Façade | Jerza

21 | Fortune Tells

The entire creation of Nirvana had been crumbled into the nothingness it once was as Jellal searched for Erza's crystallized arm.

As he scoured the area, he found Zero's body underneath the pile of rubble, and finding that Brain was nowhere to be found, his alter-ego must have become unresponsive after his defeat, returning to his original body.

It also meant that Erza's arm was nearby since the fight had occurred here earlier. If what she claimed was true, then south of Zero would be the tunnel she remained in during the fight.

And with luck, he found it beneath a rock, unharmed thanks to the layers created by the Ice Mage. There was some physical denting of the ice, but that wouldn't be a problem so long as they returned with it to Porlyusica.

He had not expected Zero to dematerialize right before his eyes before noticing there was something wrong with the area. Everything had been untouched, yet the stillness of the air gave off an unfamiliar wave of magic energy. He looked up and found a hole forming in the sky, absorbing the ethernano.

As quickly as it came, the hole disappeared with a power of a staff dispelling the hole.

It was the work of an all too familiar mage.

"Mystogan," Jellal mouthed, finding the said mage to approach him hastily, concerned about the effects of Anima.

The S-Class wizard did not waste a minute in speaking to him. "Jellal, Magnolia is in trouble and I need your help to stop it." Mystogan quickly rushed out, removing his mask to reveal an identical face to the Wizard Saint.

"You have left me with a lot of questions since our last unexpected encounter. First, I want to know who you really are."

Level-headed, Mystogan responded in kind, "I apologize for not offering an explanation before. But I suppose now is the right time to do so, since we are in the midst of Anima."

"Anima?" Jellal repeated.

"Yes, that hole in the sky is a creation made by the King of Edolas, Faust. He is also, I'm ashamed to say, my father. Edolas is a world parallel to Earth Land. I was able to come here through his creation, working against his goal to obtain magic energy."

"Judging by what I saw, he uses this spell to absorb ethernano and transfer it back to Edolas. But how would magic energy appear in this parallel world?"

Mystogan shook his head, "He doesn't necessarily use the ethernano, since it acts as a catalyst for Anima due to its potent attraction towards magic energy. Faust gains magic in the form of mages. And since Magnolia houses our guildhall, it's likely he will target the town next."

Knowing that Mystogan had been a loyal member of Fairy Tail and granted S-Class by Makarov, Jellal had no reason to doubt him. Nor did he think being prince of another world had been farfetched. "I'm assuming because of the recent battle with the Seis, there were massive traces  of magic energy here, which is why he was after Worth Woodsea."

"That's correct," Mystogan said. "I ask that you buy some time in Edolas while I try to dispel the remaining traces of Anima in Earth Land. Would you be able to do that?"

Jellal gave Erza's arm a long stare before conceding. "I will. You've been saving countless lives since you've come here. For that, I owe you a great deal of credit. But first, I need to hand this back to Erza."

Mystogan promptly held his arm out, "I can do that for you."

Trusting his words, Jellal handed the arm over. "Appreciated. I think the best way to hold off Faust's plans is to interrupt the kingdom's reign with the unexpected return of the Prince of Edolas."