Fairy Tail: The Eternal Key

CH 23: HEAVEN'S GAME

"In order to wipe the Tower of Heaven from this world, to prevent Jellal from activating the R-system, right now, aside from firing the Etherion from Satellite Square, we have no other options!"

The argument was still heated inside of Era where the Magic Council had convened. Siegrain had not given up on convincing the others to launch Etherion, but the majority of the council members were standing against him.

Ultear looked over the faces of her fellow councilmembers. Unlike Siegrain, she didn't sound as desperate and appeared much calmer, but she hadn't stopped pushing for the launch of Etherion since the beginning either. "The R-system has been forbidden magic since ancient times. You do understand what this means, right, everyone?"

"An attack from Etherion will return everything to nothingness. That includes any innocents there!" argued one of the councilmen, followed by Michello, a short man who had cat ears and a tail, "And your youngest twin brother, Jellal, will disappear as well, you know? Are you sure about that?"

Siegrain lowered his head momentarily then raised it again. He directed his gaze at the others, never flinching. "I've come to terms with that."

Leiji, a hooded man with sunglasses, had already agreed to use Etherion to end the Tower of Heaven. Since he was on Siegrain's side, giving him a third vote, he argued against the points the others made. "All of us came this far due to the sacrifices of others. That is the Magic World of today."

"Elder Leiji! It will go down in history that our country committed the crime of attacking the Land of Ka Elm without provocation!" shouted Org.

But at such a critical time, Belno interjected, "That means we'll have to sacrifice ourselves as well."

"Elder Belno!" She hadn't said it directly, but Org knew what she meant by those words, and so did the other elders. "The dead cannot return to life! When it comes time to teach the children how precious life is, that is what we must say!"

"We must put an end to this. I concur with firing Etherion." Belno didn't continue arguing and rose her right hand, becoming Siegrain's fourth vote.

Siegrain narrowed his eyes, sweat dripping down his temple, "Only one more..."

"Only one more, I see." Jellal lifted his head, showing that face that was just like Siegrain's but at the same time so different. The two had completely different auras.

Jellal leaned his head against his right fist, propping his arm on the armrest of his throne. He hadn't moved from there, nor were there any magic circles or items around him. And yet, he somehow knew exactly what was happening inside the locked chamber where the Magic Council was meeting.

The strangest thing of all, he didn't seem to have any intention of stopping it. Instead, he seemed to be enjoying the current state of events quite a bit.

"One more and then it is game over. Hehehe."

The Fairies had no idea of the incoming danger. They thought that Jellal and his people were the only opponents they would have to deal with, not knowing that a destructively powerful weapon could fall upon them at any second.

Erza had finished telling her comrades her story. There was so much to process that they didn't know where to begin. Erza's past was something they could never imagine.

Gray took a step forward, still in shock, "Hold on, Erza. That Zeref that you mentioned..."

"Aa, you should know about Zeref, too." Erza wiped away the tears that had formed in her left eye. The name Zeref was something they had been hearing a lot in the last few weeks.