Chapter 87: Ciel Illusian and Ciel Nightwalker (2)
"What the… is this?!"
"This energy—it's not magic, so what the hell is it?!"
"Ugh! Mmph!!"
"W–Wait, Natsu! I'll untie you right now!"
The shockwave from the clash between spear and sword shook the cave violently.
Despite neither side using magic, a tremendous aura burst forth.
The collision between the black aura and the dark-blue aura looked as if two beasts were baring their fangs, ready to devour one another.
"Heh, so that version of 'me' can only bring out his fighting power by using the power of Shura?"
"And you, it seems, are drawing out the combat talent I was originally meant to possess to its fullest."
After exchanging a few blows with his counterpart from Edolas, Ciel finally understood.
The other's power stemmed from pure talent and instinct for battle—unlike himself, who relied on the power of Shura to wield various weapons.
"But it seems you only reach your peak when it comes to swordsmanship. You probably lack the talent to handle other weapons."
"Whoa~, as expected of Shura's power. To figure that out after just one exchange!"
Ciel swung his spear to create distance and thought to himself.
That one would likely be weak against hand-to-hand or weapon-based martial arts other than swordplay.
Moreover, there was no trace of illusionary energy in his opponent's aura.
Which meant—
At that thought, Ciel summoned Flame of Mist to the tip of his spear, amplifying its power.
"And most importantly—you seem unable to use the illusion magic that forms the very core of what 'I' am."
"Yeah, I tried my best, but I couldn't use illusions at all. However—something else awakened within me."
"What…?!"
"It's the same as back in that Village!"
"He suddenly vanished!"
"Teleportation?!"
Ciel Nightwalker smiled faintly as his body was enveloped by a black, shadow-like aura.
But to Ciel's eyes, it appeared as though his other self had simply vanished into thin air.
No scent, no presence, no footsteps, not even the sound of breathing that any living being should have.
Natsu and the others, watching, darted their eyes around the cave.
"Wha…?!"
"As expected of 'me.' You sensed my Meikyo Shisui the moment I unleashed my killing intent, huh?"
"That power… 'Awe.'"
Reacting to the faint killing intent through Shura, Ciel raised his spear and blocked the blade slashing toward his neck.
Before him stood Ciel Nightwalker, who had seemingly disappeared, licking his lips as his sword clashed with Ciel's spear.
Upon seeing his opponent's ability, Ciel immediately grasped its true nature.
"The complete opposite of my illusions that reconstruct and manipulate perception—
a power that overwhelms the senses with sheer presence, forcing the opponent's mind to reject recognizing the user's existence. That is [Awe – Meikyo Shisui]."
"Exactly. It's the opposite in principle from your illusion, but perhaps similar in nature."
[Awe – Meikyo Shisui]
A power that exudes overwhelming presence, pressuring the opponent to the point that their mind unconsciously refuses to perceive its existence.
A being that both exists and does not—moving freely within that paradoxical boundary.
Seeing this, Ciel frowned internally.
To enhance the quality of his illusions, he had engraved into his soul the power of a being possessing a similar ability—not a human, but a non-human entity.
A troublesome power that erases perception before an illusionist can even cast an illusion, making it impossible to target the user at all.
"Well, well… I thought my power hadn't fully returned yet, but I didn't expect that irritating ability to be yours…"
"And I also possess the power to seal your illusions—preventing you from casting them."
"What…?!"
Once again, Ciel Nightwalker vanished.
But this time, it was different.
Right before Ciel's eyes, the black aura engulfed him completely, erasing his presence.
Unlike before with Meikyo Shisui, this time his existence could still be faintly sensed.
Ciel thrust his spear forward at the vanishing shadow—but felt no sensation of flesh being pierced.
[I am the flower reflected upon the mirror, the moon upon the water.]
"『Kyoka Suigetsu (Mirror Flower, Water Moon)』...!"
As Ciel Nightwalker faded from sight, Ciel's spear pierced nothing but an afterimage — a hollow illusion.
The real Ciel Nightwalker was already standing beside Erza, smiling with relaxed confidence.
In that fleeting moment when Ciel's gaze shifted toward him, massive talismans burst forth from the ground at his feet, encircling him in a formation.
"『Shikigami: Hagun』—O gods who precede, repel the hundred demons and drive away calamity!"
Twelve talismans ignited with blue flames, and from within them emerged the spirits of onmyoji, forming a sacred barrier.
As the formation expanded, the burning eyes of reincarnation within Ciel began to dim—and the very movement of his soul was sealed away.
[God of the East Sea, named A-Guang.
God of the West Sea, named Poseidon.
God of the South Sea, named Nyi Roro Kidul.
