"What do you know! Master Zeref's soul clearly whispered in my ear."
Jellal was still screaming powerlessly, still believing in Zeref, trapping himself in a cage of thought.
"Don't worry, I'll free you now, Jellal."
Zorn completely enveloped Jellal with Holy Light Magic at this moment, and to prevent any accidents like last time, he tightly bound him with chains of Holy Light.
...
The few people on the sailboat cheered as they watched Zorn effortlessly destroy the meteor.
"Haha, I told you... Zorn can definitely do it... Ugh, bleh!"
Natsu happily jumped up, but before he could gloat for long, the symptoms of motion sickness immediately appeared, and he leaned over the side of the sailboat, vomiting uncontrollably.
"Indeed, it's Zorn!"
"Gray, your clothes!!!"
"Ah, when?"
Lucy clearly saw how Gray took off his clothes this time.
He just tore them off with both hands, tossed them aside, then folded his arms across his chest, confidently looking towards the island, as if he had achieved this feat, feeling very proud and happy for Zorn.
"Um, Juvia, could you please push the sailboat to the shore?"
"Ahhhhhh, Kana, you scared me!"
Kana suddenly appeared between Lucy and Juvia. This silent movement startled Lucy, as she had just been focused on Gray.
"Sorry, Lucy, I'm already impatient to get to the island and check on Zorn!!!"
Kana smiled as she looked at the island, but that smile inexplicably made Lucy feel a chill around her.
"Hi!"
Lucy subconsciously replied.
"Okay, we'll be there right away!"
"Juvia, thank you." Erza said softly to Juvia from the side.
As Juvia channeled her magic, the waves beneath the sailboat suddenly surged, quickly pushing the sailboat to the island's edge.
"Thump thump thump~"
"How do we deal with this defensive magic? We can't break it."
Natsu pounded his fist hard on the energy wall of the defensive magic, but there was no sign of any damage.
It still had such strong defensive power after enduring the aftershocks of that kind of attack.
"Requip~ Robe of Purity."
After Erza requipped, she held two swords, just about to swing them to cut through the defensive barrier, but a fist was faster than her.
A punch slammed into the defensive barrier. At the moment of impact, the previously sturdy defensive barrier cracked with a 'crunching' sound, and then cracks spread across its entire surface, before it transformed into light and vanished into the air.
Then Kana rushed to the center of the battle at an extremely fast speed, followed by Erza and the others.
----Separator----
"Ahhhhhh!"
At this moment, Zorn was diligently expelling the dark power from Jellal's mind, and Jellal was screaming in agony due to this process.
"Zorn....."
A gentle voice entered Zorn's ears at this moment. Zorn, who was still using magic, tensed up. He could keenly sense Kana's unusually high anger.
However, both sides knew it was a critical moment and made no further moves.
Erza and the others also stopped by the giant pit, similarly awaiting the final outcome. They had now understood the reason for Jellal's abnormal behavior.
"Alright, it's all purged."
Zorn slowly lowered Jellal, stood up, and walked to Kana's side, leaving space for Erza.
"Erza, it's been hard on you all these years..."
"Sho, Millianna, Wooly, Raymon, I'm sorry for deceiving you all these years. It seems you've also found your own freedom."
"Hmph, you should tell those words to Sister Erza."
"Exactly, meow!"
Sho and the others saw that Jellal had now regained consciousness, and the tense string in their hearts relaxed. Although Jellal had indeed deceived them terribly over the years, in their hearts, the original Jellal had returned, and that was more important than anything else.
"Erza, I'm truly sorry for what I said back then. I know it's too late for everything, and I'm willing to atone. I..."
"Erza, you..."
"Yes, I know."
As Jellal spoke, he suddenly saw tears flowing from the corners of Erza's eyes and was stunned, because although Erza was crying at that moment, the upturned corners of her mouth revealed her true feelings.
Seeing that everything was resolved, the Council immediately dispatched troops and arrested Jellal and the others that very night. They also quickly gathered evidence, awaiting trial.
Afterward, Zorn and Erza repeatedly went to the Council to handle and coordinate matters, especially submitting a very important piece of evidence to the Council.
It was the dark energy that had been dragged out of Jellal's mind, now sealed by Zorn within a crystal ball.
However, Jellal took full responsibility for all the crimes and was ultimately stripped of his Ten Wizard Saints title and imprisoned to serve his sentence.
The others, Sho, Millianna, Wooly, and Raymon, were specially pardoned and restored to their freedom. Erza actually wanted to recommend them to Fairy Tail.
However, the few of them had other ideas...
On the beach at night, Sho and the others were pushing a small boat, preparing to leave.
"The few of us can definitely do it. We absolutely cannot cause any more trouble for Sister!"
"Mhm, meow."
"Indeed..."
The expressions of the few at this moment were unusually downcast. Of course, they also wanted to join Fairy Tail, but their existence, without exception, silently reminded Erza of her past tragic experiences.
"I'm telling you guys, Erza is very worried about you!!"
A flash of light appeared, and Zorn, along with a group of people, appeared on the beach.
"Sister!" Sho was the first to exclaim.
"We've always lived on a small island and don't understand many things, but we really want to go and see the world."
"We don't want to live for anyone else anymore. From now on, we want to live for ourselves and create our own future with our own hands."
"This is the freedom we want!"
Sho had initially spoken with much unease, but then became more and more confident, and finally, her eyes shone exceptionally brightly.
Erza and the others also knew that Sho and the others had found their own path, and that she should let go.
"As long as you have a strong will, you can all achieve your dreams."
"Requip!" A flash of light, and Erza changed into an exceptionally solemn outfit, with the Fairy Tail flag standing beside her.
"To leave Fairy Tail, you must abide by three things!"
"What, what leaving?"
"First: You must never spread negative news about Fairy Tail in your lifetime."
"Second: Do not casually contact past clients to pursue your own interests."
"Third: Even if your paths are different, live life to the fullest, never neglect your own life, and... never... forget... your friends... in your lifetime."
"Fairy Tail, farewell party, now begins!"
"Bang~ Bang~~"
Zorn and the others behind them released their magic, sending off the four with a grand fireworks display.
Erza, at the end, held back the tears in her eyes.
"Sister, we'll come back to see you!"
The four on the opposite side, with tears in their eyes, waved goodbye to them, got into the small boat, and slowly disappeared into the night sky.
"Bloom in your hearts, flowers of light. Have a safe journey!"
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