Chapter 52: The Two Phantom Flame Dragons (1)
The Council's headquarters, ERA – Situation Room.
It had been one hour since Etherion's launch was authorized.
Etherion had been fired toward the Tower of Heaven.
The councilors who witnessed this wore heavy expressions.
"How many people might have been in that tower…?"
"We stopped Zeref's resurrection. If that was the cost, then it couldn't be helped."
"No matter how much we try to justify what we've done, it won't ease the grief of the victims' families."
But such sentiments lasted only a brief moment.
On the screen before them, the Tower of Heaven revealed its true form.
As the outer walls crumbled away, what emerged was a lacrima tower, radiating with brilliant light as it absorbed the power of Etherion.
"Wh-what?! What is that?!"
"A colossal lacrima tower!"
"The lacrima absorbed Etherion's power?!"
"What did you say?!"
The situation room erupted into chaos as they realized Etherion had failed.
Amid the confusion, on the second floor, Yajima approached Siegrain from behind. He had been suspicious of Siegrain, who had taken the lead in pushing for Etherion's firing, and had been tailing him, overhearing fragments of strange words.
When Siegrain had muttered that he would die if this failed, Yajima had grown certain.
This was connected to him.
With that conviction, Yajima stormed toward him, shouting.
"Siegrain! What in the world is going on?!"
Siegrain gave no answer.
Just as Yajima reached out for him, Siegrain vanished without a trace.
Then came the frantic cries from the situation room.
"Twenty-seven billion units of ethernano have been accumulated in the Tower of Heaven!"
"If that much power is gathered in one place, it'll explode!"
"More importantly—how did this happen?!"
Only then did Yajima fully grasp the situation. He shouted down from the second floor with a desperate voice.
But as the councilors tried to act again, the building itself began to collapse.
"The building is deteriorating at an alarming rate?!"
"This is… Lost Magic—the Arc of Time?!"
"This is terrible! It's collapsing!"
"Run—!"
"Master Leiji!"
They had intended to fire Etherion again, though it would take time to prepare—but with the building collapsing, a second launch was impossible.
In the end, the Council had not stopped the Tower of Heaven; instead, they had unwittingly aided Jellal's plan.
As everyone scrambled to escape outside, Yajima saw it.
"Ultear…"
"All of this is for Lord Siegrain… no, for Lord Jellal. His dream will be fulfilled here and now."
Within the collapsing building, Ultear smiled as she invoked the Arc of Time—for Jellal's plan.
....
Something is wrong.
This is all wrong.
The hot flow of blood, the contraction of muscle gripping the blade—vividly felt through the sword itself.
But it wasn't Jellal's.
"C-Ciel…! Why… why are you…"
"E…Erz… cough…!"
It seemed Ciel had tried to call my name, but instead he spat blood and collapsed into my arms.
What on earth was happening?
My mind reeled in confusion.
Ciel was already dead—so why was he here? Why was he bleeding?
How could he even possess a tangible body?
I was certain… I had struck at Jellal.
When I entered the chamber, what I had seen before me was the figure of Jellal, about to stab someone to death.
Because of the dim moonlight, I hadn't been able to see clearly—but I thought perhaps Natsu or Gray had arrived first, fighting Jellal and finding themselves in danger.
That was why… I had struck, determined that I could not simply stand by and watch a comrade die before my eyes, even if I still carried feelings of pity for Jellal.
But what the moonlight revealed was not Jellal falling—It was Ciel, run through on my blade, while Jellal lay collapsed to the side.
"Ciel! Stay with me! Why… why are you here…?!"
"Khuh… kuhahahahahahahaha!! At last…! At last, the moment has come!!"
As I faltered in shock, Jellal dusted off his robes and rose to his feet.
And then, another voice came from behind.
"Surprised? He's practically alive in his current state, so of course he bleeds and suffers."
"Siegrain?!"
It was Siegrain—member of the Council, and Jellal's twin brother—who appeared before me.
"The Ciel Illusian before you may be in a spiritual state, but because of the tower's magic circle, he has been given physical form. Put simply, he's a living soul of sorts. But—if he dies in that state, his soul will be extinguished, and his very existence will vanish."
"Why are you here?! And why is Ciel even in this place?!"
With a composed air, he slowly walked past me, speaking.
"Think back to when we first met, Erza. Wasn't it when you came with Makarov to submit that report? You mistook me for Jellal and attacked me, didn't you?"
"..."
"Well… it wasn't unreasonable. After all, we had the same face. Even when you accepted the explanation of 'twins,' you still bared open hostility toward me."
"Of course I did! You were his brother, and yet you allowed Jellal's deeds to continue! Worse—you kept me under watch!"
"Yes… that was my mistake. What I should have said then was that I would find Jellal and kill him myself. …But, let's set that aside. It's time I spoke the truth. I… no, we… are one and the same."
"From the very beginning."
"Th—that can't be! A thought projection?!"
Siegrain walked up to Jellal, and as he spoke, the two merged into one.
And in that moment, I understood everything.
From the very start, I had been played by him. Even now, I had been deceived into striking down my comrade with my own hands.
"Yes, I am myself."
"Th-then it was you?! You're the one who dropped Etherion?! You infiltrated the Council just for this plan?!"
"Yes. Everything was for the Tower of Heaven. But… a year ago, there was an unexpected complication, when Mukuro suddenly appeared, calling himself Yajima's assistant… or rather, Ciel Illusian."
"Mukuro…?! That's impossible! He was nothing like Ciel!"
"Fool. His title was the Phantom Demon King. Changing his face with illusion magic is nothing difficult. He lingered in this world as a wraith, clinging on with the last of his magic… Driven by his desperate wish to protect his comrades, he worked behind the scenes. But it was all pointless. Because now—you've killed him with your own hands."
