Chapter 46: The Phantom Vanishes (4)
The southern seas of Fiore.
On a small island at the border with the kingdom of Caelum, a towering structure rose into the sky—the so-called Tower of Heaven.
Dragged back here by Shou and the others, Erza lifted her gaze toward the completed tower, her thoughts weighed down by memories of the past.
"It's… really finished?"
"Of course. It's been eight years since then. We're the ones who completed it."
"Move."
"Urgh!"
As she was forced onward, Erza's eyes darkened. Not only had the tower been completed, but her old comrades—those she had once fought alongside—were now unrecognizably changed.
They had once fought for freedom.
And she herself had fought desperately to win that freedom for them. Yet in the end, it was at the cost of their lives that she had lived free for the past eight years.
The comrades she had thought long dead were alive—and that truth filled her with crushing guilt.
....
"The ritual begins tomorrow, at noon. Until then, stay put."
The ritual. Erza already knew what it meant: the R-System. That was the sole purpose of the Tower's existence.
Shou and the others were planning to activate that forbidden magic once again.
Eight years had passed, and yet the prison into which she was thrown was no different from before. The only changes were herself—grown stronger—and the comrades who had lost themselves, blindly following Jellal's twisted ideals.
Binding her wrists with rope tied to the iron bars, Shou spoke with a cold expression.
"We had no choice. You betrayed us, Sister. You made Jellal furious."
"…"
"You'll be the sacrifice for the ritual. After that, we'll never see you again. But it's all for Paradise."
"…"
"Are you trembling? Is it fear—fear of being the sacrifice? Or is it this place… bringing back those memories?"
At his words, Erza recalled the past.
The day the cultists abducted them from the peaceful village of Rosemary. The endless days of forced labor as slaves. It was in that despair that they had first met one another.
They had clung to each other like family, fought for their freedom together… until the day of their escape attempt.
Dragged away, tortured until she lost one of her eyes—Erza had suffered. But her suffering had ignited the flames of rebellion in the others.
And yet…
"I'm sorry, Sister. The plan was mine, but when the time came I was too afraid to say anything. I was a coward."
"That's all in the past. What matters is that you understand the danger of the R-System. Do you even realize what you're doing, trying to bring it back?"
At her words, Shou smiled—no longer with innocence, but with the gleam of madness.
"Heh… so you know about the R-System. I'm surprised."
"The Revive System. One life sacrificed to restore another. A forbidden magic that defies human morality."
Hearing her, Shou's grin widened. He spoke Jellal's truth as if it were gospel.
"Morality has nothing to do with magic. Magic was never about humanity in the first place—it strips away the illusions of humanism. The cult saw the R-System as nothing more than a dark ritual of resurrection. But Jellal… Jellal is different."
"Different?"
"He will guide us… to the Paradise at the end of it all."
"Paradise?"
"When Jellal resurrects him, the world will be reborn. We'll be its rulers… We'll bring pain and suffering to those who stole our freedom, to the comrades of the sister who betrayed us, to the foolish masses living like worms in ignorance… to the useless fools of the Council… to everything in this world! We'll strip all of it of freedom! We'll become the rulers of everything!"
"Shou!"
This was not the Shou I once knew.
Laughing madly, his guard down for just a moment, I drove my boot into his jaw and knocked him unconscious.
With bloodied teeth, I bit through the ropes binding my hands. The pain was searing, but it only fueled my rage.
The Shou I remembered was an adventurous boy with pure eyes, who dreamed of the world and longed for freedom.
Now he was twisted, filled with hatred for people, for the world—carrying nothing but malice and the madness Jellal had instilled in him. A man willing to strip away others' freedom just to create a false world of his own.
"What could have twisted a person this far? Jellal… was it all because of you?!"
....
Meanwhile, outside the Tower of Heaven, at its entrance.
Natsu's group had finally followed Wally's scent here, crouching behind the rocks near the stairway and watching the guards closely.
"There are a lot of sentries," Gray muttered.
"Who cares?! Let's just bust through!" Natsu snarled.
"No!" Gray shot back. "Erza and Happy have been captured. If we rush in blindly, their lives could be at risk. Besides, the Tower itself is further inside. If we're caught here, we'll be surrounded."
