Fairy Tail: You call this Celestial Magic?!

Chapter 266 Avoiding the Problem Won't Solve It (Please Subscribe!)
"No, no"

Faced with Moen's question, Erza hesitated and shook her head.

She didn't want to go, or rather, she was afraid to go. She didn't know how to face it. The child was Simon's sister, and Simon was still in the "Tower of Paradise," his fate unknown.

"Okay, then I won't go."

Moen nodded, respecting Erza's opinion.

Although Moen was curious and wanted to explore Erza's past, he still had to respect Erza's personal wishes.

"What's wrong, Erza?"

Makarov, who had just finished showing off with his old buddies, came over and saw Erza, who seemed a bit off, and asked her with concern.

"No, it's nothing, I'm fine."

Erza quickly shook her head, trying to return to normal.

Seeing Kagura Mikazuchi brought back all the memories Erza had buried deep in her heart. Those memories were so vivid that no matter how hard she tried, she could not forget them in the slightest. The years she had lived in Fairy Tail were like an unreal dream.

"Erza."

Just as Erza was feeling lost, Moen's voice rang out.

She looked up and gazed at her peer, who was as warm and sunny as the sun.

"Don't worry, no matter what happens, I'm here, Fairy Tail is here, you're no longer alone."

Moen spoke slowly, offering Erza his support. He didn't want to see Erza revert to her withdrawn self as she had been when she first arrived.

Looking at Moen, Erza was completely stunned. She stared blankly at Moen, and the time she spent living in Fairy Tail gradually became clearer, suppressing the surging memories.

"Ok!"

Seeing Moen's smiling face, Erza nodded emphatically.

"There's nothing to be afraid of. Don't forget, we are Fairy Tail."

Moen reached out and ruffled Erza's red hair. These words might seem a bit cheesy at times, but they were truly inspiring at crucial moments. For every member of their guild, "Fairy Tail" was the greatest source of confidence.

"That's right, nobody can bully Fairy Tail!"

Makarov chimed in, saying that he meant it. If anyone in the guild was wronged, the old man would definitely go to their door; he was fiercely protective of his own.

As he spoke, Grandpa Makarov also gave Moen a look, asking Erza what exactly happened.

'How did things suddenly turn out like this?'
'I don't know either.'
Moen shook his head, indicating that he didn't know what was going on either.

"Let's go back first."

Moen spoke up, wanting to ask about the "Tower of Paradise," since the system's claims were quite exaggerated, even mentioning "saving the world." What exactly was the "Tower of Paradise" up to?
Although Moen didn't want to reopen Erza's wounds, if things really got this serious, then he had to face them. Besides, the system had said that if Erza wanted to resolve her inner conflict, she had to confront all of this.

However, it was clearly not appropriate to delve into these issues in this place, so Moen quickly urged them to go back.

Makarov and Erza had no intention of lingering, and the three of them quickly left the venue and returned to their room.

This conference was held again at the "routine meeting venue" outside Croba, and accommodations were arranged accordingly.

The venue is much larger than before, thanks to Moen, who spent a lot of money repairing it after it was damaged a few years ago.

At this time, there were still quite a few people in the venue. The leaders of the smaller guilds were still networking and trying to see if they could win the right to host the event in the future, while the leaders of the larger guilds had mostly left.

Kagura Mikazuchi turned her head to look at the entrance of the venue, and saw Moen and Makarov coming out. When she saw Erza, she felt a strange sense of familiarity.

"Who is that?"

Kagura Mikazuchi frowned, but she couldn't remember anything. She wanted to look again and observe more, but the person had already left.

In Erza's room, Moen sat in a chair, staring intently at Erza, who was sitting on the bed, making Erza somewhat uneasy.

"Mount? What brings you to my room?"

Erza felt a little uneasy under Moen's gaze, and she quickly asked.

"The Tower of Paradise"

Moen stopped messing around and directly said the name, and then he saw Erza's eyes widen in surprise.

"What?! Tower of Paradise?!"

Erza jumped up from the bed, clearly shocked, but pretending not to understand.

"Stop pretending. The Tower of Paradise is your past, Erza. If you don't mind, tell me about it."

Moen looked at Erza with a serious expression and spoke.

"."

After confirming that Moen really knew something, Erza slumped back onto the bed, no longer needing to act.

"Mount, how did you know?"

Erza didn't mention the "Tower of Paradise," but instead frowned and asked, unable to understand how Moen knew about it.

"You just said that yourself, have you already forgotten?"

Moen spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world, with a slightly surprised expression. He was clearly a veteran actor, acting as if it were the real deal.

"what?"

Erza froze, staring wide-eyed as she tried to recall what she had just said, but she couldn't remember saying it at all.

"When?"

After a moment of stunned silence, Erza asked with a suspicious look. She had no recollection of it and therefore suspected that Moen was lying to her.

"When you were staring at Kagura Mikazuchi, you kept muttering things like 'Tower of Paradise' and 'Jeral'. Didn't you realize it yourself at the time?"

Moen then spoke, his face filled with speechlessness and worry, seemingly concerned about Erza's mental state. If she really had such symptoms, it would certainly not be a good thing, but fortunately, Erza did not.

"what?!"

Erza was stunned again; she had absolutely no recollection of this!
But the key point is that Moen has once again brought up the keyword "Geralt," which means he really knows something about the "Tower of Paradise"!
"Could it really be me who said it?" Erza stared blankly, beginning to doubt herself.

Looking back now, it's not surprising that she lost her composure after seeing Simon's sister. She had no recollection of saying anything at the time; her mind was in complete turmoil.

"That's why I mentioned the Tower of Paradise and Gerald's name?"

Erza thought about it this way and convinced herself that the logic was perfectly sound.

