"...Yes, everything begins from you believing with your heart. You can think of tarots, faith, prayer, and such as Magic. Its a miracle that only true believers can experience. Only those who believe that Magic exists, believe in themselves, and believe that they can coexist with everything in nature can use such a thing as Magic." Rob said to Erza.
"Then what about spirit?" Shirou asked. "Or a container of sorts within our bodies."
Rob turned his attention to Shirou who sat listening next to Erza and the others. It was around mid-night, the time the slaves were allowed rest from within the Tower of Heaven. A thin strip of moon light was the only thing that illuminated the room.
"You're quite well educated, child." Rob said, a hand ruffling his beard. "The container within our bodies determines the limits of our Magic Power, and our spirit connects with the flow of nature to create magic."
Shirou sat silently for a moment, sorting through the information in his head. His brows furrowed in thought.
"I understand," Shirou crossed his arms. "But what about the second container, or at least the other half?"
Rob stared at Shirou with confusion.
"...Every mage only possess one container." Rob said. "Now off to sleep with you all; this is enough for tonight."
Shirou frowned, but said nothing else on the subject.
"But gramps, we want to listen to more." Jellal said.
"And there are many more nights to do so." Rob said with a sigh. "Now get on with you lot."
With a few grumbles and faint mutters, everyone went off to go to sleep. It was some time in the middle of the night that Erza woke up with a cold sweat. She had had a nightmare where she was left alone in the tower, Jellal and the rest nowhere to be found despite how hard she searched. Silently, she pulled herself closer to where her friends lay sleeping to share in their warmth. Fumbling in the dark, she felt out with her hands to ascertain their existence, only to widen her eyes in alarm when she realized Shirou wasn't there.
To her, Shirou was an important friend who gave happiness to her, Jellal, Simon, Wally, Millianna, and the others around him. Over the past few months she had gotten to know how much of a kind person he was. How he would go out of his way to make life more comfortable for them despite the hardships he himself faced. Just as it didn't take long for her to come to terms with Shirou's character, it didn't take long for her to see the animosity the guards had for him. They seemed to take offense to Shirou's kindness, and continually increased his work load. Jellal had once made a point about it, but there was nothing in which they could do. Then again, everyone who knew Shirou hated the guards who antagonized him.
Deep down however, it was Erza's, Jellal's, and many other's fears, that the guards would have enough of Shirou and get rid of him. Which was why her heart beat quickened when she heard the sound of a guards laughter passing by. They wouldn't have taken him during his sleep could they? ...Oh god they probably would.
Frantically, she scanned her eyes across the cell, but it was to dark to make anything out. Panicking, she once again fumbled in the dark until her hands came across Jellal's familiar back. If it was Jellal, he would know what to do.
"J-Jellal," her voice wavered as she pressed her hands against Jellal. "W-Wake up."
"...Erza?" Jellal's eyes flickered open before he tiredly rubbed at them with his hands. "What's going on?"
"S-Shirou, he's gone!"
Jellal sat up in alarm. He had grown to like Shirou, and the thought of him missing was not a pleasant one when the most likely scenario was a bad one.
"S-Should I wake up the other to search for him?" Erza asked.
"No, its better not to since we might draw attention with too many of us awake." Jellal placed his hands on Erza's shoulders. "You have to calm down to help me search for him."
"O-Okay." Erza let out a breath and reeled in her uncertainties. Jellal was right; It wouldn't serve any purpose to panic. "Where do you think we should look?"
Jellal fumbled in the dark, making his way to where he knew the cell's door was.
"The door's still locked, so he should still be in the room?" Jellal sounded uncertain.
The two wandered around, feeling their way across the darkness in search of Shirou. They didn't want to risk alerting the guards of themselves by yelling so they resorted to quite whispers to call out for Shirou.
"He's not in here." Jellal said. Where could he-"
"-on." A small flash of light flickered through the small barred window in the cell.
"That was Shirou's voice." Erza said as she made her way to the small window.
"But that's outside our cell." Jellal said as he approached Erza. "How do you think he go-" Jellal couldn't finish his question as he tripped over a stone tile by the window.
"Jellal, are you alright?" Erza asked as she ran to Jellal.
"I'm fine, and I think I found how Shirou got outside." Jellal said, noticing the hole the tile hid beneath it. "Lets go see what's going on."
