"As always...you are there to protect him, Erza Scarlet", the man growled as the tip of his katana hung a hair's breadth from the Requip mage's neck.
Erza shivered under the sheer authority of the man - the same man who would become her husband...eventually.
She could feel their magic from miles away, and how the strength waned over time.
The man standing in front was nothing but a shell of the man in his prime, and one that had been drained almost completely off his wide magic pool.
Erza still had a considerable amount of strength in her but shivered at the thought of fighting against him.
Steeling her nerves, she stared at the man defiantly.
"You cannot kill me. Do you think I cannot feel your hand trembling? The tip of your weapon is dancing against the skin of my neck like a five-year-old on a sugar rush.
If you wanted to kill me, the Jellal I know would not hesitate. As long as I am alive, I will not let you lay your hand on my man", she growled as she backed up protectively against her boyfriend.
Jellal was close to passing out and mumbled incoherently under his breath.
"Do not make me do this, Erza. He is the one who ruins your life! I...I know this firsthand"
The man's hand began to tremble in a discernible manner before he backed up and bellowed at the sky.
Erza did not hear their entire conversation but knew enough that Jellal was being hunted by his older form due to her.
"If you know that, then would your Erza appreciate what you are doing right now?"
She decided to strike him where it hurt the most. She expected him to lose his temper for daring to raise his partner's name.
"I cannot kill you, Erza", he sighed. Erza waited patiently and did not move a muscle. Jellal was, after all, the most brutal combination of brawn and brains, and the man did not hesitate to use either of them.
The man in front of her looked far, far more seasoned than the two of them combined. Even the simplest of movements could turn the tide against her, and that very moment he opened his eyes as he pulled out another katana.
"But I will not hesitate to knock you out. You can hate me all you want. I will accept it - but a life without Jellal is the left you deserve. There are things you don't need to know, Erza.
Think of him as a bad memory and move on with your life. There are dozens of men out there who deserve you and -"
"EVEN AFTER ALL THESE YEARS..."
She had had enough of him. How much did the man really loathe himself? Even though he had so many people who loved him, so many who respected him, why was he hurting himself again and again and again?
What else did he need to love himself? Who else was perfect to tell him why he was not the scum of Earth than the woman who was head over heels for him?
Erza turned back to place a soft kiss on Jellal's eyebrow and stroked his cheek. The latter managed to put up a weak smile and tried his best to stop her, knowing well what she was about to do.
Erza requipped into her Heaven's Wheel Armour and pointed her swords towards the older Jellal.
"I have my own pride. Come!"
The older Jellal sighed and charged at Erza. After that fight, she gauged his strength to be less than a quarter of his true strength.
He pulled out two katanas and charged towards her. Erza might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but she did have some pride in her mental capacity, and she was not foolish enough to charge at the man head-on.
She soared into the air, putting some distance between them, and with the older Jellal being drained of magic, it was a safe gamble to do so.
Summoning a battlefield worthy of swords into the air, Erza hurled them at the man. She had the higher ground, she had the advantage, and she did not have to fear about her life or losing any limbs because of her opponent, but the fear in her heart never dropped as she saw the man weave seamlessly through the onslaught, and not avoiding her eyes even for a split second.
The moment she dared to step up and fight against him, she felt similar to a deer standing in front of a hungry tiger. As strong as she was, the difference in experience was visible as bright as day to her. It was evident that she could not win against him even in his weakened state.
But Erza could force a draw, and with the last bit of her strength, she could drag Jellal away from the place.
Betting everything on that thought she soared back into the air, summoning another avalanche of swords.
Her magic was bleeding out with the excessive usage, and she felt the cold air sting the small cuts on her body that were remnants of the clash with the older man.
Praying for a different result, she flung all of the swords against him and surged towards Jellal, hoping to grab the man and leave the place before he could follow her.
As she turned towards Jellal, she felt cold sweat run down her neck and instinctively turned towards the source.
Her eyes shot up as she saw a massive black hand. Before she could react, it grabbed her and cast her into the ground near the man, who was already waiting for her to slash her down.
Steeling her nerves, Erza pulled her swords up in front of her in a protective stance and took the wide swing directly.
It was similar to facing the weight of an entire stampede head-on, and Erza grunted out as she felt him overpower her.
With a heave, the man broke her guard, slashing her right arm's armour open, and Erza mewled in pain, as the sword managed to tear through the upper layer of her skin.
"One day, you might understand. For the pain I am going to cause, I will take all of the hatred from you. Hate me to your heart's content, Erza"
Shielding her arm, Erza rushed towards Jellal and could feel her strength wane with each step. It was as if a parasite had taken over her body and was seeping her blood and magic.
With the last bit of her magic, she hurled herself forward, and kneeled in front of Jellal, spreading her arms.
The older man closed his eyes for a moment and opened his mouth for what Erza assumed to be yet another sob story on why she should hate him.
"Is Midnight dead?", he asked her and with a crestfallen face, Erza nodded.
"I know that you didn't kill him", he cut her off as soon as she opened her mouth.
