3rd POV
While the small Fairy Tail group had spotted the location where their family had been brought to, on the other side of the kingdom, within the capital of Fiore, Crocus, an urgent meeting was being held regarding the news of an old mission.
"Siegrain, do you speak the truth!?" Org, an old man with a large, neatly trimmed beard, stares at Siegrain with an intense gaze, one of hope that what he'd just said had been a mere joke, though unfortunately for him, it was not. "Yes, council member Org. I've discovered evidence that not only the R-system wasn't destroyed, but it had been thriving under our noses for the past eight years."
Siegrain's words caused the meeting to be engulfed in a bout of silence before voices of disbelief broke it. "How? Did we not order the destruction of the R-system?" "I still remember double-checking every tower had been destroyed. It should've been impossible for us to have missed one." "Yes, are you positive you hadn't made a mistake, Siegrain?"
As the nine magic council members discussed amongst themselves, their voices echoed off the thick walls of the secure room, oblivious to the trap the two snakes had set for them. "Not only that, but I heard the tower has a name… Tower of Heaven." As Siergrans' cold, solemn voice briefly overpowers everyone else's, hushing them into silence, they all looked at him, but Yajim, a short old man, broke it once more.
"We have no time for speculations, lad, we need to take action! If the R-system truly remains, we need to destroy it before it can cause any harm it has already done." Yajima's righteous words capture everyone's attention, and several others share his views, even if they had ulterior motives, which ultimately led to a positive outcome.
"We need to mobilize our army of magic knights! Have them immediately raid their base of operations!" "I agree we must end them, but to so rashly attack them with such shallow information, that's just asking to suffer an unnecessary loss. Send scouts first, let them gather information, and then we attack." "They've been under our noses for 8 years! Every minute we waste is another minute they have."
As the seven argued amongst each other about whether to attack or wait, it was a sight that nearly made Siegrain, and the Ultear, who had covered her face during Cooper's trial, crack a smile; however, they expertly kept it contained, watching as the magic council slowly divided themselves.
"The tower is being led by a cult leader named Jellal." This time it wasn't Siegrain's voice, but Ultear's, her clear, feminine voice causing everyone to eye her, and whatever doubt that still remained of the R-system had been squashed. With just words, one magic council member wasn't enough to fully persuade someone, but if it were two?
"A cult leader? We can't wait any longer, council members. We must strike now, while they still don't know we know of them!" Gran Doma's statement causes the previously opposing council members to go quiet, silently agreeing with his decision. However, what is said next leaves every one of them flabbergasted.
"This, 'Tower of Heaven', is way too dangerous to be left alone. It may be a bit overkill, but for the safety of Fiore, I suggest we use Etherion." Siegrain's cold, dangerous voice enters the ears of everyone present, and even Gran Doma, the one most insistent on sending an army to the Tower of Heaven, is taken aback by Siegrain's claim.
"Siegrain, we know the R-system is dangerous, but the Etherion is even more so. I can't agree to it." Yajima, with a serious expression, firmly shakes his head, along with Michello, an old man with a cane. They're not the only ones who refuse; most initially do as well. Etherion isn't simply a magic attack; it is a weapon of pure destruction.
However… "I agree." Ultear's voice hangs in the air, her words causing everyone to once again cast a glance her way, while Siegrain presses the advantage. "Council members, we only need three more votes. The R-system and the tower will be completely wiped out if we use Etherion; the mistake from 8 years ago will rewrite itself."
Siegrain, needing only three more, starts persuading his fellow council members, a process that would take some time to succeed if it ever did.
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Cooper POV
Pulling the boat onto land, I Natsu drops onto the ground, grabbing his fingers, sinking into the sand with a relieved expression, while Gray, Juvia, Lucy, and Cana exit from the boat. "So this is where they took Erza?" "I can still smell her scent." Nodding at Gray, I deeply inhaled the traces of Erza's scent before pointing at the massive tower.
