Chapter 35: The Finalized R-system
Dark clouds begin to form above the Tower of Heaven, the sound of thunder booms in the air as the final battle at the tower is about to end.
"What is your real goal?" Erza questions Jellal as she sits on him, pinning him to the ground with the tip of her sword pointing at his throat. "You haven't really completed the R-system, have you? I haven't been doing nothing for these past 8 years. I researched the R-system myself. It's true there were no errors in the construction or theory of the blueprints back then. But there is something essential missing from the R-system."
"I told you, remember? You are the sacrifice." Jellal says.
"A problem more basic than that." The scarlet knight says making Jellal looks at her questioningly. "The thing you lack is, magical power!" She states. "To activate a magical spell of this magnitude, you need a tremendous amount of magical energy. Even if you assemble every wizard on this continent, I'm not sure it would be enough. So of course there is no way an individual could store enough energy in this tower. And moreover, you know about the Council's attack but are not trying to escape. What are you thinking?"
"Three minutes until Etherion." Jellal says in a calm demeanor.
"Jellal!" Erza shouts with an angered look in her eyes. "You're dream is already over! Do you simply wish to die like this?" She questions as she tightens her grip on his right wrist, making him cringe a bit from the pain. "If that's the case, then we go together. I will not release this hand until the final moment!"
"Sure… That doesn't sound too bad." The teen says making Erza's eyes widen in shock. "My body was possessed by Zeref's spirit. No words will reach me. I'm nothing but a puppet used for the purpose of resurrecting Zeref."
"Possessed?" The red-haired girl asks.
"I wasn't able to save myself. Not my friends nor anyone else could save me. This is no Heaven… There is no freedom anywhere. Everything was over before it even began."
Outside the tower
At the ocean
Some distance away from the tower is the rowboat carrying the rest of the Fairy Tail wizards sans Natsu and Sakura, as well as Erza's friends sans Simon, both of who still on the tower as the group look at it for signs of what is going on.
"What in the world's going on in there?" Gray questions.
Just then the escape group looks up at the clouds which they just begin to part directly above the tower and light begins shining through, brightening up the night sky a little bit.
"That light!" Lucy gasps in shock.
"It's Etherion!" Wally exclaims.
"Eh!" Millianna cries out in fright.
"Natsu, Sakura, Latias, Erza… Hurry up and escape…" Happy says with tears in his eyes.
Inside the tower
The entire building begins to violently shake and cracks slowly form on the ceiling and walls, making small chunks of debris fall from them.
"I knew that the R-system wouldn't be able to complete. But the spirit of Zeref wouldn't let me go. It's too late to stop it. I'm a broken engine that he's driving…" Jellal says with a saddened, but happy look on his face. "Erza, you win. Please put an end to this." He asks, taking her back as her eyes widen. "That's why you came here, yes?"
Erza continues to stare down at him, her eyes shake in shock. Just looking at him makes her remember the little boy who saved her and became her friend so many years ago. The scarlet knight lowers her sword to her side as Jellal seems to be confused by this.
"There is no point in delivering the final blow. The Satellite Square is already deployed above." Erza then removes her hand from Jellal's wrist. "It's over. For me… and you… Jellal." She says, placing the sword on the ground as it vanishes.
Jellal sits up with his eyes closed. "Always the awkward one…" He says as he opens his eyes and sits up the rest of the way as he and Erza look away from each other.
"You're also a sacrifice to Zeref, yes?"
"This is my punishment for giving into my weakness. My heart wasn't able to handle the huge gap between dreams and reality." The tattooed teen replies as Erza look at him.
"Didn't you have friends there to fill in for your weaknesses and deficiencies?" She asks making Jellal look at her with a saddened look in his eyes.
"Erza…"
"I am also repenting for my sins of not being able to save you."
"I was… saved."
The two turn their bodies towards each other and embrace one another in their arms. The entire tower continues to shake violently with debris falling all over the place as then suddenly a light shines through a hole in the ceiling right onto the two.
Outside in the ocean, the light from Etherion shines brighter than ever as its immense power seems to affect the sea and small waves begin to throw the rowboat around as everyone looks on in shock as they know what's about to happen.
"Here it comes!" Happy cries out.