Jellal's revelations struck me like thunder, leaving my mind blank.
If that were true… then I had failed to recognize Ciel all along, treated him with suspicion, and finally condemned him to death myself.
I could feel his body, growing fainter in my grasp… and my reason snapped.
"JELLAL!!"
I laid Ciel gently to the side, then charged straight at Jellal.
But with my body already exhausted from the previous battle, and with him having fully recovered his magic… there was no way I could defeat him.
"Graaahhh!!"
"For someone charging in screaming like that, you're pitifully weak. Did you burn too much magic fighting Ikaruga? Or is it because you can't muster the strength after realizing you killed Ciel with your own hands?"
"Jellaaaaaalll!!"
"Foolish woman!"
"Urghhh!!"
"By now, the Council should be completely disabled. You should be thanking Ultear. Oh, and I should thank you as well. If you hadn't rushed in, I might have actually died back there!!"
"Damn you!!"
In my exhausted state, it was impossible to defeat Jellal at his full strength.
In this condition, where I couldn't even call upon my phantom arts, I couldn't counter even a single one of his spells.
Without landing a single proper strike, I collapsed helplessly.
Then, glowing sigils of light wrapped around my back, locking me in place.
"Wh-what is this?!"
"The Serpent of Binding. I marked you with it when I struck you earlier."
"I'll never forgive you… Jellaaaaall!!"
"I now hold the power needed to activate the R-System. All that remains is the sacrifice. With it, Zeref will be revived. I have no more time to waste with you or that wraith. I'll fuse these 2.7 billion units of ethernano into your body. Then your flesh will be broken down and rebuilt into Zeref's vessel."
As soon as Jellal finished speaking, I felt myself being dragged into the lacrima.
Bitter frustration filled me.
But I had no strength left.
I could not… defeat Jellal.
"Ugh! Aahhh!!"
"I loved you, Erza."
"Uaaaaaaaahhh!! Damn you, Jellaaaaaaal!!"
"Oh great Zeref, now appear here! Through this woman's body—"
"Phantom Dragon's Wing Strike!"
"Ghhk—aaaarrrghhh?!!"
At the very moment Jellal sought to activate the R-System, a colossal whip of mist lashed across his exposed back, hurling him forward with a scream.
"C…Ciel?!"
"…Haaah… That was quite the painful blow, Erza."
"H-how?! Your wounds…?!"
I was stunned to see Ciel standing tall. Just moments ago, his body had been drenched in blood, but now there wasn't a trace of injury left.
At my question, Ciel gave a faint smirk and answered.
"It did hurt, but really—what kind of senior would I be if I stayed down after getting taken out by a junior? My current body is a fusion of soul and magic. I can feel pain, yes, but with magic, I can replace whatever parts were lost. …Of course, at first it was difficult, so I had to lie down for a while."
"Ridiculous… converting your soul into fragments of magic? Impressive, yes, but it seems your soul is being chipped away with every use."
"Ciel!"
From the shattered remains of the lacrima, Jellal burst out, swinging a fist at Ciel in counterattack.
Ciel blocked the blow with his spear, but with each clash of their powers, his form became more and more transparent.
"If what you say is true, then the more you heal, the more of your soul you lose. Which means after just a few more clashes… you'll disappear entirely."
"What?!"
"Kufufufu… How clever of you."
As Ciel deflected Jellal's attack and was forced back, his body continued to blur and fade.
The more he fought, the more of his soul faded away.
To die again after already being dead—that was what awaited him.
I struggled desperately inside the lacrima, thrashing with all my strength to break free.
"Ciel! Stop fighting! If you keep this up, you'll truly die this time!"
"Kuhuhuhu… Give it up, Erza! Even if he doesn't fight, this man is one I must erase no matter what!"
"Ciel!!"
As his body grew fainter, he seemed to lose his strength. Pressed back by Jellal's assault, Ciel fell to his knees.
Seeing him unable to move any longer, Jellal grew smug. Raising both arms slowly, he kicked Ciel's face with cruel precision.
"A pitiful wretch, barely clinging to consciousness!"
"Ghhkk…!"
"You dare to call my ideals foolish?!"
"Khuhh…!"
"The foolish one is you! If you were truly the living Ciel Illusian, it might be different. But a mere wraith could never be my opponent!"
"Khhgh…!!"
"S-stop it!!"
Blow after blow rained down, sending Ciel rolling across the floor.
I had to get out there and help him.
But no matter how much strength I mustered, my body only sank deeper into the lacrima, drawn in without mercy.
As I fought against it, Jellal conjured a sphere of magic in his hand and aimed it at Ciel's head.
"You said my strength doesn't mean you've grown weaker? I'll return those words to you. Disappear, phantom!"
"Khuhh… fufufufufufu… hahahahahahaha!!!"
"What's so funny?! Have you gone insane at the thought of your existence vanishing?!"
But Ciel, laughing without restraint, looked up at Jellal with eyes brimming with confidence and certainty of victory.
What on earth was he thinking…?
Then I realized what that laughter meant.
"I see. It's true… Fighting you on equal footing with this meager magic was unreasonable. So, let me return your words to you as well."
"What nonsense—"
"—!!!"
"W-what…?! Gaaaaaaahhh!!!"
Just as I had once struck Ciel from behind by mistake, this time it was Natsu who came rushing from behind Jellal, slamming a blazing fist straight into him.
With a loud cry, Jellal was hurled into the pillar of the lacrima.
Ciel rose with a grin, mocking him.
"Your mistake was not killing me sooner."
Though his form had grown faint, the way he stood—calm, unshaken—made it impossible to think of him as weakened.
If anything, the Ciel before us now was overwhelming, crushing, dominating his opponent.
He was the very embodiment of Phantom Magic—Illusion Incarnate.
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