Chapter 74: The Man Revived, Nirvana Activated (3)
Inside the massive ancient tree located in the southwest of the Worthwood Forest.
Jellal, now dressed in the jacket of the fallen Black Unicorn, moved deeper into the hollow of the tree.
As he searched the area, Cobra watched him in secret. But he felt something strange.
He couldn't hear Jellal's thoughts.
His extraordinary hearing should have picked up every whisper of intent, every heartbeat, every hidden desire—yet from Jellal there was nothing. No spell, no concealment technique. Only a hollow silence, as though the man were entirely empty inside.
"... …"
But then, Cobra saw it. The glowing chains piercing into the trunk before Jellal.
The moment Jellal stretched out his hand, the tree erupted with blinding light. A column of darkness shot skyward, towering into the heavens with overwhelming force.
"Ooh! At last, it's found! Our future…!!"
....
Meanwhile, relieved that Erza could rest peacefully, Ciel let out a quiet sigh as he rose to his feet. Lucy's curious gaze on him was a little burdensome, but at least a weight had lifted from his heart.
As he stepped closer, Wendy tugged at his sleeve, speaking in a timid voice.
"She… she might not wake up for a while, but… she's going to be okay now."
"Wendy, thank you truly."
"Listen," said Charle—the Exceed who had partnered with Wendy—her voice sharp as she glared at him. "Don't make her use her Sky Dragon magic anymore."
Ciel nodded firmly at her words.
Even if she had learned directly from Grandeeney, Wendy was still a child. And because she hadn't had much time to train, she had never mastered the Sky Dragon's offensive arts.
Her small body was already strained to the limit just using healing spells that consumed tremendous amounts of magical power.
"As you can see, this magic drains too much of her," Charle pressed.
"Yes. From here on, we will resolve things ourselves."
"I'm fine…" Wendy whispered.
"No, Wendy. You need to rest for now. The rest of us—Natsu, myself, and the others—will fight."
"That's right," Hibiki added. "Once Ciel takes the lead in the counterattack, the rest of us will hold until Erza wakes and joins us."
"Yeah! We'll crush Oración Seis!"
"They may have once been comrades, but… it can't be helped."
Then it happened.
From afar, a massive pillar of black light burst into the sky, shaking the forest with a deafening roar.
"This is…?"
"What?!"
"That black light…"
"No way…"
"Yes… Nirvana has been activated."
"Everyone, stay here. Sorano, with me."
"Y-yes!"
Leaving Lucy and the others behind, Ciel set off with Sorano toward the source of the pillar.
....
In the east of the forest.
While Jura was engaged in battle with Hoteye, one of Oración Seis, a towering pillar of light suddenly surged upward. Jura froze in shock, and Hoteye answered with a confident smile.
"What in the world is that…?"
"That is Nirvana."
"…What?!"
"Relax. The core hasn't started moving yet. That's only the seal being released. But the scent of money is thick in the air… ohoho…"
At Hoteye's words, Jura fell into grim thought.
This was no time to be dueling here. Nirvana's activation had to be stopped.
And yet, the mission of the alliance was to defeat Oración Seis.
Should he remain and fight Hoteye, or abandon the duel to stop Nirvana…?
It was a moment of heavy dilemma.
"Money… money…! Now we'll be unimaginably rich…! Ooooh…! Ooohhh…! Oooo—!"
"What the… what now…?!"
Hoteye, who had been deliriously ecstatic, suddenly clutched at himself, groaning in agony before screaming out.
"Ooooooohhhh!!! Money! Money…! Moooney!!"
"What… what is he babbling about…?"
"Mo-ney!! …isn't needed at all~♡"
"Gah…?!"
In an instant, the crazed man crying out for riches vanished, replaced by a benevolent saintly figure with a gentle smile. Jura froze, dumbfounded.
Just a moment ago Hoteye had been shouting that money was everything, yet now he radiated a serene aura, like a preacher of peace.
In a soft, tender voice, Hoteye began to sway and dance.
"I… I was always desperate because of my little brother I was separated from… I thought that with money I could find him. But now… I know I was wrong."
"What…?"
"So, let's stop fighting~."
"Eh…?!"
"The world is overflowing with love! Oh, love!! How sweet, how merciful a word it is~!!"
"H-hey…?"
"As long as there's love in this world, nothing is impossible~!!"
