Zangetsu awoke due to the cavern shaking. Moderate tremors shook the floor, and in turn, vibrated through his body to force him into consciousness. His body reacted first, shifting into a hunched stance to acquire as much stability as possible with his blade held up and his claws at the ready. The second part of him to respond was his reiatsu sense, warning him that a geyser of energy was coming down close by from his left side. His eyes opened last, and it allowed him to catch Team Natsu each in their own states of half-conscious panic before him. Lucy was barely awake enough to do anything but hold her hands to her skirt to keep it from riding up as the tremors had her vibrating along the ground. Natsu was scrambling slightly, his body sufficiently trained that he was automatically doing something, but not enough to actually know what it was trying to do. Gray was attempting to stand, but his sneakers were doing him no favors in keeping him up, the man sliding to the floor just as he would get his feet under him.

The zanpakuto turned towards the geyser of energy, finding that the glacier Deliora's corpse was preserved in was being bombarded by a violet ray coming from the sky. It was easy to look at how the beam struck the ice and connect that was the source of its melting.

"It's coming from above!" Gray shouted. The only thing keeping the Hollow from shouting back 'No shit' was how much effort it would have taken to speak it. "We have to find some way back up!" He would have rolled his eyes if he could have. Peering out with his reiatsu sense, the ray seemed to originate from high in the sky…right at the top of the fog of reiatsu which hung over the entire island. Putting that to the side for now, the blade focused on the mass of reiatsu signatures above them. If he were to guess, they were likely at the top of the temple. They were all the same ones he had sensed earlier, the ones that had prompted him to drag Team Natsu here in the first place. His patience even thinner than usual, the Hollow lifted himself just above the ground with reiatsu so that he didn't have to deal with the shaking and grabbed Lucy by the ankle. She just barely started verbalizing her complaints when he tilted his head to the side and threw her over his shoulder. The blonde shrieked and kicked her legs while her hands tried desperately to cover her bottom, which was facing the direction of Natsu and Gray, not that either seemed to care. Carefully slipping his weapon into the sash keeping his tattered hakama around his waist, Zangetsu ignored the struggles of the Celestial Spirit Mage and encroached upon the Fire Dragon Slayer. He gripped the pink-haired man's scaled scarf and nodded appreciatively when Happy latched onto the back of his partner's vest. The horned beast turned to Gray and found the man crawling over on his hands and knees, seemingly having given up on trying to remain standing. They met each other's eyes, and the Hollow shifted so that his back was to the Ice-Make Mage. Seeing the permission for what it was, the raven-haired man crawled over and lunged upwards, his arms weaving around Zangetsu's shoulders and securing a tight grip.

With a burst of Sonido, they were back in the temple proper, specifically the room they had fallen from. Another took them outside the temple, and after checking to ensure the tremors did not carry over there, the spirit allowed his cargo to drop. Happy squealed and writhed as Natsu landed on his back, the cat kicking and clawing until the Dragon Slayer lifted his shoulder, which was enough for the blue ball of fur to shoot out from under him. Lucy instantly went to sitting with her legs under her and her hands protectively over her skirt, a heavy, blushing glare aimed at the other mages. Gray's legs trembled with lingering shakes as he finally managed to stand, and he instantly turned toward the temple, catching how the beam of light emanated from the center and looking for a way to reach it.

"Zangetsu, can you-" The beast's snarl stopped the mage mid-sentence, a clear warning that he was pushing his limits.

"…Your…fight." He explained. After a moment of shock, the shirtless man developed a determined expression, nodded, and began jogging toward the temple, beginning to scale the walls. Yelping at being left behind, Natsu quickly flipped to his feet and rushed after his rival, declaring that he was going to beat the ice mage to the top. Huffing, the zanpakuto took a step after, only for a hand to weave around his bicep. He turned and saw it was Lucy, who was looking at him with a concerned expression.

"Zangetsu, I know that we're the ones who asked you to join us, but can you please help us?" She begged. "Natsu won't admit it, and this is too personal for Gray to realize, but we're in over our heads here. I…I know you have problems with Gray, and that you probably don't care about anything that's going on, so can you do this for me, instead?" Her brown eyes stared into his black pits, and the Hollow found he couldn't tear himself away. He had made it clear that he was capable of defeating the mysterious Eight, but it seemed only Lucy caught onto the fact that he wasn't particularly eager to. His first instinct was to assume it was because they wouldn't be a fight, a needless waste of his time, but the excuse felt weak. Thus far, only rage and irritation had ever prompted him to attack, and he felt neither for any of the targets of the Quest. As of yet, he had hardly been more than a mode of transportation for Team Natsu, and even then only when the situation called for it. He had saved them from drowning in the boat, cursing them all whilst doing so. He had broken down the door to the village, because they couldn't be damned to. He had taken them to the temple, even, doubting they could find it themselves. He had been ready to attack the mages that had nearly found them, but it could hardly be said that they needed to convince him not to.

