Chapter 144: Chapter 144: Zodiac Keys Obtained, Lucy's Drooling face
"Na... Nate!"
Angel was shocked as she recognized the name—a name known far and wide.
After all, her favorite game, Mahjong, had been developed by this very man.
"Gemini, copy him!" Angel quickly commanded.
Two adorable blue sprites appeared, one smiling (Gemi) and one crying (Mini). Their power allowed them to replicate the appearance, abilities, and even thoughts of someone with similar magic power.
"Zzzz..."
Gemini floated in midair, locking eyes on Nate, its gaze flashing with a dark glow.
But nothing happened.
"Failed."
"It can't copy him..." Angel froze, instantly realizing the issue.
As the summoner, she knew her celestial spirits' abilities all too well. The difference in their magic power was simply too great!
"Your magic power is at a four-star level, quite impressive, but still below mine." Nate didn't rush to attack. In fact, he was hoping more of the Oración Seis would appear so he could deal with them all at once.
Angel bit her lip and dismissed Gemini back to the spirit world, pulling out a brand-new golden key instead.
"Open! Gate of the Ram, Aries!"
A golden magic circle appeared, and out stepped a shy, 17-year-old girl dressed in a tight-fitting white wool dress. Two small, curved ram horns adorned her head.
"I'm sorry, Nate-sama," Aries whispered as soon as she materialized.
"Huh??" Angel was stunned. She angrily shouted, "Why are you more respectful to him than to me, your master?"
Nate, too, was a bit surprised. Lucy's Virgo had behaved similarly before.
"Do you know me?" Nate asked, noticing the silver-white key in Aries' left hand. Another spirit from the star realm with a tragic fate.
"Enough talking—attack him!" Angel didn't give Aries time to answer, immediately commanding her to fight.
"I'm sorry, Nate-sama. I must fight for my master; it's the duty of a celestial spirit," Aries said softly, summoning pink, cotton-candy-like energy between her palms.
"Wool Bomb!"
The pink wool ball flew toward Nate.
But Nate simply extended his right hand, and as soon as the wool touched his palm, it dispersed with a soft 'poof'.
"A celestial spirit's power comes from their summoner. The stronger the summoner, the stronger the spirit." Nate's lips curled into a slight smirk as he added teasingly, "Let me show you something fun..."
"Open! Gate of the Lion, Leo!"
A flash of golden light appeared in his hand, and suddenly, Loke, who had been busy designing maps in the magic arena, was forcefully summoned.
"Is something wrong, Nate? I'm in the middle of—" Loke froze mid-sentence as he saw Aries.
Karen's celestial spirit!
He was stunned, and Aries was equally shocked.
Angel's jaw dropped in disbelief. "How… how can you summon a celestial spirit without a key?! And not just any spirit, but the leader of the Zodiac!"
"Who said you need a key to summon a celestial spirit?" Nate shot back with a grin. "I'm a second-generation celestial spirit mage. First-gen mages like you are outdated."
Nate's casual fib left Angel baffled.
"???" Angel couldn't believe it. She didn't buy his explanation, but the reality before her forced her to question it.
Who was this man, and how was he capable of something so absurd?
"Return, Aries." Facing the formidable Leo, Angel decided to send Aries back to the spirit world.
Aries, apologizing profusely, vanished in a burst of golden light.
Immediately, Angel pulled out two more keys—one gold, one silver.
"Open! Gate of Scorpio, Scorpio!"
"Open! Gate of Caelum, Caelum!"
Two celestial spirits appeared in a flash of light.
Scorpio was a hip, cool-looking guy with a long scorpion tail, while Caelum was a non-human entity resembling a floating metallic orb with a halo above it.
"Attack together!" Angel ordered. Scorpio hesitated for a moment.
"Hey, Sorano, he's a guest of the Spirit King…"
But before he could finish, Caelum had already transformed, extending a cannon barrel from its center.
A beam of green energy blasted toward Nate.
Loke's right fist glowed with golden light as he blocked the attack. "I don't know what's going on, but Nate saved my life. If you want to harm him, you'll have to go through me!"
"Go back to making maps. I shouldn't have interrupted your work," Nate patted Loke's shoulder, sending him back to the magic arena.
Loke's magic power came from Nate, specifically rare celestial spirit power, and wasting it here wasn't necessary.
After sending Loke away, Nate turned to Angel and said, "Looks like no other Oración Seis members are coming to help you. So, why don't you hand over your keys?"
As he spoke, a surge of magic erupted from Nate, sending waves of energy through the air.
The intense force created a gust of wind, and Angel had to shield her face.
"The magic… it's so powerful..." Angel felt her heart race as sweat dripped down her forehead. The closer Nate got, the heavier the pressure became.
"Do you still want to fight? You don't stand even a one-in-a-million chance of winning. If you surrender, I'll even make you a cup of tea."
With a 'thud', Angel collapsed to the ground, sitting with her legs tucked under her in a duck-like posture, her celestial spirit keys clattering to the floor.
"I… I surrender."
Angel raised her hands in defeat, dismissing her spirits and admitting her loss.
"Wise choice," Nate said approvingly.
He walked over, picked up the gold and silver keys from the ground, then reached down to retrieve Aries' and Gemini's keys from Angel's waist.
"You're taking my keys?" Angel asked, her voice trembling.
'Silly girl,' Nate thought. 'Did you really think surrendering would get you off the hook?'
He toyed with the four keys in his hand—three gold and one silver.
After a moment, he took a picture and sent it to Lucy.
Lucy: "Surprised Face"
Lucy: "Three Zodiac Keys?!"
Lucy: "And the key to Caelum!"
Lucy: "Nate, sell them to me!! Please, I'm begging you!"
'Sell them to you? Do you even realize you still owe me over 15 million J?' Nate chuckled, teasing Lucy.
Nate: "Wipe the drool off your face. I was just showing them to you."
Closing the private chat, Nate stored the keys and glanced at Angel.
"Come along, captive. Let's head to the villa and have that cup of tea."
"Oh, and by the way, do you want to be famous?"
"I have a livestreaming project in mind, and you'll be part of it. Of course, it's not like you have a choice."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone