Erza and Allen were arrested...
The carriage, driven by the messenger and escorted by the Rune Knights, left Magnolia after drawing the attention of many people wondering what kind of trouble Fairy Tail had gotten into this time.
Inside the carriage, Allen sat with Erza beside him, who looked a bit downcast. Allen made a small gesture with his fingers, casting a "Silence" barrier spell.
Allen smiled at Erza, "We can talk without consequences... although honestly, it doesn't really matter if they happen to overhear us, right?"
"You..." Erza wasn't surprised by his words, since she had already realized that these shackles, which were supposed to block all magic, for some reason didn't work on Allen.
"Do you have any idea of the panic you'd cause if it got out that anti-magic shackles don't work on you?" Erza spoke with a hint of exasperation. Allen was like Pandora's box—every second he came up with a new magic or a new spell that blew her common sense away.
"Don't worry," Allen replied as if it was nothing. Of course, he was aware this would be as scandalous as when Lucy found out Allen could break the contract between a spirit mage and a spirit without consent, but in his own words, who cares? No, maybe it was even worse—since these shackles were one of the main ways dangerous mages were arrested, and if this method could be bypassed, it would be disastrous.
"Well, it's more complicated than just saying 'Hocus Pocus'. It's not that they don't work—I'm simply isolating them... how can I explain... electrical current travels through conductive materials like water, metal, etc. However, other materials are insulators and block it, like rubber. So this is something similar. What I do is modify the outer layer of my magical power so that it becomes isolated from the effect of the shackles... like putting a protective layer in between..."
"Is that possible?"
Erza's eyebrows twitched; her look of disbelief said it all. Breaking shackles could be explained by overwhelming brute force. Deactivating them could also be explained by great skill in sealing, restrictive, enchanting, or runic magic. However, what Allen said about isolating his magical power went beyond what Erza could understand.
"..." Erza gasped...
Realizing he might have let his guard down, Allen stopped talking. He had the perception that having his power limited only to magic made him weak, which was true but only on a cosmic scale.
Allen was still a monster, he would never stop being one....
Although his goal was to keep a low profile, he ended up exposing himself too much in the guild and in front of everyone. Of course, being Fairy Tail, it was unlikely this would leak, but in front of the Rune Knights and a messenger from the Magic Council, it was already impossible to keep it secret. Still, there was a feeling that he didn't care; Allen had been feeling that way, otherwise he wouldn't have been so careless.
'Does it matter?' thought Allen. He stopped smiling and looked seriously at the armored woman. "Erza, I learned to use magic in a place where magic is a different concept—more complex in some ways, simpler in others. My way of doing magic is different: more mechanical, less spiritual. Of course, this other kind of magic is amazing in purity and power, and complex in variety, so I'd like to explore this type of magic to be able to use it too... yeah, well... I couldn't just put one type of magic over the other; it all depends on the user..."
Erza smiled, "Sounds interesting, and I hope to one day know where that place is..."
"Of course..." Allen paused, then clenched his fist and opened it again. "I guess it was inevitable I'd get into trouble by revealing so much about my magic... sorry, but whatever, let's solve this together."
"You're very optimistic."
"Me? I can't afford to be pessimistic when I have the devil breathing down my neck..."
Erza paused and looked at Allen, confused. He remembered Erza hadn't been there when he joined, so with a half smile, he gave her a summary of how he faced the devil and lost. But unlike previous times, Allen's humor didn't falter; it seemed like he had started to accept it.
As expected, Erza was more than stunned—the man who had defeated her and seemed stronger every day was defeated.
"Not just defeated—he wiped the floor with me Haha... I couldn't even scratch him. Wait, Void did, so technically I was able to hurt him?"
"Why?..."
"Hm? How can I talk about that situation like that?"
"..."
Allen smiled with a touch of anger, but also a spark of will. "Well, I'm not going to cry about it. Yes, it's depressing, and honestly, my ego is in the dirt, but in the end, I'm still alive. I'll have a chance to beat him up later"
Lucifer: Oh try it, you brat!
Allen smiled weakly, staring out the window. Despite his words, having power even close to Lucifer's was so far off that not even a miracle would be enough. But that stark reality would not be enough to stop him, even if he must crawl miserably on the ground and suffer he will reach the level of Lucifer.
Erza lowered her gaze as if trying to hide her eyes. She clenched her hands, lips, and teeth, but then released all that tension and without looking at Allen, she spoke weakly, surprising him, "I'm jealous..."
"...!?" Allen turned to look at Erza, caught off guard, "Erza?"
He wasn't prepared. Beside him, the strong woman, fiery as the sun, strong as an iceberg, powerful as a storm, and shining like a knight had vanished. Only a downcast girl remained, with a hunched back as if ashamed to raise her gaze... For a moment, in his eyes, she looked extremely fragile.
"What's wrong?" Allen felt that faint feeling of knowing her, but this moment was different. He didn't imagine she was suffering so much.
"It's nothing, I just felt a little jealous. Instead of running away, hiding your fear, your regret, and weakness, you chose to overcome it..."
