Chapter 428

Lucy, standing at his side, knew best just how powerful Lanran was.

A power like a mountain pressing down, a power that plunged one into utter despair.

Even with strength as great as Erza and the others, they could not possibly be his match.

Likewise, if he wished to finish them off, he could do so without the slightest effort.

Continuing to fight was pointless; it would only add to the casualties.

Lucy could only place her last hope in the Lanran Society keeping its word………… Beyond that, she could think of no other way to save her companions.

And the instant she spoke those words, as though her very marrow had been drawn out, Lucy slowly slumped against the wall of light, her eyes revealing a despair she had never known before.

Though she did not know Lanran's plan, the moment she thought of the 'Fragment of the Great Will' from the Void World in his hand, the answer was obvious.

"Lucy…"

"Don't agree to him!"

Upon hearing Lucy's choice, Erza and the others were instantly shocked, then struggled furiously, but under Lanran's overwhelming power, let alone breaking free, the chains binding them did not budge in the slightest.

"You said it."

Trembling, Lucy forced herself not to look at her companions, and with hollow eyes turned toward Lanran.

At this, Lanran smiled faintly.

"Naturally."

Saying so, Lanran loosened his right hand, and as he freed Erza and the others, he released Lucy as well.

"Then, let me tell you my request—become my companion, Lucy."

Boom—!

Like a thunderclap on a clear day, the moment Lanran made such a request, everyone present, Lucy included, was stunned.

No one had expected Lanran to suddenly propose something like this.

At this, Lanran did not react much, merely continuing to look at Lucy as he spoke slowly.

"Do you still remember what I once said to you all?"

Lucy nodded.

When it came to news of another world, Lucy was more curious than anyone, and longed for it more; any information about another world, she had committed to memory.

And as the source of their information, the things Lanran had told them she had kept firmly in mind.

"Are you trying to say that all the intelligence you gave us was false?"

The moment the words left her mouth, Lucy knew she had asked a foolish question.

After all, once false intelligence was given, no matter how minor, its flaws would be discovered.

Unable to face them head-on, they would inevitably grow suspicious of other things—this, with Lanran's intellect, he could not possibly have failed to consider.

Moreover, in everything that happened afterward, not a single case deviated from what Lanran had described, which proved that his intelligence had not been wrong.

This could be seen from how, back then, Gray had strongly opposed Lanran telling them the secret of the 'Fragment of the Great Will.'