He just…couldn't bring himself to care, really. Not that any of the mages with him realized, but he could have up and left whenever he wanted. He was aware that the Quest they were on was not one they were allowed to do, so he could have snatched them all up and dumped them into the Guild Hall really whenever he felt like it. Somewhere deep inside the zanpakuto, they both felt that they should have already. But, even though it would be so easy, it was simply easier to just not bother. As he was already aware, all but one of the enemy mages Team Natsu could handle on their own. Sure, even if they all teamed up, he honestly doubted they would win against that exception, but the Fairy Tail mages were smart enough to run when they realized they were outmatched, right? …No, Natsu was probably dumb enough to think the three of them working together meant that they were as strong as a thirteen. As Lucy said, Gray was also too invested to do anything but fight until he was dead. Lucy would run, but only until she realized the other two wouldn't, then stay behind to try talking them out of it. A weak growl left the blade's throat.

"…One…fight." He would remove the Eight, but outside of that, they were to fend for themselves for the rest of the Quest. He just wanted to sleep. Lucy nodded gratefully, and then the two of them followed after the rival duo. Whether it was because Natsu held Gray back or because Gray wanted to confirm what was happening, they found the pair of mages hiding behind some stone watching a ritual taking place. A group of cloaked figures stood around a hole at the top of the temple, the beam of violet light coming down through it as they chanted. Clearly, they were the ones perpetuating the spell. Off to the side, were the group of mages Zangetsu sensed. The armored one with an obnoxious cape was the Five, the whispery tinge, like icy fog, of their reiatsu telling the blade that they used a similar, if not the same, magic as Gray. The two Threes were a man with incredibly thick eyebrows, who felt like a distorted mirror, and a woman in gothic clothes whose reiatsu seemed to want to reach out and grab things around her. The Two was a shirtless man with a dog-like face. His Magic did not seem refined enough to make any significant impact on his reiatsu, like an Academy student with a fledgling zanpakuto.

The Eight, was an old man wearing a tribal mask that covered the top half of his face. A mane of green fur covered the back of his head, and a brown cloak covered the majority of his body. He was floating in the air, crouched atop something hidden by the cloak, but Zangetsu could sense the Magic in whatever he was standing atop. The man smelled of women's perfume, which could've just been a preference of his, the Hollow didn't give a shit, but he felt was important when combined with the feel of the man's reiatsu. It was coating his skin, seeping into it like hourglass sand. It was far too similar to the fur coat of Renji's Hihio Zabimaru, or the tattered remnants covering Zangetsu's own body. Unless the man was some wasteful fool who flaunted being in a constantly transformed state, it was a cover. For his very own allies, surely, but why was the newest question.

"We need to stop this. They're going to free Deliora!" Gray hissed.

"You're still on that sculpture downstairs?" Natsu spat back, angry for some reason Zangetsu did not pay attention to. "That jackass just told his lackeys to kill the villagers!" When did that happen? Oh, it was likely while the zanpakuto was analyzing the Eight.

"We need to come up with a plan!" Lucy grabbed both of their shoulders before they could stand. "Thanks to Zangetsu, we know one of them is way too strong for us to beat, but we don't know which one that is! What if one of us accidentally goes for them and they kill us?!" Gray scowled, his face twisting with rage at being held back.

"If we don't attack them, then the villagers are going to die!" Natsu grit through his teeth.

"This is an S-Class Quest for a reason, guys! We can't just rush into this blindly!" She argued back.

The Hollow had a better plan.

A boom of Sonido, and he was in front of the Eight, his weapon drawn from his hip and swinging for the neck of the masked man. While he hadn't really been trying, having sensed the mage was nothing compared to him, it was still surprising for a crystal orb to fly out from the Eight's cloak and take the hit for him while he jumped back. While the Hollow couldn't make out much of his expression due to the mask, his lips were curled in agitation and mild panic.

"I thought you sent your rat out to deal with the intruders!" The masked man complained.

