The Witcher: The Journey to Transcendence from Marvel...

Chapter 117 The Power of Friendship

Garna Island is a tropical rainforest island, so densely forested that the sky is almost invisible.

The tree roots seemed endless, constantly attacking Natsu and Talos from all directions.

Despite their efforts, the two found themselves drifting further and further away from Wes.

"This won't do." Natsu watched as the tree roots launched another attack.

He wrapped his arms around the fire dragon's flames, which immediately transformed into the dragon's wings, burning fiercely.

"Fire Dragon's Wing Strike!" Natsu swung his arms, and flames swept forward like wings, clearing away the branches and roots blocking his way.

As the flames swept away, a clear path finally appeared ahead, and Natsu and Talos finally saw Wes's figure.

"Well done!" Talos brandished his battle axe, preparing to deliver a fatal blow.

But he felt a sharp pain in his ankle.

Looking down, he saw that a strange thorn had somehow wrapped around his ankle. The thorns had torn his skin, and blood was flowing down his ankle.

Not only that, he also felt his magic being drained.

"Damn it!" Talos roared, struggling to break free from the thorns, but they only tightened their grip.

After absorbing his magic, the thorns grew rapidly and covered Talos's lower body in the blink of an eye.

Natsu, who was standing nearby, was also in a predicament.

"Damn it, what is this thing?" Natsu cursed. His palm was already pierced and covered in blood, but he still ignored the pain and took the thorns off his body.

However, after having a large amount of magic power absorbed, Natsu gradually felt his body becoming very weak, and every movement felt like he was exhausting his last bit of strength.

All of this was obviously Weiss's doing.

These thorns were specially cultivated by him. Originally, they were a magical plant from the world of "Delicious in the Labyrinth" and, after several generations of careful cultivation, they were hybridized with the Devil Vine from the world of "Harry Potter" to create this new variety.

The thorns have become incredibly sharp, capable of easily piercing the skin of any monster and absorbing magic to grow stronger.

It's like a parasite; if it's not dealt with in time, it will threaten their lives.

By the time Talos joined the battle, Wes had already sown the seeds.

Of course, those two careless guys, Natsu and Talos, wouldn't notice the seeds that were scattered all over the forest.

These seeds landed on their skin, slowly draining their magic. By the time they realized it, it was too late.

"Moo~~ Lucy, I'm sorry, my magic is almost gone." After saying that, Talos disappeared and returned to the Celestial Realm.

[Like the summoning beasts in Naruto, it will return on its own when its life is in danger, indicating that it has signed an equal contract.]

Lucy didn't have time to think about these things.

Natsu, however, did not have such an ability; the thorns kept absorbing his magic power, almost covering his entire body.

"Natsu!!" Happy cried, tears streaming down his face. "Lucy, quickly, do something to save Natsu! Call the maid out!"

Lucy looked at Natsu with a heavy heart; his skin was covered with black vines, each one greedily devouring his life force.

"I don't have any extra magic power left. Summoning Talos has already consumed all of my magic power."

[If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have broken the rules and accepted this S-rank mission.]

Lucy felt a pang of heartache. She desperately wanted to do something, even at the cost of her own safety, to rescue Natsu.

Just then, a familiar voice came from not far away: "Hey, what are you doing here?"

"Let go of that fire-breathing bastard, or I'll chop off your companion's head." Gray's ice blade gleamed coldly, while Yuka was frozen solid, with only her head showing, looking somewhat comical and helpless.

Seeing this, Lucy and Happy were moved to tears and rushed towards Gray.

"Grey, you're finally here!" Lucy exclaimed excitedly, while Happy jumped onto Grey's shoulder and patted his face with his little paws.

"Ouch! Don't touch me, you idiot!" Gray frowned, but there was a hint of amusement in his voice.

In fact, he was also covered in wounds; he had already paid a considerable price to capture Yuka alive.

Sweat and blood mixed together.

"Release Natsu now, or else..." Happy racked his brains but couldn't think of any threatening words, so he could only wave his front paws in the air to make a threatening gesture.

But it looked so cute that even Yuka couldn't help but glance at it, her lips twitching slightly.

Yuka lowered his head in shame, never expecting that he would become a bargaining chip for the other party to threaten his companion.

“You’ve got one thing wrong,” Wes said, looking at the group with amusement. “This guy and I aren’t exactly partners. He’s been keeping an eye on me all along.”

"How could this be??"

Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!

The situation, which the three thought they had the upper hand, suddenly became complicated.

"You're lying! We're not that easily fooled!" Lucy retorted without backing down. "You're probably just trying to get your companion back when we're not looking!"

Yuka then spoke up, "He's telling the truth. This guy just like you guys, he just appeared on this island out of nowhere. He's not one of my companions, and I don't believe he'd care whether I live or die."

"How could this happen!" Lucy collapsed to the ground, covering her face with her hands, and cried out in disbelief, "Natsu... is he really finished?"

Tears streamed down her cheeks. Although she had only known Natsu for a short time, she already considered him an indispensable partner.

"No matter what, I will rescue Natsu! Even if it costs me my life!" Lucy gripped the Aquarius Key tightly in her hand, the strongest Celestial Spirit in her contract.

However, her own magical power was far from sufficient to summon such a powerful Celestial Spirit.

But she was willing to take the risk to rescue Natsu.

Gray and Happy immediately tensed up when they saw Lucy take out the golden key, quickly stopping her: "Lucy, calm down! Your magic power isn't enough to summon the zodiac spirits. You'll only get yourself into trouble!"

Lucy hesitated for a moment, then gritted her teeth and prepared to unleash her magic.

Just then, the thorns that had trapped Natsu suddenly caught fire, and the fire grew bigger and bigger, burning the thorns to ashes.

Natsu staggered out of the firelight, his body covered in puncture wounds and dripping with blood.

Despite his disheveled appearance, a bright smile still graced his face.

"Lucy, I'm out!"

"Natsu!!" Lucy and Happy shouted in unison, then rushed into Natsu's arms.

"I thought you were going to die." Happy looked at Natsu with teary eyes.

Lucy's shoulders trembled as she sobbed softly, clinging tightly to Natsu, afraid of losing him again.

Natsu gently stroked Happy's fluffy head: "Don't worry, I'm back now, aren't I?"

"Is this the power of friendship? It's truly enviable."

Wes's voice broke the heartwarming and touching moment.

(End of this chapter)