While Natsu and Gray argued, Juvia emerged from the sea where she'd been scouting.
"Juvia found an underwater passage that leads directly beneath the Tower," she said.
"For real?! Nice work!" Gray's face lit up, smiling warmly at her.
Flustered but overjoyed at his praise, Juvia leaned toward Lucy, puffing her cheeks in a show of rivalry.
"It was Juvia who was praised… not you," she said proudly.
"Y-Yeah, sure…" Lucy replied awkwardly.
"The passage is about a ten-minute swim. Can you all handle the breath-holding?"
"Ten minutes? No problem!" Natsu grinned.
"No problem," Gray echoed.
Lucy flailed. "Of course it's a problem!!"
Despite Lucy's protest, the group agreed. With Juvia's Water Magic, she created large oxygen bubbles around their heads, allowing them to breathe underwater.
"This is pretty convenient. Doesn't look cool, though," Gray muttered.
"Lucy's bubble is smaller," Juvia added smugly.
"Hey! Hey!!" Lucy protested.
With that, the team dove beneath the waves, emerging safely in the Tower's underground chambers.
The sea cave echoed with the sound of waves lapping against the wooden bridges strung across it, creating an eerie atmosphere.
"So this is the Tower's underground…" Lucy whispered.
"Erza and Happy must be somewhere in here," Gray said.
"Hey! Who are you?!"
Their cautious advance was suddenly broken—the guards on the bridge had spotted them.
Realizing their stealth was ruined, Natsu and Gray smashed through the bridge and launched straight into battle.
"Now that we've been spotted, there's no choice but to fight…"
"Right!"
"What, you don't even remember us?! We're the ones you fought before!!"
"Wagh!"
"Gaaah!!"
Natsu's flaming fist ignited and shattered the wooden bridge. The soldiers screamed as they fell into the sea, dropping like leaves in the wind.
"We're FAIRY TAIL, you idiots!!"
....
Tower of Heaven, Top Floor
At the news of Erza's escape and the intruders' arrival, Jellal's long-haired subordinate confronted him. But Jellal had known of the infiltration all along—he had deliberately allowed them to enter the tower.
This baffled the man. Why let enemies through at such a critical moment?
"Lord Jellal! What is the meaning of this?! Letting the intruders inside?!"
Jellal brushed off his outrage with a flick of his hand, answering calmly.
"I told you, didn't I? This is a game. They cleared the stage, that's all… and now it's starting to get interesting."
"But if you delay the ritual, the Council will surely catch on soon."
"Vidaldus… you're still worried about that?"
"What do you mean?"
Though the ritual's sacrifice had escaped, though intruders had broken in, though even the Council might discover them at any moment—Jellal was treating it all as amusement. Vidaldus couldn't understand it.
But Jellal raised a hand, his voice brimming with confidence.
"The Council's trash won't be able to stop me. Erza can be recaptured. The intruders? Merely entertainment… The only true threat to this plan has already been dealt with. Nothing can stop the Tower of Heaven now."
....
Council Hall, Era
Meanwhile, in the Council chamber, Siegrain continued hammering away, persuading the others.
"To completely wipe the Tower of Heaven from this world… to stop Jellal from activating the R-System… our only option is to unleash Etherion from the satellite array!"
"But…"
"Hmm…"
"R-System is a forbidden magic, never even recorded in history. You all know what that means."
Ultear followed up Siegrain's words, pushing the Council into deeper thought.
Indeed, R-System was a black magic unlike any other—a forbidden system capable of bringing back the dead. Throughout history, many had pursued such sorcery, but none had ever succeeded.
Now, that impossibility had been made reality.
If the R-System were to activate, it would shatter causality itself. Even the boundary between life and death would collapse, plunging the world into chaos.
A magic already far too dangerous to even exist.
To destroy it, Etherion had to be used.
In a way, Siegrain and Ultear's arguments were sound. Yet the Council members still hesitated to authorize such a strike.
"Etherion returns everything to nothingness. Even civilians. If we unleash it, everyone inside that tower will be annihilated."
The problem was the sacrifice it would demand.
With great power comes great cost.
To erase a single tower, every soul within it would be wiped out.
