Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Akane Beach.
September, x784.
After a short time, the three groups of Fairy Tail wizards reconvened by the giant roulette wheel where Ultear fought Wally and the girl with cat-like features. The reason for that was simple, actually, Ultear was the only one who left one of her opponents conscious, making her harder to move without taking certain precautions.
After regrouping, Alfonzo created magic sealing cuffs for the four attackers. Then, Ultear dispelled her [Rose Restraints]. After that, the Fairy Tail wizards began discussing the incident.
"It's kinda weird that for the two groups of two, they only sent one opponent." Elicia said as she looked over the four attacking wizards. "But for the only one of us that was alone, they sent two."
"Does that mean they think Ultear is the strongest of us?" Cana asked, a bit of discontent in her tone.
"I doubt it." Alfonzo replied. "Most likely, they couldn't tell who was together like we can. But we could just ask them about it, instead of guessing wildly."
In response, Elicia, Cana, and Ultear all nodded in acknowledgement. Meanwhile, Erza was staring at the familiar faces of the attackers.
"Shô... Simon... Wally... Millianna..." Erza muttered with sadness in her tone. "Why are you here? Millianna, please tell me."
Millianna, the cat-like girl had been glaring at Alfonzo, Elicia, Cana, and Ultear with blatant hostility ever since the group came together. Although she was also glaring at Erza, it was obvious that she did not hold much hostility in her gaze. However, when she heard Erza's question, she focused all her attention on her.
"Jellal told us to bring you back." Millianna replied.
"Jellal did? But why?" Erza asked in a confused tone as she thought back to the last time she saw Jellal.
Before Erza came to Fiore, she was one of the slaves that had been abducted to build the Tower of Heaven. During her time spent there, she was subjected to an inhuman amount of torture, even losing her right eye in the process.
Throughout those hardships, however, she had a group of five friends and a kind old man that kept her from completely falling into despair. Four of those friends were currently laying on the floor in front of her as prisoners while the fifth was the aforementioned Jellal.
In fact, Jellal was the reason for Erza's escape from the tower. At first, she wanted to save Jellal, who had been taken away by the wardens of the construction project. And for that reason, she led the forced slaves in a rebellion.
In that rebellion, Simon, the tall man with the eye patch, was struck in the face by a magic projectile, resulting in him losing an eye and his lower jaw being seriously damaged. On top of that, the kind old man and the reason why Erza joined Fairy Tail, former Fairy Tail wizard, Rob, lost his life protecting her. As a result, she awakened her two magics, [Requip: The Knight] and [Sword Magic].
In the end, however, the rebellion was successful. And after ridding the tower of the cultists, Erza made her way up to the top floor of the tower, only to find a changed Jellal.
Jellal had become exactly what Erza fought to rescue him from, a Zeref cultist. He even asked her to help him complete the tower. And when she refused, he drove her away from the tower with the threat that he would kill all of her friends if she ever came back or told anyone about it.
What made things even worse, Jellal had awakened the ability to use magic as well, making him much more powerful than the Erza of the past.
Deep in thought about her past with Jellal, Erza was pulled back to the present when she heard Millianna's reply to her question.
"I don't know, meow." Millianna replied. "You left us such a long time ago, Erzie-Werzie. Maybe he missed you."
"I can't believe that." Erza said while shaking her head. "It feels like he's up to something.:"
"Um... Who is this Jellal you're talking about?" Ultear asked curiously. "And where did he want you to take Erza?"
"That's none of your business, meow." Millianna replied fiercely.
"*Sigh* I guess it's about time I told you everything." Erza said, resolution flashing past her eyes.
"No, Erzie-Werzie, you can't tell them." Millianna shouted, reacting explosively. "You already betrayed us once, will you do it again?"
Hearing that, Erza sighed before putting on a guilty smile as she knelt next to Millianna. Then, she started stroking the cat-like girl's head as she started speaking.
"*Sigh* I do feel as if I betrayed the four of you, too, Millianna." Erza said in a gentle tone. "But not for the same reasons as you think I did. I think it's time for you to know the truth, as well."