With that, Hoteye suddenly threw his arms around Jura.
Cold sweat trickled down Jura's face. He couldn't make sense of this absurd change, yet he could feel there was no longer any killing intent in Hoteye at all—only sincerity.
"Come now… let's unite our strength and stop the tyranny of my old comrades!! We'll teach them just how wonderful love truly is!!"
"Ah… uh… right…"
.....
Southern Worthwood Forest.
Ren lay sprawled on the ground, unconscious. Eve, barely clinging to consciousness, crawled desperately across the dirt, trying to escape.
"Ugh… Wh-what is this guy… my magic doesn't work on him at all…"
Midnight looked down at Eve as though he were a worthless insect, his tone dripping with boredom.
"Heh. You're still alive?"
"H-hiiiii—!!"
"I'm not the kind of person you can bend."
"Uwaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!"
Eve's desperate screams tore through the forest, but he stood no chance. Hoping to warn the others of Midnight's power, he had tried to flee—but was mercilessly struck down.
All that remained was the echo of his wail reverberating through the woods.
....
Meanwhile, Natsu and Gray had joined up with Lyon and Sherry's group, sprinting toward the place where the massive black pillar of light had erupted.
"Something's off… isn't it this way?"
"You idiot! Look! We ended up going in the exact opposite direction from where the light came from!"
"Hahh… hahh… I'm exhausted… where even are we?"
"...Salamander… don't tell me…"
"Well… my nose was pointing me this way… did I get us lost?"
Natsu scratched his head and muttered, only for Gray and Lyon to snap at him in unison.
"Did you rip your eyes out or something?! Of course you're lost! You think you've found the right way like this?!"
Chasing after Cobra's scent, Natsu hadn't realized that Cobra's serpent, Cubellios, had spread its smell across the entire forest. Because of that, their group had ended up wandering aimlessly until they were completely lost.
With Lyon taking the lead, Natsu's party turned back, racing toward the place where the black pillar of light continued to surge skyward.
....
"..."
After Ciel disappeared with the woman from Oración Seis, I slipped away from the others, shaken by Wendy's words that she had saved Jellal.
Jellal… alive.
But how? Ciel's attack had pierced straight through his body—he should have been dead. No, more than that… why was he here of all places?
The thought that Jellal still lived tangled my heart in knots.
Inside me, he had never completely disappeared.
At the Tower of Heaven, he hadn't even realized he was being controlled. Yet in his final moment, I heard his voice.
Was it only a hallucination born from my own unconscious… or had it truly been his voice?
"What kind of face… am I supposed to make when I see him again…?"
Thoughts spun endlessly through my mind as I ran, again and again, until at last, I stood at the foot of the tower where the pillar of light erupted.
"Ugh…!"
The violent winds slammed into me as I forced my way through, step by step, into the radiance.
The further I walked, the more the blinding glow gave way, revealing the figure within.
Ocean-blue hair, a strange tattoo etched across one side of his face, eyes both straight and empty—
Jellal.
"…Jellal."
"Erza."
"You… how… how are you here…?"
"I don't know."
He spoke my name, again and again, then clutched at his head in anguish.
Startled, I could only stare as his voice wavered.
"Erza… Er… za… It's the only word I can remember…"
"What?!"
"Tell me… who am I? Do you know me?"
"…"
"Who is Erza? I… can't remember anything…"
"…"
Jellal's face twisted in torment as he begged me for answers.
He remembered nothing. Nothing of his deeds, nothing of Zeref's curse that once bound him.
Only the hollow gaze of a boy—once upright, once pure—remained. And seeing that look in his eyes, my own brimmed with tears.
....
Minutes later, Sorano and I pressed onward toward the pillar of light.
If Nirvana was awakening, we had to stop it.
But as the black radiance flared, something began to claw at my mind—shaking it, twisting it from within.
So this… is Nirvana.
The great magic that reverses light and darkness.
A powerful spell of inversion that can twist good and evil at the caster's whim.
That is Nirvana.
Uncontrolled, Nirvana simply drowns everything nearby: Light becomes darkness. Darkness becomes light.
And to me, standing here at the crossroads of both, this magic is deadly.
If I falter for even a moment… I will be consumed by the light.
I forced powerful illusions upon myself to resist, but then—
"Kh…?!"
"You will go no further."