God of the North Sea, named Njord.
Great deities of the Four Seas...]
As the incantation echoed, the onmyoji spirits drawn from the talismans slowly approached Ciel.
With every step they took, his strength waned, his limbs bound tighter by the closing barrier.
"You even wield the binding arts of yin and yang…"
It was not a spell that sealed flesh, but one that shackled the very essence of existence—
the Curse-Binding Art of Hagun.
A spell useless against ordinary humans, yet for Ciel—whose soul contained and accumulated countless powers of non-human origin—it was a deadly art capable of locking away every ability he possessed.
Realizing this, Ciel's once-calm smile faded, replaced by a scowl as he glared at his other self.
"Yes. I cannot use illusions, but in exchange, I hold this power. Two forces born from one being—
the primal essence of what we are: the power to break illusion itself. I've trained to wield every ounce of this soul-bound strength at full capacity. Of course, this curse can only be cast once in a lifetime—use it again, and it'll cost me my life. So this... will be the last time."
"Kh…!"
"You cannot defeat me, Ciel. Therefore…"
"It's Illusian."
"Right, Ciel Illusian. This... is my victory."
"..."
The shikigami vanished, and the talismans affixed themselves to Ciel's body.
An indescribable pain surged through him, clouding his consciousness.
Before he could even unleash his true strength, his mind went blank.
A decisive victory — Ciel Nightwalker had sealed all of Ciel Illusian's means of resistance before he could act.
"This can't be… Ciel lost?!"
"The strongest wizard of Fairy Tail… lost…"
"Ciel-sensei!!"
"Pwahh…! Ciel! Hey! The other Ciel, not the Edolas one! Wake up! Come on!!"
The barrier dissolved, and the serene aura that had filled the cave faded away.
Natsu ripped away the slimy bindings from his mouth and called out, but Ciel did not stir.
Watching them, Ciel Nightwalker spoke in a slightly arrogant tone:
"He won't wake for a while. Even if he regains consciousness, as long as the talisman of Hagun remains, he'll be unable to use his power."
With that, he swung his sword through the air.
Immediately, the fallen soldiers around them began to stir, one by one, regaining consciousness.
"What… what just happened…?"
"But… I clearly remember it—a monster so horrifying I can't even describe it… swallowing me whole…"
"I saw it too."
"Yet… we're perfectly fine?"
"Well then, everyone's awake now, huh?"
"W–Who are you?!"
"Lord Ciel!"
"It's Lord Ciel!"
As soon as the soldiers recognized him, they scrambled to their feet and saluted.
Ciel waved a hand casually in response and ordered his men to escort Natsu's group along with the unconscious Ciel.
"The battle's over. The Exceed over there helped bring the intruders here. Give them a brief greeting~, then we'll take these ones and return to the castle."
"Yes, sir!"
Following Ciel's command, Erza answered promptly and approached Happy and Charle.
"Exceed."
"Eh?!"
As Erza dropped to one knee before Happy and Charle, every soldier except Ciel Nightwalker followed her lead—kneeling and bowing their heads.
『Welcome, Exceed.』
"Exceed?"
"....."
"Happy, Charle… what is this about?"
Natsu and the others were dumbfounded by Erza's and the soldiers' behavior.
But so were Happy and Charle.
At Erza's next words, Charle trembled violently, her eyes widening in utter disbelief.
"Thank you for your effort in escorting the intruders."
"Ah…"
Charle froze. She had thought they had successfully infiltrated the castle, yet it turned out she had unwittingly delivered her friends straight into the hands of the kingdom's army.
…
"Uwoahh!!"
"Kyah!"
Natsu and Wendy, dragged to the castle, were thrown into a cell by Hughes, one of the captains.
The moment the squishy magical restraints around his body dissolved, Natsu charged at the bars, shouting furiously at Hughes.
"Y–You bastard…! Where did you lock up the others?!"
"The others?"
"Ciel-sensei, Lucy, Charle, and Happy!"
Hughes responded in a flat, emotionless tone, devoid of any feeling.
"Lucy… Ah, that woman? Sorry, but we have no business with her. She'll probably be executed. The guy who looks just like our commander will share the same fate."
At those words, Natsu slammed his head against the iron bars, blood running down his forehead as he glared at Hughes with burning rage.
"If you lay even a single finger on Lucy, I swear—I'll turn every last one of you into ashes!"
The soldiers burst out laughing at his outburst.
"Ooh~ so scary! Are all Earthland wizards this violent?"
"Hahahaha~! You hear that? Even though they can't use magic, they say they'll turn us to ash~"
"Ooooh~! So scary~, kekekeke~!"
Natsu roared at them, but their mocking laughter only met him as he grabbed the iron bars and glared back.
