Chapter 54: The Two Phantom Flame Dragons (3)
"You worthless insects…"
Even as he took the heat and the damage, the flames could not be touched.
Facing two awakened Dragon Slayers, Jellal clenched his teeth, enraged.
The very same Ciel and Natsu who had just dealt him damage, upsetting the superiority he'd held moments ago, were nothing but obstacles.
With the R-System moments away from completion, their constant interference had driven his patience to its limit.
"I'll end this in an instant. Regret standing back up, and go to hell."
"Kufufufu… Hell, you say? I've already been there thousands of times. How laughable."
"I've got stamina to spare. Try me if you can."
And so the battle between the three began anew.
Golden flashes of Jellal's magic scattered as he unleashed a barrage of attacks.
In response, Ciel drew a deep breath and spread flames of mist into the air.
"Dragon Slayer Secret Art — Phantom Flame Dragon: Mist-Wind!"
"What—?! My attack was… nullified?!"
The flames of mist Ciel breathed out spread as a dark-blue haze, unseen heat and magic radiating into the air, forming a massive barrier of fire.
At once both shield and weapon, the dispersed mist-flames burned Jellal's skin wherever they touched.
"Ghhh—!!"
"Your attacks have weakened. Are you so afraid of the tower collapsing?"
"And now it's my turn! Phantom Flame Dragon's Iron Fist!"
While Jellal reeled in pain, Natsu unleashed dark-blue fire from his fist, slamming it into the ground.
Jellal's fury spiked at the thought of Natsu damaging the tower.
"What I've spent eight years building… you brats…!!"
"Haaah… haaah…"
"I'll never forgive you!"
"Oh?…"
"What… what is this light? It feels… disgusting…!!"
"Your shadow is being cast against the light itself."
Crossing his arms, Jellal formed a massive sphere of magic between his hands.
Within the black orb shimmered a miniature cosmos, glittering with starlight, swelling larger and larger.
Jellal had resolved to unleash his ultimate spell against Ciel and Natsu.
Even if it consumed all his magic, he would at least kill them.
"Fall into endless darkness, Dragon Slayers! Celestial Magic — Dark Paradise!!!"
The small universe surged forward, swallowing the ground as it hurtled toward us.
As the devastating magic closed in, Ciel and Natsu exchanged a calm glance, then drew a deep breath together, focusing all their power into one place.
"Phantom Flame Dragon's Roar!!!"
The storm of fire imbued with both of their flames engulfed the dark sphere, creating a cataclysmic shockwave.
The black orb was consumed by the storm, then sent crashing back toward Jellal with even greater force.
"Ghhhhaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!! Impossible?!!! This… can't be… ghaaaaaaaa!!!"
With a massive explosion, he was blown to the far end of the tower and buried beneath rubble.
Seeing that he no longer moved, Ciel and Natsu exchanged nods, confident in their victory.
"Jellal, your defeat is sealed."
"Finally, we smashed him to pieces."
"Ciel! Natsu!"
"Erza~!"
"Danger! Erza!!"
"Get back! ErzAAAA!!!"
Just then, Erza—who had regained consciousness—rose to her feet and began walking toward them.
But from the collapsing rubble, seven falling stars came streaking forth, striking her body in radiant bursts.
As the light faded, the sight that emerged froze both Ciel's and Natsu's expressions.
"...You are…?"
"Simon…"
"Er… za…"
"SIMON!!"
The magic that had been flying toward Erza was intercepted—Simon had appeared at the last moment, standing in front of her as a shield, taking the full brunt of the attack.
Bleeding heavily, Simon collapsed.
Natsu could only stare blankly at the sight of death before his eyes.
"Why you?! Why didn't you run?! Simon!!"
"Th… thank… goodness… haah… haah…"
Hearing Simon's labored, ragged breaths, Ciel realized—this was the end.
There was no way to save him now.
His life would end in this very moment.
With a bitter expression, Ciel watched Erza weep, while Simon—on the verge of death—looked at her with fading eyes.
"One day… I wanted… to be… of help… to you… cough… cough…!!"
"Enough, stop talking!"
"You… were always… so kind… so kind… I really liked that…"
"Nooooooo!!!"
With that, Simon went limp.
Erza clutched his lifeless body, screaming and sobbing over and over again.
Natsu's forehead bulged with veins, while Ciel's usual smile disappeared, his face expressionless as he looked toward the source of the light.
