Fairy Tail Bluemage (Chapter 13) (Patreon)

I gaze down at the blue haired man who has been sitting there in silence for the last two minutes. 

His head lowers as he looks to his hands. 

"Thank you..." He whispers. 

"No problem... Erza... seemed to care about you." I reply. "I understand that your relationship will be strained from this, but... it was out of your control." 

"How... How did you know about that... curse on my mind?" He whispers, glancing up to me. 

"I can see magic. What people can do... what spells they know... what are cast upon them... what they themselves might not know they are capable of." 

"So- that's how you knew Ultear was the origin of that magic!" He whispers, eyes growing wide. 

"Yes. I briefly saw that man on Galuna, taking stock of his magic... the spell cast upon you. Its excruciatingly rare. I have never seen it a second time throughout all my travels. So. I knew it was him." 

"Her." Jellal whispers. "She hid her appearance through transformation magic." 

"I see..." I frown. 

"..." 

"How were you able to use my magic?" He questions. 

"That... my own secret. One I don't really want to reveal." I shake my head. 

"Alright." He nods slowly. "I won't ask again. You have no idea what you have done for me." 

"It's fine." I state. "I did it for Erza. Not you. That being said... I am glad to help." 

There's a sudden explosion in the background as I watch some pale guy who has had his hair burnt off flip through the air. 

Natsu really did a number on him... and- 

BANG BANG BANG 

I watch a streak of fire arc downwards, the buff man with an owl head with a jetpack being hit by Levy's flak and having one of the massive barrel-sized engines on his back stop functioning. "Hoo-Hoot-OOOOOH NOOOOO!" 

He splashes down into the water somewhere off shore. 

Jellal gazes down at the boat, one final question on his lips. 

"Why did you say you would allow me to kill you if you failed?" 

"Because you couldn't kill me." I reply. 

"Wh- I may be at half power due to my thought projection, but I am a wizard saint, you know. As Erza's friend you shouldn't throw your life away... hasn't she already suffered enough? Because of me?" 

"No. You misunderstand... you know that big spell I launched at the island? As I cast that... I was left over with a bunch of residual energy... energy which I converted into a magical barrier. You could not kill me in one attack. Even with your Abyss Break... even if you put your all into the Abyss Break, you might only get through seventy five percent of this barrier around myself... and one attack was what I promised. One. Sole. Attack." 

"Oh..." He whispers, a knowing look to his eye. "That is... impressive." 

"I think you should stop stalling and speak to Erza." I frown suddenly, causing another sigh to leave his mouth. 

"There's no fooling you, is there?" 

"I can see that regretful look on your face. You are doing a poor job of hiding your guilt." I observe. 

He slowly rises to his feet, then follows me as I begin walking. 

After a short time, we come back to the ship, a pink haired woman is prone, she has quite a serious wound on her stomach. 

"Merlin!" Erza snaps. "Get away from him!" 

"Stop." I raise my hand before she can lunge forwards. "I have defeated him... all this time he was being controlled... someone had cast a curse on him that has been bubbling in his mind for the past ten years or so... I got rid of it." 

"You... can kill me if it would soothe your heart, Erza." Jellal whispers. 

She steps forwards and punches him once, knocking him flat, her hands shaking. "Jellal... you idiot..." 

Tears prickle at one of her eyes. 

She turns to me, handing me two pairs of magic sealing cuffs. "Go heal that woman and grab the other two... please leave me... I... I'd like to speak privately with Jellal." 

"Alright." I mutter. 

A quest has been Completed: 

A Hellish Heaven: 
Erza's past is haunted by intense trauma and fear. Now it appears that said trauma is finally catching up with her. 

Objective:  
Protect Erza: [x] 

Bonus Objectives: 
Personally Defeat a member of the Trinity Raven: [-] 
Defeat Jellal Fernandes: [x] 
Defeat Jellal after allowing him to regain his full power: [-] 

Rewards: 5000 Exp 

Bonus Rewards: 20000 Exp, 1 Free Feat, Items worth up to 40000 Gp/Gil 

~~Linebreak~~

"So. Levy." I begin quietly as we stand more or less to the side overlooking the ocean, away from the rest of the group. 

Erza is having her heartfelt private conversation with Jellal, and Natsu, Gray and Lucy are watching the Trinity Raven. 

"Hm?" She hums, glancing over to me. 

"You've been acting strange ever since I unlocked your magical power." I state. 

She stiffens slightly. 