Midnight had already taken a significant amount of damage from his various scuffles with Jellal and all she did was akin to beating up a lifeless snake.
"The poor man had already lost his bearings. He could not differentiate between friend and foe. Curse her...for tearing apart the life of another good man. Did he suffer?"
The older Jellal waited with bated breath for Erza's response, and the woman shook her head.
"The magic overtook his senses and stopped his heart. He didn't suffer. But the moment he died, his body vanished before I could do anything.
Why are you here? What do you w-"
Erza grunted in pain, cutting off her own question as blood began to pour out of her wound and onto the ground while coating the remnants of her already broken armour with her cruor.
The armour guarding her wounded arm shattered and fell apart in pieces, and the man's eyes widened.
He screamed out in horror and dropped to his knees as he punched the ground with diabolical strength repeatedly.
Blood and flesh sprayed into the air and a part of Erza was almost worried for the man. She could say with confidence that he had positively lost his sanity.
After what appeared to be a whirlwind of emotions, he calmed down and sat on the ground, with lifeless eyes and a hollow smile.
"Looks like I was too late. Killing Jellal will go against the reason I fought him. You don't have to worry about me anymore, Erza. Take him someplace safe"
The man got up with a mild limp and Erza got up, burning with fury. What was the point of him coming here? What would have happened if she had not arrived on time? Questions began to queue up inside her head, each one waiting for her tongue to fire them out.
"Heed my advice, Erza. Leave him. All he-"
"SHUT...UP! DO YOU REALLY THINK I WILL JUST AGREE WITH YOU? WHO DO YOU TAKE ME FOR? WHAT DO YOU KNOW -"
"I KNOW MUCH MORE THAN YOU DO!"
Erza visibly flinched and lined up protectively against Jellal as she saw the expression on the man's face.
But it did not last long. In a few seconds, the man sighed and pursed his lips.
"Then help me", a third voice replied groggily. Erza turned back to see Jellal getting up.
She hovered around him in a mixture of fear and concern and the man grabbed her waist with newfound strength.
He pulled her into embrace and chuckled near her ear, as Erza nuzzled her nose against his neck.
"You've done so much, love. Leave the rest to me", he whispered and kissed the side of her head. Erza bit her lip and buried her fingernails into his pectorals as the pain began to take its toll on her.
Jellal turned towards his older form who was staring at his own hands in disappointment.
"Help me stop the deaths of everyone I love. I don't know if you can be there in person, but at least let me know what causes it, or who causes it. If I know that, maybe I can live the life you wanted to...want to. Maybe I can give Erza the life you wanted to give your Erza"
The man looked at him in pity before getting up.
"Do you think I haven't thought of that? Unless you find a way to erase your existence, there is no way of escaping. She will find you, no matter what you do.
No matter how strong you become, you cannot bother to inconvenience her. That is how strong she is"
Jellal recalled the man talking about their mother. Why was she out for his blood? What kind of mother hunts down her own children and makes them suffer relentlessly?
But his mind went back to the moment he screamed. It was the moment Erza's arm was exposed.
"Why did you stop? You could have clearly knocked Erza out, and I was...well, I still am in no state to fight. You changed your mind the moment you gazed upon the markings on Erza's arm", he sighed as he caught Erza's forearm and tried to understand the pattern of the marking.
"Am I hurting you?", he whispered into her ear. Erza's face flushed as her mind travelled back to the bathhouse. What if Levy was right? After all, she did say it was an old tribe that had the power to do it, so at the end of the day, the markings on her arm could have been a complete coincidence, but what if she was right?
The duo's attention spanned back towards the man when he ran his hand through his hair.
"It means you have marked Erza as your mate. Once you have marked her, it can no longer be removed from her.
It is not something good for her. It is a burden. Each time you get hurt, the pain is reflected in her. She can sense the moment when you are in pain, and if you die...so does she.
It was unconsciously done, but this is what means to have marked her. But on the other hand, we can only mark someone if the bonds carried go beyond simple physical and emotional affection. It is a sign that she is no longer someone you can split paths with. That is how much she matters to you, and that is how much you treasure her"
Erza's face shamelessly heated up with the man's explanation and she nuzzled Jellal in a mixture of embarrassment and affection.
Jellal understood why he could no longer kill him. If Jellal died, Erza would follow suit. The only other option was to stay away from her, and knowing how possessive Erza could be, this option was a no-show.
The older man understood this the moment he noticed the mark and gave up.
But the question still lingered in Jellal's mind - why?
Why was his mother out for his blood? Was it sustenance? Or was he a chip off the old block and his mother was doing all of this for a bigger reason? It made minimal sense, but it was probably something he would do for Erza - even if it meant being hated by the entire world.
"Why does she want to kill me?", he finally asked the older man.
"Not just you, Jellal. She will kill Erza, your children, and your grandchildren"
Shivers ran down Erza's spine as she clutched onto Jellal protectively with her left arm.
"Why?"
Only a single word was able to roll out of her tongue as she turned towards the older man who looked at them pitifully.
"For sport. She hunts you just because she can"