Back in Crocus, within the sealed chamber of the Etherion, the nine magic council members were watching the results of the attack through a video lacrima, expecting to see an oblitered island, with even that having possibly sunk. However, as the light from the fired Etherion began to fade, the video regained its clarity, while seven of them stared with shocked eyes, in disbelief at the scene before them.
"W-What? E-Etherion, i-it failed?" Org, his eyes as wide as could be, stared in disbelief at the video-lacrima, which showcased a massive, oddly shaped, faintly glowing, crystallized tower. As everyone stared at the video, their thoughts came to a screeching halt at the thought that their strongest weapon, capable of destroying an entire country, was somehow rendered ineffective.
However, amongst the nine of them, one of them didn't seem surprised; his expression didn't mirror the sheer bafflement of his fellow council members; it was as if he were expecting all of this to occur. Yajima, the one who had been fiercely opposing the use of Etherion, noticed Siegrain's lack of surprise, and as he stared at him, thoughts within his mind bounced back and forth rapidly, akin to a pinball machine, before he came to a scary conclusion as he pointed a shaky finger at him.
"S-Siegrain! W-What did you have us do!?" Yajima's slightly terrified yet mostly furious voice echoed within the sealed chamber, snapping the six other council members out of their stupor as they looked at Jella's calm expression, their minds working in overdrive as they quickly arrived at a similar conclusion as Yajima.
"Siegrain!" Gritting his teeth, Gran Doma tightly clenched his staff, glaring at Siegrain, while mobilizing his magic, ready to strike him down at a moment's notice. Gran Doma wasn't the only one; the other council members also prepared their own magic. Considering Siegrain was one of the ten-wizard saints, they didn't dare underestimate him.
Siegrain, watching his fellow council members turn their backs on him, chuckled, which only served to unnerve them further. "Hehehe, fools. You've already lost…" With but a fleeting message of their supposed defeat, Siegrain slowly faded into nothingness before their very eyes, causing them to widen their eyes.
However, since their focus had solely been on Siegrain, they overlooked Ultear, who stealthily slipped out of the sealed chamber; they were oblivious to the fact that Siegrain wasn't the only undercover council member.
While the seven council members were dealing with the aftermath of someone infiltrating their ranks, Ultear was currently walking to the depths of the Magic Council headquarters, which, surprisingly, wasn't where Etherion was located.
Given Ultear's status, she was easily allowed access to the center of the headquarters, and all she needed to do was tell a few harmless lies. Stepping into the vault, which contained nothing but books, scrolls, and scripts, with the earliest recorded book dating back over three hundred years. This vault might not house dangerous artifacts or cursed objects, but in the world of magic, knowledge was, without a doubt, the most powerful and deadliest thing.
Using requip, an orb appeared within her hand; lifting her hands up, just higher than her head, she poured her magic into the orb, causing it to faintly glow. As the orb faintly glowed, it activated the numerous charged lacrima's she had secretly placed around the building over the course of the past few months, causing them to violently explode as the entire headquarters began to crumble and fall apart.
"Ahh, everything is settling into place."
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Back at the Island, Erza, who was still, much to her own shock, was looking at Jellal with a horrified gaze as she realized everything had been his doing. "Y-Y-You.." Pushing Jellal's offer, Erza scrambled back, grabbing her blade while glaring at him, causing him to laugh.
"Hahaha, you foolish girl. Did you truly believe I'd done all this just to die? The true form of this tower is a giant lacrima, and thanks to those stupid old fossils called the council being easy to trick, I've succeeded in gathering enough magic power to resurrect Zeref." Clutching his stomach, Jellal wiped tears from his eyes as he stood up, pointing at Erza, who had lunged at him.
Just before Erza's blade could reach him, her movements came to an immediate halt, a pained expression making its way onto her face while her muscles bulged, yet nothing she did allowed her to move. "I used a blind snake on you when we hugged. Now, all I need is a living sacrifice for Zeref to resurrect within; the process will be a bit painful, as your body will be reconstructed into one to perfectly fit Zeref, but you've always been a strong girl."
