Chapter 45: The Phantom Vanishes (3)
"Ugh…! Ughhh!!"
After what felt like a long time, Lucy slowly regained consciousness. She twisted and writhed, trying desperately to snap the ropes binding her.
If she could just reach the Celestial Spirit keys at her waist, she could summon a spirit strong enough to cut herself free.
But no matter how she strained, the bundle of keys firmly secured to her belt refused to budge. Lucy groaned, gasping for breath as she struggled harder.
"Op—Open…! Gate of the… Chariot! …Huh? …Cancer—!! Taurus! Loki! Come out, hurry!! Ughhh!!"
No matter how much she thrashed, the tightly fastened key ring wouldn't come loose. She had tied it securely this time—after all the times she lost it during the Phantom Lord war—only for that decision to backfire now.
Lucy sighed, twisting her body again, when suddenly a black key dangling like a pendant slipped out from between her chest.
"This is…?"
It resembled the Zodiac keys, but it was darker—an obsidian black.
It was the mysterious key Ciel had thrown to her just before disappearing.
He had told her to keep it with her at all times, to wear it close to her body, and to use it only in moments of dire need. So Lucy had hidden it on a chain around her neck instead of with her regular key bundle.
And right now felt like that moment.
She bent forward, about to grip the black key with her teeth—when suddenly, pain pricked her chest.
"Ow!!"
Startled, she looked down, only to hear a small, apologetic voice.
"S-sorry about that…"
It was coming from one of the people trapped inside Sho's magic cards. The man had a knife in his hand, and he had jabbed outward, accidentally poking Lucy through the card.
"I was just testing if I could cut my way out… guess I hit you instead."
"W-wait… your knife inside the card can affect me out here?!"
Lucy's eyes widened with sudden realization. If the man's blade could pierce through, then maybe—
"Please! Use that knife to cut my ropes!"
"Huh?! O-okay, I'll try!"
"Quickly!"
With some frantic sawing, the knife pressed against the ropes. After a brief struggle, the bindings finally snapped apart.
Lucy grabbed the card that held the man inside and smiled with relief.
"Thank you, you saved me."
"Don't mention it… but now could you maybe—"
"Kyaaah!!"
Before he could ask her to free him as well, Lucy impulsively kissed the card in gratitude. The poor man inside went slack-jawed, dazed, and utterly speechless.
Lucy apologized quickly, then sprinted off—she had to find her friends. Erza had been dragged away, and warning Natsu and Gray was the top priority.
She rushed into the bar area first—only to stop dead, horrified.
Among the shattered tables, Gray lay sprawled across the floor. A steel stake had pierced his chest.
"Gray…! No…!"
She shook him frantically.
"Gray! This can't be happening!!"
But as she grasped him, cracks spread across his face like glass. With a shattering sound, his entire body broke apart.
Lucy froze in terror—had she just destroyed him herself?!
She fell back, trembling, when a chilling woman's voice echoed from a nearby puddle.
"Don't be afraid."
"Ugh… you…?!"
"Gray-sama was inside Juvia all along."
"Puhahh!!"
Gray coughed as he emerged from Juvia's watery body. Lucy blinked, her mouth half open in shock, a nervous laugh slipping out. She was relieved Gray was alive, but the words inside Juvia made her imagination run a little wild.
Noticing Lucy's stunned stare, Juvia puffed her chest with an oddly proud expression and corrected her.
"Not you—inside me."
"Uh… r-right… got it…"
Wiping his mouth, Gray scowled as he explained.
"When everything suddenly went dark, I made a decoy of myself to test the situation…"
"To protect Gray-sama from being discovered, Juvia sealed him within her Water Lock," she said sweetly.
"Who told you to pull a reckless stunt like that?! Because of you, we lost those guys!"
Twiiiing.
Ignoring her sulky reaction, Gray pressed Lucy. "More importantly, what about Natsu and Erza?"
He was annoyed that Juvia had hidden him away. Yes, it had saved him—but trapped inside water, he had lost his chance to interrogate the enemy who had been targeting Erza.
Lucy opened her mouth. "Natsu, I don't know… Erza, she—"
But before she could finish, an explosion of fire lit up the roulette hall. Natsu shot into the air like a fish leaping out of water, flames erupting around him.
"Gyaahhh!!"
"Natsu!!"
"Pwah! Who the hell stuffs lead into someone's mouth?! That's insane!! Damn it, that hurt! A little more and I'd have been done for!!"