"I said I was going to deal with the intruders for Angelica!" The only woman of the enemy group shouted back as the rest of them burst into action. A host of ice birds formed in the air between the armored man and Zangetsu, all of them soaring for the horned beast and shattering upon his Hierro. He spared them and the crystalline tiger that followed them a single glance, then simply sent out a pulse of reiatsu to obliterate the constructs. He had seen ice that moved before through Toshiro's Hyorinmaru. The prodigy Captain's dragons were more fluid than the mere jungle creatures that crashed against him now, as well as more stable than Gray's static sculptures. Not even good enough to be called pathetic. Gray came at the armored man screaming with a hammer of ice held above his head, drawing his attention. Seeing as none of the others were unwisely seeking his notice, the blade remained focused on the masked man.

The Quincy wanted to know more about him. Learn what lay behind the masquerade. The Hollow didn't see the point. What was a façade to a spirit that surely knew neither identity? Their blade whipped through the air, cleaving apart the series of crystal balls that flew at them. They broke with laughable ease, not that it was unexpected. What was, however, was seeing the damage unwind before them. And 'unwind' was very much the most accurate term. To the Hollow's keen eyes, it was easy to catch how even the smallest shards flew back into place and how the cracks seemed to fold back into themselves rather than seal shut. Hm, curious.

The masked man made to comment, likely some monologue about the futility of breaking the orbs when he clearly could bring them back to before they were damaged. Only, when the Hollow lazily flicked out a Bala that completely disintegrated one of the orbs, the Eight's mouth merely hung open limply. So there was a limit.

A feminine scream took his attention. Snapping around, the zanpakuto saw Lucy clasped in the paws of a gigantic rat. The rat was flying. By using its tail as a propellor. The woman in gothic clothing was riding the rat. A crystal crashed against his head, taking advantage of the lull in attention, only for it to scatter into pieces harmlessly. After a moment to stare at just how ridiculously stupid the situation Lucy found herself in was, the spirit focused on the rat. Barely between the dog-faced man and the gothic girl in strength. Lucy was an even Three to the gothic girl, a match she was likely to acquire the upper hand in since her strength lied in her Celestial Spirits. Suitably content, Zangetsu allowed themself to shift back to the Eight.

'Isolate them.' The Quincy ordered.

'Why?' The Hollow resisted. The Eight clearly had good practice with their magic, quickly maneuvering the crystal balls so that they would shatter against his Hierro to reform around him. The intent clearly was to enclose the shards around the blade's body, whether to entrap or tear apart was unknown. Either way, it was as effective as shattering the orbs against their body was. Lazy, idle swings splintered orb after orb. There had been ten to start with, though after the Hollow discovered a simple Bala was sufficient to remove one completely, he saw no reason to bore himself further by annihilating any others.

'I do not believe this individual is truly working with the rest of the group.'

'And why the fuck should I care?'

'I doubt you will. This is entirely for my own sake.' The Hollow rolled his eyes. At least the Quincy wasn't going to lie to him.

'Alright, I take it you want 'em alone so that they'll be more willing to reveal themselves?'

'More so that I believe they would be significantly less cooperative if they were outed to the people they are masking themselves for.' The Hollow's outward response was an annoyed snort, which caused the Eight to straighten and tense.

'Fine, but I ain't taking part in this.'

'Then just repeat what I say.' The next Sonido performed was far faster than the one that had started the fight. Their opponent couldn't have possibly reacted to the white arm wrapping around their midsection, tucking them close as the beast brought them deep into the forest and far away from everyone else. The orbs they used as their primary attack were left far behind, though that truly was a mere coincidence. The zanpakuto relinquished their grip on the mage once they stopped, who collapsed to the ground, dizzy from the unexpected burst of ludicrous speed. Before they could recover, not that they could resist even at their best, a clawed hand gripped the mask on the Eight's face and roughly pulled it off their head. For a second, it revealed the face of a shocked man with short dark hair. However, with the glow of Magic leaving them, the Eight's form changed in front of the spirit.

It revealed a fair-skinned young woman, which made sense with the perfume in mind. She wore an odd kimono, missing the right sleeve and ending at her mid-thigh. It was colored white, with a yellow sash around her abdomen to keep it shut. She possessed dark hair that extended just beyond her shoulders, perfectly straight, and a black choker was around her neck. Her eyes were a dark brown, and currently wide with shock. Not bothering to wait, the Hollow repeated the words the Quincy told him as soon as he was given them.

"…Who…you?" The Hollow was regretting this already. Having to speak meant that this was going to be annoying, tedious, and demand far too much of his attention. Why couldn't Natsu have stolen some Quest about deciphering a book or something equally outside of his skillset? Lucy wouldn't have begged him to participate if combat weren't involved.

"You…could tell…?" The woman breathed in shock, looking up at the beast with horror all over her face. The horned beast was very tempted to crush the mask still in his grip but refrained for now.

"…Who…you?" He demanded again, stomping a foot down in front of her, missing one of her hands by an inch. It cracked the ground underneath, spreading out as it dented the dirt. Thankfully, it was sufficient for intimidation, the woman snapping up to sit on her haunches and holding her hands protectively against her chest.

"I-I'm just a spectator!" She cried instantly. "There was word of Lyon's goal to set Deliora free, so I pretended to be some old coot who knew a bit about Moon Drip to see what he'd do." The Hollow leveled the point of his blade at the bridge of her nose in obvious threat as he was fed words by his counterpart.

"…What…Moon…Drip?" With words such a scarce resource for the spirit, neither deemed it important to ask the woman for her name, so the one in control of the body decided she was to be called Sand. It was based off the feel of her Magic and stuck to their inane one-syllable restriction.

"I-it's how Lyon's group is melting the ice around Deliora." Her eyes were crossed as she remained unerringly focused on the point of their blade. "By using a Magic ritual to collect the Moon's magical energy, it can be condensed into a beam that can dissolve any other Magic. The more powerful the spell, the more moonlight is needed." At that provided information, both halves paused. It wasn't the direct information itself, that was something they had already strongly suspected. The magic lingering over the island like a fog, which seemed to funnel into the beam pouring down onto the glacier. The supposed magical energy of the moon, which oddly was not found anywhere outside the island. The next question posed was not one sourced from the Quincy.

"…How…long?" Sand blinked at the query, clear surprise coloring her features.

"It's been…three years, I think?" She muttered. This entire situation was lining up to finally make sense. This 'Lyon' person sought to free Deliora, and so brought it to the island to make use of the Moon Drip. Over the course of three years, the focused magic began to linger, continuously drawn over and over to the temple. The density of the magic causes the Moon to turn purple, at least to the eyes of the villagers who witnessed it through the veil. And, of course, being feeble villagers with little to no magical power, they possessed no resistance to the energy around them. Thus, the Demon Curse was produced. There was only one question left, though. Retracting their weapon, the spirit leaned close to Sand to inspect her closer. Of course, she naturally grew more tense and anxious from his focused analysis. The woman was stricken with fear as he grabbed her right arm to investigate for any signs of demonization. Her reiatsu, of course, displayed no signs of infection, though it might not appear as readily in larger pools. It could coalesce atop her skin before seeping in deeper, akin to a standard transformation.

'What if Sand is not infected? She possesses higher reiatsu, and the reasonable assumption is that she spends as much of her time as possible transformed.'

'You wanna leave her and nab Dog-face, then? He's the weakest of them all.'

'No, he confirmed earlier to the one with the distorted reiatsu that he was unaffected by the Moon Drip. If this group has been present from the start, and as close to the source as could be without showing signs of infection, then it's possible the length of exposure does not change anything.' Both were ignorant of the woman's reaction to their continued inspection as they continued their conversation. Her face was a mess of crimson as they sought to ensure there was no hint of demonization anywhere on her form. The only reason she lacked resistance was due to her awareness of the colossal gap in power between them.

'You think that the villagers were the only ones hit? Because they aren't wizards?'

'I do think that the villagers are the only ones affected, but I do not think innate power levels are a factor. My forming theory stems from the lack of distinction between Bobo's reiatsu and that of the villagers'. My question is thus: What if it is not the body that is infected, but-' The zanpakuto's attention was stolen by sensing Lucy's reiatsu plummet. They had been maintaining an idle lock on it, just for security, with the hope that it would be unneeded. Neither were happy to find that they would be putting it to use. A vicious snarl curling out from their throat, the blade abandoned the woman holding her arms over her most intimate places.

The straightest path took them quite literally through several trees, meager wood doing nothing but turning to splinters as they rocketed forth. In less than the blink of an eye, the spirit was on the other side of the island, at a beach. Without an ounce of hesitation, the being pinning Lucy to the ground was viciously sliced apart. The first swing removed both arms at the elbow, extending even to the creature's thighs entrapping Lucy's legs to relieve the being of all its extremities. The second split the torso in twain, a horizontal strike just beneath the ribs. The third and final took the cow-like creature's head, and the entire assault was done before anyone else present could register. Zangetsu went to kick the torso of the being away before it could land on the blonde but found the hunk of meat burst into magical light just as the hit connected. Lucy gasped, both in obvious shock and due to the cow creature's hands having been around her throat.

