Chapter 85: The Vanishing Village, the Power That Will Not Return (5)
"Ci… Ciel?!"
"Oh, so you know me then."
In this strange world, where I had suddenly been dragged and held by soldiers without reason, Ciel appeared out of nowhere and drove them away.
But—he wasn't the same Ciel I knew.
"What do you mean 'know you'? You're a fellow member of Fairy Tail, and now you say that—?"
"Me, a member of Fairy Tail…? Pfft… kuhahahaha~!"
"Ciel…?"
This wasn't the polite, mysterious, noble-like Ciel I remembered.
The man before my eyes had a sly, self-assured aura.
Even in his friendly tone, every word carried a hidden sharpness—like a blade flickering beneath the surface, like the moon's reflection rippling across disturbed water. He radiated an alluring, dangerous charisma.
It was the same kind of fatal beauty I once read about in old texts—an enchantress who seduced kings and toppled great nations. Except, now it was embodied in him.
Unlike the Ciel I knew, who always hid himself, this one flaunted his charm openly.
Just… who is this man?
"You… who are you really?"
"Me? Hm, who do you think I am?"
"I'm not asking for riddles."
"Well, for starters, I'm not the 'Ciel' you're familiar with."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I'm Ciel… and yet, not Ciel. Maybe that's the easiest way to put it?"
His vague words only made things more confusing. He claimed to be Ciel, but at the same time not Ciel.
As I struggled to make sense of it, he suddenly turned his head, gazing calmly toward the shadowy alleyway.
"The three over there, and the two cats. Care to come out now?"
"D…damn, we're caught!"
"Figures."
"So this teacher's sense of smell is sharp too."
"Oooh! Ciel really is Ciel after all!!"
"Damn it…!"
From the alley stepped Natsu, Wendy, Happy, Charle—
And another figure that froze me in place.
It was me.
Another me.
"Let's see… that blonde little one over there must be Lucy Ashry, and this one here is Earthland's Lucy… Tell me, what's your full name?"
"Heartfilia."
"Ah, so Lucy Heartfilia it is. Quite a lovely name, isn't it?"
"H-hah?!"
The smile he sent me hit my chest like being struck by a Lacrima bomb at point-blank range.
If he weren't already entangled with Mirajane and Erza, I might have fallen for him right then and there without even realizing it.
Perhaps this was how the kings of fairy tales lost themselves to beautiful women—I could finally understand their hearts.
"Lucy! Your face is turning red!"
"I-it's not like that!!"
"Well then, Heartfilia, you're free to go over there."
"Ah… y-yes~"
"Lucy's acting… mature?!"
"Is that really me…?! Falling head over heels for that monster?"
"Then why don't you experience it for yourselves!"
My companions were flustered by my reaction. Feeling it was unfair, I grabbed the hands of the other me and Wendy, then shoved them right into his arms.
"W-whoa?!"
"Kyah?!"
"What's this? I was just going to politely send you off, but instead you're handing me a bouquet in both arms."
"B-bouquet?!"
"C-Ciel-sensei… th-this is so embarrassing…"
"M-me… to a monster like this…! Khh…!"
Just as I expected, both the other me and Wendy blushed furiously, dazed and melting in his arms.
Yes—this was a charm no one could possibly escape from.
I nodded to myself, but in that very moment, his body—holding the two of them—was suddenly engulfed in a flickering black aura like flame, and then… vanished completely.
"He disappeared?!"
"Uwah! Was that magic from this world?!"
"No… it wasn't magic."
"Eh?!"
"When… when did he get behind us?!"
It hadn't even been a second since he vanished. Yet now, as if he'd been there all along, he casually slung his arms around my and Natsu's shoulders.
His presence had been clear right in front of us—yet somehow, in an instant, he was here.
"When? I've been here from the very start."
"W-what…?!"
"Wow~! This Ciel's got some insane tricks too!"
"You bastard! What are you planning to do with us?!"
Enraged, the other me drew the whip from my waist and lashed it at him.
But…
"He vanished again?!"
