Erza hung her head, her body trembling more violently.
Lucy looked unconvinced. She didn't believe Erza would betray her comrades.
"Hey, what are you planning to do to Erza?" A familiar voice called out, and Lucy looked towards the shadows with relief.
Two figures burst from the shadows, targeting Shô and Millianna.
"Bang—bang!" The two were knocked to the ground.
Finn and the others entered.
"Finn, Natsu, and Gray!" Lucy shouted, relieved.
They quickly reached them. Natsu and Gray freed Lucy, while Finn went to Erza.
Looking at her, he saw her as she was when she first joined the guild—afraid, alone, hiding.
Finn gently stroked her hair. "Don't be afraid. I'm here. We're all here."
"Finn…" Erza's lips trembled.
Feeling his presence, she calmed down.
Shô looked at Wally and Simon. "Why didn't you stop them?"
Wally sighed. "We couldn't win."
Simon clutched his stomach, still hurting from Finn's punch. "As expected of the man who could defeat the Ten Wizard Saints. Finn, you're strong."
"Simon…and…Wally?" Erza looked at Wally uncertainly.
Simon looked at Erza. "Erza, long time no see."
"Who are they? Why do they call you 'nee-san'?" Lucy asked.
Before Finn could explain, Erza tugged his sleeve. "Let me."
"He's not my real brother. He's a former comrade," Erza said softly.
Natsu asked, "But weren't you at Fairy Tail since you were little?"
"Before Fairy Tail. We were slaves forced to build the Tower of Heaven," Erza revealed.
"Slaves…" Lucy gasped.
Erza asked Shô, "Why are you here?"
Shô looked at Erza with longing. "To bring you back. The Tower of Heaven is complete. You'll come back with us, right? Jellal will be happy."
"The Tower…it's finished?" Erza's face paled.
Finn squeezed Erza's hand, calming her.
Erza said, "Do you understand the dangers of using the Tower of Heaven to resurrect someone?"
Shô spread his arms. "So you knew the Tower's purpose, nee-san. How surprising."
"Tower of Heaven?" Lucy whispered.
Erza said, "The Tower of Heaven is a forbidden magic that sacrifices many lives to resurrect one person."
Shô said frantically, "Nee-san, magic has no humanity. All magic erodes humanity."
Erza shook her head. "That's a dark mage's thinking. What's the difference between you and them?"
Shô chuckled. "They call it a resurrection ritual. But Jellal is different. He'll guide us to the Tower."
Shô's madness intensified. "When Jellal resurrects her, the world will be reborn. We'll rule. We'll make those who stole our freedom, the sister who betrayed us, the ignorant masses, and the Council's trash…taste fear and sorrow! We'll be this world's kings! Hahahaha!!!"
Erza found Shô unfamiliar. The Shô she knew wasn't like this.
"How pathetic," Finn interrupted Shô's laughter.
"You—" Shô was furious.
Simon stopped Shô.
"Simon? What are you doing?" Shô asked.
Simon shook his head, looking seriously at Finn. "Give up, Shô. We can't win. He's as strong as the Ten Wizard Saints. The Fairy Tail man called the Sun God, with the power of the sun."
"What do you want?" Gray and Natsu stood beside Finn.
Simon stopped. "I've waited for this—for strong mages to gather."
"Strong mages?" Happy asked.
Simon said, "To defeat Jellal."
"Simon, do you know what you're saying? You want to betray Jellal, like nee-san?" Shô asked incredulously.
Simon explained, "I secretly investigated who Jellal wants to resurrect—the dark mage Zeref, the most evil dark mage…"
"Wait, Zeref?" Gray was shocked.
"Lullaby and Deliora were Zeref's demons," Lucy recalled.
Simon nodded. "Resurrecting him will bring unimaginable disaster."
Simon looked at Finn. "So I waited—for strong mages to gather. To destroy the Tower of Heaven."
"Are you crazy?" Shô yelled. "We built that for eight years! You want to destroy it?"
Shô glared at Simon. "You want to betray us, like nee-san."
"Shô, Jellal tricked us. I pretended to be tricked, waiting for the right moment," Simon said, patting Shô's shoulder.
He looked at Erza. "I always believed Erza wouldn't betray us."
"But she ran away! That's betrayal!!" Shô yelled.
Finn narrowed his eyes, but Erza stopped him.
"I'll explain," Erza said.
Erza explained, with Simon filling in gaps. They were slaves at the Tower of Heaven. They rebelled, with Erza leading. She awakened her magic, turning the tide. But Jellal changed.
He wanted to continue building the Tower. He expelled Erza, threatening Shô's lives, and destroyed the ships, blaming Erza. He used the anger to spread his twisted dream—resurrecting Zeref for true freedom.
Desperate, they clung to this hope.
Erza looked at her former comrades. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you…"
"But she did it for them! And they…" Lucy said angrily.
"Lucy, stop," Erza shook her head.
"Little Erza…" Millianna apologized.
"Why…? This is different from what Jellal said…Damn it!!" Shô's belief crumbled. He knelt, punching the ground.
"What's the truth? Who should I believe?"
Erza approached Shô. "It's hard to accept."
"I'm weak. I'm sorry…"
Erza looked at her comrades, then at Finn, resolute. "I won't run anymore. I'll go to the Tower and confront Jellal!"
Finn said, "You're not alone." He looked at Natsu and the others. "A comrade's in trouble. What do we do?"
"Beat them up," Natsu said, fists ablaze.
Gray, already shirtless, said, "I wouldn't miss this."
"Gray-sama's body!!" Juvia said, eyes sparkling.
"Put your shirt on," Lucy said.
"You…" Erza smiled.
Finn smiled. "Let's go! Let's finish this and return to the guild!"
…
On the vast ocean, they sailed in a small boat.
"Why not swim?" Natsu hung over the side, teary-eyed.
"Are you kidding? We'd be too late," Lucy said.
Finn shook his head, pulling Natsu up. "I'll help."
"Really? Thanks, Finn." Natsu looked relieved. "How?"
Finn nodded, then punched Natsu in the stomach. A dull thud echoed. Natsu fell.
Everyone else sweated. Simon touched his own stomach, wincing.
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