[Information Erasure: B]
Just as the name suggests, this is a passive ability that automatically erases information related to its user after a battle ends.
Obviously, it is a concept sublimated from Jack the Ripper's core legend itself: the unidentified murderer, the killer whose true face remains unknown to this day.
Back in the fog-drenched London of that era, it was said that any information about Jack the Ripper—
whether it was a witness's fragmented testimony, physical evidence left at the scene, or even Scotland Yard's painstaking investigations—
would always, somehow, lose the trail and end in a mystery with no answer.
That is the truest mechanism behind Information Erasure.
Just running a simple mental simulation of the skill made Shane feel how absurdly terrifying it was.
It meant that even if Jack had just carried out a brutal slaughter right in front of countless people,
the moment she disengaged and left the scene, information about her appearance, height, fighting style, the weapons she used—
even the most basic fact that she was a little girl—
would rapidly fade from witnesses' minds until it disappeared completely.
And more horrifying still, this kind of "erasure" didn't just affect the memories of living beings. Even machines and inanimate objects would be forcibly interfered with.
Surveillance recordings would turn into meaningless static. Photographs would become blurred and indistinct. Audio recordings would dissolve into crackling noise.
When people later tried desperately to remember, all that would remain were broken fragments:
"A girl with a knife?"
"No… I think it was a tall man?"
"Can't remember… I only recall some terrifying black shadow."
The only way to resist this nearly unreasonable skill would be to force out the truth on-site—before memory faded—by using the physical evidence that still remained, along with an exceptionally high level of logic and analytical ability.
Otherwise, once the battle ended, everything reset to zero.
"So it can forcibly erase the exact traces of its own existence… once it's been elevated to this degree, it's basically interfering with the rules of the world itself, isn't it?"
Shane couldn't help feeling shaken.
He had been worrying earlier that Assassin's creepy assassination methods would become useless once the information got out.
Now it seemed that worry had been unnecessary.
Jack's whole system already formed a perfect loop: if you can't be remembered, you can't be countered.
Even against a sworn enemy, if they failed to decide the fight on the spot, then the next time they clashed, the enemy's mind would be a blank sheet again. All prior "combat experience" would be worthless.
More terrifyingly, for Shane, this skill wasn't limited to the Assassin class alone.
If he wanted, he could switch to another Heroic Spirit, wreak havoc, then switch back to Jack and walk away clean, erasing both the aftermath and any information linking the event to him.
A perfect crime, anytime, anywhere, with no consequences at all.
It was practically a universal god-tier ability.
"Heroic Spirits who managed to leave their names in human history really are never to be underestimated."
Shane murmured to himself, completely discarding the last trace of contempt he had held.
He couldn't judge Jack's danger level just because she stood in shallower historical waters.
"Shane? Shane?"
Just as Shane was stroking his chin and wondering when he might find a chance to test the ability, a warm touch suddenly wrapped around his wrist.
"Hm?"
He lowered his head in slight confusion, only to meet Erza's black eyes, faintly tinged with concern.
"What are you spacing out for? We're already back at the guild."
"Ah… sorry."
Rubbing his brow, Shane finally noticed that the group had already crossed Magnolia's streets and stopped in front of Fairy Tail's now-drafty guild doors.
"We still need to announce the results."
He smiled, then took the girl's hand in return and strode into the guild hall.
The moment he crossed the threshold, Shane instinctively glanced toward the edge of the crowd—
and there stood Ultear.
He had expected the girl to throw him another annoyed glare, but instead she was staring blankly into space, her gaze unfocused, brow slightly furrowed, completely unaware that the two of them had entered.
What's going on? She was fine just a moment ago…
A strange feeling crossed Shane's mind.
But the thought vanished almost immediately. This wasn't the right moment to dig into it.
A huge wave of cheers was already crashing over them, and he could only push his doubts aside and lead Erza through the crowd.
"Everyone! Settle down!"
The two of them stepped onto the raised platform in the center of the hall and stood beside Makarov.
Looking out at the eager eyes below, Shane took a deep breath and raised the girl's right hand high.
"This year's S-Class Mage Exam has officially concluded!"
"And I declare the final winner to be—Erza!!"
"OOOOOOHHHHH!!!"
The cheers exploded hard enough to lift the roof.
Colored streamers and mugs that had clearly been prepared ahead of time were thrown into the air, and the guild atmosphere instantly hit its peak.
Smiling, Makarov patted Erza on the shoulder, pride shining in his eyes.
But after saying a few encouraging words, the little old man muttered some lame excuse about being "too old and needing rest" and hurried out through the back door.