In response, Millianna only blinked her eyes with confusion written all over her face. Still, that did not stop Erza from telling her story about the Tower of Heaven.
By the end of the story, Both Alfonzo and Elicia had their heads lowered, trying to suppress the anger they felt for this tower. Because of it, they had lost their parents, after all. Meanwhile, Ultear looked on with a sorrow filled expression while Cana, though not as much as Alfonzo and Elicia, was angered. But the one with the most explosive reaction was Millianna.
"No! That's impossible!" Millianna shouted. "There's no way Jellal would do something like that, meow!"
"*Sigh* I didn't expect you to believe me after all these years, but I swear what I said is true." Erza replied in a sad tone. "Believe me, I would have never left any of you behind if I could help it."
To that, Millianna had no idea what to think. For years, she had been told that Erza betrayed them and left them behind when she escaped. But now she's hearing that Erza was forced to do so by one of the people she trusted the most in the world.
On one hand, it made her happy to hear that Erza did not actually abandon them. But on the other hand, she found it hard to believe that Erza was telling the truth about what happened that day, resulting in a heavy silence falling over the group. That silence did not persist for long, however.
"So, that's what happened." Simon, who had woken up during Erza's story, said, somewhat alleviating the heavy atmosphere. "I suspected that to be the case for some time, now."
"Simon? Are you serious?" Millianna asked in a disbelieving tone.
"I am." Simon replied. "Jellal has changed ever since that day. On top of that, the Erza I know would have never abandoned us the way Jellal said she did."
Once again, Millianna fell silent. She also agreed with Simon's thoughts on the matter. The Erza she knew would never abandon her friends. She even started a rebellion against the cultists to save Jellal back then. So, why did she leave like that? That was a question she had been asking herself for years.
"There's a simple way to find out, Doll." Wally, who had also woken up, said. "We just go back and ask Jellal, see?"
"Indeed." Simon said, nodding in agreement.
"And what makes you think we'll just let you go?" Cana asked with her arms crossed under her chest. "As far as the law goes, you four are dark wizards, Zeref cultists."
Cana's declaration brought the three's attention to her.
"You attacked us in the middle of a crowded casino." Cana continued. "You don't just walk away Scott-free for that."
"And they won't." Erza said, standing from her kneeling position next to Millianna.
As she stood, Erza [Requipped] out of her evening gown and into her [Heart Kruez Armor].
"Because I will be accompanying them back to the tower." Erza said resolutely. "I need to know why Jellal changed as well. But more importantly, that tower cannot be allowed to exist."
"Erza, are you serious?" Cana asked incredulously. "You're going to go with them? The people who were sent here to kidnap you? Are you trying to make their jobs easy, or something?"
"Cana, I know you're worried about me, but I have to go." Erza replied. "I have questions that I need answers to."
"You're right, I am worried." Cana said. Then, she continued in an exasperated tone while placing the back of her left hand on her forehead. "I'm worried for your intelligence. I mean, seriously... What kind of Stockholm Syndrome shit is this? You weren't even captured."
Like that, the two continued to argue with Cana trying to explain to Erza why going with them was a bad idea and Erza trying to... Well... simply repeating that she needed to go and that she had questions that needed to be answered.
Meanwhile, Ultear could only sigh at the act Cana and Erza were putting on. Then, she turned to Alfonzo and Elicia after realizing that they had been quiet for a while.
"Alfonzo, Elicia, are you o---" Ultear started to ask until she saw Alfonzo and Elicia's expressions. "Uh... are you two... alright?"
At that moment, Ultear's shaky tone drew the attention of the five, with Shô still unconscious thanks to Alfonzo's rather heavy handed retaliation. And what they saw made all of them recoil a bit.
Currently, Alfonzo and Elicia were smiling widely with equal parts glee and malice in their smiles, creating quite the jarring contrast.
"Seriously, are you two alright?" Cana asked. "Those smiles are kinda scary."
"Yeah, we're great." Elicia replied. "Better than great, in fact."
"Oh... Okay... That's good." Cana replied. "But why are you two smiling like that."
"Yeah, you look like you're really happy." Ultear added. "Happily, about to inflict violence on someone."