"Hah… pathetic! Serves you right, Simon! You betrayed me, and in the end you died like a dog! Khuh… kuhahahahahahaha!!! And the rest of you! You won't leave this place alive! I'll kill you all—?!"
From the rubble, Jellal emerged, laughing madly—only for Natsu, flames bursting from him, to charge head-on.
Though his magic was nearly gone, he wrung out every last drop of strength from his body and hurled himself forward.
"Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!!!"
"Guahhhhhh?!!!"
"Because of you… Erza's the one crying right now!!!!"
"Natsu…"
"I made a promise."
Natsu could not forgive Jellal.
Just before coming here, Simon had made him promise—promise to protect Erza. Natsu had sworn, even to Simon who now lay dead, that he would only ever let Erza smile.
And yet, it hadn't been long before Erza shed tears.
He could not forgive Jellal, who had made her cry. He could not forgive the one who had broken his promise with Simon.
"Meteor! At this speed, you'll never keep up—ghhhk?!"
Jellal shot skyward, dragging Natsu with him through the tower, soaring high into the sky, shouting in disbelief at the absurdity.
"I cannot lose! I'll create the land of freedom! In the depths of pain and fear, Zeref whispered to me! He asked—'Do you want true freedom?' Zeref is the only one who understands me! I am chosen! With Zeref, I'll build a true nation of freedom!!"
"By stealing away the freedom of others?!"
"Only the will to change the world can move history! Why can't you understand?!"
"You're right about one thing, Jellal."
"Ciel Illusian! When did you—?!"
Appearing suddenly behind him, high in the sky, Ciel manifested twin spears of mist in his hands.
Ciel did not think Jellal's words were entirely wrong.
The will to change the world—yes, that was what moved history.
Sacrificing the few for the sake of the many.
History had always been written with sacrifice.
It was something Ciel had come to understand after thousands of reincarnations, after living and dying countless times.
But—
"Someone who is merely a puppet to another's will has no true will of their own."
"A puppet… me?!"
"Let me free you."
Mist gathered around the spears in Ciel's hands, forming into two massive lances of energy, each over ten meters long—like stakes of judgment, reminiscent of hell's executioners.
He converted every fragment of his soul into magic, drawing even the last of Lucy's power as well.
Ciel's strongest magic—
"Dragon Slayer Secret Art — Phantom Demon Great Wheel!"
The massive spears spun violently, hurled at Jellal, crashing down upon the Tower of Heaven.
Jellal, impaled by the colossal mist-lances, was driven all the way through to the depths of the tower's underground—and met his end.
The top floors of the tower crumbled, debris crashing into the sea, raising towering waves.
Seeing Jellal fall at last, Erza could not hide her joy even as shock washed over her.
Eight years… The battle for everyone's freedom had finally reached its end.
Her lonely fight, and the fight for true freedom—for all—was finally complete.
She caught Natsu as he fell unconscious from the sky, holding him tightly, gratitude swelling in her heart.
"…You do show a gentler side after all, Erza."
"Ciel…"
Emerging with the mist, Ciel appeared once more, whole and unscathed, speaking calmly to her.
Erza, shocked to see him alive and clear when only moments ago he had nearly vanished, could only stare.
Seeing her expression, Ciel offered a dashing smile and said—
"Judging by your expression, I take it you're wondering why, when I had nearly faded away, I now stand before you whole again."
"You're right. What happened?"
"It's simple. When Jellal was defeated, the magic circle woven throughout this tower was destroyed as well. Thanks to that, I regained the power of my eyes and was able to restore my form."
At his words, Erza looked up at him with a pained expression.
Jellal had called Ciel a wraith.
He had bound his own soul to the living world, watching over Fairy Tail from the shadows.
Neither alive nor dead. The thought of what that meant for him weighed heavily on Erza—she didn't know what to do with him going forward.
But there was no time to dwell.
"An explosion…?!"
"It seems this is where we part ways once again."
"Ciel, what are you planning?!"
The tower was collapsing, and the lacrima, unable to contain Etherion's rampaging magic, began to overload.
If they left as they were, they would all be caught in the massive explosion.
The runaway magic had to be stopped.
Ciel reached out his hand toward the lacrima that had absorbed Etherion's power and began slowly merging his body into it.
"The R-System is completely destroyed, but Etherion's power remains. I'll fuse myself with it."