"Zan-" The mage coughed roughly, her voice slightly hoarse from the choking. "Zangetsu! How did you-" The enraged growl of the horned beast cut her off, as they leveled a glare at the gothic woman standing to the side with wide, horrified eyes. They stepped over Lucy's body, the girl having not yet moved from her position, to encroach upon the gothic woman. The rat from earlier jumped out from the trees to defend who they supposed was its master. In an instant, and with a single slash, the oversized rodent burst into blood from the vertical cut going through the center of its body. The gothic woman screamed and fell back onto her hands, desperately trying to crawl backward from the blade as they continued their march unimpeded.

"Zangetsu, No!" The Celestial Spirit Mage scrambled to get in front of the spirit, her hands coming up to press against their chest like her feeble strength could even slow them. They did stop, but only to turn their glare down upon her, something she seemed to be all too aware of. "We don't need to kill them! That Reitei guy is someone from Gray's childhood, they learned under the same mentor! They're only here because he wants to defeat Deliora, as a way of honoring their teacher's memory! They're not bad people!" Like they cared in the slightest. The black blade was leveled at the cowering woman, while the hollow gaze remained on Lucy's brown orbs.

"…Hurt! …You!" The Hollow seethed. "…She! …Dies!" At the declaration, their soon-to-be victim burst into sobs.

"S-She only fought me on Lyon's orders! She wouldn't have done that otherwise, I'm sure of it!" Bad choice.

"…Then…him…too!" Oddly, that seemed to mildly invigorate the gothic woman, who stiffened before acquiring a determined expression. Her left hand swung forward, palm out towards him.

"You can't be human!" She declared meaningfully. Lucy turned to glare at her over her shoulder.

"Don't make this worse on yourself! I'm barely getting him to listen as is!" She attempted to warn. However, Zangetsu already sensed reiatsu gathering in the woman's hand, in preparation for some magic spell. In a burst of Sonido, he was directly in front of the woman. The hand she had been charging with magic was not. Her resulting scream was significantly more agonized. "YOU IDIOT!" The sheer tension in the air incited Lucy to forfeit all sympathy, only stress in her voice. She sprinted over and wrapped her arms around Zangetsu's sword arm in some nonsensical attempt to stop them from moving it. "Zangetsu, please! She's-she's not a big deal! I just messed up and gave her an advantage! I was gonna handle it on my own before you came!"

"…Your…Ma…gic…weak." He protested.

"I had to use more magic to force-close Taurus' gate!" She explained desperately. "That's why he disappeared!" Taurus? Was that the name of the cow creature? That retroactively explained the reiatsu signature. But that 'Taurus' was stronger than either of them. He measured slightly below Natsu in strength, easily above Lucy. The gothic woman's reiatsu had been interwoven into his, the Quincy deduced that she likely possessed some sort of controlling magic, and that was why he was attacking Lucy. How would she win against someone who could turn her main means of attacking against her? The blade wrenched their arm out of her grip by turning around to face her. Glowering down at her, they hissed.

"…Prove." They demanded. Her eyes widened, which tested their patience. "…PROVE! " They howled. If she truly possessed a way to win this fight, the zanpakuto needed to see it. They needed to confirm it. Something absolute. Something certain. They would only leave her to it if they knew nothing could go wrong. The hole in their chest ached, and they furiously ignored it.

Trust was for fools who died unprepared for their enemies. Hope was for those who ignored what was in front of them in favor of misguided prayers. Faith was for spectators who watched a man die to a manifestation of nihilism. The only thing certain was strength.

In a mildly relieved panic, Lucy ran over to the water, pulling a golden key from her belt. If they could, Zangetsu would have narrowed their eyes. Did she have a spirit she felt could not be controlled? Was she so stupid to think willpower might overwhelm the magic? Did she think that key specifically might be immune to the girl's magic? Too much trust. Too much hope. Too much faith. The blonde touched the key to the water.