"Ultear, you're so perceptive." Alfonzo said, his smile widening. "That's exactly what these smiles mean."
"But why?" Erza asked. "Did my story anger the two of you so much?"
"That's part of it." Elicia replied. "But not all of it."
"What do you mean?" Cana asked, not following.
Meanwhile, Simon, Wally, and Millianna all felt a chill run up their spines after seeing those unhinged smiles.
"We told you that our parents were killed by dark wizards, right?" Alfonzo asked.
"yeah, that's right." Cana replied.
"And we mentioned that those dark wizards were Zeref cultists, too, right?" Elicia asked.
"Yeah, I rememb---" Ultear began to reply before connecting the dots.
"Looks like Ultear figured it out." Elicia said with a happy smile.
A moment later, everyone else involved in the conversation also figured out what Alfonzo and Elicia were getting at.
"Those Zeref cultists abducted everyone in our village and killed our parents in the name of building the Tower of Heaven." Alfonzo said, revealing the reason for their smiles. "And now, we have a ticket straight to that mother fucking tower. It's too bad that all the cultists died during the rebellion, though."
"What makes you think we would take you to the tower?" Wally asked, slightly intimidated by Alfonzo's aura at the moment.
"And what made you think we were making a request?" Elicia asked coldly. "And even if you don't, we can always accompany Erza on her trip there, right?"
As she asked her question, Elicia smiled in Erza's direction. However, the smile was telling Erza something very important.
'Refusal is not an option.' Erza thought to herself after seeing Elicia's smile. 'Not that I would have refused, anyway. That tower needs to be destroyed. And Alfonzo's destructive power should be more than enough to do so.'
Seeing Erza nod in acknowledgement, Elicia turned back to Wally with a smug smile.
"See, we don't need your help." Elicia said, irritating Wally to know end.
"I guess we should go get changed out of these dresses." Ultear said while shaking her head with a wry smile on her face. "*Sigh* This was supposed to be a vacation. Instead, we're going off to fight dark wizards. We might as well have stayed in Magnolia."
"Don't say that, Ultear." Cana said with a smile while resting her arm on Ultear's shoulder. Then, she drew near to Ultear's ear and whispered. "If we're quick about this, we could be back here by tomorrow night. Then, we'd be able to have a little fun in that great big bed in our room."
"*Sigh* I'm kind of ashamed of myself for getting tempted so easily." Ultear replied with a smile. "Alright, let's get going."
"I saw that coming." Elicia said with a giggle after watching Cana and Ultear's interaction. "Anyway, we should get changed, too, Fonzie."
"Yeah, let's go." Alfonzo replied with a nod. "We need to rent a ship, too. I don't wanna deplete my magic power on the way there."
Like that, the Fairy Tail wizards dragged the captured wizards from the Tower of Heaven along with them to their suite. Then, they locked the four of them in a bathroom while they changed clothes. After that, they went to inform the authorities of what happened and what they were about to do. Finally, after being provided a boat free of charge, they set sail to the unnamed island off the coast of the Kingdom of Caelum just before midnight.
You can read ahead on myPpatr3on at :
https://patr3on.com/SixthSense1029
Unfortunately, I didn't have any time to write last night, so I'll add the fifth advanced chapter after work today.
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy the story.
Comments, Reviews, and Power Stones are always appreciated.
Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Caelum, Unnamed Island.
September, x784.
"Master Jellal, I just received word from one of our men on the main land---" A man wearing white priest robes said as he entered the top floor of the Tower of Heaven.
"Yes, I already know." The hooded man, Jellal, said from atop his throne. "Simon and the others have failed their assignment and were captured. "*Sigh* Perhaps keeping them here on this island and giving them little in the way of information about the wizards on the outside was not the best idea."
'How does he manage to find out about these things so quickly? They only set sail an hour ago.' The man in the priest robes asked himself with awe and respect in his eyes. 'I was only notified a few moments ago myself. Yet, he has not left this chamber and knew about it before I arrived.'
"Anyway, you and the rest of Trinity Raven should prepare yourselves for battle." There will be a rather strong group of attackers coming here before long." Jellal said, waving his hand at the man.
