The trio stepped into the underground casino, instantly enveloped by the clamor of voices and the sharp clink of chips.
Just a few steps in, an exaggerated wail caught their attention.
Natsu and Happy were pounding on a slot machine, their faces practically glued to the screen.
"It was so close to stopping on 17! Why'd it slip away?!" Natsu groaned.
"My 17! My fish money!" Happy wailed.
The three exchanged a knowing glance, quickly looking away as if they hadn't seen the embarrassing scene, and hurried past toward the quieter Royal Flush poker table deeper in the casino.
Lucy sat alone at the table, her brows furrowed, fingers tapping absently as she stared at her cards, looking utterly conflicted.
Mira's lips curled into a grin. She nudged Roger lightly with her elbow, and when he turned, she pointed at the oblivious Lucy, silently mouthing the word "training."
With a playful wink, she wagged her finger between herself and Erza, her eyes gleaming with mischief.
Roger got the hint, chuckling helplessly as he nodded.
Mira's smile bloomed like a flower, clearly eager for what was about to unfold.
The group approached and took seats beside Lucy.
"Roger? You guys got here quick," Lucy said, looking up in surprise.
"What, you thought we'd take forever?" Roger raised a brow, casually flipping a chip between his fingers. "Dinner and a quick break don't take that long."
Lucy choked on her words, swallowing a snarky comeback, and shifted her focus back to the game. A bit distracted, she asked, "You guys playing Royal Flush too?"
"Nah," Roger shook his head, the chip dancing deftly between his fingers. "I'm just here with them. My gambling luck's awful—nine times out of ten, I lose at cards, so I steer clear."
"Huh?" Lucy looked skeptical. "But everyone in the guild says you've got crazy good luck. And you're so skilled—how could you always lose at cards?"
"Good luck and gambling luck aren't the same thing," Roger said, flicking his wrist to stop the chip in his palm. "I don't play often, and I'm not great at it. Losing's normal for me."
Seriously? Lucy thought, half-convinced.
Surely someone with good luck could win a few hands with decent cards, right?
Curious, she set her cards down and started watching.
Soon, she noticed Mira and Erza playing with ease, their chip stacks growing steadily while losses were rare. Roger, true to his word, just sat there, occasionally pulling out fancy little cakes from who-knows-where to share, showing no interest in joining the game.
Lucy took a bite of a cake, only to see Mira suddenly grin and drag Roger to the table. "Come on, play a couple hands!"
Lucy glanced at the cards Roger drew and nearly choked on her cake, her eyes widening in shock.
Cough! Cough! She pounded her chest, barely recovering before leaning in for a closer look.
His hand was awful. The numbers were all over the place—no chance of a decent straight, missing one card here, two there. It was a disaster.
Lucy's jaw dropped. Is his gambling luck really that bad?
After a few rounds, the chips in front of Roger dwindled at an alarming rate, snatched up by Mira and Erza.
Lucy sighed. "Okay, I believe you now. Your gambling luck is hopeless."
"Didn't expect your card skills to be this bad, especially with how great you were at swordsmanship as a kid," a cheerful male voice called from behind.
The group turned to see a tall, tanned man standing nearby, waving with a smile.
"Long time no see, Roger, Erza."
The two stared, trying to place the vaguely familiar stranger.
After a moment, Roger ventured, "Simon?"
Simon nodded, grinning as he stepped closer. "That's me."
"It's been forever—since the village was attacked by that dark magic cult," he added.
"It's really you!" Erza exclaimed, her eyes wide with disbelief. "Where have you been all these years? Kagura and I looked everywhere for you! We thought the cult took you, but when the Council raided their bases, there was no sign of you!"
Simon glanced cautiously at the noisy casino around them, lowering his voice. "This isn't the place to talk. Follow me."
They quickly left the casino, finding a secluded corner.
Under dim lighting, Simon's expression grew serious. He checked their surroundings before speaking. "I was taken by the dark magic cult. Me and other kids were locked in a cave near the village. We passed out at some point, and when we woke up, we were on an island."
