In the coastal waters of the Caellum region, nature itself seemed to recoil in horror.
The lifeless sea was affected by some mysterious, necrotic force.
Seagulls dropped from the sky mid-flight, and fish floated belly-up in the thousands, their corpses littering the surface like a morbid carpet.
Both sky and sea were stained pitch-black by this deathly energy.
Amid this unsettling, apocalyptic environment, an aged transport ship slowly docked at the base of a colossal structure that pierced the clouds.
The Tower of Heaven.
Erza stepped off the vessel onto the cold stone dock.
She gazed up at this familiar yet alien place, the crystals pulsing with a sickly violet light. She unconsciously wrapped her arms around herself, shivering despite the warm climate.
Her voice was hoarse, barely a whisper.
"The Tower of Heaven... the R-System... it's really been completed..."
Memories flooded back.
Years ago, she had been a slave here. She had learned magic through Grandpa Rob's sacrifice and teachings. But then she'd been betrayed, threatened by the mind-controlled Jellal, and burdened with the lives of her companions.
She had fled this place of suffering, carrying the weight of "betrayal" on her shoulders, eventually finding a home in Fairy Tail.
Returning here was like walking back into a nightmare she thought she had woken up from.
Ankh stood behind Erza, his presence a solid wall against the oppressive atmosphere.
He watched her with concern.
"Are you alright?"
Erza shook her head, letting her hands fall naturally to her sides, though her fists remained clenched.
"This needs to end," she whispered, her eyes hardening. "I have to face him."
Ankh sighed. He stepped forward and gently patted her head, ignoring her armor.
"This will be resolved soon. Don't worry, I'm here. I won't let history repeat itself."
Internally, Ankh was calculating. When Jellal had been controlled years ago, Ultear hadn't been much older than him.
She'd only succeeded in brainwashing him through some methods provided by Hades of Grimoire Heart.
Therefore, restoring the completely brainwashed Jellal to his former kind self was beyond Ultear's own capabilities now.
The damage was too deep.
'But that didn't matter,' Ankh thought, his eyes narrowing.
'If Ultear couldn't do it, I will handle it myself. At worst, I'll just have to beat the shit out of him.'
Meanwhile, on the transport ship, the mood was heavy.
Sho, Wally, Millianna, and Simon remained on the deck. During their journey from the resort, Ankh's approach to "conflict resolution" had forcibly made Shou understand what truly happened years ago.
Under Jellal's deception, they had mistakenly believed Erza was affected by madness when she destroyed their escape ships.
They thought she had abandoned them to save herself.
Only now did Sho realize they had been exploited as slave labor for eight years for a lie.
Unsurprisingly, upon learning the truth, the young man immediately wanted to storm the tower and confront Jellal in a rage.
But Ankh quickly "persuaded" him otherwise.
Ankh hadn't elaborated on the full truth involving Ultear, confident that once he brought back the normal Jellal, all misunderstandings would be resolved.
In this anime-style world, sometimes you needed to be firm and shove the facts right in people's faces to break through the drama.
So now they sat on the ship, everyone appearing deeply troubled.
Except for one person.
Simon, the large man with the metal jaw, watched Ankh and Erza on the dock and he looked puzzled.
"Why would Ankh, one of the Ten Wizard Saints, be Erza's brother?" Simon muttered. "They don't look alike."
Simon had secretly admired Erza since childhood.
Which was why he never believed Jellal's lies from the beginning, even while pretending to serve him.
All these years, Simon had been the only one who consistently trusted Erza's character.
When Sho learned earlier that even Simon had trusted their sister more than he did, the young man had cried bitterly, nearly banging his head against the deck in remorse.
Millianna pouted her cat-like mouth, twisting a strand of hair.
She said in a coquettish voice, "Is he perhaps the older brother Erza lost long ago? Maybe they reunited?"
Simon shook his head, lowering his gaze as he spoke with sorrow in his eyes.
"No. Erza... and me and my little sister... we all grew up together in Rosemary Village before the cult attacked. Erza was an orphan when she was abandoned there. We never saw any of her family members..."
Hearing Simon's words, the group fell into a heavy silence.
When the Black Magic Cult attacked their village, Erza had hidden Kagura away in a box, saving her life while Erza herself was captured.
Having been separated from his sister for so many years, everyone couldn't bear to bring up his painful memories any further.
Wally, adjusting his sunglasses, quickly changed the subject to lighten the mood.
"So Ankh is Erza's adoptive brother? That's... dandy!"
"Probably..." Simon murmured quietly.
