Chapter 51: The Paradise Game – The Beginning of the Counterattack (5)
"…Ugh…"
Natsu, who had lost consciousness after being taken down by Fukuro, slowly opened his eyes. When he saw Simon carrying him on his back, he was startled and felt dizzy.
"Uwoah?!"
"You're awake, Natsu?"
"Huh…? I was sure I was strapped onto some weird flying contraption and then… ughhh!"
"Stop it! Don't force yourself to remember and make yourself sick!"
Though Simon was glad Natsu had woken up, he groaned as Natsu looked ready to vomit on his head, quickly trying to calm him down.
Thankfully, Natsu didn't throw up. Relieved, Simon explained what had happened after Natsu was swallowed by Fukuro.
"After that, Gray saved you from him."
"Gray?!"
"But he took heavy damage himself. That cat carried him out of the tower."
"No way! You're telling me I lost, but Gray won?!"
"It's not that you lost. You just got swallowed."
Simon tried to soothe the agitated Natsu, but Natsu's eyes widened as he failed to contain his excitement.
The opponent who had completely overwhelmed him was taken down by Gray. Natsu knew Gray would tease him about this for at least a month.
But seeing Natsu's frustration, Simon forced him to listen to the current situation.
"Listen closely, Natsu. We just received word from Wally and Millianna. They found Lucy and Juvia, along with one of Trinity Raven who'd already been turned into a corpse."
"Lucy and Juvia…?"
"They said Lucy explained the situation to them, and they vowed to fight Jellal. But after hearing Lucy's words that strong reinforcements had arrived, they left the tower with her. Then, a message from Shou came through—Trinity Raven has been completely wiped out."
"But I haven't done anything?!"
"The only enemy left is Jellal. And heading toward him is the one Lucy and Erza summoned—someone called Ciel."
"…Wait. What did you just say?"
The moment Simon mentioned the name Ciel, Natsu's face stiffened, and he grabbed Simon by the collar.
Startled by Natsu's sudden change in demeanor, Simon looked down at him nervously.
"W-what's wrong, Natsu?!"
"Who did you say… is going to Jellal right now?"
"C-ciel… That's all I heard. Someone named Ciel."
"…Damn it all!!"
"N-Natsu!!"
....
The Tower of Heaven, top floor.
Pushing open the door, I entered a dim chamber lit faintly by moonlight streaming through the window. What immediately caught my eye was a throne, ornately designed with elaborate patterns.
Beside the throne stood a man in a black robe, knocking over all the pieces on a chessboard set upon a small table.
I walked toward him slowly.
"Well, well… so the game has already ended."
"Did you enjoy yourself? Playing with people like pawns in a game?"
"Enjoy myself? Of course. Life and death are the essence of all emotion, the root of existence itself. But on the other hand, nothing is as insignificant and hollow as life."
The man continued speaking as though he'd already known I was here, seamlessly carrying on our conversation.
The madness and murderous aura radiating from him filled the entire chamber.
This must be Jellal—the one Lucy had spoken of.
Yet, from the faint scent I sensed from him, I realized his true identity. I smirked coldly and fixed my gaze upon him.
"To a certain extent, I agree with you. Playing with human lives can indeed be an entertaining diversion… But I dislike games where the outcome has been decided from the very beginning. Jellal… no, Siegrain."
"…Kukuku… So, you've seen through me all along?"
"Not at all. I only just realized your true identity a moment ago. And I also know what you intend to do with Etherion."
"Oh? For a wraith, it seems Fairy Tail's strongest wizard isn't all talk after all."
At my words, Siegrain—Jellal—pulled back his hood, revealing a mad grin.
The moment I heard his true identity and his plan from Lucy, I understood: this whole "Tower of Heaven" game was nothing but a prearranged scenario.
And I now understood why he called me the greatest obstacle to his plan.
Trading one life to bring back one who had died.
That was the essence of the R-System.
But the one Jellal sought to resurrect was no ordinary person who could be revived at the cost of a single human life.
The Black Mage, Zeref.
To bring him back fully required not only a human life, but an immense amount of magic power.
But he lacked sufficient magical power to complete the ritual.
That was when… the perfect weapon to supply that power would fall here.
2.7 billion units of Ethernano… the amount one could gather by draining the magic of every mage across the Ishgar continent.
That colossal energy would be used to strike this tower.
To trigger the firing of Etherion, he needed to defeat those strongest in the field.
Then, by emphasizing the danger of the Tower of Heaven, he could manipulate the Council into unleashing Etherion.
Everything was nothing more than a neatly written script.
"The Council, the Trinity Raven who fought for you in this tower… in the end, all of them were nothing more than pawns dancing to your carefully written script. And to think you even staged such a grand spectacle for my sake… truly, I can't thank you enough."
"In ten minutes… Etherion will strike this tower. When that happens, Zeref will be resurrected."
"You foolish idealist… you know nothing about Zeref. Allow me to shatter that ridiculous utopia you're chasing so prettily."
"If I'm a foolish idealist, then you're nothing more than a lump of magical energy. You can't even wield your own power, and yet you dare to think you'll defeat me and ruin my plan? What a laughable dream. The time left is seven minutes. Enjoy them while you can, Phantom Wizard of Fairy Tail."
