Upon returning to the sanctuary of his manor, Ankh did not immediately rest.
instead, he retreated to his study, the heavy oak door clicking shut behind him.
The room was dimly lit, the air filled with the scent of old paper and magic.
He activated a communication Lacrima on his desk, its surface swirling with a faint purple light as he connected with Ultear Milkovich.
The topic was the upcoming chaos on Galuna Island.
According to the intelligence Ultear had gathered, the situation on the cursed island was more complex than the guild's request board suggested.
The residents were not humans suffering from a malady; they were native demons.
However, Ultear clarified that these were not the fearsome, curse-wielding Etherious demons like Seilah of Tartaros.
"They differ significantly," Ultear's voice echoed from the crystal. "They possess no curses or magical abilities. In terms of function and fragility, they are essentially no different from ordinary humans, save for their monstrous appearance."
The crux of the matter lay in the "Moon Drip."
Due to the corrupting influence of the purple moon's magic, the demonic residents had their memories warped.
They genuinely believed they were originally humans who had been cursed into monsters, leading the desperate village chief to issue an S-Class mission.
The objective? To destroy the moon hanging in the night sky.
It was precisely this absurd, seemingly impossible requirement, coupled with the terrifying legend of the curse, that had elevated a straightforward investigative task to S-Class difficulty.
In the original timeline Ankh remembered, Erza would eventually detect the peculiarity of the moon—that it was an illusion caused by a membrane of magic in the sky—and resolve the issue by shattering the sky, not the moon itself.
However, saving the villagers was secondary to Ankh.
His true focus, and Ultear's, remained entirely on the instigator of this chaos: the Ice Emperor, Lyon Vastia.
"Our target is the Moon Drip solution Lyon possesses," Ankh mused, tapping his finger on the desk.
"And ultimately, the Iced Shell that contains the demon Deliora... or rather, the body of Ur."
When they arrived at Galuna Island, their first step would be to dismantle Gray's overconfident senpai.
To Ankh, this step posed negligible difficulty.
What capabilities did Lyon possess compared to the combined might of a Wizard Saint and the leader of the Seven Kin of Purgatory? Subduing a mage who barely met Fairy Tail's S-class standards would be as effortless as crushing an insect.
Knock, knock, knock.
Just as Ankh was mentally arranging the chess pieces for the Galuna operation, a rhythmic knocking broke his concentration.
"Brother," a steady, familiar voice called out from the hallway. "I'm here."
Ankh quickly cleared the Lacrima, gathering his scattered thoughts.
"Come in, Erza."
He stood up and opened the door, welcoming the redhead into the warm glow of the study.
After inviting Erza to sit on the plush velvet sofa, Ankh poured her a cup of tea.
As he handed it to her, he noticed the subtle tension in her shoulders and the shadow in her eyes.
"What's wrong?" Ankh asked with a gentle smile, sitting across from her. "You look worried. Is the Council matter still bothering you?"
Erza held the teacup with both hands, gazing at Ankh's face.
She hesitated, her usual commanding presence replaced by the uncertainty of a little sister.
After a long, heavy pause, she slowly asked, "Brother... are you going to ask me about the Tower of Heaven?"
Ankh's smile stiffened slightly.
'So she guessed it,' he thought. 'She's sharp.'
In the past, Erza had only briefly mentioned the "Tower of Heaven" or the "R-System" to Ankh, usually in passing, and had always refused to elaborate on the horrors she endured there.
Whenever Ankh had subtly tried to inquire about the tower's current location or status, Erza had shut down, retreating behind her armor.
But today, Ankh had suddenly summoned her immediately after his meeting with Siegrain—the man who wore Jellal's face.
It was only natural that Erza would connect the dots.
Ankh sighed, deciding that honesty was the only path forward.
"The Jellal you knew... he is gone, Erza," Ankh said, his voice low and serious. "The man who exists now has changed completely. He is planning something extremely dangerous, and we must strike first."
Erza grip on the teacup tightened, her knuckles turning white.
"I've investigated the Tower of Heaven," Ankh continued, mercilessly laying out the truth. "After you escaped, your former companions—Simon, Sho, Wally, Millianna—they didn't turn on you because they hated you. They were deceived. Jellal lied to them. He told them you betrayed them, that you destroyed the ships and abandoned them to save yourself. He used their anger to enslave them to his will."
"This is an account I must settle with him."
The light in Erza's brown eyes dimmed considerably.
Jellal.
The name echoed in her mind like a curse.
He was the person who had once given her hope in that hellish place, the boy who had given her the surname "Scarlet."
But from the moment he was possessed, everything changed.
He became her worst nightmare, the architect of her suffering.
All those scars on her back, and the deeper ones on her soul, originated from that man.
Why did things have to turn out this way?
When she had met Siegrain at the Council, seeing the face that so resembled Jellal had shaken her to her core.
She had stubbornly sought to uncover the truth, hoping against hope that the Council member was a different person, or that Jellal hadn't truly fallen so far.
She never wanted to believe that the brave boy who had been everyone's role model could become so corrupted.