"Natsu! Erza!" Gray yells out as above the tower and in the opened sky, the magic circles and square of Etherion appear and a massive bright beam of light rains down towards the Tower of Heaven.
Inside the tower, Simon leans against a wall next to a window with his right hand over his heart as the light of Etherion radiates through the window. "This light… They didn't make it?"
Elsewhere in the tower, Natsu continues to run up a flight of stairs following Latias who flies ahead of him as the light of Etherion shines through more windows alerting them what is going on, but that didn't stop one bit as they continue to rush up the stairs.
"ERZA!" Natsu and Sakura yell out.
In the throne room, Erza and Jellal continue to embrace each other as the light of Etherion becomes brighter and brighter, both of their eyes closed when Jellal suddenly opens his eyes. One of his hands flinches and then suddenly a sadistic look in his eyes with a sadistic grin appears on his face which Erza is unaware of it. Etherion's beam then reaches the tower as everyone looks on in shock and awe.
"It's over…" Simon mutters as the light fully engulfs the entire tower.
The impacting blast sends a massive wave shooting outwards as it hits the rowboat and sends everyone aboard it flying into the air. Luckily, however, Juvia manages to cast a giant Water Bubble to catch and hold everyone inside as the waves continue to rock around outside until finally the light of Etherion dissipates and the sea calms down. All that remains of the Tower of Heaven is a massive pillar of rising smoke.
"No…" Lucy trails off with tears in her eyes as everyone looks on in shock and grief.
"Natsu… Sakura… Latias… Erza…" Happy cries.
Unknown to them, there is something different inside the pillar of smoke. The stone and metal works of the tower continue to fall around, however as the pieces fall in their place are many lacrima crystals, all which were designed to be covered up by the metal and stone. At the top of the remaining of the tower are still alive Erza and Jellal who are still embracing each other until Erza opens her eyes and notices that she and Jellal are alive.
"I'm alive?" She questions, looking at her hand and letting Jellal go who he stands up. He then chuckles making Erza to look at him. "Jellal?" She calls until the tattooed teen explodes out into a crazed laughter with his face thrown up and his arms hold outwards.
At the ocean
Now having the half of the smoke disappears, everyone begins to notice something.
"Crystals?" Happy wonders.
"No, it's magical crystal… Lacrima!" Gray says.
As the smoke finally clears away where the once Tower of Heaven now stood, is nothing but a spindly tower made up of the magical crystal, Lacrima. The one main trunk of Lacrima shooting upwards into the sky with a few limbs protruding irregularly from it.
"Hey, they're okay, right? Natsu, Sakura, Latias, Erza, and Simon too?" Lucy asks with concern.
Somewhere inside the lacrima-made tower, Natsu is kneeling down on the ground as Sakura stands up with Latias besides her. They groan in pain as Natsu has his right hand on his face.
"What the hell is going on?" He questions, moving his hand away.
"Don't know, but…" Sakura trails off as she looks around.
Elsewhere, Simon is lying in a pile of Lacrima. "Etherion fired… So why am I still alive?" He questions.
"HAHAHAHAHA! Finally… Finally, the time has come!" Jellal shouts with a crazed look in his eyes.
"Why you…" Erza says, now seeing that he was pretending the whole time to have accepted his fate and returned to his normal self.
"This is the true form of the Tower of Heaven! It's a giant lacrima!" He exclaims and lowers his arms. "And thanks to the attack by the Council's Etherion, it has absorbed an incredible amount of magical energy! Now the R-system is complete!"
Erza stands up with a shocked expression and Jellal turns around immediately though he turns his head back looking at Erza who now staring at him with anger.
"You tricked me?" The knight questions.
"You were really cute there, Erza." A voice that resembles a lot like Jellal's, says behind her as she turns around and gasps in shock at who she sees. Before her is the member of the Magic Council, Seigrain, the man who looks a lot like Jellal, but his twin brother. "Jellal was not able to produce his true power. He was in mortal danger, so he had no choice but to trick you."
"Seigrain!" She exclaims and the twin brother approaches the two, walking to Erza's side as she stares at him. "Why are you here?"
"Remember the first time we met, Erza?" Siegrain asks before walking over and standing beside Jellal.
"That time you came with Makarov to deliver a written letter of apology to the council, yes?" Jellal says, somehow knowing about it.
