"When you were staring at Kagura, you kept muttering something about the Tower of Heaven and Jellal. Didn't you realize it yourself at the time?"
Marco continued, his face a mix of exasperation and concern, as if worried about Erza's mental state.
If she truly had such symptoms, it would indeed be a bad sign.
Fortunately, Erza did not.
"Huh?!"
Erza was stunned once again. She had no memory of this at all!
But the key point was that Marco had now brought up another keyword—"Jellal."
This proved he genuinely knew something about the "Tower of Heaven"!
'Could it be... that I really said it?' Erza's expression turned blank as she began to doubt herself.
Thinking back now, it wasn't surprising that she had lost her composure after seeing Simon's younger sister.
She couldn't remember whether she had said anything at the time—her mind had been in complete disarray.
'So that's why I mentioned the Tower of Heaven and Jellal's name?'
Erza convinced herself with this line of reasoning, finding it perfectly logical.
"Mhm, so what exactly happened?"
Marco quickly chimed in, urging her to continue and preventing Erza from dwelling further or letting her thoughts settle.
"It's a long story."
Looking at Marco's concerned and worried expression, Erza gritted her teeth and slowly began recounting her past.
"So you saved that girl." Marco was genuinely surprised.
The entanglement between Kagura Mikazuchi and Erza was truly complicated.
When the Evil Cult of the Tower of Heaven was capturing people, Erza had saved Kagura, hiding her while drawing attention to herself.
In the end, Erza was captured and taken to the Tower of Heaven, while Kagura's brother, Simon, was also there—his fate still unknown.
"This is really…" Marco couldn't help but click his tongue.
No wonder Erza had reacted that way upon seeing Kagura.
She truly didn't know how to face the girl, believing it was her fault that things had turned out this way—that she had failed to save everyone.
"Marco, seeing how that child is doing now, I'm actually very happy. She survived and seems to be living well. I believe her brother Simon would be happy too." Erza spoke slowly, having come to terms with it.
At the very least, Kagura Mikazuchi was doing alright now.
"Compared to all of you who were captured and forced into hard labor, she's indeed quite fortunate." Marco nodded.
Those like Erza, who were seized by the Evil Cult, lived inhuman lives—treated as slaves, livestock, and expendable tools.
That was why Erza didn't dare to face Kagura.
If Kagura were to ask about Simon, Erza wouldn't know how to respond.
Though she didn't want to believe it, thinking rationally, after seven or eight years, the chances of Simon and the others still being alive were slim.
The mortality rate among laborers in the Tower of Heaven was extremely high—otherwise, the Evil Cult wouldn't have needed to capture people so relentlessly.
"That Jellal… there's something off about him, right?"
Marco stroked his chin, keenly sensing the crux of the issue.
According to Erza's account, Jellal had been the backbone of the slaves, a leader who could rally them to resist.
But after his capture, he seemed like a completely different person.
Anyone with a bit of reasoning could tell that something must have happened to Jellal—most likely, he was controlled or brainwashed.
Of course, the possibility that he had genuinely turned traitor couldn't be ruled out, since people were inherently unpredictable.
Some individuals start as revolutionary patriots in their youth, daring to assassinate regents.
Yet that doesn't stop them from later becoming notorious traitors.
Jellal was indeed a very good person at first, but it's possible for people to change later.
Being imprisoned in a pitch-dark cell and suffering inhuman abuse - not many can endure that.
Not everyone can resolutely face death.
"..."
Erza didn't refute Marco's words, because she herself didn't know what exactly had happened to Jellal.
"Anyway, we just need to destroy that Tower of Heaven." Marco stood up, stretched, and stated their next objective.
Although he had listened to the whole story, Marco still didn't understand what this "Tower of Heaven" was actually for, since even Erza couldn't explain it clearly.
But one thing was certain - these people definitely weren't up to any good.
What more needed to be said?
"Fairy Tail, full force ahead!" Marco punched the air and looked at Erza.
He didn't know where this "Tower of Heaven" was located - if they wanted to go there, Erza would have to lead the way.
"I..."
Erza's expression showed intense inner conflict.
"Don't tell me you've forgotten where that place is." Marco's mouth twitched.
It couldn't be that bad, could it?
As soon as Marco said this, Erza's expression froze, making Marco widen his eyes in surprise.
But upon second thought, it made sense - after all, Erza was very young when she escaped back then.
Erza had rowed a boat alone across the vast ocean, barely managing to escape with her life before finally reaching Fairy Tail.
It was actually normal that she couldn't remember the route.
A child with no knowledge of navigation, sailing alone across the sea - just surviving to reach shore was incredible enough.
If she could still precisely remember her sailing direction and route, Marco could only say "impressive".
"I can't say." Erza lowered her head and forced out these words.
She recalled what Jellal had said when she left.
"I think you understand clearly - don't speak of this to anyone. If the government learns about the Tower of Heaven, all our plans will be ruined. At that time, to eliminate the evidence, I will destroy this tower and everyone here. Moreover, you must never come near this place again. If I catch you once, I'll kill them all."
Jellal's contemptuous expression seemed to still be before her eyes.
All these years, Erza had kept her mouth shut, never mentioning it to anyone and making no attempts to rescue them, all because of these words.
Of course, Erza hadn't truly given up completely, nor had she really treated the "Tower of Heaven" as nonexistent.
She had been constantly improving herself, continuously growing stronger.
She wanted to rely on her own power to save everyone in the "Tower of Heaven".
"Marco... please don't mention this to anyone, okay?"
Remembering Jellal's threats, Erza looked up at Marco before her, her tone full of pleading.
"Please, Marco..." As she spoke, Erza's eyes began to well up with tears, but only one eye actually shed tears.
Her eye that had been blinded in the "Tower of Heaven," although now replaced with a special prosthetic eye made by Porlyusica, still couldn't produce tears to this day.
This was due to psychological factors affecting Erza.
Porlyusica had said that her prosthetic eye shouldn't affect the tear glands.
The inability to shed tears was entirely due to Erza's psychological factors, and those mental burdens affecting her were now fully laid bare before Marco.
Marco stepped forward, reached out his hand, and wiped away Erza's tears.
"Erza, running away won't solve anything." Marco spoke slowly, his tone eerily calm, yet the fury in his heart had surged to the point of consuming everything.
He had seen Erza cry before—she had wept when she first arrived—but since integrating into Fairy Tail, Erza had never cried again.
This was the first time.
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