After escaping to Fairy Tail, Erza had sunk into a deep depression, haunted by the screams of the Tower.
For a long time, she was unable to accept the reality of her freedom while her friends remained in chains.
Fortunately, fate had been kind in other ways.
She found trustworthy friends in the guild, elders like Makarov who cared for her as a parent would.
And, most importantly, she had found her family.
Her blood.
Ankh. Her biological brother.
He was like an elegant guardian knight who had stepped out of a fairy tale.
His arrival in her life had completely dispelled the shadows in her heart, preserving the last pure land within Erza's soul.
From their very first meeting, even before the blood test confirmed it, Erza had felt an inexplicable sense of closeness with him.
As time passed, Erza increasingly discovered that around him, she could shed her "Titania" armor.
She didn't have to be the strongest. She could be vulnerable. She could be dependent.
And to her surprise, Erza didn't dislike this feeling at all.
Unconsciously recalling the pain of the past and the warmth of the present, Erza felt her eyes growing moist.
The appearance of glistening tears seemed ill-timed to her; a warrior shouldn't cry.
But she couldn't stop them.
Two clear streams rolled down her cheeks.
Erza, who had once cried half her tears dry in that dungeon, now had the other half refilled by this person—tears representing her deepest affection and relief.
Seeing the teary-eyed Erza, Ankh was startled.
He leaned forward, panic flashing in his eyes.
"If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine!" Ankh said quickly, waving his hands. "I didn't mean to force you. I can always just interrogate Siegrain until he talks..."
Erza quickly shook her head.
She raised the back of her hand to gently wipe away her tears, offering a brave, trembling smile.
"It's alright, Brother. I... I will go with you."
Her voice was firm. "It is time to bring all this to an end."
Ankh was momentarily stunned, then he smiled with genuine relief.
"Good. When you're ready, we'll set off for the Tower of Heaven. We'll save them all."
Erza nodded silently.
Taking this step with Ankh would serve as her final farewell to that tragic past.
With him by her side, she felt invincible.
...
The two siblings talked for a long time in the study, discussing lighter topics to wash away the heavy atmosphere.
They only emerged when the plump maid knocked to announce dinner.
The meal was a feast. Ankh had ordered the chef to go all out.
The table was laden with sizzling steaks, rich seafood soup that smelled of the ocean, and fresh salads
. But the highlight, as always, was dessert.
Erza held a slice of her exclusive strawberry cake, her eyes sparkling.
As she took a bite, the cream and sweet fruit melted on her tongue, and she practically glowed with delight.
"Delicious!" she hummed, a complete contrast to the weeping girl from an hour ago.
Ankh watched her eat, resting his chin on his hand with a satisfied smirk.
She might be the terrifying "Titania" to the outside world, but at home, Ankh definitely treated her like a princess.
'If I don't spoil my own sister, who would?' he thought indignantly. 'Leave it to some random guy like Jellal? Absolutely not.'
After dinner, as darkness fell over Magnolia, Erza decided not to return to the female dormitory at Fairy Hills.
"I'll stay here tonight," she announced.
This wasn't Erza's first time sleeping at Ankh's manor.
She had her own guest room, kept specifically for her, filled with her spare clothes and things.
She was completely familiar with the layout and needed no supervision.
Ankh bid her goodnight and retreated to his master suite.
...
An hour later.
Ankh was in the spacious, marble-tiled bathroom attached to his bedroom.
He was lying comfortably in a massive bathtub filled with steaming water, his head resting on the edge, eyes closed.
"Haaah..."
A long sigh escaped his lips.
The hot water soaked into his pores, dissolving the fatigue of the day.
When Erza had started crying earlier, Ankh had nearly jumped out of his skin, terrified he had broken her.
But her resilience amazed him.
"She really is strong," Ankh muttered to the ceiling, feeling a surge of brotherly pride.
"But she needs this closure."
He sank lower into the water, blowing bubbles. "Finally, some peace and quiet..."
"Brother, I'm coming in!"
A cheerful voice rang out from the other side of the door.
'Coming in?'
Ankh's brain, sluggish from the heat, took a few seconds to process the words.
'What coming in? Who?'
'Don't mess around... surely not...'
He casually splashed some water, thinking he was hearing things.
But after a moment, the sound of the doorknob turning echoed in the tiled room.
Click.
Ankh suddenly realized something was wrong.
'Wait. That voice was Erza!'
Ankh's muscles instantly tensed, turning rigid as stone.
He nearly jumped out of the bathtub!
Through the frosted glass of the inner partition, he could see a silhouette.
It was undeniably Erza.
She was stretching her limbs casually, and then... her hands moved to her waist.
The silhouette shifted. An article of clothing was tossed aside.
Then another.
'Is she... taking off her clothes?!'
'Hey, wait a minute!' Ankh panicked internally. 'Why is the story taking such a bizarre turn? We are siblings! This isn't one of those questionable anime plotlines!'
Beads of sweat the size of peas—cold sweat, distinct from the steam—quietly rolled down Ankh's forehead.