revelation" skill, how could Loke think of running away?
No matter where he was, even if Loke was on another continent, Kira would definitely be able to find him!
Still, even so, Loke was stunned when he saw everyone. "You guys... what are you doing here?"
"We have heard everything." Makarov stepped forward and said, "You can't return to the Celestial Spirit World, right? Tell us the truth. What is happening? We're all a family, so we will help you."
"....."
Facing Makarov, the one who accepted him without saying anything, Loke's lips trembled, then he decided to tell the truth since the truth, he didn't want to die, too. More importantly, as everyone had come to see him, how could he be so cold as to send them away without telling them anything?
Yet, it was impossible.
His fate was already sealed, and he would die.
Regardless, he told them his story from the beginning, when he was still the Celestial Spirit Leo, owned by Karen Lilica.
Unlike Lucy or Kira, Karen treated her Celestial Spirit similar to that of a tool, which she could do anything with since, in her mind, it was immortal, and it wouldn't die, so whatever she did with it, everything was okay, right?
Loke aside, Aries, who was one of Karen's Celestial Spirits, was treated in a horrible way, such as being used as a living shield, taking care of all of those men, who had been taken advantage of by Karen, and sometimes, she was punished by being forced to stay in the human world for so long despite doing so would harm the Celestial Spirit.
While Aries, who had a weak and pushover personality, couldn't do anything, Loke couldn't control himself, and in the end, he asked Karen to stop the contract of all the Celestial Spirits on her.
Naturally, Karen wouldn't accept such a demand since, without the Celestial Spirits, she knew that she wouldn't be that famous Celestial Spirit mage that was loved by many and became a failure.
Yet, Loke had made up his mind, and if Karen didn't break the contract, then he would stay in the human world, so she wouldn't be able to summon the Celestial Spirit and take a quest.
Normally, a Celestial Spirit Magic user could only summon one Celestial Spirit, and summoning more than one would overdraw their magic and might hurt them, so when Loke decided to stay in the human world, telling Karen to break their contract, she was at her wits end since she couldn't take a work, summon another Celestial Spirit, and with Loke's spirit, it was impossible for Karen to force him to return.
Not all Celestial Spirit Magic users were as talented as Lucy, who could summon many Celestial Spirits at the same time.
Meanwhile, Loke also had a hard time staying in the human world for so long since, similar to a fish that needed to live on the water, he had to return to the Celestial World, but as he made up his mind, he stayed on the human world, so Karen would break their contract.
The first week was painful, and it was even more so after a month, but even so, Karen never thought to break their contract.
Finally, in the third month, Loke was used to living in the human world, but when he thought about visiting Karen, thinking that she had changed her mind, he got the news that she died when she left the mission.
"That's why I deserve this punishment," Loke told his story, then looked at all of them with a smile. "But thank you for the past three years; it was a great time."
At least he didn't die alone, he thought, and as he thought so, his body started to dissipate into a light and disappeared into a nothingness, but somehow his hand was grasped.
"Huh? Kira?"
Loke looked at the new member of Fairy Tail, who suddenly grasped his hand firmly. Kira was also affected by the spirit energy that he emitted, which made him about to disappear.
"What are you doing?! Do you want to die?!"
As his body was about to disappear, if others touched him, they would be affected by his vanishing body and would also disappear alongside him!
"It's me who should ask you that question." Kira looked at Loke and asked, "Do you want to die? If not, then let me return you to the Celestial World."
"That's impossible! I can't return! I have been punished! You should just let go of me and not add more sin for me!"
Loke was desperate, but he had no power to push Kira away, and if this continued, then Kira would disappear alongside him. "You bastard! Don't you care about the women by your side?! If you disappear, then who will wipe their tears?!"
"You have helped me before, so let me help you this time."
If it was anyone else, it might have been impossible to help Loke, but nothing was impossible for Kira.
As his arms radiated in the blue and red glows, Kira forcefully opened the gate of the Celestial Spirit World.
"...no way."
Loke was dumbfounded as Kira forcefully opened the door to the Celestial Spirit World.
Kira's arms might not be the most powerful ability, yet it was useful for a purposeful situation, especially in this type of situation.
"Go back. It's too early for you to die."
"Kira, I..."
Loke stared at Kira with tears as he could feel his body starting to rejuvenate as the death was slowly moving away from him.
Yet, even so, everyone sighed in relief and happiness, thinking that Kira was able to save Loke, but all of a sudden, time, the stars, space, water, and everything else appeared to stop before twisting and merging.
"This..."
"What's this?!"
"Master!"
Yet, even Makarov was dumbfounded, never expecting such powerful magic to exist.
Time, space, and matter were all under control; mixed then, a limitless galaxy appeared before them, and a single bright light emerged in the center before a gigantic, imposing figure appeared before them.
Still, their unfamiliarity aside, it was clear that this was a being that caused all the phenomena before them.
"H-How... how could you be here...?"
Only Loke knew who this figure was.
"Celestial Spirit King!"
Even if they had never seen it, they knew well that this being was the strongest among the Celestial Spirits.
A gigantic, humanoid Celestial Spirit with an imposing, broad-shouldered figure with a light, oversized mustache, long enough to diagonally reach his upper torso when he was still and almost extending past his shoulders, with massive and extremely scruffy ends.