Erza suddenly recalled Jellal's words:
'I'll fuse your body into this lacrima containing 2.7 billion units of ethernano. Then your body will be broken down and reconstructed into Zeref's vessel.'
Fusion.
Ciel intended to merge himself with Etherion.
If he succeeded, he could halt the magic's rampage.
But if he failed, his soul would be broken apart, utterly erased.
Even if he succeeded, whether or not he could remain Ciel was unknown.
It was nothing short of a gamble with slim odds.
"There's no other way to stop Etherion."
"Ciel! If you do that, you'll—!"
"Erza, you're becoming more and more of a crybaby. Just like Mira."
"This isn't the time for jokes! Wraith or not, you're family in Fairy Tail… my… my one and only partner!"
"Don't worry. I'll stop it, no matter what."
"Stop!! Stop, Ciel!!!"
Erza tried to grab his hand, but it passed right through hers as if he were made of nothing.
Eyes wide, Ciel gently touched the face of the kindhearted girl who looked at him with tear-filled eyes.
"Forgive me, but this body is made of soul and illusion. Letting things pass through me is trivial."
"Ciel…"
"You have your Fairy Tail family."
"You're family too. My only friend. To me, you and all of our comrades are precious."
"Kufufufu… That's enough for me. Truly, I've had a wonderful partner."
"Ciel!!"
After those last words to Erza, Ciel submerged himself fully into the lacrima.
"Erza… everyone… one day, we'll meet again."
"Ciel!! Nooooo!!!"
As he vanished into the lacrima, a brilliant light engulfed the entire tower.
Blinded by the radiance, Erza shut her eyes and clutched Natsu's unconscious body tightly, bracing herself for whatever was to come.
Once more, the immense light swallowed everything whole.
Even with her eyes shut, the light seared through. But only for a moment.
The blinding radiance faded, replaced by a splash and the sudden chill that told Erza she had fallen into water.
"This is…"
The Etherion's magic that had formed the Tower of Heaven had completely vanished.
Where the tower once stood, countless motes of soft light, like fireflies, rained down gently into the sea.
Realizing what that meant, Erza clenched her teeth and let out a pained groan.
Ciel had burned away the last of his very soul to save everyone.
"Ciel… you're such a liar… You said we'd meet again… CIEEEEEEEEL—!!!"
On the rolling sea, her anguished scream echoed—a cry of grief for lost family, mingled with the relief of freedom finally regained.
....
Far to the northeast edge of Fiore lay a wide plain.
Only a few years ago it had been a barren desert, but now, thanks to flourishing trees and greenery, it was vibrant once more.
There, in a small house, lived an old man who resembled a tree himself.
He was suddenly startled when the magical tree in his garden erupted with an immense pillar of light. Rushing outside, he stared wide-eyed.
"No… Yggdrasil is releasing an enormous amount of magic?! What in the world…?!"
The elder was shocked. His magical tree, Yggdrasil, had been created to absorb massive amounts of magic as a medium for healing—capable of restoring even severed limbs and lost organs in exchange for magic.
But its growth had never exceeded that of a patch of grass on the earth.
At least, not until now.
The pillar of magic light swallowed his home, and Yggdrasil grew taller and taller until it truly lived up to its name—towering skyward.
Around it, the surrounding forest flourished, ancient trees seeming to spring up in mere moments, as though decades had passed in an instant.
When the light subsided and he looked back at his house, the old man's jaw dropped.
"My house… It's completely turned into a tree?! …This might actually be wonderful…"
Lost in thought at the sight of his home fused with Yggdrasil, he suddenly clapped his hands, remembering something important.
If such immense magic had caused Yggdrasil's growth, then surely something had happened to the one it was healing.
With vines summoned by his magic, the old man climbed toward the top of Yggdrasil. The branches formed thick cushions beneath his feet as he ascended.
"Hello? Can you hear me? Where are you?!"
For several minutes he searched along the upper boughs until he finally found him—
A man lying in the thicket, disheveled, as though he had just awoken.
The elder hurried to him.
"You there! Are you awake?!"
Hearing his voice, the man slowly turned his head, gazing blankly at the old man who had approached.
Then, with a faint, gentle smile, he spoke.
Though his speech was slurred from years of slumber, he made the effort to form the words clearly—calling the elder by name.
"War… rod… Sequen…"
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