Tower of Heaven, Part Six

Erza lifted her head from Mirajane's embrace, took a deep breath, and began to recount her past and the truth about the Tower of Heaven.

She spoke slowly, her voice occasionally trembling, but every word was clear.

It was about the days of enslavement eight years ago, about Jellal's betrayal, about being the only one who escaped, and about the companions left behind in the tower.

When she spoke of Jellal, her fists clenched so tightly that her nails dug into her palms.

"He was once the person we trusted most, the hope of everyone. But that hope turned into Despair, and he enslaved everyone to continue building this tower."

Finally, Erza's voice regained its strength.

"Although I don't know his purpose, defeating Jellal will end all of this."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a gloomy voice came from the end of the corridor.

"Sister, what did you mean by what you just said?"

Hugh, with his dark skin and blond hair, emerged from the shadows, a twisted smile on his face, playing cards fluttering between his fingers.

"You're spouting lies! Are you trying to gain sympathy from your current companions?"

He approached step by step, his voice growing louder and sharper.

"Jellal said that it was you, sister, who became obsessed with magic and abandoned the past, including us, in pursuit of a higher level of magic! You are the traitor!"

Lucy clenched her fists, stepped forward to Erza, and glared at Hugh.

"Do you really believe Erza would do such a thing? You grew up with her, you should know her better than anyone else!"

Hugh's expression wavered slightly, but quickly returned to its somber state.

Riyao tried to pull Erza out of Mirajane's arms so she could stand up and speak, but Mirajane slapped him on the head instead.

"Stop messing around." Mirajane glared at him.

Riyao rubbed his head and retreated to the side, looking aggrieved.

Hugh looked at Erza's calm expression, then at Lucy's angry face, and his inner turmoil grew stronger.

His hands trembled slightly, and he almost dropped the playing cards.

One was Jellal, who gave him eight years of hope, and told him that Erza was a traitor, giving him a reason to live.

One was Erza, who gave him warmth when he was a child and was once his only light in the darkness.

He didn't know who to trust.

"I can't tell! I really can't tell!"

Hugh clutched his head, squatted on the ground, his voice filled with pain and confusion.

Just then, Simon appeared silently behind the group, his voice low and calm.

"Erza is right, it's all a lie told by Jellal."

Hugh suddenly looked up at Simon, his lips trembling but unable to utter a word.

When Gray saw Simon appear, his expression changed. Remembering the grudge of being ambushed at the casino, he rolled up his sleeves, ready to go forward and settle the score.

Juvia stopped Gray, placing her hands on his chest and squeezing him slightly with her small hands.

"Lord Gray, wait a minute, this person knew it was Gray's Stand, yet still attacked it."

(◔◡◔)

Her point was that Simon knew it was a stand-in, yet he still attacked, indicating that he didn't actually intend to hurt Gray; he was just putting on an act.

Gray paused for a moment, then slowly lowered his fist.

As they were exchanging pleasantries, Riyao looked around, scratched his head, and asked, "Where's Natsu?"

Everyone looked around, but Natsu had vanished without a trace.

Mirajane casually patted Erza's head again, her tone relaxed.

"They must have smelled Happy's scent and went to find Happy."

Riyao clapped his hands, deciding to help Natsu deliver his lines.

"In short, all we need to do is go and beat Jellal up. Simple and straightforward, no need to overthink it."

The crowd began to climb the tower; every man should climb a hundred floors!

If nothing unexpected happens, Natsu has already put on the cat head and is having a blast.

On the other side, Natsu indeed found the cat room and put the cat headgear on his head.

A fluffy cat-ear headpiece with two pink cheek pads looks absolutely hilarious.

Natsu tried to take it off, but the hood was stuck. He tugged at it twice, but couldn't budge it.

"Ugh, that's disgusting, I can't reach it."

He sneezed, and snot got stuck inside his headgear, covering his face. It was itchy and sticky, and he couldn't get it off no matter what he did.

Natsu was so anxious that he rolled around on the floor, rubbing his cat head against the cushion. The scene was both pitiful and funny.

Orz

Just then, Wally, the blocky man, emerged from around the corner of the corridor, his square arms raised, aiming at the back of Natsu's head.

Bang!