"What an adorable little attack~"
"Wha—when did he…?!"
He reappeared behind me this time, calmly lighting a long-stemmed kiseru pipe from within his sleeve, exhaling smoke with a relaxed grin.
"Sorry, but I don't have time to play with you right now. Helping Heartfilia was nothing more than my own whim, you see~."
"What was that?!"
"If this town gets locked down, going back to the capital will only be a pain. And besides, every evening around this time, the town's specialty—White Prison Sake—is delivered to the wholesalers in the capital. I make a habit of drinking it every night."
"What kind of ridiculous…!!"
"Well then, this is goodbye. You there—Natsu… and, let's see… what's-your-name, and Wendy… what was it again?"
The man stroked his chin as if struggling to recall their names.
Natsu clenched his fist tightly at him.
Wendy, pointing at herself, quickly supplied the answer.
"Natsu Dragneel!"
"I'm Wendy Marvell!"
"Right, right~. Something tells me I'll see you both again someday. Until then."
With those words, the man vanished.
....
Having escaped from the Village, Natsu's group arrived at a nearby forest.
There, they paused for a short rest while explaining everything that had happened to the Edolas Lucy.
In turn, Lucy also shared her own story of how she had ended up in this world, filling in the gaps each of them didn't know.
"…And so, when Anima swallowed the town whole, Horologium saved me."
At the very moment Magnolia was engulfed in blinding light, the Celestial Spirit Horologium appeared and pulled her away.
Thanks to him, she was hidden within a rift between dimensions, standing alone in the wasteland left behind by Anima's destruction.
That was where Mystogan appeared to her.
"When I came to my senses, I was all alone in that wasteland. Then Mystogan arrived out of nowhere."
"Mystogan?!"
"…He gave me a brief explanation, and before I could even process it, he forcibly sent me to this world."
"What the hell is that guy's deal."
"He never told me."
"But why is it that only Lucy can use magic in this world?"
Her story closely mirrored what had happened to Natsu's group at the start.
Yet there was one key difference—Lucy alone could still use magic.
That fact gnawed at Happy, who voiced his confusion.
On their way through the forest, Lucy, remembering how Natsu said he couldn't use magic here, had tested it herself.
To her surprise, summoning a Celestial Spirit was effortless.
"Hmm… maybe I'm… the legendary hero…?"
"No, you're not."
"Don't crush her spirit like that."
After the short exchange of jokes, Lucy hung her head with a sigh.
"Honestly, I don't know. But if Natsu can't use magic here, then this fight is way too unfair."
Having heard from Mystogan and the others that their friends had been turned into Lacrima, Lucy felt her confidence falter.
She was the only one who could use magic.
Their enemy was a kingdom that had unified the entire world.
And then there was Ciel—the man they had just seen.
The thought of facing someone like him head-on, without magic on their side, seemed impossible.
Watching them, the Edolas Lucy narrowed her eyes at the group.
"You guys… you're seriously planning on going up against the Kingdom?"
"Of course we are."
"It's for our friends."
"…Is that really supposed to be me?"
Lucy found herself staring blankly at the rough-looking Edolas Lucy.
She had the same face, the same voice—but the lack of will to fight made Lucy wonder if this really was her.
"You can't even use magic properly… how do you expect to fight against the Kingdom—"
"Hold it right there! I can use it!!"
Lucy shot back, springing to her feet with blazing eyes, clenching her fists tightly.
"Leave this one to me—the greatest wizard of Fairy Tail! If Ciel can't use magic in this world, then that makes me the strongest one here! Oh yeah, I'm on fire!!"
"…Pathetic, but…"
"We've got no choice but to believe in her."
"Aye!"
"Fighting, Lucy-san!"
Natsu, however, looked sulky as he cast a doubtful glance her way.
Lucy could use magic—yet he, a Dragon Slayer, could not. It was frustrating to the point of anger.
Edolas Lucy, meanwhile, thought the Fairy Tail from Earthland seemed strange.
And yet… there was something about them.
Something that made her believe… maybe they really could change the world.
....