"Anyone else would've been finished on the spot…"
Natsu seethed, remembering how Willy had shoved a bullet between his teeth just moments before the lights went out. If not for his being a Fire Dragon Slayer, it could have been catastrophic. But what enraged him even more was that oily, pretentious voice lecturing him while doing it.
"That blockhead! He thinks he can get away from meeeeee!!"
Snarling, Natsu sniffed out Willy's scent and bolted out of the casino like a raging inferno.
Lucy and Juvia blinked, wide-eyed, as Gray barked, "We're going after him!"
"But how? Do you even know where he went?!" Lucy protested.
"That nose of his is sharper than any beast's. He'll track him down."
Knowing full well about a Dragon Slayer's heightened senses, Gray wasted no time, dragging Lucy along. Juvia, unable to just stand there, instinctively followed after them.
....
Meanwhile, on a remote island between Fiore and the kingdom of Caelum, an ominous tower rose unnaturally into the sky.
At its highest chamber, seated on a throne draped in shadowy robes, Jellal leaned lazily against his armrest. Before him knelt a long-haired subordinate, reporting gravely.
"Lord Jellal, we have successfully captured Erza. She is being brought here as we speak."
The man's report was calm, but behind Jellal's veil, a smile curled faintly at his lips.
"But… why now? Why go after the traitor?"
The long-haired subordinate couldn't grasp Jellal's reasoning. The plan was already in its final stages. What purpose was there in dragging back Erza, who had abandoned them so long ago?
Jellal chuckled softly.
"Heh… hahaha… Because, leaving it undone would be far too boring. This world… is unbearably dull."
"…What?"
The nonsensical reply made the man tilt his head, eyeing Jellal with unease.
"But with the Tower of Heaven nearly complete, keeping her alive might only become troublesome… The time has come. Erza Scarlet will serve as the living sacrifice for my grand ideal."
In the shadows, Jellal smiled quietly to himself, as though he had been awaiting nothing more than Erza's inevitable return.
...
The following morning, after the chaos at the casino, an emergency council was convened in ERA under Siegrain's lead.
Upon hearing the report, Master Org slammed his fist against the table, unable to contain his fury.
"The R-System still exists?! That's absurd!"
"Eight years ago," another elder began, "a dark guild, devoted to black magic, poured vast resources into constructing the R-System."
"Seven towers, wasn't it? All of them seized by the Council—completely eradicated without leaving a trace…"
As murmurs spread, Master Belno placed a report onto the desk with a grave expression.
"There was an eighth tower. Off the coast of Caelum."
"You can't mean… it's already complete?!"
"Unfortunately, our investigation team are not the sort to make jokes."
From where she sat reading the documents, Ultear finally spoke, her voice calm yet sharp.
"So… it's complete, then."
"Damn it all…"
"But why? Why would the R-System reappear now?"
"No…" Siegrain corrected coldly, his tone reverberating through the chamber. "It's not the R-System. It's the Tower of Heaven."
Master Michello stroked his beard as if recalling an old memory. "It was called that, once…"
"Silence, Siegrain!" Org snapped, his voice booming. "Whatever name you give it, the R-System is forbidden magic! The damage it could unleash on the people is catastrophic—it would throw the world into chaos!"
"But we don't even know who's behind it—" another elder began cautiously.
Org, nearly losing control, demanded the immediate deployment of military forces. Yet other members of the Council urged restraint, reminding him that mobilizing without royal sanction from Fiore's allied nations was reckless, even for the Council.
"Unknown, is it…?"
At Michello's words, Master Yuri tapped the reports in front of him, pointing to a detail the others had overlooked.
"It doesn't seem to be the dark cult that occupies the R-System anymore…"
"What?!"
"A mysterious man who calls himself Jellal."
"Jellal?!"
"…That's a name I've never heard before."
"Other than his name, everything else about him is shrouded in secrecy."
"Hmph… so that's who's tied to the R-System, is it?"
At last, the long-silent Elder Yajima spoke up, his expression troubled.
"In truth… only recently, my aide Mukuro came to me. He had discovered information on this matter and asked permission to investigate."
"Mukuro…?!"
"And? What became of him?"
"…He was supposed to report back this morning. But he has yet to return."
"What?!"
Two days ago, Ciel had privately approached Yajima with intelligence—he had uncovered clues regarding the R-System and a man named Jellal. As he had during the Lullaby incident, Ciel insisted it was his own affair. But Yajima knew this was too grave for personal errands, even for his capable aide. He had secretly sanctioned the investigation, expecting a report at dawn.