From inside the cell, Wendy—listening to their conversation—pressed Hughes again.
"Why is it only Ciel-sensei and Lucy…? What about Charle and Happy?!"
"You mean the Exceed?"
"His name is Happy!"
"The Exceed who completed his mission returned to his homeland. He's probably enjoying a banquet for his reward by now."
"Completed his mission?"
At Hughes's words, Natsu and Wendy froze in place. They remembered what Charle had said before entering Edolas.
「If I return to Edolas, that means I abandon my 'duty'.」
Charle had abandoned her mission by her own will.
So they couldn't believe Hughes's claim that the mission had been a success.
"That can't be. I don't know the mission's details, but Charle said she gave it up."
"No—she completed it brilliantly."
Wendy's denial was met with Hughes's dismissal; he insisted Charle and Happy had finished their mission.
"What…? What was Charle and Happy's mission…?"
"Still don't get it?"
Hughes spread his arms wide, laughed louder at Natsu, and taunted him with a sneer.
"What we really wanted was you—the dragon's power itself! Kahahahahaha!!"
…
"…"
I opened my eyes to a hazy feeling.
What met my sight was a blank, stark white wall.
I woke up in a room entirely bathed in white.
"My body… won't move…"
I tried to turn my head to look around, but my body wouldn't obey. I couldn't even turn my neck; only my eyes could sweep the surroundings.
There was a door at the tip of my feet, but no strength filled my limbs.
Even trying to use my abilities like when I escaped the torture chamber only drained me further, leaving me exhausted.
"Oh—so you're awake now?"
"Nightwalker…"
As I rolled my eyes and scanned the room, the door opened. Another 'me'—the same face but a completely different presence—entered.
Ciel Nightwalker stepped in and gave a casual wave. He placed a small chair by my head and sat down.
"Seeing you like this really is like looking at the old me in a mirror… Yeah, the 000 in my memories always had this kind of temperament and aura."
He looked wistful and a little melancholic, so I asked the question that first sprang to my mind.
"Do you retain the memories of our past?"
"That's right. Even if our soul was split in two, we're both the real ○○○. Whether we like it or not, we can't help but remember."
"...Why didn't you kill me on the spot?"
I asked him the thing I most wanted to know first. If he had used the Curse-Binding Art of Hagun to cut my throat while I was down, it would have ended everything. But here I was—sealed and alive. The question of why he hadn't simply killed me came first.
"I want to kill you and become whole again, believe me. We're both real, and yet we're separate beings while also one."
"Then why keep me alive?"
"Unfortunately, there's still something I have to do. Killing you will have to wait."
"A task?"
"You'll find out in time—let's skip ahead for now. I want to speak with you."
Nightwalker spoke with a wry smile.
"For four hundred years… throughout that long time I roamed the world over to find my other half. For the sake of my long-held goal…"
"Your goal?"
"The goal I've had since the moment I was born… was to die and return to you—my other half. That was it."
At his unexpected words, my eyes widened as I stared at him.
From the moment I realized my missing half existed here, I'd thought only of killing it and absorbing it back into myself.
Surely Nightwalker must have felt the same.
That's what I'd always believed.
Yet instead, he spoke of wanting to die in his own hands and return to me.
His words tangled my thoughts into knots.
"From birth, my world was blurry. Though I lived, everything I saw, touched, and heard was indistinct—nothing felt real. Only the emptiness inside me remained, and with it the thought: I must find you; I must die. I was nothing more than a walking wraith in a living body."
"What are you trying to say?"
I still couldn't understand him. Narrowing my eyes, I glared at him. Nightwalker, eyes clouded with melancholy, gave a weak smile and answered.
"Nameless, for four hundred years I wandered this hazy world, witnessing countless things. But the only thought in my mind was how much I wanted to die quickly."
"To be honest, I don't even really want to absorb you and become one. If I did that, I feel like I'd stop being who I am now."
"Then why try to kill me? Why not let me kill you so you could become one with me instead?"
"No. There's no need for that anymore."
He spoke of wanting to die in the past tense, and even now, I could sense no desire to kill me and be absorbed.
When I pressed him again, Nightwalker chuckled softly.
"My other half now is my wife… Erza Nightwalker. She fills the emptiness in me and makes me feel alive."
As he said this, the casual mask he'd been wearing dropped. His eyes sharpened and his tone grew serious as he began to unfold the story of the past he had endured.
-----------------
A/N: Sorry for the late upload, everyone. I came down with an influenza-like illness and really needed to rest. I'm feeling a bit better today, so I'll continue releasing chapters.
If you want to read 10 advance chapters ahead.
Visit my patreon: patreon.com/Leonzky