"My being weakened does not mean you've become stronger, Jellal."
The two of us glared at each other for several seconds.
Sensing no opening, Jellal immediately unleashed his necromancy, launching an attack at me.
Spectral forms burst forth from his hands and flew toward me, their wailing voices echoing as they closed in from every direction.
I countered them with Dragon Slayer magic.
"Roar of the Phantom Dragon!"
A storm shrouded in violet mist tore the spirits to pieces and surged toward Jellal.
But he too was no amateur.
He dodged to the side while summoning more specters, one of which coiled around my right arm.
"An attack that merely disperses grudges like that won't reach me!"
Using the spirit binding my right arm as a tether, he charged in, magic sphere forming in his left hand as he swung a precise, powerful punch.
He shattered the notion that wizards were weak in close combat, moving quickly and with sharp form.
"Not a bad strike. But if you thought such a thing could defeat me, you're gravely mistaken."
I raised my left arm, deflecting his wrist and knocking the magic blast off-course. Then, following up immediately, I drove my foot into his stomach and sent him flying.
The spirit clinging to my right arm acted like a rope, pulling me along as well—but this was my plan all along.
While soaring forward, I twisted my spear and thrust, aiming straight for his throat.
"Ghhkk?!"
"Oh? That was quite a sudden strike, and yet you managed to block it. Impressive."
"Hah… hah…"
"I'm afraid the chances of you defeating me in close combat are exactly zero. The difference in our experience is beyond anything humanly measurable."
"Shut up!"
Pushing me away, Jellal once again began casting.
It seemed, like Jose, that necromancy was his primary form of attack.
But no matter how weakened I may be, I will never lose to such magic.
"Horn of the Phantom Dragon!"
"Graaahhhh!!!"
Shrouded in mist, my spear pierced clean through Jellal's abdomen.
He had tried to defend and counter at the same time, but the phantom's assault was both real and unreal at once—passing through his magic and skewering his body without mercy.
He was thrown back, sprawling across the floor.
Though wracked with pain, he tried to rise, as if to continue the fight—but all he managed was to flail helplessly, like a newborn foal.
"Khughk… hahh… huff…"
"I'll grant, you are a wizard of considerable ability. But that's all you are."
"Hah… hah… ha…"
"You tried to corner me with strategy alone… but the overwhelming gap in strength and experience cannot be bridged by tactics."
"....."
With my spear wrapped in mist aimed directly between his brows, I smiled brightly at Jellal, who was about to meet his end.
I would give him credit for the bravado he showed in declaring he would defeat me—but that was all it amounted to.
All he had done was harry me with tricks and tactics. My being weakened didn't mean he had grown stronger.
I had merely indulged him, playing along with his handicap.
This was my amusement: to devastate my foes and gift them the worst fear and despair imaginable.
To let them grasp hope for victory, only to crush it in the next instant.
But it didn't end there.
"Resurrect Zeref? You spout nothing but foolishness. There's something you are gravely mistaken about."
"Ugh…hah…"
"Zeref cannot die—"
"Pff…khuu…khuhuhuhuhuhu…"
Just as I was about to reveal the truth about Zeref, he looked up at me and laughed.
It wasn't the laughter of a man driven mad.
It was the laughter of someone filled with certainty—confidence in his own victory.
"What's so funny? Your plan has already failed."
"Has it, really? …Your mistake was not killing me quickly."
"Jellal—"
The instant I was distracted by his words, a woman's voice rushed toward me from behind at terrifying speed.
At the same moment, agony tore through me as the cold sensation of a blade pierced my abdomen and lungs.
In one breath, blood gushed from my mouth and splattered across Jellal's face.
"Khahahahahahaha! How does it feel?! To bask in your own arrogance, only to meet your end by the hand of a comrade!"
"Je… Jellal?! Then who is this man…?!"
The voice behind me was Erza's.
She looked on in horror, staring at Jellal rolling on the floor in manic laughter, before her wide eyes turned toward me.
As I turned my head despite the wound, my gaze met hers.
When she recognized me, her eyes widened further, and she screamed.
"Th-this is impossible… How… Ciel!! Why are you… How could you… Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh—!!"
"E…Er…za…"
I collapsed to my knees, the blade still lodged in me. Erza, shrieking, crumpled to the floor.
From the ground, Jellal burst into mad laughter as he watched us.
"Time's up—zero… Khu…khahahahahaha! Did you really think I'd fall so pathetically to you?! Why do you think I kept this room dark?! Why do you think only moonlight illuminated this place, hiding all colors in the gloom?! Erza! How does it feel?! How does it feel to realize the one you pierced with your own hands was not me, but the comrade who had truly returned?! Khahahahahahaha!!"
"Ghkhh…huff…!"
"Ciel… resurrected…?! No… this isn't… This can't be… No… no, noooooo!!"
"Etherion has arrived. This is my victory! My victory, I say!!"
In the midst of chaos, the darkened chamber began to fill with light.
And soon, a massive radiance swallowed everything whole.
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