"Brain…"
From behind a tree, Brain emerged, launching a sudden strike.
I conjured a spear of mist, parrying the blow and skidding to a halt.
As though expecting this, Brain immediately unleashed a second attack.
"I foresaw this. Dark Capriccio!"
""Dragon Slayer Secret Art"—
Phantom Flame Sixfold Pierce!"
The spear of mist coiled with indigo flames, thrusting six times in a blur. Each strike spiraled into a roaring vortex of burning mist, colliding with Brain's magic in a cataclysmic explosion.
When the smoke cleared, his magic had been neutralized, and blood dripped from Brain's right arm.
"You are the strategist of Oración Seis. If you fall, the headless body of your guild will be easy to crush."
"As expected… from the commander who once led the campaign against Badrach Whale. Sharp-minded indeed."
"This is different. This is nothing more than yielding before overwhelming power."
"Overwhelming power…? Kuh—hahahahaha!!"
He suddenly burst into manic laughter, and my guard tightened.
At that instant, something soft and woolly coiled around me, binding my limbs.
"Kh—!"
Turning my head, I saw Sorano, her eyes downcast, clutching the key of Aries.
Beside her, the Celestial Spirit of the White Lamb appeared, face trembling as she looked at me.
"…Aries."
"Ciel… I'm sorry… I'm so, so sorry…"
"Kuhahahaha! This is Nirvana! In a moment of weakness she betrayed you, but she is still one of the dark! Whatever light she touched is smothered once more by shadow!"
"…"
Laughing uproariously, Brain stooped to reclaim his staff.
"Overwhelming strength means nothing before overwhelming wisdom! This is the lesson I, Brain, will teach you—engrave it well, boy!"
"…You would presume to teach me? Then return when you've lived four hundred more years."
"Such words you can only utter while you still breathe. Now perish, Ciel Illusian! Learn my lesson in the afterlife!"
Dark magic gathered at the tip of his staff, a chorus of shrieking spirits swelling into a single mass.
The staff came close enough to brush my brow—Brain's grin wide, savoring the moment as he prepared the final blow.
"I'll wipe that smug face off the map! Dark Capri— …kh?!!"
A radiant white blast of magic roared past my cheek, punching straight through Brain's shoulder.
At the same time, Brain's spell shot skyward, and he collapsed to the ground clutching his shoulder.
"Gwaaaaahh—!! Wh… what is this…?!"
"Brain, you were wrong."
"…What?!"
The fluffy restraints of Aries faded away, and Sorano stepped out from my side. She wrapped her arm gently around my waist and spoke to Brain.
"Overwhelming strength and wisdom mean nothing before the devotion of a girl's heart."
"…Sorano, I don't think you can really call yourself a 'girl' anymore."
"I'll have you know I'm eternally nineteen~♥"
"Angel—!"
Believing she had returned to his side, Brain now gnashed his teeth in fury at Sorano's betrayal.
But I, too, was unsettled.
The power of my Eyes of Lust over her had already been erased when Nirvana activated. I had expected her to fall back into the darkness and rejoin Brain.
"Why… why?! What he did to you should have been erased by Nirvana's activation…!"
"You're right, Brain. The spell this man placed on me was indeed wiped away by Nirvana."
"Then why betray me?! Why side with him?!"
At his enraged shout, Sorano tilted her head, then looked up at me. With one hand, she stroked my cheek like one would pet a cat, her gaze mocking as she turned back to Brain.
"Nirvana is magic that inverts light and darkness… Then doesn't that mean it can also pull someone like me, steeped in shadow, into the light?"
"Impossible…!"
"And besides… I've come to like this man. I guess this is what they call love at first sight?"
"Angel! You trai—!!"
"Pffft… kuhahahahahahaha!"
Her words caught me completely off guard, and before I knew it, laughter spilled out of me.
I couldn't understand it.
Casting aside comrades and goals to nurture feelings for the enemy…
What could be more absurd?
And yet, faced with this unprecedented turn of events, I turned toward Brain and spoke.
"Truly… this world never ceases to awaken me to experiences I've never known before."
"Grrrrr—!!"
"Love… It truly is a remarkable thing."
"Right~?"
"Now then, Brain… this is checkmate. Your defeat is sealed."
With that, I leveled my spear of mist straight at the center of Brain's brow.
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