Thunder and darkness collided.
The impact tore the sky apart. The explosion raced outward in a blinding wave, splitting the crystal tower into shattered segments. The island beneath it disintegrated chunk by chunk, stone and soil erased by the clash of opposing forces.
Rowan had anticipated this.
Before the spells met, he sent a warning through their mental link. Hugh reacted instantly, activating his card-based space magic and pulling the injured into safety. Juvia, still in fighting shape, seized Hugh and dove deep into the sea, escaping the worst of the backlash.
When the light finally faded, Rowan stood alone amid drifting debris, panting as he leaned on his wand and cast healing magic on himself.
"That was close," he muttered. "A little less durability and I'd be done."
Below him, the island that had once been larger than a town was now no bigger than a football field.
Jellal lay at its center.
Burned. Broken. Unconscious.
Rowan glanced at the wreckage around him and winced.
"My crystal…"
The vast majority of the magic crystal had been pulverized by the shockwave. Less than a fragment remained.
He sighed, then forced a smile. "Better than nothing."
He gathered what was left and sealed it away. It would last him a couple of years if he used it carefully. After that, he'd find another solution.
"Rowan!"
Voices broke the silence as Erza and the others surfaced from the sea. When they saw Rowan standing unharmed and Jellal collapsed on the ground, the tension finally drained from their faces.
They climbed onto the island. Erza summoned a fresh sword and stepped toward Jellal, her grip tight.
"This ends today," she said quietly. "Eight years of running. Eight years of pain."
For a long time, she had hoped to save him. To pull the gentle boy she once knew back from the darkness. But after hearing his words, after seeing how far he had fallen, she understood the truth.
Some paths only ended one way.
Rowan stepped between them.
"Wait."
Erza froze, staring at him in disbelief.
"Something doesn't add up," Rowan said calmly. "Not the way his mind broke. Not that fast."
He turned to Jellal, studying him closely. "People don't change overnight. Not like that. Not without help."
He knelt and pressed a paw to Jellal's head.
"Legilimency."
Psychic force followed instantly, bypassing the usual need for eye contact. Rowan pushed past surface thoughts and memories, deeper into the mind.
He found it almost immediately.
A foreign presence. Subtle. Persistent.
"There you are," Rowan said softly.
With a surge of will, he tore the intruding consciousness free. The presence twisted, reshaping itself within Jellal's mindscape.
Rowan recognized her at once.
"Ultear."
The woman regarded him coolly. "I didn't expect the plan to fail because of you."
She knew she couldn't win. This fragment of her mind was no match for Rowan's psychic strength. With a faint, bitter smile, she dissolved herself and vanished.
Rowan withdrew his hand.
"He was controlled," he said, turning to the others. "By a mage from the Council. Her name is Ultear."
The words hit hard.
Erza and Simon stared at Jellal, anger draining from their expressions and leaving only sorrow. The boy they remembered had never truly disappeared. He had been used.
Natsu scratched his head. "So… he wasn't lying?"
"No," Rowan said. "Just trapped."
He cast a stabilizing healing spell over Jellal to keep him alive.
As he worked, his thoughts drifted ahead.
If Jellal could recover… if he and the others chose a different path… they could be powerful allies. And Rowan had long-term plans. Big ones.
If he was going to lead Fairy Tail someday, then strength mattered. Unity mattered. The stronger the guild became, the more the world would open to him.
And maybe, just maybe, this disaster could still become an opportunity.
...
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