"Understood, Master Jellal." The man in priest robes said as he bowed. "We will make sure to protect this tower from all outside threats."
Earth Land, Ishgar, Era.
In the Magic Council's meeting room, the seats were slowly filling up. A little more than an hour ago, Siegrain, Jellal's spy on the Magic Council, who was anticipating news about Erza's capture, received some slightly different news.
'Though not ideal, at least she is coming to the tower.' Siegrain thought to himself when he received the news. 'Still, she's bringing along some rather annoying friends with her.'
After that, he somehow communicated this information to Jellal on the unnamed island off the coast of Caelum before he called for an emergency Council meeting.
Now, the Council members, who had been awakened from the slumbers were trickling into the meeting room. Finally, after the last one, Crawford Seam, sat on his designated chair, Siegrain addressed the gathered Magic Counselors.
"I'm sorry to have to call you all together on such short notice, not to mention so late at night." Siegrain said as he stood from his seat. "But, as I was the one on call tonight, I received some rather grim news."
"Quit wasting our time and get straight to the point." Org said, irritable from being awoken at such an hour.
"Don't mind him, Siegrain." Yajima said with a kind and somewhat happy smile. "He's just grumpy because he's sleepy."
"Be silent, Yajima!" Org barked back.
*Bang!*
"That's enough, you two." Crawford Seam said, knocking his knuckles on the desk. "Siegrain, please continue."
"Yes, sir." Siegrain replied with a nod. "As I was saying, I received some rather unsettling news. Apparently, someone has been building a Tower of Heaven or rather, the Eighth Tower of the Resurrection System, on a small uninhabited island off the coast of Caelum."
Hearing the term, Resurrection System, most of the council went into an uproar. As members of the Magic Council they all had access to much more information than the average person. So, they all knew the significance of those words.
"how is this possible?" Org asked with disbelief written all over his face. "How could someone build such a thing without us catching wind of it? That must have taken decades."
'Of course the Council never found out, you old fool.' Siegrain thought to himself disdainfully while outwardly maintaining a solemn expression. 'You allowed someone like me onto the council right around the time news of the magical materials needed for the tower's completion should have been making their rounds around the continent.'
As those thoughts ran through his head, Siegrain glanced at the reactions of the rest of the council with is gaze landing on Junko last.
'She looks so surprised.' Siegrain thought to himself with an inward chuckle. 'Inside, I know she must be elated. She wants to see Zeref revived just as much as I do.'
Meanwhile, Junko's thoughts were a little different than what Siegrain was expecting them to be.
'Mmm~~~~~! I can practically feel the despair in the air.' Junko thought to herself, trying hard to keep herself from moaning aloud. 'It's so thick. It feels like it's crawling all over my skin. I want more! I need more!'
After a minute or so, the room quieted down and Crawford Seam asked a question of his own.
"Who was it that reported this information?" Crawford Seam asked, staring at Siegrain with a solemn expression on his face.
"It was reported by five wizards from Fairy Tail. S-Class wizards, Alfonzo Marcus, Elicia Taylor, Ultear Milkovich, Erza Scarlet, and S-Class candidate, Cana Alberona." Siegrain replied in an equally solemn tone. "Apparently, they were on vacation at Akane Beach when they were attacked by a group of dark wizards who intended to kidnap Erza Scarlet. Then, after defeating the dark wizards and interrogating them, they found out about the tower. Currently, they should be on their way to the tower to try and destroy it."
"Fairy Tail again!" Org shouted angrily. "For all we know, they could have made this up just to get more attention for their guild."
"Now is no time for your prejudice!" Yajima shouted. "No wizard would make a false report about something like this. If it was ever found that they were lying, not only their own, but their guild's reputation would be dragged through the mud rather quickly."
"This time, I agree with Yajima." Crawford Seam said with a nod. "The important thing for now is to address the crisis that a tower of the Resurrection System, or R-System for short, represents for the continent."
With that, Org sat back in his chair with a huff. He had already known that his accusation was illogical and unreasonable. However, if he could have gotten enough people on board and discredited Fairy Tail, then it would not have been too long before they were forced to disband.