"You mistook me for Jellal and attacked me." Siegrain says. "Well, we do look identical so it's to be expected. After you heard we were twins, you were finally pacified. However, you always treated me as your enemy."
"Obviously! Instead of behaving as an older brother should, you tolerated what Jellal was doing! Or rather, you were spying on me!" Erza states.
"Yes." Jellal replies.
"That was my mistake. I should have said something like 'I will find Jellal and make him stop, no matter what.' I have finally become a member of the council, so meeting you at all what my greatest mistake." Siegrain adds.
"The lies we tell in an unplanned moment cause us the greatest pain."
"So you two really did plot this together." the scarlet knight concludes.
"Together?" Jellal questions with a straight face.
"No." Siegrain says.
"That's not it, Erza."
Siegrain closes his eyes and his entire body becomes translucent, shocking Erza who gasps in shock at what she is seeing.
"We are a single person. From the very beginning." Both Jellal and Siegrain state. Then the translucent Siegrain steps into Jellal's body, making him glow a rainbow outline around him as the two becomes one, or rather…
"No… A thought projection?" Erza says in shock.
"Yes. Siegrain is me." Jellal calmly replies.
"So you yourself fired Etherion? That's why you infiltrated the Council?"
"Did you enjoy your fleeting freedom, Erza? Everything went according to Zeref's scenario for resurrection.
Erza lifts her right clenching fist up as it shakes in anger. "You fiend… How many people have you deceived in your life?"
"Power…" Jellal says raising his right hand forward and clenching it as his body is outlined by purple magical energy. "My magical power has returned!"
Out in the ocean
"That's the R-system?" Gray questions.
"Yes, that's the true form of the R-system we built, got it?" Wally says.
"It's activating…" Millianna says.
"Activating? You mean it's resurrecting Zeref?" Lucky asks looking back at her.
"I don't know. We've never seen it operate." Sho says.
"And Natsu, Sakura, Latias, and Erza are inside of it?" The Ice Make user questions.
"Simon as well… And Jellal…" Sho adds.
Back at the tower
Erza is blasted back, hitting the ground, and rebounding back into the air father away.
"What happened to your previous strength? Did you use up too much magical power in the battle with Ikaruga?" Jellal wonders.
"Jellal!" Erza cries out full of anger as she launches herself towards Jellal with a massive broadsword in her right hand, swinging at him as the tattooed teen throws his body sideways to dodge the attack. Throwing her left arm out, Erza summons up another red magic circle from which she pulls another magic sword from swinging both of them at the blue-haired teen and then following up with a kick which he just barely manages to dodge all of them. Erza attacks again and slams both of her swords on the ground sending some debris flying after Jellal but Jellal dodges again jumping to his left.
"Right now the Council should be completely paralyzed. I must be grateful to Ultear. She did quite well. She said, 'If in heaven all are seen as one, then we need not fear even death.' For my ideal, for my dream, she said she'd gladly lay down her life. I truly must be thankful to given stupid woman." The teen says landing on a platform of lacrima.
"You fiend!" Erza yells, launching at him again and bring her swords down, only for him to jump away and cause her to destroy the platform as he then lands another platform a few feet away. "You should die from the curses of all those you've used!" She yells out as she launches herself once again at the teen when suddenly Jellal smirks and what appears to be a dark red snake tattoo appears on Erza's back from her bandages. Snaking its way up her upper back before going onto and wrapping itself around her right arm as her eyes go wide in shock upon noticing this. "What's is this?"
"Bind Snake. I put it on you when we hugged before." Jellal says as the tattoo has now coiled itself throughout her entire body and causes her to not only drop her swords but making her cry out in absolute pain as she becomes frozen in place. "I have the magical power to activate the R-system. All I need now is the human sacrifice to resurrect Zeref." He approaches towards Erza as the tattoo snake tightens its grip on her making her clench her teeth and grunts in more pain. "I have no more time to play with you, Erza. The tremendous amount of magical power this lacrima now stores, will be fused into your body. Your body will deconstruct, and then reconstructed into Zeref's." Jellal continues as he raises his right hand forward, causing a slab of lacrima to rise from the ground behind Erza. He then lightly pushes her back, making her fall into the lacrima as it seems to liquify and begins to absorb her into it making her cry out more. "I love you, Erza." He says in a cold tone.
