In a secluded valley, a flash of swordlight split through the air.
A massive boulder, at least ten meters tall, instantly shattered into several large pieces.
The fragments tumbled down with a heavy crash, kicking up clouds of dust.
"Phew…"
The crimson-haired girl sheathed her blade, exhaling deeply as she steadied the magic surging within her body.
In recent days, life at Fairy Tail had noticeably improved.
Master Makarov wore fewer of his trademark grimaces, and complaints against the guild had decreased significantly.
Much of this was thanks to Pai Pai.
With the Council's financial subsidies flowing in, Fairy Tail's coffers had grown; overdue payments could finally be repaid, guild events were plentiful, and members no longer had to risk their lives pushing through endless jobs.
But unlike the others who rejoiced in the guild's prosperity, Erza had not forgotten its true foundation—
Pai Pai.
Everything Fairy Tail enjoyed now was built upon Pai Pai's overwhelming power.
Yet Pai Pai could not protect them forever.
There would come a time when he was occupied elsewhere, restrained by other matters, unable to shield them.
"That's why I need to grow stronger—fast. So that when the crisis comes, I can protect everyone."
Her eyes swept over the shattered boulder as she muttered to herself.
Suddenly—
A streak of light shot toward her.
Sensing the anomaly, Erza reacted instantly, swinging her sword in a flash. Steel clashed with the streak, splitting it apart.
From within the light came a desperate voice:
"Help me… please… please, Erza… release me… set me free…"
"Zeref… is devouring my consciousness… this… this is my last chance… The Tower of Heaven is complete. You… you are their target…
Erza, I beg you… stop this… kill—"
The words fractured, distorted, and broken, trailing off into ragged gasps and muffled sobs.
It was impossible to mistake the despair of the speaker.
Whoever it was, they truly longed for someone to end their suffering.
Erza's face went pale. Her hand trembled as she reached out toward the fading light, its lingering magic wrapping around her in a glow that was warm and bright.
"No… no, it can't be! Jellal could never…"
For an instant, it was as if she were pulled back eight years into the past—
The blue-haired boy who had stood in front of her with a radiant smile, filling her with hope for the future.
But the image shifted—
That same boy, now with a twisted grin, arrogant and merciless, shoving her from atop a platform. Wind roared past her ears before she crashed heavily to the ground.
Two irreconcilable images twisted together in her mind.
A single tear slipped from her left eye.
People could lie, but magic could not.
Magic was the mysterious force born of one's consciousness, entwined with ethernano.
A cold-hearted person's magic would inevitably carry a cold essence.
A warm, radiant person's magic would always feel the same.
"Then why now? Why reveal itself only now? For eight years, there was nothing—why now? And how did he even find me?"
Erza's heart ached with the clash of reason and emotion.
Then—like a spark in the dark, a thought struck her.
There was someone—someone who could help.
She turned and ran, determination hardening her steps.
If it's Master, she thought, then everything will be fine. Whether Jellal has truly regained himself or is simply weaving another scheme, if Master takes action, there will be no problem.
Meanwhile, in the Magic Council—
"Lord Jellal, will this work?"
Ultear pushed open the door, finding Jellal—or rather Siegrain—standing at the window, gazing outside.
"She'll come," Siegrain replied flatly. His hands were clasped behind his back, his face pale, magic surging violently within him.
To Ultear, he looked like a humanoid storm, volatile and terrifying.
Magic could not lie. But no rule said its aura couldn't change.
As a member of the Magic Council's Nine, Siegrain could easily obtain a spell capable of temporarily altering his personality and memories.
With the right suggestion, that false persona would see Erza as his last hope—
even go so far as to beg her to stop him, to kill him.
Naïve didn't even begin to describe it.
For now, Pai Pai was absorbed in processing the data from the satellite array "Circumference," leaving him no time to involve himself in anything else.
"So then… how will you stop me, Erza?"
Siegrain's eyes reflected his blurred silhouette in the glass as his voice sank, dark and unfathomable.
Then he turned to Ultear, his expression hardening.
"By the way—are you still confident you can collapse the Magic Council when the time comes?"
That was the lynchpin of his entire plan.
If the Council could not be destroyed, everything would be meaningless.
One failed Etherion blast could not be followed by another—
not without another Tower of Heaven to absorb such massive magic.
Without it, his entire scheme would crumble into dust.
"Of course, Lord Siegrain."
Ultear nodded, pulling a golden key from her robes.
"That's… a Celestial Spirit Key?"
Siegrain's sharp eyes instantly recognized it, then narrowed in puzzlement.
Celestial Spirit Magic was a summoning art, and among its contracts, the Twelve Golden Zodiac Keys were the rarest—each unique to its constellation, each Spirit among the strongest of its kind.
But to a Wizard Saint like Siegrain, even the Zodiac Spirits weren't worth much.
"You intend to use that to oppose him?"
A flicker of irritation crossed Siegrain's face. In the original plan, destroying the Council wasn't difficult. It might have cost Ultear her life, but that hardly mattered to him.
But now things were different.
With Pai Pai present, even Ultear's sacrifice might be pointless.
And their chosen sacrifice—Erza—was a Fairy Tail mage.
Which meant they would inevitably cross paths with Pai Pai.
That made things infinitely riskier.
Erza knew too much already—she was like a ticking time bomb.
Choosing any other Wizard Saint or powerful mage as the sacrifice would cause a stir too great, far riskier than targeting the girl who already entangled herself in his plans.
But against Pai Pai… what use was a Celestial Spirit?
"This was a trophy I took from an island where the demon Deliora was sealed," Ultear explained softly. "Of course, Deliora was already long dead. Before I left, I discovered this key. I also found a method in an ancient text—
a way to summon the Celestial Spirit King.
If I can do that… perhaps it could aid you, Lord Siegrain."
"…Well done, Ultear."
Siegrain's expression softened into a pleased smile as he stepped forward, tilting her chin in his hand.
Lord Siegrain…
Ultear lowered her gaze, masking her ambition with a blush of feigned shyness.