"If I may, Council President." Siegrain said, drawing the attention back to himself. Then, in an even more solemn tone than before, he continued. "That tower cannot be allowed to exist. Therefore, I motion to fire the Etherion and wipe it off the map completely."
Once again, there was an uproar in the Magic Council's meeting room. The Etherion was the Ishgar continent's most powerful weapon, intended for use against outside threats that a normal army could not handle. Yet, Siegrain just motioned to have it fired on their own continent.
"Siegrain, have you lost your mind?" Yajima asked in shock.
"I haven't, Mr. Yajima. And I understand your concerns." Siegrain replied respectfully. "But these are drastic times. With a tower of the R-System in existence and enough human sacrifices, any number of powerful dark wizards, including Zeref, could be revived."
At first, everyone in the meeting room agreed with Yajima. They all thought that using something like the Etherion to fire with in their own borders was crazy. However, after hearing Siegrain's rebuttal, they started to have second thoughts.
"And what if the Alvarez Empire somehow heard about this?" Siegrain added, causing the faces of the Counselors to pale even further. "I'm sure you all know this, but that Emperor Spriggan would stop at nothing to have something like that."
"Even so, this is too much." Yajima said, shaking his head. "You mentioned that there are wizards from Fairy Tail on their way to the tower, right? We should wait until we hear back from them before making a decision."
"And what if they fail?" Siegrain asked in a serious tone. "Wouldn't those strong, young wizards be the perfect sacrifices? We can't wait for that to happen! We must destroy that tower immediately!"
With that, a few more Counselors sided with Siegrain. Though, the majority were still against firing the Etherion. So, Siegrain continued to push his agenda while Yajima continued to oppose it.
Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
While the Magic Council debated the pros and cons of using the Etherion to destroy the Tower of Heaven, Makarov was sitting in his office on the top floor of the new guild hall reading an emergency letter he just received.
"The Tower of Heaven, huh?" Makarov said as he looked away from the letter and up towards the ceiling of his office. "I knew the past would come looking for those children. But I hoped it would come much later. Please, be safe my children."
A few moments later, the elevator doors opened. Through them, Ur, clearly still sleepy, walked into the office.
"Why did you summon me here so late, Old Man?" Ur asked in an irritated tone as she approached Makarov's desk.
"Because of this." Makarov replied, sliding the letter across his desk.
Once she was in front of the desk, instead of picking up the letter, Ur simply looked down and let her eyes scan over the words. The more she read, the more serious her expression became. Solemnity replacing the irritation she showed when she entered the office.
"*Sigh* Those kids are always getting into some kind of situation." Ur said in an exasperated tone. "So, they went along to help Erza deal with her past, huh? She's got a good boyfriend and a great group of friends. Plus, with those five working together, there shouldn't be anything to worry about."
"If that were all there was to it, I would agree with you." Makarov replied with a nod. "Unfortunately, there is more to it. Biancca and Orlando were killed by cultists who wanted to use them to build the Tower of Heaven."
Hearing that, Ultear's eyes opened wide.
"Those kids, Alfonzo and Elicia are definitely out for revenge." Makarov continued.
"*Sigh* I kinda feel bad for those cultists." Ur said with a little chuckle.
"Actually, those cultists are most likely all dead." Makarov said. "Erza led a rebellion that killed most, if not all of them, when she escaped."
"I see." Ur replied. "Well, if that's the case, things will probably get rather flashy off the coast of Caelum before too long."
"Indeed." Makarov replied. "There's no way those children will allow that tower to stand past tomorrow, provided no one at the level of a Wizard Saint interferes."
"I'm not even sure that will be an issue if Alfonzo gets serious." Ur replied. "Did you feel the density of his magic power after the guild hall was completed?"
"I did, he figured out how important it was to compress his magic power." Makarov said with a proud grandfatherly smile on his face. "I actually never expected him to figure it out so soon. On top of that, he did it without anyone's guidance."
"Yeah, that's pretty impressive." Ur said, ignoring the doting expression on Makarov's face. "But I was talking about just how dense it was. Most of the older A-Class wizards in the guild have compressed their magic power to some extent. But none of them have magic power that dense."