"See..." I sigh. "This is why I didn't want to unlock it... I'm... I'm sorry, Levy. You don't need to make a team with me to fake it... if I make you uncomfortable, I'll just-" 

"THAT'S NOT IT!" She exclaims. 

"H-Huh?" 

"Ugh. You're- you're an idiot sometimes." The girl sighs, rubbing her face. "Why are you like this? So insecure at times, yet willing to put your life on the line to protect people at a moments notice... you need a serious confidence boost, Merlin." 

"Don't be mad." She eventually speaks. 

"What did you do?" I sigh. 

"P-Please don't be mad. Promise me." She whispers, touching her fingers together in a nervous manner, it looks as if she'd rather be anywhere than right here. 

"Fine."  

"And, I-I don't mean like... a parent promising to not get mad at their child then doing it anyways!" 

"Oh god... now I'm actually getting a little concerned... what. Did. You. Do?" I demand, my eyes slightly narrowing. 

"I... kissed you while you were sleeping one time." She admits, face steadily reddening, growing a deeper and deeper shade as the silence grows. 

"..." 

"..." 

"..." 

"Is that... it?" I slowly question. 

"H-Huh?" She seems genuinely dumbfounded by my nonchalant response. 

"Levy, you were talking like you might have accidentally broken all of my plates before you left my house or set it on fire testing your new magical capabilities." I deadpan. 

"But- I-I did it without you wanting it! I-I'm such a bad person!" She whispers. 

"Don't get me wrong. If the roles were switched this would probably be a very different conversation." I shrug. "Guys just have different priorities than girls in this sort of thing, I guess. I mean, don't get me wrong. What you did is totally a red flag, but I assume this happened after you had just finished having your magical power unlocked? You must have been delirious at this point, being awake for like twenty-four hours, eight of which were spent in intense agony. You weren't in the right state of mind, so I'm not really blaming you for it." 

"That being said." I continue. "I'm a little... disappointed... that you did it when I was asleep instead of waiting for me to be awake." 

"H-Huh?!" She stutters, face growing red again. 

I scratch the back of my head. "I'm not exactly... really good or experienced in this sort of thing, so I'm going to be blunt... Levy. I like you. You're cute, fun to be around, reliable and I will admit, I am interested in you. But. I also feel like this is far too sudden. I don't want to jeopardize our friendship by moving too fast into something that neither of us have too much experience in... so I'm happy with just being your friend and teammate... for now... it's ah... up to you if you want to do anything more than that." 

"O-Okay..." She whispers, face red. 

I glance away as I scratch my cheek. 

"A-And... What do you mean lacking experience?! I-I could have totally gone on dates if I wanted to!" She replies, seemingly trying to move the conversation onwards to get us out of this awkward rut. 

"Well, you clearly didn't with Jet and Droy and they both were rather... territorial." I point out. 

"But I could have if I wanted to! A-And that's not all!"  she continues. "I've read books. BOOKS, Merlin!" 

"Smut isn't a valid example of romance." I observe, a small smug smirk on my face as I know this about to make her blush hard. 

"I-I was talking about romance novels you P-Pervert!" 

"You're the one with smut books." I shrug. 

"I-I don't!" She whines. "T-That's Erza's thing!" 

"You're adorable." I snort with a small huff. 

"Merlin! You're so mean!" She pouts. 

"Heh." I huff. "I think the others are waiting for us... I've got to get back to the casino and fix some stuff I promised I'd fix before we left." 

~~Linebreak~~

The boat sloshes underfoot as I narrow my eyes slightly. Several massive warships is quickly approaching us... not that I'm exactly worried, it is emblazoned with the Magic Council symbol. 

"Fairy Tail Wizards... Please Anchor your ship." A voice calls out, magnified vastly with magic. "We are approaching." 

Our sails seem to roll up as our anchor is dropped. 

We slowly drift to a halt as the massive boats grow closer and closer. 

One seems to stop next to us, a man peering over the edge of the ship. This one seems to be the leader of whatever group he is a part of. 

"My name is Reese Maveric, head of the B3 Seafaring division of the Rune Knights... we are here to take into custody the dark wizards of Death Head Cactus and Jellal Fernandes." 

"What?" Lucy questions.  

"But- But he was being mind controlled!" Levy shouts up to the rune knight. 

"You-" Erza begins. "Wh- what crimes has he committed?!" 

"That is to be determined in a court of law." The man frowns. 

"Erza..." Jellal sighs. "This needs to happen. I need to face justice for my crimes." 

"What crimes?!" I question. "Do you punish someone who had no control of their own actions?! I won't allow you to be a scapegoat while the true mastermind goes free!" 