Surely among them were slaves dragged there against their will, innocents brainwashed or indoctrinated into false ideals.
Collateral lives, countless in number, would be lost.
And the burden of that responsibility weighed heavily on the Council.
"If it's the price to uphold order in the magical world, then it's a price we must pay."
"Siegrain is right. History itself proves it—our progress has always been paved with sacrifice."
"Master Leiji! Then we'll be remembered as villains who violated Caelum's sovereignty, invaders in another kingdom's land!"
"Then that too is a sacrifice we must accept."
"Master Belno!!"
The tide was shifting.
Slowly, the voices in the chamber leaned toward Etherion.
Sacrifices had always been demanded in order to protect order. Perhaps it was inevitable.
"The dead cannot be brought back. When we teach children the sanctity of life, we tell them this. There's no other way. I vote in favor of Etherion."
"What?!"
With Masters Leiji and Belno adding their approval, the decision now hinged on a single remaining vote.
Sensing his chance, Siegrain played his trump card.
"Do you even know who Jellal intends to resurrect with the R-System?"
"What are you talking about?"
"The Black Mage… Zeref."
At the name, the Council chamber erupted. Faces went pale with terror.
"W–what did you just say…?"
"And how would you know that, Siegrain?!"
"I've kept quiet to avoid unnecessary suspicion. But I know Jellal. He is my twin brother. We were separated during our escape from the cult that enslaved us as children. Later, he purged the cult, only to fall under Zeref's specter. He enslaved others to complete the Tower of Heaven, to bring Zeref back, and to plunge the world into ruin."
The chamber buzzed with unease. To claim kinship with the mastermind himself was shocking—but Siegrain's impassioned explanation, coupled with his willingness to condemn his own family, carried weight.
In the end, suspicion gave way to fear.
For the sake of preventing Zeref's resurrection, the final votes tipped.
The Council approved Etherion.
"Authorization for Etherion to strike the Tower of Heaven is granted."
With eight of the nine votes in favor, the Council approved Etherion. Only one had opposed, and that one voice was drowned out.
As the meeting adjourned, Siegrain approached Yajima with a deceptively relaxed expression.
"Master Yajima… Perhaps you don't agree with me, but surely you understand this much: Zeref must not be resurrected."
"I don't know anymore… But you had better be prepared to bear the responsibility."
"Of course. I'll shoulder it all—"
"You fool!" Yajima's voice cracked with fury, his eyes blazing. "I'm not talking about politics. I'm talking about lives! Every soul that's about to be lost—you will carry them on your back, Siegrain!"
Yajima could not accept this.
No matter how dangerous the forbidden magic was, Etherion should never have been their first resort.
There were other ways: sending a strike force, rallying guilds together as they had against Deliora. But without trying any of that, Siegrain leapt straight to Etherion, treating life as if it were expendable.
"Prepare for launch. In one hour, Etherion will fire!"
As the announcement rang through the chamber, Siegrain only glanced down at Yajima with cold indifference.
"The decision's already made."
Unable to stomach any more, Yajima stormed out of the hall.
Once alone, he drew a small fragment from his pocket—the shattered remains of a ring. His face paled.
Ciel's "joker card."
That ring, woven with his illusion magic, was bound to his spirit; it would shatter if his soul were ever imperiled. And now, it lay in pieces.
The Council's one unpredictable ally was gone. His fate uncertain, his soul perhaps erased.
Anxious, Yajima activated a lacrima communicator, reaching out to a hidden contact.
"…It's been a while."
[The same goes for me.]
"How is his body?"
[I checked just now. Pulse and breathing are normal. But he hasn't woken. To rouse him… we might need a power on par with Etherion itself.]
"…."
[Or perhaps I should just put him on display in my house as a decoration?]
"You reckless idiot! Do you know what you're saying?!"
[Kidding, kidding~]
Yajima sighed heavily, but steadied his voice. "At least his body is unharmed. That's something."
He cut the connection, but his unease deepened.
Ciel's body lived, untouched. But his consciousness—his soul—was gone. And without it, the man was as good as dead.
Yajima clenched the broken ring in his hand.
"Ciel… Just what in the world has happened to you?"
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