"Open, Gate of the Water Bearer: Aquarius!" She cast. A whirlpool manifested in the water, rising into the air. The blade watched and waited, an intense focus on the gothic girl as she cradled her bleeding stump to her chest. Until they were certain of Lucy's victory, they would track every breath. Out of the water, a mermaid appeared. Her tail was of blue scale, a golden belt around her waist with golden rings pierced into the sides of her tail. Her only piece of clothing was a blue bra lined with silver and a silver crown. Golden cuffs were around her biceps and wrists, and her blue hair reached past her waist. She carried a silver urn between her hands. Her reiatsu marked her as a firm six. And Zangetsu could not sense anything that would mark her as immune to being controlled. Her eyes opened, revealing them to be blue.

"What did I say about-" The woman's voice was filled with clear irritation, the zanpakuto suspected it was aimed entirely at her master. However, as she turned to face Lucy, she caught Zangetsu in her eyesight and instantly locked up. To their mild intrigue, the mermaid quickly moved in front of her master protectively, raising her urn over her shoulder and holding her position. "LUCY, GET BEHIND ME!" They could easily decipher her fear.

"Aquari-?!" Lucy seemed shocked by the spirit's protectiveness before she shook her head to collect herself. "Doesn't matter. Zangetsu wants me to prove that I can beat Sherry, so I need you to attack her!"

"Lucy, do you have any idea what the hell that thing is?!" The mermaid shouted back. "We're lucky it hasn't decided to kill us yet!" The Quincy recalled belatedly that the grandfather clock spirit recognized they were a Vasto Lorde instantly. It must be common knowledge amongst Celestial Spirits.

"I'm trying to convince him to not kill her!" The blonde argued back. "He thought I was in danger and almost attacked Taurus because she was making him attack me!"

"Attacked?! You moron, he nearly killed Taurus!" Aquarius' skin paled even as she spoke. "You didn't close his gate, that Hollow sliced him to pieces! It's only thanks to him being a Zodiac spirit that there's even a chance for recovery!" At the revelation, Lucy paled as well, her eyes widening.

Zangetsu did not currently have the patience for back and forth like this.

"…Prove." They reminded. Everyone present jumped at their voice, Aquarius looking as though the only reason she did not retreat back to the spirit world was out of concern for Lucy's livelihood. Similarly seeing that Aquarius was unwilling to act, Lucy gripped the mermaid's shoulder.

"Sherry can control any of my spirits, so my plan was going to be summoning Aquarius because her attacks have a huge range. Regardless of who she attacked, both Sherry and I were going to be swept up in it, but I would be the only one prepared for that. I was going to finish off Sherry before she could recover from Aquarius' wave." She called out. The girl likely reasoned that there was no point in hiding the gambit. The gothic girl's options were to either lose the battle by Lucy's hand or lose her head by theirs. Unfortunately for both, Lucy's plan was stupid and risky. Hoping that being prepared to be hit meant she could recover faster than her opponent and finish them before they could? Idiotic. Seeping with naïve faith. Not an ounce of certainty from her own strength.

Tightening their grip on their blade, the zanpakuto turned towards the woman sobbing over her missing hand. Seeing the action, Lucy pushed herself forward using her grip on her summons' shoulder, some desperate bid to be fast enough to interrupt them once more. She could never become fast enough.

She did not need to be, however. Not when a yellow bullet of magical energy shot into the ground right before their feet. Irritation reaching its peak, Zangetsu turned in the direction the bullet came from.

A woman in green was sauntering out from the tree line, her hips swaying with the confidence of one who thought there was no one who could challenge them. She wore a shoulderless dress whose skirt was just long enough to remain modest, and thigh-high navy blue stockings tucked inside white heeled sandals. The dress had sleeves, more like long gloves that connected right at her armpits, as well as four extensions protruding from her back which hung down to her knees. In her right hand was a large fan, longer than her forearm. From what they could sense, her magic, sparkly like dreamlike fantasy, channeled through it. Her light brown hair was mostly pulled into a short ponytail, and she wore simple glasses over her dark brown eyes. There was a necklace around her neck, a red gem hanging right above the crest of her cleavage, though neither of those was what the blade's attention locked onto.

Their gaze had focused on the green Fairy Tail symbol gleaming upon her right breast.

"Let's see here," the newcomer purred maliciously as she glanced at Lucy, "blonde Celestial Spirit Mage making up for her weak magic with obnoxiously fat tits, check." She then met the horned beast's gaze. "And a bull-horned demon in rags always holding a black blade because he's too busy sleeping to even find a sheathe, check. Seems I've found the stragglers. Time to take you back home to continue wasting space."

So she had chosen death.