"I caused so much trouble... so much pain. I deserve this." The blue haired man replies. 

"If you're so sorry, why don't you DO something to start fixing the problems you caused?!" I question. "Rotting in a cell for years at a time is just a weak excuse to make you feel better, well guess what! It does NOTHING Jellal! Nothing will be fixed with you in jail." 

The rune knight speaks up. "I have been told to bring the Trinity Raven into custody... but as for Seigrain, one of the Ex-Wizard-Council, I have been told that if he complies there is no need to arrest him. We are trying to figure this out as much as you." 

"..." 

My eyes narrow slightly, I glare up at the man. "As a witness to what happens... I demand to be at his trial." 

"That... can be arranged... and you will likely be called. Most of you will. I can assure you... this is just a formality... he will be held and his mind checked to ensure that the domination is well and truly gone and there are no side effects." 

"It is better for it to happen this way, Erza." Jellal states as he slowly walks over to the three manacled wizards. 

He grabs onto the handcuffs of one, body igniting with gold colors, then floats into the air, up onto the deck of the council ship. 

I let out a long sigh, Aera wings appearing on my back as I pick up the woman, fluttering up to the deck of the boat and dropping her off. "Fine. I don't like this, but it is your choice, I suppose... you have chosen this path and have likely asked the magic council itself to do this with your thought projection. 

A sad smile appears on his lips. 

The large bird headed man is tossed upwards. 

"hoo-hoo-ooooooh!" He groans as I catch him and lazily place him on the ground. 

"Jellal and the prisoners are on board." The man speaks into a Lacrima. "HMS Hargia, and Magnolin, proceed to the island and continue your mission." 

I watch two ships sail past as I turn and hop back down onto our boat. 

"Thank you for your compliance." The rune knight bows his head slightly. "With your assistance, something that could have been quite an issue has been solved without many casualties. You are free to leave at your own convenience." 

A long mildly annoyed breath leaves my lips. 

[Split] 

It seems the magic council wants to quickly put such an event behind them... their headquarters was destroyed, after all, they're putting on quite the show. 

"Now, Merlin Ambrosius of the fairy tail guild is taking the stand." A prosecutor calls out. "Please tell us of the events that transpired leading up to your conflict with the Ex-Wizard Saint, Jellal Fernandes." 

"Me and my friends were on a vacation at Akane resort when we were attacked by four figures related to Erza Scarlet's past. They were misled into thinking that she betrayed them all." 

"And who misled them?" The prosecutor questions. 

"I know the person... and I could pick them out of a crowd, but I never been told their full name, merely Jellal whispering the word 'Ultear' in reply to my general description of the person." I observe mutely, my eyes half-lidded. 

"Wasn't it Mr. Fernandes who misled them?" 

"If I learnt mind domination magic... and I told you to kill someone. Who would be the murderer? Me or you?" I shoot back with a raised eyebrow. "Like, you're not even being subtle about it anymore. How much did this 'Ultear' pay you to try and ruin the life of such a powerful wizard?" 

"I-Is power something matters to you?" 

"Not particularly, no." I shake my head. 

"I see, so bonds are quite important in fairy tail? Would you still be a part had they not been the number one guild?" 

"Fairy tail has something that not a lot of other guilds have... heart. Most other guilds are in it for the money. Seeing their fellow guild members as competition or people to sabotage." 

"So Family is important... enough that you would- 

"You see. Now you're trying to assassinate my character to alter the eventual decision of Jury. Sort of a low blow... is... is he allowed to be doing this?" I question the bearded man sat nearby, he seems to be growing further and further annoyed. 

"It is clear that something is amiss with the prosecution's goals... a conflict of interest... I had brought them here with the understanding that this would be a fair trial. But I will not have the courtroom disrespected in such a way. Do you have anything further to say, Mage from Fairy Tail." 

"I believe that Jellal has suffered enough. Rotting away in prison helps no one and does nothing. The person who orchestrated this has escaped and there has been no sightings of her. You shouldn't allow such a talented mage to be a scapegoat. Merely living with what he was forced to do is more than enough punishment. Every waking moment when he closes his eyes, he will be forced to see what he had been controlled to do. Why force him to remain in a cell, when he can use that power he cultivated over his life... a power potent enough to get him acknowledged as one of the ten wizard saints, for good." 

"So... you suggest that he makes use of his abilities for the good of Ishtar." 

"Yes." I nod once.  

My eyes stray to Jellal who is sat nearby, hands shackled, head down. 