Quickly, the two lifted the tile over the hole and crawled inside to wherever it lead. As it would turn out, it lead to a small flat plateau that was directly outside their cell. Sitting at the center of the plateau, eyes closed in concentration, was Shirou.
"Trace on."
A flicker of static blue light and Jellal could just barely make out the image of a sword appearing above Shirou's hand. However it faded before fully forming.
"Magic?" Erza whispered to Jellal who stared silently ahead.
"...Believe with my heart." Shirou muttered before once again raising a hand. "...Connect with the flow of nature, perhaps..."
Erza could barely hear what Shirou was saying from her distance away, but she paid more attention to what Shirou was doing. His extended hand had its palm now facing upwards towards the sky.
"Trace on!"
The image of the sword appeared once again over Shirou's hand, phasing in and out of existence.
"What kind of magic is he using?" Jellal asked Erza.
"I don't know, Gramps might though."
Shirou's eyes were furrowed in concentration, and finally, the sword materialized. It was an average sword made of steel with a polished pommel, and leather hand grips.
"It works..." Shirou let out a sigh of relief. "It actually works. It's only a matter of days now." Shirou turned his eyes towards the boats floating at sea. The supply ships would be docking soon.
Shirou stood up, his eyes reflecting his determination. However, it was at that point that Shirou turned around and noticed both Jellal and Erza crouched within the entrance of the hole to the cell. Jellal's blue hair and Erza's red hair, were unmistakable.
"Uhm," Erza began. "Hi?"
Shirou smiled wrily at the two. It was always difficult to explain oneself upon being caught snooping, but then again, they may have been justified in their reason; he's the one who left the cell after all.
"What kind of magic was that?" Jellal asked before shaking his head. "No, more than that, what do you mean by a matter of days."
"Well," Shirou scratched at the back of his head. "I was planning on explaining it to you all a bit later, so I guess it's okay if I say it now." Shirou stared at Jellal. "You, Erza, Simon- everyone, is going to escape this tower."
"The supply ships will be docking in a moment," Shirou traced a diagram over the dirt of the plateau. "From here, you can all make your way towards those ships and make your way out."
"What about the guards?" Rob asked curiously. "I am too old to run, and would only slow you all down should I come."
"There's no way were leaving you gramps." Millianna said.
"We'll all get out of here together." Erza nodded her head to Jellal's words.
"But the guards are still a problem." Simon said from beside Sho and Wally.
"You won't have to worry about the guards." Shirou said to Rob and the rest. "Just trust me and make your way towards those ships when I give a signal."
"Are we really getting out of here?" Sho asked Wally uncertainly.
"We'll never know until we try." Wally said. "If it's Shirou, he'll probably think of something."
"Alright, lets get this started." Shirou stood up. "I'm going to the ships first to clear out the guards inside, when I give a signal, thats when you all run to the ships."
Everyone nodded their heads, and Shirou left, running down the trail by the plateau that led to the coast.
"Shirou will be alright won't he?" Simon asked.
Erza nodded her head uncertainly. The magic she had witnessed prior gave her hope, but speaking of magic...
"Hey Gramps," Erza called for Rob. "What kind of magic lets you pull a sword out of nowhere?"
Jellal paid close attention for Rob's answer.
"Hmm," Rob rubbed at his beard. "That Erza, would be a magic called Requip. It allows the user to summon various types of equipment from a pocket dimension."
"Then Shirou uses Requip magic." Jellal stated. "Me and Erza saw it a few nights ago."
Rob's eyes widened in amazement. That must be why the boy was so sure of their escape, magic was now in his hands. However, Rob was certain that Shirou had just unlocked his magic. It was a combination not meant for good results. Shirou for all intents and purposes may not know the full capabilities of his magic, and is blindly charging ahead with over confidence. Rob shook his head, he didn't want to imagine the results of such a thing.
However, contrary to belief, Shirou was not over confident in his abilities, nor was he charging in blindly. Rob spotted his form from the distance, his red hair like a beacon. The boy had a pair of swords in hand, one black as night, the other, paler than ivory. With both swords in hand, he snuck up on the scarce number of guards guarding the ships. Now that Rob thought about it, it was near noon, the time of day where most of the guards congrated towards the guard's chamber to do whatever it is they do. How long must Shirou have watched the guard's patrols to realize such a thing? No matter, the question did little to impede the astonishment in Rob's gaze.