"*Sigh* I noticed that, too." Makarov replied. "It hasn't even been that long since he started compressing his magic power. He may be even more talented than his mother. That girl Elicia, too. She's only been doing so for about a week. Yet, her magic power is as dense as Macao and Wakaba's."
"I can only imagine what the future will look like for those kids." Ur said with a smile on her face.
Though they were not mentioned, Cana, Ultear, Erza, Mirajane, and Sun had also started compressing their magic power. However, although Ur knew they would all end up with magic power far denser than her own, Alfonzo and Elicia were on a different level.
Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Caelum, Unnamed Island.
"So, that's it?" Ultear asked as the ship she and the others were sailing on drew nearer to the island. "It definitely looks as ominous as something that resurrects the dead through human sacrifice should."
"I still can't believe Jellal lied to us for so long." Shô, who woke up along the way, muttered while seated on the ship's deck.
"What makes it even worse, he probably wanted to use Erza as a sacrifice to revive Zeref." Cana said, looking at the island. "I mean, why else would he have you bring her back after all these years."
Hearing that, shock appeared on the faces of Simon, Shô, Wally, and Millianna. Then, they all reacted rather explosively.
"Even if he had been lying to us about when Erzie-Werzie left us behind, he would never do something like that to her!" Millianna shouted as she stood to her feet.
"Yeah, you should watch your mouth, Doll." Wally said in a threatening tone.
Meanwhile, Shô was simply glaring at Cana with everything he had. Only Simon was considering Cana's words seriously. Though, he did not want to believe that was possible.
"There's no point shouting about it here." Alfonzo said while steering the ship. "You can ask him about it after I bring down your little tower."
With that, the conversation ended and the rest of the trip was made in silence. Then, after another half hour, they dropped anchor off the coast of the island and Ultear froze a path on the water's surface from the ship to the island. Then, the entire group walked up to the main entrance.
"I'm finally back…" Erza muttered as she looked up at the tower.
"Yeah, and we missed you while you were gone, meow." Millianna said as she snuggled up to Erza. Then, she looked down at the magic sealing cuffs on her wrists angrily. "I could give you a hug if I wasn't wearing these stupid things."
Hearing that, Alfonzo raised his left hand and snapped his fingers. In the next instant, all the magic sealing cuffs vanished.
"Are you really letting us go?" Wally asked, rubbing his now freed wrists.
"Well, none of you were ever a threat in the first place." Elicia explained. "But we couldn't risk you destroying the ship while we were on the open seas."
That statement caused the four dark wizards to fall silent.
"Anyway, let's get going." Alfonzo said as he raised his right hand towards the main gates of the tower.
"Do you plan on walking straight in through the front door?" Shô asked in an incredulous tone.
"is that a problem?" Elicia asked, tilting her head curiously to the side.
"But if you do that, they'll know that you're here." Simon replied.
"They probably knew about us before we even set sail." Ultear said. "I mean, you knew exactly where to find us, too."
"Yeah, your boss probably has some friends in pretty high places." Cana said. "And that's why I hate politicians. Most of them are corrupted."
"Besides, wouldn't it be rude if we snuck in like some thieves." Elicia said with a smile on her face. "We're gonna knock the way people with manners do when they come to visit someone. Right, Fonzie?"
By now, Alfonzo's entire right arm was sparking with electricity. Then, a chunk of metal the size of a pool cue materialized above his outstretched right index finger.
"Lici's right. We were raised with manners." Alfonzo replied with a manic smile on his face. "So… Knock, Knock, mother fuckers! [Electromagnetism Magic: Railgun]!"
Usually, Alfonzo chants his spell names at a barely audible volume. However, this time he shouted it at the top of his lungs, releasing all his rawest emotions with it.
At the same time, the chunk of metal dropped from the air and grazed the tip of his finger. Then, as soon as it came in contact with his fingertip, it shot forward at eight times the speed of sound.
*Boom~~~~~!"
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Baselisk
You can read 5 chapters ahead on my Patr3on at:
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Comments, Reviews, and Power Stones are always appreciated.