He paused, a flicker of fear in his eyes. "I was most worried about Kagura. She's timid, and I was afraid she'd be found and taken too. I searched for her on the island for a long time."
"But thankfully, you guys took her and got her into the guild," he said, relieved. "Thank you."
"No need to thank us," Roger waved it off. "She's like our little sister. But if you know all this and you're standing here, that means you escaped the island, right? When did you get out?"
Simon shook his head, his face darkening. "I didn't escape. I was sent to capture mages… as living sacrifices."
"Living sacrifices?!" Lucy gasped, her voice trembling. "For some kind of evil ritual?"
"Something like that," Simon said, his voice low. "After we were taken to the island, we were forced to build something called the 'Tower of Heaven,' day and night. If we showed any exhaustion or reluctance, we'd get whipped or punished with magic."
"New people, mostly kids and some elderly, were constantly brought in. The elderly usually didn't last long—they'd work themselves to death."
He paused. "After about half a month, fewer new people were brought in, but more were dying from exhaustion. The tower's construction slowed down. Then one day, a boy named Lemir stood up. He used magic to take down all the cult members enslaving us."
"We were about to escape when all the ships around the island suddenly exploded, killing the elderly and destroying our only way out. We were just a group of confused kids left on the island."
Simon's fists clenched. "Lemir stepped up again, saying there might be cult ambushes waiting outside. He told us to act like everything was normal and keep building the tower to trick them. Most didn't want to, but we had no way off the island, and he had magic, so we had no choice but to listen."
"Compared to before, though, we finally got breaks, our own rooms, and worked eight hours a day from Monday to Saturday. Sundays were free, and Lemir would sometimes share weird stuff—toys or food. When people asked where he got it, he'd just say it washed up from the sea. If anyone pressed, his grim expression shut them up."
"After about two months, hardly anyone still wanted to leave."
Erza frowned. "Simon, you were taken in X772, right? It's X784 now—twelve years! And no one else tried to leave?"
"That's what I'm getting to," Simon said, his voice heavy. "Lemir… he was brainwashing us."
"Brainwashing?!" Lucy gasped.
Simon nodded gravely. "At first, he showed us magic crystals that projected movies. Half were normal, but the other half were all about praising Zeref, the dark wizard, and his so-called 'great deeds.'"
"Zeref?!" Lucy exclaimed. "That's the third time I've heard his name since joining Fairy Tail! But… how did you know it was brainwashing back then? You were just a kid—had you even heard of Zeref?"
Simon glanced at Roger with a wry smile. "When we were kids, fishing and chatting with Roger and the others, we talked about stuff like that. So I knew something was off."
Lucy's mouth twitched. "You guys talked about some weird stuff as kids."
"That's not all," Simon continued. "Once people stopped resisting the idea of Zeref, Lemir ramped it up. At first, it was Monday, Wednesday, Friday mornings listening to songs about 'freedom' and 'paradise.' Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays were about Zeref's 'great achievements.' Eventually, it became an hour every morning and evening. Over time, almost all the kids who didn't want to stay became fanatical Zeref followers."
"They started believing only Zeref could bring true paradise and eternal freedom. That crazy belief made the Tower of Heaven's construction speed double."
"Now, the tower's finished. All that's left is the final 'living sacrifice' to revive Zeref."
"That's terrifying!" Lucy's throat went dry, and she swallowed hard. "How did you stay clear-headed through all that?"
"Because Zeref can't possibly be as great as they claim," Simon said simply. "If he was, why did they slaughter our village and kidnap kids to work as slaves? If he's about freedom, why build the tower in secret instead of out in the open?"
Lucy wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead. "That's… some impressively clear logic for being in that situation."
She thought for a moment, then asked, "Why did they send you to find sacrifices? Wouldn't they trust a more fanatical follower?"
Mira shook her head, her gaze sharp. "At this critical moment, fanatics are too risky. The tower's complete, and they're one step from reviving Zeref. If they let loose those unhinged believers, they might cause a scene and draw the Council's attention."
"That makes sense," Lucy realized.