It wasn't long before Shirou disappeared into a ship's haul.
"Shirou did it." Rob said in amazement. "He's inside a ship."
Everyone's eyes lit up with hope Just like Rob, they had seen Shirou make his way towards the ship from the view of the plateau.
"There's the signal!" Simon yelled as he saw a small flicker of light in the distance.
"Lets go!" Jellal said as he ran along with everyone else.
Erza stayed behind to help Rob make his decent towards the ship. Numerous bodies of guards lay unconscious against the ground, their eyes closed tight. By the time Erza and Rob had made it towards the ship, Jellal and the others were already aboard.
"We're getting out of here! We're really getting out of here!" Jellal yelled in excitement. "Erza, Gramps, come on!"
Sho, Wally, Simon, and Millianna, stood next to Jellal, all sharing in the excitement.
Erza smiled along with Rob.
"I never thought I could see smiles like this again, in a place like this... freedom is in all of your hearts." Rob said.
"What are you talking about Gramps, you're smiling too." Erza said as she and Rob entered the ship.
Rob laughed good naturedly.
At the helm of the ship, everyone gathered, eyes shining bright. However, Wally stared back frantically at the tower.
"W-What about Richard?" Wally asked. "We can't leave him be-."
It was to the sound of running footsteps that cut Wally off. It was a crowd of the other prisoners, Shirou leading them from the front. Jellal smiled as he realized how Shirou managed to free the other slaves. It was around noon, the time where all the slaves worked in the mining field to secure ore. He probably defeated the guards in the field and lead everyone to safety. He knew it was odd that Shirou wasn't on the boat when they had arrived, but now he could understand why. Shirou was truly not one to turn his back on others.
"Over here!" Wally yelled to the incoming crowd. "Get into the ships."
Within a few moments, every prisoner in the Tower of Heaven had boarded one of the ten supply ships.
"...He did it." Sorano, the girl Jellal and the others had met in Bare's Bottom said. Tears were glistening down her eyes before she promptly wiped them away. "Just like he promised."
"Wally!" Richard yelled as he ran up to Wally. "We're really gonna get out of here!"
Erza looked around at all the people present and couldn't help releasing the tears that streamed down her face. However, it was with dawning horror that she realized the absence of the most important person.
"S-Shirou! Where's Shirou!" She yelled.
The boats lurched forward as the anchors that docked them to the port of the Tower of Heaven were cut cleanly.
"Shirou, what are you doing!" Jellal yelled frantically."You're not on a boat yet!"
The excitement of the crowd disappeared in a heart beat as they all stared at the lone figure on the coast. Tufts of red hair blew in the wind, a broad back facing the growing crowd of guards. It was irrational that the guards wouldn't notice the large commotion happening within the tower. Even more so that they would simply let all their workers get away.
"The darkness of this tower remains within all of your hearts." Shirou's voice carried over. "So long as it exists, you all can never truly be free. I will put an end to that darkness."
Shirou had known when the vast majority of the guards would be away from the supply ships, but he had also known that they would come in full force. Which is why he stayed behind. The guards weren't the troubling ones, it was the magic users. Any one of them could have sunk the ships before they could get far enough to escape.
"I knew we should have just killed you!" A guard yelled.
He didn't know his name, but at this point, he didn't care to know any of the guard's names. He simply raised Kanshou and Bakuya in front of him, glad for the use of his magecraft. As it would turn out, the key to his magecraft was the little bit of insight Rob had given him. It wasn't purely based on emotion, but rather on the connection of the spirit and nature. That itself was the key.
He eyed the guards in front of him, focusing more on the caped magic casters. He planted his feet firmly on the ground and charged forward, tossing both swords in his hands out before tracing a new set. For each strike, a guard would go down. For each strike, he would become more and more surrounded.
From his flank he was hit by a fire spell, from his left an ice spell.
He was blown back towards the coast, his breathing even despite his charred back and numb left arm.
"I am the bone of my sword." A familiar thrum of power welled up from within him, a ring of six swords forming around him.
The guards took a step back in trepidation as an eerie silence consumed the area.
"You fools, all of you!" A magic caster took a step forward. "He's just a single bo-"
Six swords shot out and gauged the earth, a thin physical line was formed between him and the guards.