A long breath leaves the man's lips. He slams a wooden gavel downwards. "I declare recess." 

~~Linebreak~~

"Jellal Fernandes Ex Wizard Saint all but Pardoned." 

I gaze at the headlines for the newest sorcerer weekly. 

"Earlier this week, the Magic Council building was destroyed amidst a nefarious plot to force the magic council to make use of the Etherion cannon! As it turns out, Jellal Fernandes, who had entered the Magic Council under the name Siegrain, the newest member of the ten wizard saints, had ties to such a plot... UNWILLINGLY! You heard it here first! Apparently, Siegrain, or rather, Jellal, had been under the affects of mental magic since he was but eleven years old!" 

"Luckily, before such a plot could come to fruition, Wizards from Fairy Tail stepped in and battled the council wizard and managed to dispel his mental domination! The entirety of the magic council has unanimously agreed and bore witness to the spell breaking." 

"Now, that begs the question, 'If it wasn't his fault, why was he even being tried in the first place?' This is simply because of the Ex Council Member's terrible remorse and guilt for the actions he was forced to do... in addition to inadvertently compromising the sanctity of the Magic Council." 

"But. It brings me great pride to reveal that Jellal Fernandes, despite having his Magic Council and Wizard Saint positions revoked, shall only see a mere one year of jail time, at which point his mental health shall be closely monitored by council appointed wizards. At the end of that, he is to be put on probation under the magic council in order to repent for the sins he has committed." 

I noticed that they didn't really mention anything about Ultear escaping. 

Classic propaganda! 

It seems like Jellal will likely never be able to join the magic council, nor be acknowledged as a member of the ten wizard saints... but this is a lot better of a path than the one he originally had... that does bring a small smile to my face. Nobody deserves to suffer. 

I rise to my feet, placing the issue on my bedside table. 

'I wonder if Levy would be up for a job?' 

I also need to finish work on that thing I'm doing for Lucy... 

The main issue is that it's taking quite a while to make. 

Crafting an item takes eight hours for every one thousand gold that goes into it. 

So, to craft the newest key for Lucy, I'd need about... sixty one days... assuming I craft for eight, then sleep. 

Now, this time can be doubled, of course by increasing the crafting Dc, but only to one thousand per four hours. 

This gives me a little bit more wiggle room, and while in base pathfinder it says that you can only spend a maximum of eight hours per day crafting something, that's a little unrealistic. 

Regardless, I should have more than enough time. 

~~Linebreak~~

CLANG 

A rapid exchange of blows occurs between two armor wearing figures holding swords. 

"My lady" the blonde of the two calls out. "May I have a little more power?" 

Lucy who is stood nearby raises a greenish key which seems to brightly glow. "Right!" 

Power seems to surge around the paladin as she grabs her weapon in two hands, having been disarmed of her shield a little before. 

Her eyes glow. 

Hm? 

Her weapon, a simple plus two longsword, glows brightly as she slashes forwards, leaving an arc in the air, her opponent, Erza bending backwards, a thin scratch carved into her breastplate as she narrowly avoids the attack. 

The surrounding mages watching the duel let out a cheer. 

Dragon's Eye Lv 2 (Ex) {2 Stacks} 
Once every other round as a swift action, Agrias taps into her inherent powers causing her eyes glow redder each time she uses this ability. This ability stacks and reapplies to her each time she uses it. She gains an extra plus 10 extra Holy damage up to a maximum of 40 onto all of her Knight blade attacks lasting 3d4+1 Minutes. 

It's... technically not a spell so I can't copy it. If I were a regular bluemage, sure, but, as of this moment, there's no way in HELL I could have reached this stage as a normal blue mage. 

A bit of a shame, but oh well. I don't really use swords anyways... Also, I'm fairly certain that's an ability from another boss... regardless, It doesn't appear to take any Mana from Agrias... but knowing how summoner's avatars work, it's likely taking magical power from Lucy. 

A second sword appears in Erza's hand as she lunges forwards, her armor swapping to a new set. Two large bat-like wings appearing from her back. 

She slashes down at the celestial spirit, but Agrias raises a gauntleted forearm, resisting the blow, swapping her grip to a reverse grip, then slams the pommel into Erza's stomach. 

Agrias is... startlingly strong I've come to realize. Like, Physically. 

A little slow, but if she hits something it'll hurt. 

Erza's feet carve trenches in the soil as she lets out a gasp. She is lightly winded, but overall appears to be fine. A sheer testament to her durability. 

Levy is sat next to me, seemingly in awe of the fight in front of us. 