"Hmm, so what exactly happened?"

Moen quickly agreed and continued to ask questions, not letting Erza delve any deeper, and not letting Erza's mind catch up.

"That's a long story."

Looking at Moen's concerned and worried expression, Erza gritted her teeth and finally slowly began to tell her story.

"So you saved that girl."

Moen looked surprised; the entanglement between Kagura Mikazuchi and Erza was truly very complicated.

When the evil cult in the Tower of Paradise was capturing people, Erza saved Kagura Mikazuchi and helped her hide. Erza herself went to attract attention and was eventually captured and brought into the Tower of Paradise. Kagura Mikazuchi's brother, Simon, was also in the Tower of Paradise, and it is now unknown whether he is dead or alive.

"This is really true."

Moen couldn't help but gasp. No wonder Erza reacted that way when she saw Kagura Mikazuki. She really didn't know how to face the child because Erza felt that things had turned out the way they did, that she had failed to rescue everyone.

“Mount, I’m actually very happy to see the child now. She’s survived and seems to be doing well. I believe her brother Simon will be happy too.”

Looking at Moen, Erza spoke slowly. She had come to terms with it; Kagura Mikazuchi was at least doing alright now.

"Compared to you who were captured and forced to do hard labor, she is indeed quite fortunate."

Moen nodded. Erza and the others who were captured by the evil cult lived lives that were not fit for humans. They were treated as slaves, livestock, and expendable resources.

That's why Erza doesn't dare to see Kagura Mikazuchi; if Kagura asks about Simon, she doesn't know how to answer.

Although he didn't want to believe it, he thought about it rationally. Seven or eight years had passed, and the chances of Simon and the others still being alive were really slim. The death rate of laborers in the Tower of Paradise was very high, otherwise that evil cult wouldn't have been arresting people everywhere.

"Is there something wrong with that Gerald?"

Moen rubbed his chin, keenly sensing the crux of the problem.

In Erza's description, this Jellal was originally the backbone of the slaves, a figure who could lead them to rise up in rebellion, but after being captured, he suddenly seemed to become a different person.

Anyone with a modicum of critical thinking could tell that something must have happened to Gerald. He was most likely being controlled or brainwashed. Of course, the possibility that he had actually defected to the enemy cannot be ruled out, since people are inherently fickle.

Some people were revolutionary patriots in their youth, daring to assassinate the regent. Even after being arrested, they could still write poems like, "Singing generously in the Yan market, calmly becoming a prisoner of Chu. Drawing the knife for a quick end, not betraying the youthful ideals." But this did not prevent them from becoming major traitors later on.

Gerald was indeed a very good person at first, but it is possible that things changed later. Imprisoned in a dark and sunless cell, suffering inhuman torture, not many people can persevere. Not everyone can face death with unwavering resolve.

"."

Erza did not refute Moen's words, because she did not know what had happened to Jellal.

"In short, all we need to do is destroy that Tower of Paradise."

Moen stood up, stretched, and announced his next goal.

Even after hearing the whole thing, Moen still didn't understand what the "Tower of Paradise" was for, because Erza couldn't explain it either. But one thing was for sure: these people were definitely not doing anything good. What else was there to say?

"Fairy Tail, strike hard!"

Moen clenched his fist and looked at Erza. He didn't know where the "Tower of Paradise" was, and he knew he would need Erza to lead the way.

"I"

Erza's expression showed considerable struggle.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten where that place is."

Moen's lips twitched. Surely it shouldn't be that bad?

As soon as Moen said this, Erza's expression stiffened, which made Moen's eyes widen. But upon closer inspection, it seemed normal, since Erza was very young when she escaped.

Erza rowed her boat alone on the vast ocean. After finally escaping, she arrived at Fairy Tail. It's actually normal that she couldn't remember the way.

It's already quite absurd that a child, without any knowledge of navigation, could survive a solo voyage at sea and make it ashore. If she could also accurately remember her direction and route, then Moen could only say "amazing."

"I can't say."

Erza lowered her head and managed to squeeze out a sentence.

She recalled what Gerald had said when she left.

"I think you know very well that you are not allowed to tell anyone about this. If the government finds out about the Tower of Paradise, all the plans will be ruined. In that case, I will destroy the tower and everyone here to eliminate the evidence. Moreover, you are absolutely not allowed to come near here again. If I find you here even once, I will kill someone."

Gerald's disdainful expression was still vivid in her mind. Erza had kept her mouth shut for so many years, never mentioning it to anyone, nor making any effort to save her, all because of these words.

Of course, Erza didn't really give up completely, nor did she really consider the Tower of Paradise to no longer exist. She was constantly improving herself and becoming stronger. She wanted to use her own strength to save everything in the Tower of Paradise.

"Mount, please don't tell anyone, okay?"

Remembering Gerald's threatening words, Erza looked up at Moen in front of her, her voice full of pleading.

Please, Moen.

As she spoke, Erza's eyes began to well up with tears, but only one eye shed a tear. The eye she lost in the Tower of Paradise, although it had been replaced with a prosthetic eye specially made by Granny Polyusica, still could not shed a tear.

This is due to Erza's psychological factors. As Granny Polyushica said, replacing her eye with this one would not affect her tear ducts.

The reason why Erza cannot shed tears is entirely due to her psychological factors, and those psychological problems that affected Erza are now all being revealed to Moen.

Moen stepped forward, reached out, and wiped away Erza's tears.

"Erza, running away won't solve anything."

Moen spoke slowly, his tone eerily calm, but the anger in his heart was rising to the point of burning everything away.

He had seen Erza cry before; she had cried when she first arrived. But since joining Fairy Tail, she hadn't cried at all, and this was the first time.

(End of this chapter)