Juvia seamlessly joined the fun group without any hesitation, her presence accepted surprisingly quickly.
Even Natsu didn't mind Juvia's sudden appearance at all; in Natsu's simple worldview, what's past is past, and if she was a friend now, that was all that mattered.
...
Later that night, when Kagura returned to her hotel room which she shared with Erza, she immediately noticed something unusual.
The single strand of hair she had placed in the door crack was gone.
She had clearly hung the "Do Not Disturb" sign, and it was a newly booked room, so there was no reason for the housekeeping staff to come inside to clean it.
Whenever she went out, Kagura was always cautious due to her past trauma.
She would place a strand of hair tightly in the door crack, positioned so it couldn't be blown away by the wind or air conditioning.
If anyone opened the door, the hair would fall, alerting her that the room had been compromised.
"What's wrong, Kagura?" Erza asked, noticing the strange, tense expression on Kagura's face.
"Someone must have entered the room," Kagura whispered.
Kagura unfastened the long blade, Archenemy, from her waist and prepared for a fight.
"Requip!" Erza immediately summoned a crimson sword to her hand, her expression turn serious.
Erza and Kagura stood on either side of the door, exchanged a knowing glance, and nodded in unison.
After swiping the key card, Kagura kicked the door open violently to catch any intruders off guard.
However, the room was empty.
Erza shook her head after scanning the area.
"No one's here."
The two carefully searched the entire room, checking the bathroom, the closet, and under the beds.
Only then did Kagura notice a plain envelope resting on the bedside table next to her pillow.
"Nothing seems to be missing, but there's an envelope here," Kagura said, picking it up warily.
"Open it," Erza instructed.
Kagura tore open the seal and pulled out a letter and a photograph.
Her eyes widened as she read the contents.
"Simon is in our hands. If you want to save him, come to this location alone."
At the end of the letter, instructions on how to reach a remote island were provided, along with a photo of Simon.
The photo showed more than just Simon. He and several others were bound and wearing Magical power limiters on their hands and feet.
Erza and Kagura had seen these people before.
They didn't remember their names clearly, but one named Sho stood out because his name was easier to remember.
They were friends who had traveled with Simon.
"I have to save Simon!" Kagura clenched the letter tightly, crumpling the paper in her trembling fist.
"Let's find Raizel first," Erza said, holding Kagura's arm firmly to urge her to calm down, sensing the rage building in the younger girl.
Erza was also deeply worried about Simon's safety, but she knew that the more critical the situation, the more important it was to stay calm and formulate a plan.
The two had returned to the room just to retrieve the gifts they had bought earlier.
The resort area wasn't far from their hometown, Rosemary Village.
They had originally planned to visit the villagers tonight to pay their respects, but this shocking news felt like a bucket of cold water poured over them, chilling them to the bone.
...
At the same time, an unknown team of Mages launched a sudden attack on the Akane Resort.
BOOM— BOOM—
The sound of explosions and crumbling masonry reached Natsu's ears.
"What's going on... Why is it so noisy outside?"
Gray, Raizel, Natsu, and Happy were relaxing in the open-air bath, towels folded on their heads, leaning comfortably against the stone edge.
Natsu, with his sharp Dragon Slayer hearing, picked up the rumbling sounds from outside clearly.
"Who cares? Maybe they're setting off fireworks..." Gray, soaking in the hot water, seemed completely detached from the world, too relaxed to move.
"Makes sense," Raizel gave Gray a thumbs-up, sinking lower into the water.
"Aye!" Happy agreed, floating on a small wooden basin.
The attackers seemed to be there just to make their presence known or perhaps to distract security.
After causing some chaos and destroying a few facilities, they left as quickly as they appeared, and even the resort's private military couldn't track them down.
"The noise is gone, that's good..." Natsu yawned.
"RAIZEL!!!"
"ULTEAR!!!"
Erza and Kagura's frantic shouts echoed through the bathhouse, calling both names.