It has been going on for only five minutes... only recently Erza appears to be on the back foot. 

Erza swaps again, this time entering a spiked armor, trading out her weapon for a massive spiked cleaver. 

She lunges forwards, swinging the heavy greatsword downwards. 

Agrias manages to stop the blow with the side of her sword, shunting it to the side. 

Erza whirls around, face shadowed, her eyes practically glowing. 

The jagged spikes along the blade stab into Agrias' stomach, as she is knocked backwards. 

She flips once, regaining her footing, but overall she seems in good health. 

The blonde paladin lunges forwards trading blows with the red haired knight. Agrias clearly has the upper hand physically, but... Erza's weapons and armor are far better. 

The 'draconic eye' thing seems to be somewhat closing the gap, however as I watch Agrias slowly deal more and more damage with each swift blow. 

"A-Agrias! I'm running out of magic!" Lucy calls out. 

"Alright. I shall end this in one blow!" The paladin declares as she hops back away from Erza. "I would suggest you dodge or block this..." 

"ENLIGHT!" She shouts causing a bright glow to explode from her sword, traveling down its length. Light twinkles along the edge line a sea of stars. 

Enlight 
Spell Level: 1 
Casting Time: Swift Action 
Range: Personal 
Target: Weapon Touched 
Duration: 1 round/level or Until Discharged 

Upon casting this spell, the caster infuses the weapon touched with light elemental energy. The next time this weapon strikes a creature, it discharges the light elemental energy. The spell deals an extra 1 point of holy damage per level (to a max of +5) + your Charisma modifier against the target of the attack. The weapon loses this property if its wielder drops it or otherwise loses contact with it. 

But then something else seems to happen. 

As Agrias swings her sword downwards- not anywhere close within melee range to her opponent, the glow seems to explode outwards. 

A wave of light shoots towards Erza, its nearly blinding.  

Erza's eyes widen slightly as she holds out a hand. 

BOOM 

The blonde paladin seems to glow, her body beginning to disappear as she gazes over her handiwork. 

A massive line had been carved in the dirt leading up to Erza... as for the red haired woman, a barrier cracks around her and eventually shatters, as the smoke dies down it reveals that she is holding a large tower shield- or at least half of one- with a single hand. It appears she requiped it at the last moment. 

Her hair looks lightly frazzled, but otherwise she is unhurt.  

"That was quite an attack... I trust you to defend Lucy well." Erza huffs, mildly out of breath. 

"You... truly are worthy of your title, Knight of Fairy Tail." Agrias whispers moments before she disappears. 

The spectators erupt into cheers, people who had been betting exchanging their winnings, people hooting and yelling. 

They are in high spirits. 

"So. Did Erza win?" Levy blinks.  

"Ehhh, it's less that she won, and more that Lucy lost." I shrug. 

"Hm? Oh! Right. Lucy told me how gluttonous for magical power Agrias' key is. Still. To put up a fight with Erza's Purgatory armor. That's impressive strength... she would have won if it were a battle of endurance." Levy whispers. 

"You also need to consider that Agrias can heal... plus if she was at her full power... I sort of doubt that anyone here could do anything to her." 

"Should... you do that thing on Lucy?" Levy questions. "So, y'know, she can make better use of all her new abilities?" 

"Maybe? I'd like to lower the time even more before I try." I shrug. "Erza could probably take it, though... cause, I mean, she probably has more pain tolerance than you and you were able to resist screaming far longer than Natsu or Gray." 

"Hm... making a stronger Erza? That'll be a little scary." 

"Yeah." I nod once. "There's just something about her that I can't really put my finger on that sort of intrigues me." 

"..." 

"Oh, and I'm not talking about in a romantic way." I wave off as I can practically feel the blue haired girl's jealousy intensify. 

"I wasn't thinking that." The girl deadpans. 

"You were." I reply. "But as I was saying, there's just something... off... about her magic. Like, whenever I look at her to see what she can cast, you'd expect there to only be two real things. Requip then Telekinisis... then, of course, the sword magics she gets when she changes weapons, but... It's like I can see wisps of something that's there." 

"Wisps? Like... she knows more magic?" Levy mutters 

"LIke I said, I don't know. Clearly she has no idea about it if even I am having trouble catching sight of it, but it is enough to catch my interest." I nod slowly. 

My head slowly turns to Levy. "So, want to go on a mission?" 

"Sure. I might have spent that money from the wyvern mission on a limited edition book I've been wanting for a while." Levy shrugs as she rises to her feet. "Let's go!"