"You..."
"I ask you! Don't ask me anything!" Erza raised her voice, but it sounded fragile. She also began to tremble, "Just give me a moment, and I'll be the same as before..."
Erza did not want to respond, speak, or even listen.
"I see..."
If she wasn't willing to tell him, what right did he have to question her?
"Thank y-you..."
Judging by the guild's reaction to Erza, no one might have seen this side of her, so it must have been a burden even before she joined Fairy Tail. Allen wasn't arrogant enough to expect a girl he'd only known a few days to reveal a past she hadn't even told her "family."
'Still,' Allen put his arm around Erza's shoulder and pulled her close so she could lean on him.
"...?!"
"I'm not asking you anything..."
"Fool..."
Erza slowly relaxed until she stopped trembling and fell asleep. The carriage moved slowly; the sound of the horses' hooves and the knights' armor scared the birds, so this time Allen wasn't bored. On his lap lay the famous Titania, with a tear falling from one of her eyes. At that moment, Allen noticed the other eye wasn't crying—he realized it was a prosthetic—but he said nothing, as it seemed a very personal matter for Erza.
Allen didn't know how to feel. If he had known something about this world, maybe he would have treated Erza differently, maybe helped her from the start, maybe would have known what to say in this situation. But he knew nothing, neither from Erza nor from anyone else, and although it was frustrating, he also realized how unfair it was to know someone's past, their most intimate secrets, without their consent.
In that sense, he was glad he hadn't invaded Erza's privacy...
...
Hours passed until Erza woke up. Realizing she had been resting on Allen's lap, she got up without saying a word. Her attitude had returned to the usual Erza. Allen didn't question her, and she appreciated that.
"Someday, when I'm stronger..."
"Don't worry," Allen smiled, "I told you, right? I don't need Erza-sama to take care of me; you don't have to be strong in front of me..."
Erza blushed, then punched Allen's shoulder, "You bastard, you're way worse than Loke. At least he's vulgar, and you know when he's being a bastard!"
"What does that mean?!" Allen, annoyed, used "Requip". Maybe it was the basic version, but it let him change Erza's armor into normal clothes, so Allen took advantage of her ignorance and pinched her waist.
"Kya! You! How?! Don't you have any decency?!" Erza covered herself, leaving Allen speechless.
"What are you saying? All your armors are basically metal bikinis, and now you're wearing a blouse without even a neckline—how are you going to be embarrassed?"
"You don't understand anything!" Erza, her face red, summoned a sword that Allen grabbed. "You're crazy, we're in a carriage, arrested—we can't fight!"
"We're not going to fight, I'll just cut you for having defiled me. H-how dare you take off my armor?! Pervert! You have sullied me!"
"What did you say?!" Allen could understand Erza's irrationality; it was like forcing her to change armor was the same as stealing a kiss or something.
"I'm going to kill you and then kill myself!" Erza shouted, her eyes spinning as she completely lost her mind.
"Idiot, they're going to find out about us!"
After more than ten minutes of arguing, Allen finally calmed Erza down, not without promising her a new armor — something Allen immediately regretted because each of Erza's armors was insanely expensive. The millions he had earned in the Lullaby incident would vanish before he could snap his fingers.
Erza began drinking tea that Allen pulled from his inventory. There was no point in hiding it from Erza anymore, since she now knew Allen had a magic like Requip. Erza sighed; her personal space was full of armors and weapons, so she always carried a mountain of extra luggage wherever she went. Allen asked her why it was necessary, and Erza got mad—not just her.
...
MJ – Obviously because she's a girl :(
Eve – What kind of question is that?
Artoria – Just because she wears armor doesn't mean she's not a girl...
...
"I'm sorry," Allen preferred to just agree. He couldn't stand another stressful hour of fighting with Erza.
Erza nodded and kept drinking the tea Allen had heated with a spell. The girl seemed like the same Erza as before—it didn't seem like her moment of weakness and subsequent murderous/suicidal/hysterical/embarrassed fit had actually happened. Allen felt he had misjudged Erza—this girl wasn't some version of Artoria, just another crazy girl.
...
Time passed while they talked about nonsense, which helped them get to know each other better.
'Is this shameless pervert popular?'
Erza eyed Allen suspiciously after hearing him brag about being quite popular with women.
'Does this aggressive woman love cute clothes?'
Allen also looked at Erza suspiciously after hearing she liked pretty clothes she rarely wore but enjoyed collecting.
With that and this, the moment came when Allen finally saw "ERA," the place where the Magic Council's headquarters were.
"Is my execution coming soon?" Allen said with a mocking smile since the bastard hadn't used the shackles the entire trip. But now that they were almost there, he was going to put them on.
"..." Erza lowered her head, thoughtful and a little worried.
"Don't worry, they don't seem to have anything against you," Allen said, earning a silent look from the redhead. "Hm? Erza?"
"Don't worry," Erza smiled proudly at him, puffing out her big chest, "If they ever accuse you of something serious, I'll give you a chance to escape!"
