Three days later, at Akane Resort Heaven.
The most popular seaside tourist destination in the kingdom, with a beach that you can never forget once you've visited.
And the endless, beautiful sea stretching to the horizon, Natsu, Happy, Gray, Lucy, Erza, Kana, and Zorn were also there, enjoying their vacation.
Why was Everyone there? Of course, it was because Zorn had participated in a store lottery.
He won several tickets and wanted to travel with Everyone. After all, he had been working hard, and this was a good opportunity for Everyone to relax.
When Erza heard about it, within a few minutes, she immediately packed all her belongings and loaded them into the car, even changing into her swimsuit, which stunned Everyone present.
"Kana, I specially brought a bottle of sunscreen body lotion. Would you like me to apply it for you?"
"Sure, here, and here, and also, it would be best if you could give me a massage. I've been really tired these past few days." Kana lay on the lounge chair, pointing at her exposed skin with her finger, playfully chatting with Zorn.
"As you command, My Princess."
Zorn held a bottle of the latest body lotion, kneeling beside Kana like a guard. After saluting Kana, he applied the body lotion directly with both hands and began massaging.
Kana squinted her eyes in enjoyment. The couple's public display of affection deeply sated Lucy and Erza, so they ran into the sea to swim and digest it properly.
"Natsu, give me back my underwear!!!"
"Gray, how can you use Happy to cover yourself!!!"
In no time, Natsu and Gray, who had been playing well, started arguing.
Because Gray accidentally stripped naked, and his underwear, which he threw into the sea, was secretly taken by Natsu, who was also egging him on and refusing to give it back to Gray.
"Ah, Master Gray, how daring! Juvia likes it very much."
Juvia followed the group to the beach, hiding behind a tree, looking at Master Gray with a shy expression. She was considered a fervent fan of Gray.
Her love could not be hidden.
...
As night fell, the resort paradise was not without some amusement facilities.
First floor underground.
Happy and Natsu excitedly gestured at their chosen numbers on a rock-and-roll machine full of number balls, frantically pressing the select button on the keyboard.
Juvia was also clinging to Gray at this time, looking up at Gray with a Happy expression.
More importantly, she had also received Zorn's affirmation that she would definitely gain the Master's approval and could join Fairy Tail. This made her heart uncontrollably anticipate and swell with excitement, and now she didn't want to leave Gray's side even more.
That afternoon, Zorn, with his Observation Haki, had discovered Juvia early on.
And seeing the hearts in Juvia's eyes, Zorn knew that Juvia was completely immersed in the ocean of love, so he became a facilitator.
He directly brought Juvia into the open and immediately said he would recommend Juvia to join Fairy Tail.
Erza's heart was a little unsettled at this moment.
The painful memories she dreamed of during her afternoon nap filled Erza's heart with unease.
She and Lucy were also at a game booth, looking at the brightly lit city in the distance, using the tranquility brought by the night to distract themselves.
----Separator----
On the other side of the Council.
Time returned to the afternoon, Council Headquarters.
A Council Headquarters Councilor and Zorn (thought-form) were on a rising giant magic circle, discussing the suddenly appearing eighth Tower of Paradise.
"There's still a remnant? How is this possible?"
"About ten years ago, a cult believing in black magic attempted to construct the R-System."
"Weren't those seven towers already destroyed by us?"
"It seems an eighth one has appeared."
Just as one of the Councilors mentioned this newly appeared Tower of Paradise—the R-System, the last image transmitted after the squad disappeared also appeared in the center of the magic circle.
"It seems it's complete!!" Ultear said in a low voice, looking at the image.
"This is forbidden magic; just the spread of it, if heard, is enough to cause chaos."
"Then send people to suppress it; that's the most effective method."
"The main thing is this opponent. According to witnesses, it was done by someone calling himself Jellal."
"Jellal? He's your brother, Cicurein!!!"
"Hmm, I've heard about this before," Cicurein replied calmly, lowering his head, completely unconcerned by Zorn's gaze at him at that moment.
"Oh, so my opponent will be your brother, Cicurein. Can you really bring yourself to do it?"
"Well, there's nothing that can be done about it. I'll leave everything to you, Zorn."
Zorn looked at Jellal, who was still acting, with a playful expression. He really wanted to laugh at this moment, but he held it back, because if he really laughed, it would be a bit hard to explain.
"Okay, no problem. I've long wanted to see your brother's true strength. I hope you won't disappoint me then."
With this matter settled, the Council stopped the meeting, but they still needed to discuss a concrete plan, as this was not a small matter, and Jellal had proposed using Spirit Magic Power in the meeting, hoping for a vote.
This resolution was intercepted by Zorn, who said he could solve it alone. Once he said this, the other Councilors did not raise any objections, because Zorn's strength was obvious to Everyone.
Jellal said nothing at the time, but Zorn could clearly feel that Jellal's state of mind had broken.
After the meeting ended...
Ultear and Jellal's private secret meeting was held.
"Damn it, how did Zorn come to the meeting!!!" Jellal gripped the railing in front of him, his fingers directly crushing the marble railing into dust, his face full of malice as he stared ahead.
"Still, be careful. This is the Council, after all. It wouldn't be good if someone found out!"
The second the railing shattered, Ultear used her Arc of Time magic to restore it and reminded the now irrational Jellal.
"It seems I need to think of another way. I can't let Zorn delay my plan of so many years." Jellal's tone had returned to normal, he said calmly, but his eyes grew even colder.
Ultear nodded, although outwardly, she expressed her agreement with Jellal's point of view.
But at this moment, she silently apologized to Jellal in her heart, not because of the undercover incident, but because of the long period of brainwashing and the previous events.
She hoped to timely pull back the errors and sins that had not yet occurred, to prevent tragedy from happening again. This was also something she and Zorn had discussed together.
To be continued~
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