Simon wanted to touch his face and eyes; that was when he was disfigured and lost an eye.
"At that time, Erza suddenly mastered magic, leading us to defeat the Magic Soldiers."
Rob was a name that Rhode had never heard of.
He asked Mira and Gray, but they didn't know either.
According to Simon, Rob was already quite old then, and he himself said he used to be a mage from a legitimate guild, but after leaving the guild, his magic power had completely declined.
Otherwise, why would he have been captured as a laborer?
For an elder guild member to die tragically at the hands of the Black Magic Sect, everyone present felt a bit sorrowful and indignant.
But that Black Magic Sect had long since been overthrown, and now even if they wanted revenge, they couldn't find anyone.
"We captured a ship from the Black Magic Sect, and Erza went to find Jellal, who was being tortured in isolation. We originally thought we just had to wait for the two of them to come over, board the ship, and leave, but..."
Simon paused and then continued, "But Jellal suddenly told us to get off the ship, saying Erza had planted a bomb on board... And when we got out, the ship indeed exploded!"
"How could that be?" Mira and Lucy showed shocked expressions.
"Impossible!" Gray's reaction was more intense; he almost jumped onto Rhode's ship to question him, "How could Erza do such a thing!"
"We couldn't believe Erza would betray us either, but the fact in front of us was that the ship exploded, and Erza was missing."
"Jellal told us it was because Erza hadn't properly learned magic, so she was intoxicated by the power of magic and wanted to discard her disgraceful past like us."
In reality, Simon and his companions also didn't know what exactly happened in that short time when Erza went to rescue Jellal.
Upon hearing this, Gray calmed down: "At the end of the day, it's just that 'Jellal's' side of the story, isn't it?"
Simon didn't deny this point and continued: "If Jellal hadn't gotten us off the ship, we all would've died in the explosion. So everyone believed his words and took over the Tower of Paradise under his lead."
"Jellal is different from those people; he would give everyone food, clothe everyone, and tell everyone that by doing this, we could create a paradise for ourselves, a truly free world..."
"So everyone was willing to work for him, calling the R System the Tower of Paradise, consistently working day after day for eight consecutive years."
"Over these eight years, as we occasionally heard a bit of news from the outside world, everyone longed for that world even more and resented Erza, who became famous after betraying us, even more.
But I have always believed in her, just pretending to believe Jellal."
Although he said this, Rhode showed no intention of untying him: "Since you believed in Erza from the beginning, why didn't you take her away in the darkness and instead chose to go along with those people?"
"Because I was always waiting for the opportune moment, which means the time when strong mages like you all gathered together."
Simon said with some excitement, "Jellal is too strong, and only by gathering everyone's power can we defeat him and truly save Erza!"
Gray and Natsu were somewhat moved, while Rhode just wanted to say, damn.
"If that's the case, then you should've told us from the start. What if someone among us gets hurt?"
If the news had been revealed earlier, and Erza was called to fight the Three-Plumed Crow, who knows how much easier it would've been, and the chances of others encountering danger could have been reduced a bit.
Simon said honestly: "Because I also needed to know if you were strong enough; if you died from just this level, I wouldn't put my hopes on you."
"You...!" Gray was quite annoyed.
"To actually anger the great Gray, let it sink." Jubia muttered softly, exuding a gloomy presence around her.
Lucy moved away from her a bit: "Eek... Feels a bit scary."
Rhode didn't know what to say about this person, straightforward indeed, but really infuriating.
And also too stupid.
There are countless ways to solve this, yet he chose the worst option.
Whether it's commissioning a legitimate guild to form an alliance to deal with the Tower of Paradise, or reporting it to the nearby Guard Army and using the power of nearby countries to suppress it;
The Fiore Kingdom is so big, Aslan is so large, surely some people can be found to take care of Jellal, right?
Even alerting them last-minute before taking action today could've helped?
If they could first win over or capture those deceived companions, deal with the Three-Plumed Crow, and then prepare more and rally more people, it'd also be good.
Any method chosen would be better than hastily rushing over to rescue.
Not only did they lose Erza's combat ability, but Rhode still had to consider Erza, who had her magic power sealed, when planning to dismantle the tower.
Also, with Erza and Hapi possibly in danger at any moment, they had an invisible 'countdown' over their heads, causing impatience to grow constantly.
Looking at Simon like this doesn't seem like he's acting, so it must be true... How is this person's brain working?
After eight years of lurking, he came up with such a 'great plan'?
A pig teammate, Rhode was exasperated.
Lucy thought it over and asked, "Why has Erza never mentioned such an important matter? If she had told the President from the start..."
Gray thought for a moment, thinking back to eight years ago, that if she had told the President, maybe a reliable yet unreliable uncle would have come and tripped.
Although it would cause some destruction, it would certainly solve the problem.
"Perhaps she had some leverage against her, like everyone in the tower being hostages." Mira thought for a moment and said, "Erza must have always considered you all as companions, so she didn't dare to leak any information.
These years, her heart must also have been extremely tormented, very uneasy... That's why she would wear armor all year round."
Mira knew her old rival's character and ability very well.
If it wasn't for the former companions suddenly showing up to deal with Erza, even considering the captured Lucy, she certainly wouldn't have been taken so easily.
"Of course, that's Erza for you..." Gray remembered seeing Erza hiding and crying alone when they were young.
Gray once thought that after so many years, Erza had changed, but now he could tell that a darkness always existed in her heart.
That person, hidden beneath the armor, is actually a feigned strong self, with a fragile heart.
"But it's okay now." Gray said firmly, "We will seal the darkness in her heart!"
Nobody knew how much weight that sentence held for Gray, but everyone could feel his determination.
"Is... is that so... Is that what you think..." Simon was so moved that he wanted to cry.
After hiding among those who doubted and hated Erza for eight years, Simon endured endless loneliness and nostalgia.
He wanted to speak for Erza many times, but he held back every time.
Now, finally, someone spoke to his heart, the legendary demon turned out to be such a gentle person.
Using Ice Magic as a mage, surrounded by such warmth.
It's so great that Erza found such wonderful companions, really, so great!
Jubia clasped her face, "Gray, so handsome!"
Natsu punched the River Crab's back, "What a chatterbox, anyway, I'm going to rescue Erza and Hapi, and beat that guy named Jellal."
"Don't jump to conclusions, and don't randomly hit the crab responsible for pulling the boat." Lucy thought about the unknown number of enemies and wouldn't let Natsu act rashly.
"..." Rhode sighed; things had developed to this point, and they could only find a way to solve it.
First target, rescue Erza and Hapi.
Second target, deal with the Tower of Paradise, so Erza can completely break away from this place that haunts her with nightmares.
Third target, also consider those deceived by Jellal.