"Jellal—" Looking at Jellal Fernandes completely encased in the ice pillar, Erza Scarlet finally broke down, sobbing and screaming. Large tears streamed relentlessly from her eyes, like water pouring freely.
Even though she knew Jellal was no longer the Jellal he once was, even though she knew Jellal had completely succumbed to darkness, even though she knew Big Brother Calvin Unknown's action was absolutely the right thing to do for everyone, she still couldn't stop the pain tearing at her heart, and she cried uncontrollably!
Recalling the happy times she shared with Jellal, remembering their difficult but mutually supportive life together, Erza's heart felt a tearing pain. If Grandpa Rob was the person she admired most, then Jellal was the person she idolized most in her young, yet-to-be-fully-mature heart!
Although his recent actions had become completely wicked, the beautiful memories he had created in her heart remained indelible.
The thought caused a silent scream in Erza's heart: Why? Why did you have to fall, Jellal?! Why couldn't we all just continue to live happily like before?!!
Though she was heartbroken, and tears continued to stream down, completely soaking her clothes, Erza still held no resentment towards Calvin. She knew clearly that Big Brother Calvin, who had been forced to kill his closest "younger brother," must be hurting far more than she was. Erza knew this in her heart…
"It's over… sigh." Sighing softly, Calvin felt his internal magic reserves running low. He decisively deactivated Sode no Shirayuki's release (Shikai) and returned it to his personal dimension.
Closing his eyes and taking a moment to sense his surroundings, he noticed that his personal dimension was no longer as empty as before. Besides the magic rapier his grandfather gave him, two unique single-edged longswords—Wabisuke and Sode no Shirayuki—now floated within it!
Sensing the connection between himself and the two Zanpakutō, Calvin had a feeling that re-equipping them would no longer be as complicated as it was before. After all, it eliminated the step of summoning them—the process of spontaneously summoning a Zanpakutō from the Shinigami world…
Having the experience of the two previous summons, Calvin knew clearly that if he couldn't first summon a Zanpakutō from the Shinigami world, the only weapons he could Requip would be the three currently in his personal dimension, and nothing else. Of course, he didn't rule out the possibility of acquiring other weapons he liked in the future.
However, just as he originally thought, Calvin certainly hoped all the Zanpakutō from the Shinigami world could become his Requip Magic weapons! He genuinely didn't care much for other weapons. But based on the fundamental principle of Requip Magic, the weapons he could equip must be objects within his personal dimension! That is to say, if he wanted to equip a Zanpakutō, he first had to summon the desired Zanpakutō from the Shinigami world!
Of course, this summoning process was only needed once per Zanpakutō, because once he used his personal dimension to summon a Zanpakutō, it would remain in his personal dimension, or rather, his Requip Space! If he wanted to use that Zanpakutō again later, he could simply Requip it! This saved a lot of trouble, as it would be far too cumbersome if he had to summon the Zanpakutō every time before equipping it…
After establishing the characteristics of his Requip Magic, Calvin prepared to rescue Erza from the sea. After all, Erza looked like she was in poor condition, and she seemed to have some injuries? They were likely sustained while trying to stop Jellal…
Sighing quietly to himself, Calvin immediately set his plan into action and ran towards the coastline. In his judgment, with her current injuries, Erza would be unable to properly navigate the small boat amidst the rough waves. There was a genuine risk of the boat capsizing at any moment! To prevent such an incident, Calvin had to rescue her from the sea as quickly as possible!
Quickly reaching the edge of the water, Calvin instantly Requipped Sode no Shirayuki again without hesitation! After all, he couldn't swim. Jumping into the sea to save someone would definitely be suicidal!! Hmm, it seems neither Calvin nor Archille could handle water well?
No more digressions, back to the main point! After taking out Sode no Shirayuki, Calvin immediately released its Shikai. He prepared to use the released Sode no Shirayuki's ice and snow abilities to construct an ice bridge across the sea. But just at that moment—
"Hmph—" A pair of sinister eyes suddenly scoffed, and then a series of continuous cracking sounds, "Crack! Crack! Crack!—," echoed. The towering ice pillar that had encased Jellal suddenly split into countless fine cracks all over. Then, to Calvin's astonishment, it abruptly shattered into a flurry of ice shards!
"Well done, you did very well! My—" Jellal emerged from the ice mist step by step, radiating a nearly suffocating, evil magic power. Looking at Calvin's wide, stunned eyes, Jellal suddenly grinned, flashing an extremely wicked smile. He sneered ominously: "Big Brother Calvin! What you just did was quite impressive!! If it weren't for the patronage of the great God Zeref, I would have been killed by you just now!!!" The last sentence was almost screamed.
"Th-this… How is this possible?!!" Calvin stared at Jellal, who had broken out of the ice behind him, with extreme shock and disbelief! He couldn't believe it! He couldn't believe his technique would have so little effect?! Impossible! Based on the magic level Jellal displayed earlier, my Next Dance: White Ripple should have been absolutely sufficient to completely annihilate him! But now, why did it seem to have no effect at all?!! And, he claimed he had the patronage of Zeref? Could it be—
Does he have an accomplice?!
The thought instantly heightened Calvin's mental alert level! He didn't believe Jellal's claim that Zeref was helping him. If there was a reason the other boy suddenly broke out of the ice, there could only be one explanation! That is—Jellal definitely had an accomplice somewhere nearby!! And the person who could not only protect Jellal completely unharmed from his White Ripple attack but also easily destroy the ice pillar must be extremely powerful, without question! Thus, he had to be cautious!
Because one moment of carelessness could potentially cost him his own life!!! As a person who had transmigrated, he was acutely aware of the obvious lessons: Caution is the parent of safety, and Failing in a seemingly easy situation.
"Jellal?!!" Erza exclaimed, also staring blankly at the roaring Jellal. Her mood was a mix of joy and alarm. Joyful that Jellal was still alive; as the one she idolized, Erza fundamentally did not wish for him to die like that. But alarmed that Big Brother Calvin's powerful magic had zero effect on Jellal?! Th-this is too terrifying!! After the initial surprise, Erza's mind was filled with deep worry. She probably couldn't even distinguish whether she was worried about Big Brother Calvin potentially being in danger, or worried about Jellal potentially being killed again by Calvin? Or perhaps both?
Unaware of the true situation, and simply believing Jellal broke out of the ice using his own strength, she naturally didn't know who she should worry about. But if she knew Calvin's inner thoughts and realized a powerful enemy was lurking nearby, she would likely worry more for her Big Brother Calvin.
"A ha ha ha ha, Big Brother Calvin, attack me!" Ignoring Erza's expression in the boat, Jellal saw Calvin's face suddenly become extremely cautious and guarded after seeing him break out of the ice. His vanity immensely satisfied, Jellal finally burst into mad laughter: "Go on, try to kill me one more time! Just like before, strike me down right here!! What? Why aren't you attacking? Why won't you try to kill me again?! Is it because your tedious compassion has suddenly returned, or is it because—"
"You—Sim—ply—Do—Not—Dare—To—Move—Now?!" Jellal spoke slowly, his face cold, enunciating every word. "Now that you know I truly have the patronage of the great Zeref, you've lost the courage to continue fighting me, haven't you? You're afraid of a God's existence, so you simply dare not strike me again?! Am I right, Big—Brother—Calvin?!!" Finishing his sentence, a terrifying, malevolent magic power that made one tremble violently surged out of Jellal's small body!