"Wait a moment," Ultear interrupted, her voice sharp. "Our large group is too conspicuous."
Ultear glanced at the team crowded in the room; there were simply too many people, and if they approached en masse, the enemy might panic and harm the hostages.
After pondering for a while, Ultear continued, "The letter only requests Kagura and Erza to go, so if I join them too, it might violate their conditions."
"I want to save Simon too!" Natsu, agitated and unable to contain his frustration, punched the wall.
Erza shook her head and said firmly, "No, that would still be risky, so it's better if only Kagura and I go to secure his safety first."
Lucy looked at Erza and Kagura with deep concern.
"Won't that be too dangerous?"
They still knew nothing about the situation on the island, and even though Erza and Kagura were S-Class level strong, heading to the enemy's stronghold so recklessly was truly perilous.
"I must go," Kagura said.
"Me too," Erza added, her voice unwavering. "Simon is my friend, and I can't stand by and watch him die."
Kagura and Erza spoke with determination, their voices firm and resolute.
Ultear sighed and nodded helplessly. "Simon is in their hands now, so we have no choice but to play by their rules for the moment."
Raizel made the final decision. "Alright, then it's settled. You two go, and take the Guild's signal flares with you. If there's any danger, send a signal immediately."
He turned to the Dragon Slayer. "Natsu, don't even think about following them. Happy, Lucy, keep an eye on him."
Raizel watched sternly as Natsu tried to sneakily trail behind the two women as they left.
Erza and Kagura immediately found a small boat at the docks and set off in the direction indicated in the letter.
...
Inside the Tower of Heaven.
A Mage with long, straight black hair emerged from a magic circle and bowed deeply to the blue-haired man seated before him on the throne.
"Lord Jellal, we've received word that Kagura and Erza are already on their way here, and they are alone as requested."
The man was Jellal Fernandes.
"But... I still don't quite understand why we let the others stay behind..." Vidaldus muttered.
"Hahaha! Mere peace is not enough—this world is too dull," Jellal laughed maniacally. "Now that the Tower of Heaven is complete, the time is ripe. The R-System requires sacrifices, and they will be excellent choices..."
...
After parting ways with Erza and Kagura, Raizel and the others did not move but stayed quietly at the hotel.
"Raizel! Why are we staying here?! Simon is in danger!!!"
Natsu clamored noisily around the room, shouting at the top of his lungs.
He too wanted to save Simon, for even though Simon hadn't been around the Guild much in recent years, he was still a member of Fairy Tail.
Raizel had no intention of stopping him; in fact, he seemed pleased to see his loud reaction.
After letting Natsu vent for a while to ensure any eavesdroppers heard it, Raizel finally offered an explanation.
Raizel and Ultear gathered everyone into a tight circle away from the windows and spoke in hushed tones.
"If the other side could find Kagura and Erza's room right after we left, it means they have people watching us right now," Raizel whispered. "Our earlier discussion about whether to go together to save Simon was just an act for those observers."
"Of course we will save Simon, and we will take action—but not right now," Ultear added softly.
Raizel and Ultear took turns explaining the situation to the confused group.
After hearing the explanation, Natsu finally accepted this reasoning, though he still looked restless.
"Natsu, keep making a scene," Raizel instructed in a low voice. "Gray, go argue with him and move closer to the door."
Gray pointed at his own nose with a puzzled expression.
"Huh? Why me?"
Everyone answered in unison, "Do we even need to ask?"
'Of course it's because you two argue every single day...'
Understanding the assignment, Gray grabbed Natsu.
"Let me go! I need to save Simon, you pervert!" Natsu shouted, winking clumsily.
"What did you say?!!" Gray roared back.
Then the two began arguing with genuine emotion, crashing into furniture and making enough noise to convince anyone listening outside.
Ultear rubbed her chin thoughtfully as the boys fought. "But I'm still somewhat confused. Why would they go through the extra trouble of attacking Akane Beach? Isn't that just forcing the Council to deploy troops and creating more enemies for themselves?"
"Kagura and Erza are almost there, so I'll be able to confirm soon," Raizel said.
Raizel used Archive Magic to check Erza and Kagura's current location, creating a holographic screen and zooming in on the frame.
If this really was the Tower of Heaven, it was most likely a distraction to cause panic within the Council while they initiated the final phase.
...
"This dangerous feeling... what is it?" Erza sensed an ominous aura in the air that made her somewhat nauseous.
"I can feel it too," Kagura gripped her sword. "It's disgusting, but I don't know what it is."
"Look! The birds..." Erza's pupils suddenly contracted as she watched seagulls that had been flying perfectly fine over the sea suddenly drop dead and plunge into the ocean for no apparent reason.
"What's going on here?"
"Even the fish are affected."
Their small boat hit some obstacle while moving, and when they stood up to check, they discovered the water around their boat was filled with floating fish corpses, along with many broken wooden planks, sails, and what appeared to be fresh ship wreckage.
"Look at the flag! This wreckage... seems to be a Fiore Kingdom military warship," Erza said, spotting a tattered flag draped over a wooden plank.
"We're here. Look over there," Kagura patted Erza's shoulder.
"This is the 'Tower of Heaven'..." Erza whispered as she followed Kagura's pointing finger.
The sea around the Tower of Heaven was covered with thick, heavy dark clouds, the air seemed to have solidified, and the entire sky appeared ready to collapse.
Visibility around the Tower was very low, with only a few beams of sunlight breaking through gaps in the dark clouds to illuminate the structure.
Using this faint light, Erza and Kagura finally got a clear view of the R-System, which bore remarkable similarities to Tenrou Island.
Just like the great Tenrou Tree that occupied a large area of the guild's holy ground, a massive, cloud-piercing conical crystal structure rose from the center of a solitary island, reaching toward the heavens.
...
Meanwhile, everyone at the hotel also saw this so-called "Tower of Heaven" through Raizel's Archive screen.
"It's really completed... the 'Tower of Heaven'..."
"So this is the 'Tower of Heaven'? Just watching it through magic gives me an ominous feeling..." Lucy frowned deeply as she looked at the image of the crystal tower.
Wendy nodded in agreement, clutching her arms. "Yes, it does look quite uncomfortable."
Raizel hadn't been certain before, but now it was confirmed—the Tower of Heaven had been rebuilt, and recently, within the past few years.
This shouldn't have been possible in theory, as the Magic Council should have been monitoring such massive magical construction.
Raizel was truly puzzled now, thinking to himself.
'Jellal... if he was in charge, it would be possible, since he'd be monitoring himself?'
'So it's highly likely it was built secretly, concealed from the Council members.'
Of course, Raizel was merely speculating, but if they were hiding it, surely the Council members wouldn't fail to notice such a thing during their meetings unless someone on the inside was blinding them.
A few of the Council members had quite good memories and were rather skilled at grasping key points.
If Siegrain had truly built this here while concealing it from the Council members, then this werewolf in sheep's clothing would most likely be discovered by them eventually—unless his plan was already in its final stage.
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