Thump!
A dull sound echoed from the hull of the ship.
Simon froze for a moment.
He turned to his companions. "Did you guys hear something?"
Shou also raised his head warily, puzzled. "There was definitely some kind of noise. Like... a wet slap?"
Just as everyone was listening intently, another series of rustling whispers could be heard drifting up from the waterline.
"Natsu! You bastard, don't you dare throw up on me!"
"Urp... gag... blergh~"
"Ah—my carefully chosen outfit! It's ruined!"
"Juvia will wash it for you, Gray-sama! How dare you make Gray-sama angry, you fire-breathing idiot!"
The noisy voices grew increasingly clear.
Simon, Wally, Shou, and Millianna on the deck immediately understood. They exchanged looks, each wearing an expression caught between laughter and exasperation.
Ankh and Erza naturally heard it too.
Erza's face darkened.
The solemn atmosphere of her tragic return was instantly ruined. She fixed a sharp, terrifying glare on the transport ship.
"Those idiots..." She placed her hand on the ship's metal hull.
"HAAAA!"
BOOM!
The transport ship rocked violently from the impact of her shove, tilting dangerously to one side.
"WAAAAAH!"
Several figures who had been clinging to the barnacles on the stern were sent flying out of the sea like skipping stones.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Splat—
Two boys, two girls, and a small blue cat landed neatly in a row on the shore.
After landing, the four humans and one small creature quickly composed themselves.
They sat obediently in a line on the ground, seiza style, their clothes dripping wet. Wide, innocent eyes blinked as they looked meekly at the fuming Erza.
This group was, of course, Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Juvia, and Happy.
They had secretly followed the group from the casino. Using Juvia's Water Lock bubbles to breathe, they had hung onto the bottom of the ship the entire way across the ocean.
"Why did you follow us..." Erza sighed, the anger draining out of her.
She massaged her temples in frustration. "I told you to stay back."
Natsu and Gray broke into a cold sweat.
They replied honestly, shouting in unison, "We want to help you too!"
"Aye!" Happy added.
Lucy, ringing out her hair, quickly explained, "We heard everything you went through while we were under the ship... well, mostly we heard Natsu gagging, but we heard the important parts!"
"Now that you're going to settle things," Lucy continued firmly, "as your companions—as Fairy Tail—we can't just stand by and do nothing! We're a team!"
Erza stared at them through gritted teeth. She wanted to scold them for being reckless. She wanted to push them away to keep them safe. But seeing their determined faces...
After a moment, she sighed again, her expression gradually softening into a small, grateful smile.
"You really are a handful," she whispered.
Ankh smiled and said, "Everyone's worried about you, Erza. There's no need to keep hiding things from your comrades. Let them fight."
Actually, Ankh had noticed the people under the ship hours ago.
His sensory abilities were god-tier; he couldn't miss Natsu's loud soul signature. He didn't expose them because he wanted the team members to accompany Erza.
'Erza's "Heart Armor" was both the source of her strength and an obstacle to her progress,' Ankh mused.
Only by forming emotional bonds with her companions and relying on them could she truly become a Queen, rather than just a lone warrior.
Moreover, the arrival of Natsu and the others could indeed help Ankh avoid some unnecessary battles with the small fry.
Ankh checked his internal clock.
'According to the telepathic update from Anselion,' Ankh thought, 'the Council members are already preparing for the first vote regarding whether to deploy the Etherion.'
However, even if Anselion revealed that Ankh was in the Tower of Heaven and could be "affected" by the Etherion, the hardliners wouldn't easily concede.
According to the plan Ankh hatched with Ultear, a second vote was still needed.
The Council would soon learn from Siegrain that the R-System was reviving Zeref, and then panic-approve the deployment of the Etherion to wipe it out.
'Before that happens,' Ankh calculated, 'I have about half an hour to resolve everything here, get Erza to safety, and position myself to tank the blast.'
Of course, Anselion also had to address his own escape route with the Council to avoid being caught in the political fallout...
Speaking of which, it was now a race against time.
Just as Ankh felt a slight sense of urgency, the magical crystals of the tower pulsed.
A clear, magically amplified voice suddenly echoed from within the massive structure, booming across the water.
"Welcome, everyone, to the Tower of Heaven!"
Erza froze. "Jellal..."
"I am Jellal, the ruler of this tower!" the voice announced with theatrical madness. "It seems the actors have arrived. Both sides' pieces are now assembled on the board."
"The Paradise Game... designed by me! Let the battle for freedom commence!"
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