—Clearly to go find that difficult grandson of his.
As for Erza, the absolute star of the night, she was instantly swallowed up by the excited crowd.
Even without the guild master there to lead the chaos, in Fairy Tail any happy event naturally became a full-scale feast.
"Cheers!!"
"To our newest S-Class Mage!!"
Barrels clashed, foam splashed, and before long the hall was filled with lively, joyous noise.
"Hey, Natsu, weren't you just saying you were full a second ago?"
At one of the nearby tables, Gray looked speechless as he watched Natsu devour an entire roast chicken.
Just before the illusion ended, the idiot had swallowed a whole sea of blue flames.
"Mmph… dunno why…"
Natsu mumbled through a mouth full of meat.
"It took forever to eat all that fire… but then suddenly it just disappeared a bit ago, and now I'm starving! Like I didn't eat anything at all!"
Once the illusion ended, of course those blue flames that didn't belong to reality disappeared too.
And with Albion's dragon aura no longer surrounding him, the backlash from overexerting himself immediately caught up to Natsu.
"What a bottomless pit…"
Gray shook his head. Even while acting disgusted, he still pushed the meat from his own plate over toward Natsu.
Leaning against the bar, Shane looked at Erza standing in the middle of the crowd, still slightly awkward under everyone's attention but shining all the same, and relaxed into a smile.
This was her moment.
And then, from the corner of his eye, he noticed a figure.
Ultear cast one complicated look toward the red-haired girl surrounded by everyone.
She still couldn't quite let go of the fact that she had gone soft so suddenly earlier.
But now wasn't the time to get tangled up in her own romantic feelings.
She took the thick coat she'd borrowed from Fairy Tail and shoved it into Ur's hands, who was currently in the middle of a drinking contest.
"Don't drink too much, Mother."
After giving that quiet warning, and without waiting for a response, Ultear walked straight over to Shane and lightly tugged on his sleeve.
"Come here."
"Hm?" Shane bit down on his straw and turned his head, puzzled. "What is it?"
"Come with me."
Her voice was low, and she gave no explanation. But there was a trace in it that made refusal difficult.
"Mm… fine."
Though confused, Shane still obediently set his drink down and followed her, since she had clearly been acting strangely ever since earlier.
"Hm?"
That exact moment was caught by Mira, who happened to be passing with an empty tray.
"Those two… sneaking off like that? The atmosphere is definitely suspicious."
The silver-haired girl's instinctive alarm bells immediately started ringing.
Already in a foul mood because of everything involving Erza, she put down the tray and was just about to sneak after them to see what was going on.
"Hey there, little Miss Mira~"
A pale, strong arm suddenly hooked around her shoulders from the side.
Ur, cheeks flushed, was obviously a little drunk by now.
"Don't rush off. We're having such a good time tonight—how about trying this with your big sis?"
She shoved an enormous beer mug—bigger than her face—right up against Mira's cheek.
"Alcohol?"
Mira wrinkled her nose in disgust and pushed the mug away.
"I'm not a drunk like Cana. No thanks. It smells awful!"
"Aw, don't say that. This is a grown-up's drink, you know~"
"Let go of me! You drunk old mother of Ultear's!"
By the time Mira finally managed to break free, the two people at the door were already nowhere to be seen.
…
Behind the guild, in a quiet alley.
Though it was midday, the place felt strangely still, like a completely separate world from the noisy celebration inside.
Shane followed Ultear into the deeper part of the alley and stopped.
Looking at the black-haired girl's back as she stood there in silence, he couldn't help feeling uneasy.
Don't tell me… he muttered inwardly, she's only now starting to regret bailing out in front of Erza earlier?
But when Ultear turned around, there was none of the embarrassment or unwillingness he had imagined on that delicate face.
Instead, there was only a heavy seriousness that made his stomach tighten.
"Shane."
She looked straight into the eyes of the person she loved, her voice a little tense.
"Lately… have you felt anything 'wrong'?"
"Wrong?" Shane blinked. "What do you mean? Physically sick?"
"Not your body."
Ultear shook her head and stepped closer, as if she wanted to read something directly from his pupils.
"A feeling."
"Like…"
She took a deep breath, her hands moving slightly in the air as she tried to describe something hard to put into words.
"A sudden emptiness in your chest."
"Like in a dream… when the ground suddenly vanishes beneath your feet and you feel that weightless drop, as if you're falling endlessly into a bottomless abyss…"
"That kind of sudden, irrational unease and fear, like you're about to lose something important."
She stared at him, her voice so low the wind nearly stole it away.
"Have you… felt that lately?"
~~~
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