Yet, despite how it appeared, without a doubt, the Celestial Spirit King had an aura that made all of them shiver.
"Young man... Do you know what you just did?"
While all of the members of Fairy Tail were there, his eyes were all on Kira, who was able to make Loke return to the Celestial Spirit World, ignoring all of the rules that he had placed on Loke.
"I am just saving my friend."
What did Kira do?
Kira just saved Loke, but then again, according to Virgo, he also knew that it was forbidden for a human to enter the Celestial Spirit World, so for him, who was able to open the door between two worlds and let Loke return to that world that should be forbidden for a human world, despite being punished for not being able to come back, what did it mean?
"Wait!"
Loke quickly stood in front of Kira and said, "He was just helping me! He did nothing wrong!"
"Step to the side, Loke. Let me handle this."
While it was good that Loke tried to protect him, Kira knew that he had to handle himself.
"No, I won't!"
Loke had to say that Kira's ability was outrageous as Kira opened the door of the Celestial Spirit World with those hands of his, and frankly, inwardly, he wondered whether this was a good thing or not. Yet, without a doubt, it was a good thing that Kira held those hands instead of others, as he believed in him.
"We too!"
At the same time, all the members of the Fairy Tail also stood forward, ready to face everything together.
"...."
Kira was speechless, but this was the charm of Fairy Tail, he thought.
Still—
"I believe Loke isn't wrong. If the master of the Celestial Spirit can do whatever they want to their Celestial Spirit, then what's the use of you as the King of the Celestial Spirit?"
"...do you think I am wrong?"
"Yes."
Kira could feel the Celestial Spirit King's momentum, trying to pressure him and make him succumb.
"As a king, it is your job to protect your subjects, not to abandon them."
"It's already a rule; he has broken it. While it pains my heart, even though I know that he didn't do this with his own hands, I will have him punished."
"Then change the rules. Why do you have to stick to such a rule despite knowing how it pains you? You are a king!"
As Kira said, he could feel his connection with Lucy, which made him feel weird, yet as he noticed her gaze on him, which was full of trust, he took a deep breath, then used his every Magic Power.
At that moment, all of the Celestial Spirits that existed in the surroundings gathered around him and stood by his side as they faced the Celestial Spirit King together.
"Huh?!"
"All of those... the Celestial Spirits?!"
"Th-There are so many of them!"
Even those who came from Lucy's were summoned by Kira.
Yet, the Celestial Spirit King and Loke were surprised by Kira's talent in Celestial Spirit Magic, which allowed him to summon many Celestial Spirits despite not having keys on his side.
"Like him, who tried to help me when I was in trouble, this time, I will save him."
Their feelings were connected, and all of them were ready to save their friend.
"....."
Facing them, the Celestial Spirit King was silent for a moment before he chuckled. "If you are willing to go that far for my old friend, then this rule might be the fault one. You committed a sin for your comrade Aries' sake, Leo. I will try and save Leo. For the sake of that radiant bond, I will consider this case as an "exception." Leo, I will allow you to return to the Spirit World."
"Thank you."
"No problem." Celestial Spirit King looked at Kira with a smile and said, "Grow up quickly, so you might be able to summon me next time."
"I will."
Did Kira want to summon the Celestial King Spirit?
Of course.
After all, this was the strongest Celestial Spirit, so for his future protection, it was better that he could summon the Celestial Spirit King.
However, he remembered that the price to summon the Celestial Spirit King was to destroy one Golden Key, so it might be better that he didn't summon him; each of the Golden Keys became an important partner for him.
Heck, Virgo's relationship with him was even more special!
At the same time, he had to say that, as a king of the Celestial Spirit, the Celestial Spirit King was very powerful.
Controlling time, space, and matter... Kira would be lying if he didn't wish for it.
"You are falsely accused, Leo. Thanks to the guidance of the stars."
Celestial Spirit King had decided to forgive Loke and let him return to the Celestial Spirit World.
"Please... wait... I..."
Loke cried, never expecting that he would be forgiven.
"Even after this, if you feel compelled to atone for your sin, then I command you to become a pillar for your friend and live on. Those are the type of friends who are the most significant. There is much nobility in being willing to lay it all on the line to protect someone."
Leaving those words, the Celestial Spirit King disappeared, and the world also started to return to its original state.
"Thanks, Kira."
"No problem."
The two did a fistbump as Loke disappeared with the light and returned to the Celestial Spirit World as the Golden Key of Leo was formed on Kira's palm.
"I will be working hard to become your partner."
"I can't wait for that."
Naturally, Kira released all of the Celestial Spirits that he had summoned as he saw them smile in his direction before they returned to the Celestial Spirit World.
At the same time—
"You did it!"
"Thanks, Kira!"
"You are as amazing as ever!"
Everyone on the Fairy Tail was so happy that they hugged him. Yes, Loke might not stay in the human world for so long anymore, yet without a doubt, his life was saved.
However—
"K-Kira, what's wrong with you?"
Then, they all noticed the blood that dripped from Kira's nose, and it continued to pour out before he felt so dizzy that he passed out.
"KIRAAAA!!!"
As their loud voices echoed within his brain, Kira, who had forced himself to stand up, passed out as he thought that he shouldn't try something so dangerous next time.