However, just as we do so, numerous guards quickly close in on our location, their staffs pointing at us, ready to fire upon us at a given moment. "Surrender yourselves now or face the consequences!" "See, we told you there were too many guards!" "Yeah, I've got to agree with Lucy on this one, big bro. We should've just listened to Juvia's advice." Rolling my eyes at Lucy and Gray, I stepped forward, stretching my arms, though the guards didn't hesitate to attack me with magic.
Yawning, I glanced at the confused mages before looking at my siblings behind me. "Don't worry about the guards, I'll deal with them, just go find Erza and bring her back… Oh, don't forget Happy. Flashing them an arrogant smirk, I dismissively waved my hand, causing Gray to sigh before nodding. "Haa, of course. C'mon, let's go, guys." "W-Wait for me!"
Watching the others take a detour path to the tower with Natsu trailing closely behind, I lunged into the sea of guards, my fists and feet flying into the mages' bodies with brutal efficiency as they constantly attacked me while screaming orders. "S-Stop him!" "Don't let him enter the tower!" "Dammit, stop him!" Faintly smirking at their pointless effort, I spent the next thirty minutes taking care of nearly a thousand mages; they hardly served as a warm-up and just wasted my time.
"Well, it at least served as a good way to vent my irritation. Now, time to regroup with everyone." Wiping some of the blood off my body, I slicked my hair backwards, staining it red while I approached the tower.
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Lucy POV
Having heard of Erza's past, her connection with her kidnappers, and the truth of Jellal, we were currently heading to the top of the tower, where Simon and Sho believed Jellal was. However, along the way, his voice echoed throughout the tower.
"One, two. One, two. With the main character active, it's time to begin the Paradise game. The rules are simple: your goal is to prevent me from sacrificing the lovely Erza to resurrect Zeref. But! To do so, you must get past three of my underlings, and I must add, because of a certain mage, they have a bone to pick with Fairy Tail. Oh, also, there is a time limit. Etherion will strike the tower, so if you don't want to be disintegrated, be quick. Fufu, good luck."
As Jellal's voice vanishes, we all fall silent, our gazes locked on each other, as fear slowly creeps onto my face at the mention of 'Etherion'. I've heard it mentioned a few times, mainly by Cooper, and the way he's described it was terrifying. "This changes nothing, we-." Erza, the one person we could rely on to keep us, well, at least me, calm, suddenly vanishes as a card takes its place.
"NO! I refuse! E-Even if I must sacrifice myself, I'll protect Erza! I'll kill Jellal!" Sho, with a twisted expression of protective fury, catches the card Erza is trapped in and dashes off, everything happening within a matter of three seconds. "Dammit! Sho! Get back here!" Furiously, Simon chases after Sho and Erza, causing me to mechanically turn my head at Gray and Cana.
"W-What do we do now?" "Whatever it is, I'm sticking with Gray!" Juvia, needing to prove her allegiance, for some reason, sticks closely to Gray, causing my face to twitch, and if that wasn't worse, Natsu, who had just returned a few minutes ago with Happy, happily flies off, enjoying the thought of playing a game.
"Hehe, a game? Awesome! C'mon, let's cheat, Happy. You know what Laxus says, if you're not cheating, you're not truly trying to win." "Aye, aye, captain!" Watching Happy carry Natsu out through a window before flying upwards, I heaved a deep sigh.
"We're going to die, aren't we?" All I got was a reassuring pat on the back from Cana. "If big bro wasn't with us? Yeah probably. C'mon, let's go, Lucy." Listlessly nodding, the four of us continued through the tower, slowly ascending, only to come across a pale-skinned man with long, silky black hair and a guitar.
"Fairy Tail." He spoke those words through gritted teeth as he furiously glared at us, causing me to remember what Jellal had said. "Did you guys do something to him?" Whispering to Cana and Gray, I glanced between them and the man, though they just shrugged their shoulders.