"But," Mira's eyes narrowed as she studied Simon, "why did Lemir trust you to go instead of coming himself? At this stage, wouldn't he want to handle it personally to be safe?"
"He didn't have a choice," Simon explained. "He's been busy making some strange magic device that forces a ton of magic power into someone's body. They just need a promising sacrifice, pump them full of stored magic, and it'll meet the ritual's requirements—a powerful mage's body. The stronger the body, the stronger Zeref will be when revived, and the more 'freedom' and 'power' he can supposedly grant."
Lucy frowned. "Then why not just tip off the Council? That'd be faster, right?"
"No," Simon shook his head firmly. "I've got two friends still in the Tower of Heaven. Lemir deliberately picked people with companions still there who weren't too fanatical to hunt for sacrifices. If I alert the Council and get exposed, they'll be in danger."
"So you came to me," Roger said, understanding. "You want my illusion magic to help rescue them."
"Not just that," Simon said, his gaze intense. "After I left the tower, I checked on Kagura first. Knowing she joined Fairy Tail put me at ease. Then I heard about your guild's reputation… So, I'm asking you to take down Lemir and destroy that tower. Whoever Zeref is, if people like that worship him, he's no good. If he's revived, it'll be a disaster for the world."
"Time for a fight?!" Natsu's excited voice boomed like a cannon.
They turned to see Natsu dragging Happy, rushing over like a whirlwind, with Gray trailing behind, looking like he wanted no part of Natsu's antics.
"Natsu!" Lucy said, startled. "How'd you find us?"
Gray pointed at Natsu's nose, exasperated. "This guy's dog nose. He was running around the casino looking for Roger to play cards. When he couldn't find him, he started sniffing the floor and followed the scent here. I ran into him halfway and followed because I couldn't stand watching him."
"Sniffing… the floor?" Lucy cringed, imagining the scene, goosebumps rising. "And you just followed him without a word?"
"It's a dragon's keen sense of smell!" Natsu snapped, then puffed out his chest proudly. "Picking out Roger's scent in a crowd with all those weird smells? No dog could do that—only a powerful dragon!"
Lucy rolled her eyes. "Pretty sure dragons don't track people by scent either. Are you sure you're praising dragons here?"
"Dogs can sniff stuff out too, Natsu," Happy corrected, waving a paw. "Remember when Lil' White found that wallet in the river?"
"Is that really a dog?!" Lucy groaned. "And are we seriously getting this off-topic?"
She slapped her face, feeling exhausted.
Simon watched their chaotic exchange, stunned for a moment before his tension eased, a small smile forming. "You guys are something else. Kagura must be having a blast in the guild."
Roger grinned, then turned back to the matter at hand.
Initially, he thought the Tower of Heaven had nothing to do with him. His arrival in this world had changed things—Jellal never appeared, and Erza was never trapped in the tower. But Simon's sudden appearance and the altered details caught him off guard.
Was the cult short on manpower because he'd joined Fairy Tail early and tipped off the guild master, indirectly disrupting their plans? Maybe that's why they resorted to brainwashing the kids.
The Council had destroyed seven Towers of Heaven and claimed the forbidden magic was eradicated. Yet one hidden tower had slipped through, unnoticed.
Because of Kagura, Roger had used his crystal ball to divine anything related to the tower, but it only vaguely pointed to a sea region without specifics. Guild members kept an eye out during missions but found nothing.
In his past life, Roger had skipped this arc in the anime, only recalling it was set at sea but forgetting the exact location.
He sighed inwardly. Shouldn't have skipped those episodes. Who knew I'd end up here, missing key details?
Still, the Tower of Heaven, or Revive System, was Zeref's creation—a forbidden magic using living sacrifices to resurrect the dead. Powered by a massive magic crystal, it needed 2.7 billion conceptual magic units from Etherion in the original story, but it never succeeded.
Maybe he could use his magic to tweak the tower's core function and turn it to his advantage?
After a moment of thought, Roger met Simon's hopeful gaze and nodded.
"Alright, let's take down Lemir together."