Yet dawn had passed, and Ciel had not returned. A creeping unease gnawed at Yajima.
"Strange… last night, I saw Mukuro heading into Ultear's office," Elder Leiji suddenly remarked, eyes shifting to Ultear.
The councilors all turned their gaze on her. Ultear touched her lips, a sly fox's smile playing at the corners.
"Ultear, what happened? Explain yourself."
"Oh my~♥ To probe into the affairs between a man and a woman… even for an Elder, that's rather indecent, isn't it?"
"This is no time for jokes! Where is Mukuro now?!"
"Why, I couldn't say. After helping me organize some paperwork, he mentioned there was something else he needed to investigate… Yajima, you didn't send him off on something dangerous, did you?"
"…Then, Mukuro is…"
Her words only deepened the panic. If Mukuro—one of the most formidable wizards currently in the Council's ranks—had vanished during an investigation, then the worst was possible: that he had fallen to this "Jellal."
The chamber buzzed with heated voices, fear twisting into argument.
"If Mukuro was defeated… then there's no wizard in the Council who can face this Jellal!"
"Capturing such a man would be nearly impossible…"
"This is disastrous. The R-System defies the laws of life and death itself—it is an unforgivable spell born of madness. Whoever controls it must be considered an enemy of all!"
"And if even the Council's aide has been struck down, then this is no trivial matter—"
"Deploy the army immediately!"
Elders clashed, their voices rising with panic.
Finally, Siegrain shot to his feet, unable to endure their bickering any longer.
"You spineless pigeons…"
"What?!"
"Siegrain, mind your tongue!"
"My point," he thundered, trembling with a calculated expression of fear, "is that sending in an army will do nothing! You'll only earn the scorn of history as naive peace-lovers who sent men to their deaths! It's too dangerous—far too dangerous!"
"You fools don't understand! There's only one way to destroy the Tower of Heaven immediately—deploy Etherion from the Satellite Magic Array!"
At the word Etherion falling from Siegrain's lips, the council chamber erupted in shock. All eyes bore down on him.
"What?!"
"You mean… the transcendent space–time annihilation spell?!"
"Have you even run the damage estimates?! Mishandled, it could wipe out an entire nation!"
"Etherion is our absolute last resort! It's even more dangerous than the R-System itself!"
Etherion—a forbidden weapon created by pooling the magic power of countless council mages and guild wizards. A colossal sphere of destruction summoned high above the target by a satellite-linked magic circle, capable of erasing everything within its range.
Its power was such that it could annihilate a kingdom, even twist the very fabric of space-time itself. It was one of the Council's ultimate, hidden trump cards.
And now Siegrain was demanding it be used to destroy the R-System.
The elders cried out in protest, but Siegrain pressed on, his voice rising in righteous urgency.
"With the satellite array, we can target anywhere on this continent. And against that monstrous construction, nothing but Etherion will suffice!"
"I agree."
The voice came from Ultear, calmly raising her hand.
"You too, Ultear?!"
Her support emboldened Siegrain. He turned back to the others, words flowing with fervor.
"There are nine of us on this Council. Just three more votes, and Etherion can be fired! Time is running out! If we let the R-System activate, the consequences will be catastrophic!"
"…Wait. Let's try to contact Mukuro first."
"Is that possible?"
"Yes. He left me a ring enchanted for telepathic communication."
Yajima, unwilling to yield, infused magic into the ring Ciel had crafted.
But then—
"Ghhk!!"
"What?!"
The ring cracked and shattered into glittering fragments in his palm.
Gasps swept the chamber. Even Yajima's face turned pale, cold sweat beading on his brow. The ring was designed by Ciel's illusion magic—meant to break only if he was gravely injured, or worse.
Its destruction could mean only one thing: something had happened to him.
Siegrain seized the moment.
"You see? Even Mukuro has fallen! We have no choice—only Etherion can end this!"
Another elder—Yuri—raised his hand in reluctant assent.
"Only two more votes!" Siegrain cried. "There's no time! We must not let the R-System be used!"
The chamber was filled with clashing voices, fear and anger tangled together. Yajima, however, sat in silence, staring at the shattered fragments in his hand. His worry for Ciel weighed heavy—but so too did the realization of how dire the Tower of Heaven crisis truly was.
What he did not yet know… was that everything—Ciel's disappearance, the broken ring, the panic and the rush toward Etherion—was a carefully scripted play. All orchestrated by Siegrain and Ultear.
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