"???"
The three people and one cat straightened up instantly, the relaxation vanishing as everyone heard the urgency in their voices.
...
ERA.
The Council members were currently holding an emergency meeting.
This meeting had been urgently convened by Chairman Crawford Seam, who had received critical information from the newly appointed council member, Siegrain.
Since the investigation team had obtained concrete evidence via satellite Lacrima, they had to take immediate action.
"'That' still remains? How is that possible!" Council Member Michello shouted.
"About ten years ago, the R-System was constructed with massive funding by a magic cult that worshipped black magic," Yajima stated firmly. "Seven towers—they should have all been destroyed by the Council's forces. Raizel from Fairy Tail was the first to destroy one personally."
An image appeared among the council members, projected in the center of the room, showing a colossal, unfinished tower structure known as the R-System.
Council Member Belno nodded solemnly. "That's the one. For some reason, it has been rebuilt without anyone noticing, right off the coast of Carum."
Council Member Org looked at the image in surprise.
"This shape... could it already be completed?"
Belno shook her head. "The investigation team members went missing immediately after transmitting this footage. It is likely they were eliminated."
"Why is the R-System appearing now of all times..."
Siegrain, a young man with blue hair and a white coat, spoke calmly from his seat.
"'Tower of Heaven'—it's not just the R-System, but they call it the 'Tower of Heaven,' right?"
Org panicked slightly at the name. "What it's called doesn't matter! That's forbidden magic capable of reviving the dead! Just knowing of its existence can cause serious chaos in the magical world!"
"Immediately prepare to dispatch troops," Crawford ordered. "We need to suppress it as soon as possible."
"However," Siegrain interrupted smoothly, "regarding last night's incident at Akane Beach near the border—according to rescued witnesses, it seems the magic cult isn't the one occupying the R-System anymore."
"Then who is it?"
"That man apparently calls himself Jellal."
"Jellal..."
The council members had all heard this name before.
Org turned to Siegrain. "He's your twin brother, isn't he, Siegrain?"
Siegrain nodded with a pained expression. "Yes, about this matter... I know I must take responsibility."
...
Back at the Resort—
The group gathered quickly following Erza and Kagura's voices.
As soon as Kagura saw Raizel, she showed him the letter and the photos of Simon.
"That's the situation," Erza explained rapidly. "And we discovered that someone just attacked Akane Beach and the theme park outside to cause a distraction, but they withdrew quickly."
Natsu became excited upon hearing about the attack. "You see! I told you something was happening just now!!!"
Raizel had Gray restrain the excited Natsu.
"Don't worry about what's outside for now. With something this big happening, the Council's army will definitely mobilize."
Raizel took the letter and looked at the coordinates, scratching his head in confusion. "This direction... could it be the Tower of Heaven? But I destroyed it, didn't I?"
The unnamed island address described in the letter, being so close to the Carum coast, strongly resembled the location of the tower he had decimated years ago.
Ultear was puzzled by Raizel's words and pressed for details.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Ten years ago, when we camped in Rosemary Village, I might have visited this island," Raizel explained, his eyes darkening.
"If it's the same one I went to, that's where I rescued Grandpa Rob."
"I'm not entirely certain, though. It's been so long, and the ship was on autopilot back then when we escaped. I can only say it's possible."
Erza and Kagura exchanged glances, realizing the connection immediately.
"The Dark Magic Cult that attacked the village!"
Raizel nodded and replied, "Yes, it was indeed them ten years ago, but whether it's still them now is hard to say. A decade ago, the major Guilds collaborated with the Council and had already purged most of the Cult members."
Raizel placed a hand on Kagura's shoulder to comfort her, noting her breathing had grown rapid with panic.
"Don't worry, Simon should be safe. After all, they sent this letter because they need him to lure you there."
"There's no time to waste," Kagura said, gripping her sword. "Let's set out now!"