As Jellal gently pushed Erza's sword to the side, a snake-like tattoo appeared across her body, faintly glowing as it constricted her, preventing her from moving and turning her into his puppet.
Picking her up, Jellal carried her to the center of the room, where a large dome, containing pure, liquefied ethernano, stood. Standing before it, Jellal glanced down at Erza one last time, giving her his final farewell, before tossing her into the dome, her body phasing right through it as if the dome didn't exist.
"I really did love you, Erza." Giving Erza a hard look, he turns around, walking back to his throne, though just as he sits down, a fiery figure charges up the stairs, having taken the same path Erza initially took.
"Oi, Erza!?" Natsu, finally arriving, quickly spots Erza floating within the liquefied Etherano and swiftly approaches the dome; reaching his arm inside, he grabs Erza and pulls her out, catching her.
"The hell are you doing, Erza? Don't tell me you were defeated and were just going to die like that? Mira wouldn't even let you live that down." Natsu's casual remark caused Erza's face to twitch as she looked at his smirk, only to sigh. "Leave Natsu, I can't move." "Oh, you can't move? Perfect! Time for revenge!"
Not taking his limited time frame seriously, Natsu wickedly smirked and began to cruelly tickle Erza, who started to uncontrollably laugh. Her laughter was a mixture of fear and joy at his skillful hands, so much so that she wetted herself, though luckily for her, Natsu didn't notice.
"N-Natsu, p-please leave, I-I'm s-scared… I-I'm scared you won't win." With the shame of knowing she'd wet herself like a baby, Erza finally confesses her genuine emotions, causing Natsu to stop as he raised his head and looked at Jellal, who had been watching in amusement, only to confidently smirk.
"Heh, don't worry, Erza, I'll beat his ass." "Natsu, d-don't just-" Erza's plea was cut short as Natsu violently punched her stomach, knocking her unconscious, a feat he could only easily achieve given that she was already injured.
Dusting his hands off, Natsu turns and faces Jellal, his earlier playful expression nowhere to be seen as he stares down Jellal. "Tell me, how does it feel to strike your own comrade?" Raising his eyebrow, Jellal stands up while removing his cloak, revealing his lean physique, while Natsu cracks his fingers. "Hmph, Erza wasn't herself. I don't know what you did, but I'll just beat the shit out of you and fix her afterward."
Punching his fists together, Natsu wastes no time and lunges at Jellal, flames coating his fist as he closes the distance. "Ho, since there is some time, I suppose I could satisfy my curiosity. I really do wonder what it's like facing a Dragon Slayer."
Meeting Natsu's charge, Jellal doesn't perform his black-magic spells; he uses his true magic, heavenly body magic, a type of magic that allows one to channel the power of the stars and other such celestial objects.
Just before Natsu's flaming fists could smash against Jellal's face, his body glowed yellow, and swiftly, he flew around, easily dodging Natsu's attack before slamming into his back, flinging him several meters back. Natsu quickly reoriented himself and landed on the wall before lunging back at him, launching a breath attack, which Jellal countered by crossing his arms.
Just above Jellal, a black hole manifested above him, and with its powerful gravity, Natsu's flames were sucked in without being able to resist. Clicking his tongue, Natsu quickly closed the distance and, while engulfed within flames, kicked Jellal, who raised his arm, blocking the attack, causing a powerful gust of wind to erupt from their clash.
"Crimson Lotus: Fire Dragon's Fist!" Yelling the name of his attack, Natsu's fists burned fiercely than usual and released rapid punches, yet his technique, which had managed to defeat Gajeel, was useless against Jellal, who was weaving between each fist.
To Natsu's surprise, Jellal suddenly caught his wrist, only to aggressively knee his stomach, launching him into the air before following up with a kick, flinging him into the distance. Skipping across the ground like a stone over water, Natsu slammed into a wall, aggressively coughing as he slowly stood up while glaring at Jellal, who eyed him with an arrogant smirk.
"Tch, freaking bastard."