"-Step over those swords," He glared at the guards standing behind the magic casters. "And I guarantee you won't live to regret it."
The guards eyes stared from the swords lodged in the ground, to the magic casters standing before them. They were at the advantage, and yet their primal instincts warned against fighting the boy. It was one of the many reasons most guards within the Tower of Heaven were of the opinion to kill the boy. Despite numerous beatings, and the boy's life in their hands, the feeling of a predator watching their prey never abated from the guards minds; rather the feeling was quite equivalent to being on blade's edge.
"HAhah you are a fool boy," the voice of one magic caster echoed through the battle field. "To have wasted your weapons on a warning, how pathetic."
The magic casters could see straight away that the boy possessed requip magic. Therefore, it was obvious to them that the boy only had access to the limited number of weapons he may have had stolen from the guards and stored in his pocket dimension.
"Wasted?" the air vibrated with magical power, ripples forming as the magic distorted light. "What could I have possibly wasted?"
At first it was ten, and from ten it went to twenty, to thirty, to forty, they just kept on multiplying. Swords, daggers- it didn't matter what kind, they all hovered before the guards. It was a veritable mass of steel, one blade for each person present.
"I will say it again," his eyes showed no mercy, his voice hollow and sharp. "Step over those swords, and I guarantee you won't live to regr-."
-Do you wish for true freedom?
A sudden voice entered Shirou's mind, startling him. A ghostly apparition appeared before him.
True freedom lies with Zeref
The apparition drew closer and wrapped itself around Shirou. However, it was when their eyes met that Shirou understood what lay in front of him. Structural grasping dictated that the apparition was a magic of sorts that possessed the individual. He had to act fast. He had to end things fast; not sure if the magic would be casted on him again. There was no more time, he had to destroy the tower quickly.
"Trace on!"
"W-What's he doing?" Millianna asked as she saw Shirou grasp hold of a jagged dagger. She gasped in shock as she watched Shirou stab it into himself.
Millianna's eyes widened along with Erza's and the rest. Shirou seemed as if he was in control of everything, and yet why would he stab himself?
The mass of steel still hovering over Shirou was evident to his control of the situation. It had come as a surprise at first when they began appearing, but surprise lead to hope. Shirou would be able to survive. That hope was holding onto a thin line now that he had stabbed himself.
"What's he doing!?" Erza vocalized her thoughts.
However, Shirou couldn't hear Erza's voice; they were now too far away from the coast for Erza's voice to reach. It was Rob who quieted everyone down as he sighed in weariness.
"That child is truly awe inspiring." Rob said as everyone paused to listen to his words."For everyone here, he chose to remain behind. I don't know why he would stab himself, but surely he had a purpose in doing so. Look." Rob pointed to the faces of the guards and the magic casters at the coast. "Their eyes are no longer watching us."
It was true, Shirou had done something no one had expected. Even the guards who's eyes had still remained on the boats were drawn away.
Erza choked back a silent sob that was threatening to burst from within her. Jellal clenched his fists and stared resolutely at Shirou's back.
"He has done for us, what any other child could not. He would stay behind to prevent any other child, or man from being taken from their homes to work in the tower. He is-" Rob paused as his eyes widened. He stretched a hand out to the small flecks of light that rose from around him and tears dripped from his eyes; a familiar feeling welling from within him. It didn't take long before a tower of pure light erupted from the Tower of Heaven. Rob turned to witness the scene.
Fairy Law, one of the Three Great Fairy Magics
It was only ever once that Rob witnessed such a scene, and that was from master Makarov. For the boy to pull off such a magic so similar, he did not know how. Only that there was only one way he could describe the boy.
"...He was a child of the fairies."
The Tower of Heaven was no more, and the boy named Shirou was gone.
Ultear Milkovich clicked her tongue in frustration. She had had the boy in her clutches and he somehow broke free. The crystal ball she had in her hands shattered. She should have aimed for the blue haired boy instead, but the red haired one seemed more promising; his latent magical power like a torch in a cloud of embers.
Ultear stared at the remains of the crystal ball on the floor and sighed. It didn't matter much anyway, but she would remember that boy with red hair.
Thanks for Reading. Let me know if you have any comments, I'll be sure to read them.
Next Chapter's on Archer
As many can probably tell, things will be different with the tower destroyed.
-Parcasious