"Damn it! Damn!" Erza cries out with her right arm forward as she continues to slowly get pulled into the lacrima.
Jellal turns and walks a few feet away before closing his eyes. "O Great Zeref… I give to you this woman's body!" He yells with his arms thrown upwards as the lacrima of the tower begins to glow, seemingly powering up as Erza gets closer and closer to becoming engulfed by the lacrima.
"Jellal! "Erza yells out, but he didn't respond. "Jellal!" She yells again as his eyes are still closed.
Just as he opens them and turns his head slightly, he sees Natsu, Sakura, and Latias appear from nowhere and pull Erza out from the lacrima. "Gotcha!" Natsu exclaims. Erza having her eyes closed with a tear coming down only her left eye, opens them upon hearing Natsu's voice as she notices she is being pulled out and away from the lacrima. "Erza is a Fairy Tail wizard. You can't have her." He says with a toothy grin as the four lands on the ground, the three sitting down as they slowly set Erza onto the ground in front of Natsu.
"Natsu…" Erza wearingly calls.
"Are you okay, Erza?" Sakura asks as Latias calling the scarlet knight's name.
"Sakura… Latias…"
"Sheesh." Natsu says looking down at her with a smile. "What are you doing? We need to get back and do some work, or the red won't get paid this month. Lucy's rent, that is."
"Sorry, I can't move." Erza says now the snake tattoo disappears from her body.
"Oh yeah?!" The pink-haired teen says for some reason surprised by this and then a mischievous sharp toothy grin appears on his face as he chuckles.
"Natsu?" Sakura asks.
And just like that, Natsu is all over Erza, tickling her at different parts of her body while hopping around with the mischievous look. "You used to work me over pretty good! So take some of this!" He exclaims as Erza can't help but laugh as the tickling seems to have a pretty good effect on her, making her close her eyes as all the anger and sadness she had gone away.
The trainer and her Pokémon seem to taken back by this but then comes to accept as they laugh happily. Eventually, Natsu stops tickling and Erza regains her composure as she looks up at them. "Natsu, Sakura, Latias, get away from here as soon as you can."
"Not a chance." The dragon slayer declines.
"We're not going to leave you here." Sakura tells her as Latias nods.
"If you can't do it, then I'll do it for you."
"Stop. Jellal's got the advantage, you three don't know enough about him." Erza says.
"So I can't win unless I do?"
A tear gets ready to fall from the scarlet-haired teen's left eye. "Please, listen to me." She says as then the tear goes down her cheek.
Sakura looks up at Natsu who remains quiet, until he stands up, picking Erza up with him.
"What are you?"
"Erza, I don't know anything about you either. But… I can win!" Natsu says before pulling his right hand back and clenching it into a fist and throwing it right into Erza's gut with enough force that almost immediately knocks her out.
"Natsu!" Sakura yells as Jellal gasps in shock at seeing this. Natsu drops Erza to the ground as she lays forward completely unconscious while her head looks to the left.
"You're even outrageous that the rumors say." The blue-haired teen says.
"Natsu, why did you do that?!" Sakura questions.
"For her own sake." He answers, looking at her with an unwavering look of determination in his eyes. "Take care of her."
Looking at him before shifting to Erza, Sakura looks back at Natsu giving him a nod.
"Had enough of hurting your friend when she can't move?" Jellal asks.
"Erza… was crying." Natsu says, clenching his right fist and engulfing it in flames. "She was giving up… And her voice was shaking… I don't want to see Erza like that. Erza should be strong and ferocious!" Fire embers begin to blow around Natsu, his eyes closed and his hair waving in the wind that picks up due to his magic powering up. "I want her to be her usual self when she wakes up from this nightmare." He opens his eyes, revealing his pupils have shrunk down with a gaze of absolute hate towards Jellal with his eyebrows furrowed and his vein popping out above his nose and teeth clench. "I will fight!"
"Interesting…" Jellal says as he raises his right hand with his palm facing upwards. "Show me the dragon wizard's power!" He bends his fingers backward as a gesture for Natsu to come to fight him.