At this dangerous moment, Millianna rushed out.

Like a mother cat protecting her kittens, it suddenly shoved Wally's arm away, the gun was deflected, the bullet grazed Natsu's cat ear, and hit the wall, leaving a bullet hole.

Wally rubbed his arm, which had been bruised and sore, looking puzzled.

"Millianna, oh dear, what are you doing?"

Millianna jumped in front of Natsu, spreading her arms to block Wally, her cat-ear headband standing out brightly under the lights.

She turned around and unleashed a flurry of cat-like punches, her tiny fists raining down on Wally's blocky shoulders.

"A cat! That's a cat! You can't bully a cat!"

Wally was knocked backward by the punches, his square face screaming, "Are you kidding me?"

"He's not a cat! Look closely, there's clearly a man under that hood! He doesn't look like a cat at all!"

Natsu's little brain once again shone with wisdom.

Wearing a cat headgear, he squatted on the ground, placed his hands next to his cheeks in a cat paw gesture, and then let out an extremely affected meow.

Meow~

Millianna pointed at Natsu, her voice trembling with excitement.

"Look! It's a cat! It's meowing!"

Wally was somewhat speechless, and his square face twitched several times.

"You brat, still meowing! Are you even a man?!"

Natsu maintained his cat persona and meowed again.

Wally, unable to bear it any longer, shoved Millianna aside, and his body began to change.

His cube-shaped body disintegrated into many smaller cubes, which rained down on Natsu like a barrage of bullets.

Natsu reacted quickly, grabbing a cat-shaped plush pillow next to him to block the block attack. The pillow was smashed, sending cotton fluff flying everywhere, but it barely managed to block the first wave.

Millianna reached out her hand in distress when she saw the cat-shaped pillow had been smashed.

No! Kitty!

Maintaining his cat persona Natsu ignited flames on both hands, punching away each incoming cube with a single blow, all the while shouting his chuunibyou name.

"Fire Dragon's Kitty Fist!"

Millianna's cat brain finally caught on. She looked at the flames burning in Natsu's hand, then at the cat mask, and finally realized that there was a living person under the mask.

"How awful! A human pretending to be a cat! They deceived my feelings!"

Natsu, who hadn't done this in a long time, made a sarcastic remark while shouting as he smashed the blocks.

"You're the same way! Just because you wear cat ears doesn't mean you're a cat!"

Millianna angrily cast a spell, flicking her wrist, and several Kitty Restraint Tubes flew out, precisely binding Natsu's hands, feet, and body.

[Kitty Restraint Tube]

Natsu was bound tightly and tried to break free, but found that he could not cast magic. The flames were extinguished instantly under the suppression of the restraints.

Seeing Natsu bound, Wally finally revealed a smug smile, his cube-shaped body reassembled, and he raised his gun, aiming it at Natsu's head.

"Finally, we can put an end to this imposter cat."

Just as Natsu was about to be executed by Wally, a blue figure flew down from the ceiling.

Happy!

He clenched his little paws and slammed a cat-like fist hard into Wally's square face.

"Don't bully Natsu!"

Wally was knocked back by the sudden punch, his gun went astray, and the bullet hit the ceiling.

Taking advantage of the situation, Natsu deliberately acted cute, wearing a cat headgear, tilting his head, blinking his eyes, and letting out a pitiful meow.

Meow~

Seeing Natsu's pitiful appearance, Millianna's face under the cat-ear headband instantly turned red. She clutched her heart with her hands, staring at Natsu with a dazed look, and couldn't help but smile.

"So cute..."

Her reason and emotions were locked in a fierce battle, but in the end, she softened and with a flick of her wrist, the Kitty Restraint Tube were released.

"Fine, fine, I'll let it go since you're so cute."

Natsu, having broken free of his restraints, finally had his cat mask fall off, revealing a face contorted with rage.

He unleashed even fiercer flames from his hands, and with a single punch, the Fire Dragon's Kitty Fist knocked down both Wally and Millianna.

The two fell to the ground, seeing stars.

Natsu clapped his hands, looked at the two lying on the ground, and snorted.

Happy flew around them, tilting his head. "Natsu, you seemed to be enjoying yourself when you were meowing just now."

"Shut up!"