Erza Scarlet, the proud Titania who casually punishes Fairy Tail members who mess up, was saying she'd fight the Magic Council to give him a chance to escape.
"Oh~ that would be fun... But what if they accuse me of espionage or something?" Allen didn't take it seriously.
"That worries me…" Erza clenched her fists. "They want to interrogate you and they won't be kind..."
"Oh," Allen drew a slight smile on his face and a piercing look, "You care about me?..."
"You're really not taking this seriously?" Erza huffed, "You know they could condemn you for life or even to death!?"
"That would be a shame. Who would stop Lucy from killing herself on a mission~" Allen couldn't help but chuckle under his breath with a tone of fun and mockery. If the Magic Council thought a spy would choose to enter Fairy Tail to get information, he would begin to question the intelligence requirements to be part of them.
Although it was easy to see why the Magic Council was suspicious—many magicians' origins were mysterious; some were orphans from unknown places, others like Natsu were found in forests without knowing where they were born or who their parents were—keeping control of the population in a time like this was very difficult. But there was one fundamental difference between them and Allen.
Whether Erza, Natsu, Elfman, Gray, Cana, Levy, or even Mirajane—they all had a time when they were novice mages. They were a small group of rowdy kids who slowly made a name for themselves, starting from the bottom. Over time their skills grew alongside their reputation. So even if they had uncertain pasts, they had a base behind them. But Allen? He just appeared, already very strong, so it was natural to suspect him.
"Well, isn't this problematic?" Allen shrugged.
"Dummy," Erza grabbed Allen's head and pulled it to her chest, but since he had armor on, his head bumped against it.
"Erza…" Allen growled. His body was no longer indestructible, and he couldn't keep his "One-Man Army" active all day, so he wasn't immune to pain—even if it didn't hurt much.
Erza realized this and blushed. She knew her armor was hard, but whatever, right? She had the right to get a little revenge on the bastard who had been embarrassing her for a while.
But Allen wasn't going to let this go, so he grabbed Erza's abdomen and used Requip, forcing her to change her armor once again.
"You!"
Erza was angry, but at that moment a knock came from outside. It was Lahar, wanting to check on both of them. If you're wondering, Allen had also cast an illusion making it seem like they barely moved the whole trip. Realizing Allen was still resting on her breasts, Erza contained her embarrassment and answered.
"W-what?" Erza replied while Allen acted like a jerk, using her as a pillow.
"Hm?" Lahar saw Erza staring at him with a blank expression but her voice sounded strange. "Never mind, we're almost there, don't do anything reckless…"
"Y-yeah…" Erza smiled. Allen's breath on her chest made it very hard not to summon armor and fight him to the death.
Once Lahar gave another look, he left. At that moment Allen extended his hands to hold Erza's, who was about to attack him. This put them in a very embarrassing position, with Allen on top of her holding her hands.
"Let me go…" Erza said, feeling like she'd lost this time.
Seeing she was at her limit, Allen let her go and sat down to put the shackles on his own wrists. For the rest of the trip, Erza held back the beating of her heart, feeling that Allen was a real danger to women.
...
The carriage took them to the city center and then up the mountain where the headquarters were.
Even the air felt more solemn in this place. The messenger, dressed in a blue cloak with the Council's emblem embroidered in gold, got down first and signaled the knights, who lined up in formation as if to escort the world's most dangerous prisoner. If Lahar hadn't witnessed Allen's power, he would have thought this was overkill, but now he believed the council was too naive to think a group of Rune knights could contain this guy.
"We have arrived. Please remain silent and follow my steps." Lahar spoke.
Allen got out of the carriage and offered his hand to Erza, but seeing Allen's cheeky smile, she rejected the gesture and got down on her own. He shrugged and then looked around.
The Magic Council headquarters wasn't a simple building: it was a fortress made of marble, magic, and judgment. The place looked elegant, like an old building, but filled with the blood of something called magic.
A knight brought other shackles for Erza. She looked at Allen, who nodded before letting them put them on. Allen had already cast protection on Erza so they couldn't seal her magic. Since magical isolation wasn't a spell, Allen had to use "Echo Arcanum," which he had previously used to replicate a celestial key—it worked unexpectedly well.
"Allen Walker…" Lahar directed his attention to Allen, "This is a place where words weigh as much as spells. If you want to defend yourself, use dialogue, not force…"
"Don't worry, Lahar-kun, I'm not violent. As long as they show me respect, I'll do the same."
Lahar trembled at Allen's words. The Magic Council had holy mages—that should have been enough to calm any feeling of danger, but for some reason, there was unease in his chest.
'Well, Well, Well, I hope I don't have to blow this place to pieces…' Allen smiled before stepping, creating an imperceptible wave that swept throughout the world.
6 July of the year x784, ERA, this day would go down in history as the day Allen Walker entered the Magic Council shackled and detained.
===
A/N: At this point it is confusing whether it is good or bad to have no knowledge of the plot, perhaps both 👀
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