"Seems like he's okay."
Marco was somewhat surprised.
He thought Jellal would be insane even if he broke free from his control, but the guy's mental fortitude truly exceeded his expectations.
"..."
Jellal didn't respond.
He clenched his fists tightly, veins popping on his lowered face, his expression twisted and terrifying.
However, after an instant, that expression was suppressed.
'Well, maybe not that okay,' Marco quipped internally.
But this was normal.
No matter how tough someone's mind was, suddenly gaining eight years of foreign memories—memories that contradicted his true nature, filled with betrayal and hurting his friends—would inevitably cause a massive shock.
"..."
Seeing Jellal like this, the words Erza wanted to say got stuck in her throat.
Given his mental state, expecting him to "turn over a new leaf" seemed like a tall order; just acting like a normal person would be hard enough.
"Hang in there, Jellal."
In the end, that was all Erza could manage to say.
Jellal suddenly looked up. His gaze toward Erza was complicated and filled with guilt.
There was no helping it; he had framed Erza terribly, causing her to be misunderstood by everyone at the Tower of Heaven for years.
"Thank you."
Jellal's expression shifted, looking quite scary as he struggled to control himself.
Finally, he barely squeezed out those two words.
He quickly lowered his head to hide his loss of composure.
His mind hadn't fully recovered.
The "Jellal of the past eight years" would occasionally try to seize control of his body to resume the mission of resurrecting Zeref.
"It's no longer the magic influencing him." Marco sighed.
There was nothing they could do about this part; Jellal had to work through it and accept it himself.
Just as Marco thought earlier, amnesia might have been the best outcome for him.
Otherwise, living with those memories would be torture.
"Let's go, Marco."
After offering her encouragement, Erza let go of the burden in her heart.
She pulled Marco along to leave.
"Okay." Marco nodded and let Erza drag him away.
In Jellal's current state, it really wasn't a good idea for him to see his "victims." He needed time to slowly digest those memories alone.
Leaving the prison, Marco and Erza soon met up with Makarov and Yajima.
The four of them took a Fly on Crow express back to Magnolia.
The incident at the Tower of Heaven was finally settled—at least, the parts exposed to the public were resolved!
...
Back at his home in Fairy Home, Marco opened his system interface.
[Ding! Mission "Tower of Heaven" completed!]
[Mission Progress: Destroy the Tower of Heaven. (Completed)]
[Do you wish to claim the mission reward?]
Looking at the prompt from the [Saint System], Marco didn't hesitate.
He went out and returned to the clearing where he had claimed the [Aries Gold Cloth] last time.
The reward for the "Tower of Heaven" mission was another [Gold Cloth].
Marco was full of anticipation; the combat power boost from a Gold Cloth was a game-changer.
The appearance of a [Gold Cloth] always caused a huge commotion and some destruction, so Marco obviously couldn't claim it at home.
Once he reached the clearing in the East Forest, he clicked "Claim."
Just like the previous two times, stellar magic power poured down from the sky.
Magic overflowed, and dazzling golden light flickered intensely.
The special effects were maxed out, like a server-wide announcement in a game.
The overflowing magic formed a terrifying shockwave, destroying everything nearby.
Fortunately, this spot had already been destroyed once, so there wasn't much left to break.
Tangible magic power shot into the sky.
The stars responded to Marco, manifesting and shining brightly. This commotion was even bigger than when he unlocked the [Gemini Gold Cloth] in Edolas.
The magic power in Earth Land was abundant, so unlocking a single Gold Cloth wouldn't drain the world dry.
In Edolas, the stars were already low on magic; if Marco unlocked a few more Cloths there, he might have sucked the last bit of magic out of them.
"Buzz!!!"
The spatial tremors and the strange phenomenon of the flashing stars made people look toward the East Forest of Magnolia.
This familiar scene told everyone that Marco was causing a stir again.
Marco stood in the clearing, waiting quietly.
Starlight rained down, and a massive amount of star power flooded into him.
The star chart in his vision dimmed until only one constellation remained lit: a creature with the front half of a goat and the rear half of a fish.
[Congratulations! Capricorn Gold Cloth unlocked!]
A system message popped up, accompanied by a flash of golden light.
The symbol for Capricorn appeared and the [Capricorn Gold Cloth] entered Marco's system inventory.
"Hiss~"
Even though he had done this twice before, Marco still sucked in a breath of pure pleasure as the star power washed over him.
Massive stellar magic flooded his body, baptizing every muscle, bone, and cell.
His magic source, which resembled a rotating galaxy, shone brighter than ever, swallowing the surrounding magic like a whale.
"Capricorn Gold Cloth... the Goat."
After absorbing the power, Marco summoned the [Capricorn Gold Cloth].
The golden box opened, revealing the Cloth's true form—a goat standing on all fours.
With a thought, the [Capricorn Gold Cloth] assembled onto his body.
Its features were distinct: the helmet had sharp, slightly curved goat horns, and the shoulder armor had smaller horns, clearly different from the large curved horns of Aries.
"Capricorn... the ability has to be Excalibur. It's a divine skill. If mastered, it can cut through anything."
Marco raised his right arm.
Mimicking Shura of Capricorn, he slashed fiercely at the sky and shouted.
"Excalibur!"
"Buzz!!!"
Terrifying magic power slashed out like a blade, shooting straight into the heavens.
The night sky seemed to split apart, revealing a clear dividing line!
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