Bonus Chapters every 100 Power Stones
"Normal Dialogue"
'Inner thoughts'
[Year X789]
~ Flashback, With Shisui ~
A few days before the talk with Warrod, Shisui had stood in the shadows outside the Magic Council's most secure detention facility, his appearance completely transformed through his henge technique. To any observer, he appeared as a middle-aged maintenance worker with greying hair and unremarkable features, carrying tools and identification that would pass even close inspection.
The timing had been crucial. With the Grand Magic Games drawing most of the Council's attention and security resources, the prison was operating with minimal but still formidable defences. Multiple S-class guards remained on duty, runic containment systems hummed with power, and magical detection arrays swept the facility continuously.
For most infiltrators, the task would have been impossible. For someone with Shisui's specific skill set, it was merely challenging.
His subtle usage of his Sharingan tracked the patrol patterns and magical signatures throughout the facility. The Body Flicker technique allowed him to move between detection sweeps with perfect timing that left no trace of his passage. When direct confrontation became necessary, carefully applied genjutsu ensured guards would remember nothing unusual about their patrol routes.
The cell holding Jellal Fernandes occupied the facility's deepest level, surrounded by layers of protective magic that would have deterred most rescue attempts. Runic circles covered every surface, designed to suppress magical energy and prevent dimensional manipulation. The door itself was reinforced with materials that could withstand attacks from S-class mages.
None of it had been designed to stop someone who operated through entirely different principles than magic. For the first time in years, it seemed his exclusive and unique usage of Chakra had reigned supreme.
Shisui appeared inside the cell, bypassing the external defences entirely. Jellal sat in meditation position on the simple cot, his blue hair falling around his shoulders as he maintained perfect stillness. Only the slight tension in his shoulders suggested he'd detected the intrusion.
"Jellal Fernandes, my name is Shisui. I'm here to get you out." Shisui said quietly, dropping his henge to reveal his true appearance.
Jellal raised his head slowly, revealing the distinctive red tattoo that marked his face. His gaze took in Shisui's appearance with careful assessment before settling on his eyes.
"I don't know you," Jellal said, his voice carrying years of weariness. "And I'm not interested in escaping. Please leave before you're caught and imprisoned yourself."
"I'm afraid that's not an option. There are people waiting outside who need to speak with you. People who have information about your past that you deserve to hear." Shisui replied.
Something in Jellal's expression shifted, though he remained seated. "My past is my own burden to bear. Whatever information they think they have, it won't change what I've done or the people I've hurt."
"You're probably right. But they're going to tell you anyway, and I'd rather have that conversation somewhere more comfortable than a prison cell." Shisui agreed.
Before Jellal could protest further, Shisui moved. His hand touched Jellal's shoulder, and both men vanished through the Body Flicker technique, leaving behind an empty cell that would remain undiscovered until the next scheduled check.
They reappeared in a clearing several miles from the prison, where Ultear and Meredy waited beside a small campfire. Jellal immediately stepped away from Shisui, his posture defensive as he assessed the two women.
"Take me back. I don't know what you want, but I'm not interested in freedom. I belong in that cell." he said firmly.
"No, you don't," Ultear said quietly, rising from her position beside the fire. "You belong here, with people who understand what was done to you."
Jellal's eyes narrowed as he studied her face. "I don't know you either. What could you possibly understand about my crimes?"
"Everything... Because I'm the one who caused them." Ultear replied, her voice heavy with regret.
The words hung in the air between them, filled with implications that made Jellal take an involuntary step backward. His red eyes searched Ultear's face, looking for deception or manipulation, finding only genuine remorse.
"I was the one who approached you when you were young and vulnerable," Ultear continued, each word clearly causing her pain. "I was the one who convinced you that your actions were justified, that the end would vindicate the means. Every terrible thing you did, every person you hurt, it all traces back to my manipulation."
Jellal remained silent for long moments, processing this revelation. When he finally spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper.
"I know."
The admission surprised everyone except Jellal himself. He looked down at his hands, memories playing across his features like shadows.
"I've always known, deep down," he continued. "The commands felt foreign, the justifications never quite made sense when I examined them closely. But knowing I was manipulated doesn't change what I did with my own hands."
He raised his eyes to meet Ultear's gaze directly. "I remember every face of every person I killed. I remember their fear, their pain, their final moments. That wasn't your manipulation, that was my choice to follow through with orders I could have questioned."
Meredy stepped forward. "But you wouldn't have been in that position if we hadn't—"
"It doesn't matter," Jellal interrupted gently. "Responsibility can't be transferred or absolved through explanation. I chose to act, regardless of my reasons. The dead deserve justice, not excuses."
"And what about the living?" Shisui asked, speaking for the first time since their escape. "What do they deserve?"
Jellal turned his attention to the unfamiliar mage, curiosity in his expression.
"Right now, there's a dark guild called Tartaros making preparations for something catastrophic," Shisui continued. "Something that could claim innocent lives on a scale that would make your past crimes seem insignificant by comparison. The question isn't whether you deserve freedom, it's whether you're willing to use that freedom to prevent future atrocities."
Ultear picked up the explanation. "Tartaros is the last of the Balam Alliance. With Grimoire Heart fallen and Oracion Seis disbanded, they represent the final concentration of organized dark magic in Fiore. Everything we've learned suggests they're planning something that could threaten the entire kingdom."
"The Magic Council can't move against them effectively," Meredy added. "They're too organized, too well-hidden, too powerful for conventional law enforcement. But a small, independent group with the right skills and motivation..."
Jellal listened to their explanation with growing understanding. His expression remained carefully neutral, but something had changed in his posture. The defeated resignation was giving way to something that might have been interest.
"You want me to help hunt down a dark guild," he said finally. "To use my magic and knowledge against people who've chosen the same path I once walked."
"We want you to help save lives," Shisui corrected. "The motivation matters less than the result."
"And if we succeed?" Jellal asked. "If Tartaros is defeated and the Balam Alliance truly ends?"
"Then maybe the world becomes a little safer," Ultear said simply. "And maybe we'll have done something meaningful with the skills we've acquired through our mistakes."
Jellal stood silent for several minutes, his gaze moving between the three faces surrounding him. Each represented a different aspect of the choice before him. Ultear carried the weight of shared guilt and the possibility of redemption. Meredy embodied the hope that past wrongs could be balanced by future good. Shisui offered the practical argument that usefulness mattered more than worthiness.
"The people I killed won't come back," he said finally. "My participation in this mission won't resurrect them or ease their families' grief."
"No," Shisui agreed. "But the people who might die if Tartaros succeeds could still be saved."
Jellal nodded slowly, decision evidently made in his expression. "Then I suppose I have work to do."
~ End of Chapter 56 ~
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