Natsu launches himself forward as he throws a massive fire engulfed fist forward. Jellal turns sideways to dodge but then Natsu swings around and throws a fire engulfed roundhouse kick at the tattooed teen who sees to be taken back by the attack as it actually comes into contact with the side of his face and sends him flying while Natsu jumps after him. He then sends punch after punch at Jellal before sending him farther with many fire punches.
"Fire Dragon's Wing Slash! And! Talon!" Using the two moves Jellal is sent backward, hitting on the lacrima. "Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu sends more fire at him, causing an explosion, but Jellal's silhouette appears in the fire, taking his jacket off as Natsu glares at him.
"Are you being serious?" He questions as the fire die down, revealing a skin-tight black tank top and his body didn't take the damage. "Natsu Dragneel… The child of Igneel." Natsu is surprised to hear that the blue-haired teen knows his foster father's name. "I wanted to taste the destructive power of a Dragon Slayer before I destroy you, but this is nothing to fear at all."
"Say what?!" Natsu shouts as he charges towards him.
"How dare you interrupt the ceremony…" Jellal says with the same strange eye symbol in his right eye. "I will use my Heavenly Body Magic to tear you to shreds!" He then widens his eyes as they flash red and shouts, "Meteor!" His body soon covers in a golden aura of light.
Just as Natsu about to punch him, Jellal flies upwards which shocks him and Jellal comes back behind him and attacks him. Natsu looks back where Jellal came from, the blue-haired teen attacks him many times all over until Natsu collapses on the ground with a closed eye.
"Damn it! He's too fast!" Natsu mutters as he watches the teen. "I shouldn't follow him with my eyes!" Seeing Jellal moving sideways, Natsu races after him. "Smell, sound, feel…" He then closes his eyes as he runs. "Predict his movements… Concentrate… Concentrate!" Trying to sense where the teen attack next, he quickly opens his eyes and spins around with an ignited fist. "There!" However, at the impact, Jellal immediately evades causing Natsu to be shocked.
"He's even faster?" Natsu thought and Jellal appears behind him as the dragon slayer looks back.
"Your attacks will never hit me again!" Jellal declares and sends a speedy barrage of punches to the pink-haired dragon slayer who finds himself unable to do anything as he is continuously punched over and over again all over his body making him cry out in. Jellal's final punch sends Natsu blasting back down to the ground. "This is the end. I will show you true destructive magic." Flying upwards, above Natsu, Jellal puts his hands together. His right hand on top of the palm of his left and as he holds his index and middle finger up on his right hand. "Be judged under the seven stars! Seven Star Blades!" Behind him, seven yellow magic circles appear and forms into big dipper constellation. "Grand Chariot!" Then electricity surges from one to another connecting the magic circles. Each of the magic circles then fires down individually towards Natsu, impacting into the ground and creating the same patter before all of a sudden they explode, sending the pink-haired teen to fly up into the air as he comes right back down hard.
"Natsu!" Sakura shouts out holding Erza in her arms.
Lacrima debris falls all over the place from the attack as the smoke clears and Jellal lands back on the ground while Natsu is on the ground facing down as he is unable to move from Jellal's attack.
"That's a spell that destroys with the power of falling meteors. I'm impressed your bodies are still intact. Perhaps I went a bit overboard. It would be dangerous to damage the R-system any further. The magical power is starting to leak out." Jellal says as he looks at all the destruction caused by the fighting. Then he looks over at the still knocked out Erza causing Sakura gasps. "I must hurry. Isn't that right, Erza?" He sarcastically questions as he begins walking over to her.
"Don't come any further!" Sakura shouts as she hugs Erza protectively and Latias gets in front of her trainer. However, Jellal continues to approach them when Sakura closes her eyes.
Just then, sensing something coming behind him quickly, Jellal immediately turns around to find that a blue ball of energy hits directly at his gut, sending him backward, passing Sakura and hits on one of the lacrima crystals. Opening her eyes, she sees that Jellal is no longer in front of them and turns her head to find that the tattooed teen is behind them.
"What was that just now…?" He questions and notices something above him and looks up and Sakura also looks up before widens her eyes in awe.
"Th-That's!" She says as she and Jellal sees a pink, bipedal creature with mammalian features. Its snout is short and wide, and it has triangular ears and large, blue eyes. It has short arms with three-fingered paws, large hind legs, and feet with oval markings on the soles, and a long, thin tail ending in an ovoid tip. "Mew!"