While the group was talking and arguing loudly, Ciel Nightwalker casually sipped at his drink.
Though he was seated right there on a broken wooden pillar beside Lucy, not a single one of them noticed his presence.
"Big dreams for such little kids."
He smirked as he took another sip, eyes fixed on the overly confident Lucy.
"Celestial Spirit Magic, huh… impressive enough. But to openly declare war in my territory? You're quite the amusing bunch~."
After silently watching them for some time, he slipped the cup back into his sleeve and rose to his feet.
"You can't even pierce through my Clear Mirror, Still Water, and yet you carry such lofty ambitions. …Well, not that it matters. You're not the ones I'm really here to fight~."
As he stepped away from the group, Ciel slowly opened his right eye—shedding the bright, easygoing smile he had worn until now.
A black aura flared from his body.
It burned like fire, yet it gave off no heat, no touch. It was too real, too solid to be called a shadow.
And in his right eye, the scarlet pupil shone with a single glowing mark—鬼, "Oni."
His gaze was consumed by black flames.
"I can feel it… my other half. As I thought… the only one I need to fight… is him."
The sheer weight of his presence erupted outward.
It was so overwhelming that the minds of those around him rejected acknowledging his existence at all. He was there—yet at the same time, he was not.
And so, Ciel walked forward, unseen, unfelt, as though the world itself refused to hold him.
"My lost half… I will take it back."
....
Meanwhile, in the underground dungeons of the royal castle—
Ciel hung suspended in chains, stripped to the waist.
His body bore the marks of countless whippings, the burn scars of searing brands, and his damp hair clung to his battered skin.
He had been subjected to every form of torture imaginable—
And yet, a smile remained on his lips.
Exhausted from the effort, Erza Nightwalker sat heavily in a chair before him, her eyes narrowing as she spoke.
"He's a strange one—subjected to every kind of torture and yet he laughs without crying out…"
"Ku-fufufu… Sorry, but I actually find this more comfortable."
"I heard you were Ciel from Earthland and I was a bit scared, but you who can't use magic are nothing."
"Is that so? If you were honest, you'd know I wasn't captured without resistance. Or perhaps this version of me is just a half-witted fool who can't even hide his power?"
"Shut your mouth."
"Kut…!"
Erza had tried to provoke Ciel to test his true nature, but instead she'd walked right into his trap. Torture and interrogation had no effect on this monster.
Judging there was nothing to be done, Erza, as an answer to his taunt a moment ago, struck him in the face with a fist and then sat back down.
"This 'you' of this world united the realm without using magic. You and I are not the same mold."
"From what I hear of your comrades' reputations, you sound like nothing more than a lecherous bon vivant. Hardly the sort of being I'd expect to be my other half."
Ciel's words darkened Erza's expression. She swallowed dryly, tension in her body, and asked him one question.
"The lost half of the soul… you claim that truly is the you from Earthland?"
"The intense soul resonance I felt upon arriving here—most likely, the one here is the half that slipped from me."
"What do you intend to do with that half?"
Silence hung for a long moment after her question. Tension crackled between them; when Ciel finally spoke, his face bore no trace of ease. A murderous cold radiated from him and filled the room.
"That which was originally mine. I will reclaim my half. I imagine the 'me' over there thinks much the same. When one soul is split between two worlds, it's natural they will be drawn to one another."
"You mean—"
"Yes. I will kill. For two halves to become a single, complete soul and power, one of us must die."
Erza Nightwalker lifted the spear she had leaned against the wall and leveled it at his throat.
"I cannot allow that."
"…Would you go so far as to kill me? Pushing yourself would not be good for someone carrying a child."
"You laid bare how strong you are—this unsettling aura filling the whole room tells me that."
"To provoke me despite knowing that—your courage, this Erza, is admirable."
"He's—he finally found his smile again. He's finally trying to be happy… Ciel Nightwalker has become my sanctuary, my everything. I will not leave alive the one who seeks to take that from me."
"Do you think such words will make me hesitate?"
"Die, Illusian!"
She seized the spear and brought it down toward Ciel's throat.
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